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Maternity & Parenting Center

Still here

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I’m still here – and all I want to do is complain. I’m so sick of the contractions, and I really don’t think I’m making any more progress – I guess I’ll find out in the morning. My belly and back are killing me, and I can’t keep any food in my system. I’m very physically uncomfortable, too. Baby is still moving well – I just really wish I could move on to the next stage already.

Today I’m baking cookies . . . trying to make my Grandma’s chocolate streudels and rollies . . . we’ll see how I do! It is the first time I’m doing this on my own! I just wish I felt better today. I’m trying to decide if I should go meet some friends for a “girl’s night out” dinner – not sure I’m feeling up to it, though.

Day 6 of Contractions

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So today is day #6 of regular contractions . . . I didn’t think this was possible! All of the medical experts have said these kind of regular contractions are rare for prodromal labor – they are all surprised the contractions haven’t dissipated or converted into “real” labor yet. The contractions have been far less intense since yesterday – definitely noticeable, but tolerable. I’m not miserable and uncomfortable today, but I’m really sick of the constant contractions. It makes me feel like I’ve got a constant stomach ache (and don’t even get me started about the fact my body refuses to hold any food because it believes I AM in labor)!

We had another ultrasound this morning – baby is looking great, and he passed his biophysical profile with another perfect score! Apparently, he is having a good ole’ time in there. He spent most of yesterday and today with a big case of the hiccups . . . it makes me laugh every time he hiccups! My amniotic fluid is much lower than it had been . . . not sure if that means anything yet. I keep thinking that I’m leaking some fluid, but I’m not really sure if it is just wishful thinking. We got another 3D picture of him, and I’ll try and post that later.

So, I’m still on track to hang in there until Monday. I’m wondering if I’ll have another round of big contractions in the next few days . . . the past hour or two, the contractions do feel a bit more intense, but I’m not really sure if it is progressing at all yet. I know that every day he stays in is good for him, but I just really wish my body (and the baby) would make up its mind – in or out – and then commit to that plan. If he is staying put another few weeks, fine, but can I get a break from the contractions, please? If he is coming out, well, let’s get to it!

Disappointing Appointment

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Yesterday, my contractions picked up around 2:00 pm. They kept getting closer and more intense, and I really thought I was starting labor. Around midnight, I was seriously thinking of calling and going to the hospital, but I was afraid to jinx things. The contractions and pain continued until 4:00 am . . . and then started to lessen in intensity again. At our appointment today, the contractions were fairly light. Even worse – no significant progress after all of that! I’m still at 2 cm (I was really hoping for 3) but more effaced – definitely at least 80%, and the baby has dropped (almost 0 station). So, for right now, the plan is to wait. I’m not uncomfortable this morning, so I’ll just have to hang in there and see what is next.

In good news, at today’s appointment it looked like he’d repositioned himself in the “correct” position again – no longer sunny side up. I’m supposed to take it easy, try to rest, and we’ll see where things stand on Monday. She would prefer not to try any induction techniques until next week (37 weeks) if I can hang in there. She still thinks there is a good chance the contractions will disappear altogether in the next day or so, and I’ll go to term. Actually, if the contractions stop, I don’t mind waiting it out, but I really can’t handle contracting for the next few weeks like I’ve been doing. Her best guess is that I’ll make it to 38.5 weeks, so still another 1.5 – 2 weeks left. We’ll see what the next few days bring!

It keeps going . . . and going . . .

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Yup, I’m still contracting. 4 minutes apart. I’m quite uncomfortable – tons of back labor/pain. They are stronger, but not strong enough to go to the hospital yet. I have been trying to use the hypnobirthing techniques, but there are 2 problems so far: 1) I’m on day 4 of these contractions – it isn’t like I can sit and “relax” for 4 days straight; 2) I didn’t count on the back labor – it is hard to find a position that is sufficiently comfortable for relaxing. I called the midwives to talk about this, because I don’t think I can keep on doing this without end. We are going in tomorrow at 8:15 to check my progress and see what the next steps are. I think I will be crying hysterically if they don’t tell me I’ve been making progress.

Some Kind of Labor

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Well, I’m in some kind of labor . . . but I think this is somewhere between prodromal labor and stalled labor. I’m contracting regularly (and prodromal labor is usually irregular contractions) but the intensity of the contractions has been inconsistent (perhaps a sign of stalled labor). I also seem to go through phases – I have hours when the contractions are 4 minutes apart and fairly intense, 4 minutes apart but not so intense, and other blocks of time when they may stretch out to hours of contractions every 7 minutes or every 10 minutes. What this means is I’m starting labor but I do not seem to be getting there particularly fast. Apparently, this could go on for quite some time. I have no idea if all the contractions I’ve had in the last 24 hours are causing any progress yet. All I know is I do not think I can do this part for weeks. I’m willing to be patient this week, but this part is no fun. I’m just uncomfortable enough that it keeps me from keeping my “normal” routine, but it isn’t intense enough most of the time (or moving fast enough) that it makes sense for me to drop everything and focus exclusively on birthing. So, I’m trying to relax but keep busy, increase my physical activity in the hopes of speeding things up, and try any other ideas I can think up! The most frustrating part is that I think my body believes it is in labor – it isn’t letting me keep any food in my system. Anything I eat comes right out, and trust me, with contractions that part is just miserable. So, I have yet to figure out how to fuel my body without making myself feel awful. I’m going to try some juice and clear liquids today to see if that helps.

36 weeks . . . at last!

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Well, I did it! I made it to 36 weeks. And now I’m ready to have this baby.

I spent all day yesterday contracting despite continuing the Terbutaline. They were not intense, but they were 4 minutes apart. After realizing the pills were becoming futile, I finally stopped the terbutaline around 6 pm. Naturally, my contractions seemed to disappear. I was SOOOO disappointed. I had some, but they were fairly spread out, and not gaining in intensity. Elliot & I went to bed around 2:00 or so, and I was so sad that labor was not imminent for me.

At 4:00 am, I woke up with contractions. Not the mild ones, but fairly intense, radiating around to my back kind of contractions that were 4 minutes apart. I was SOOO excited (and did I mention uncomfortable?). I went downstairs and got my ipod so I could listen to my hypnobirthing recordings and relax. The back pain was intense, and I really couldn’t seem to get comfortable. I woke Elliot up to tell him . . . and of course, he started puking again! His timing with the puking is just horrible. I don’t think he still has the stomach flu, but I do think the stomach flu has aggravated his very sensitive stomach. Throw in a little stress and worry . . . and well, I think that explains his current state! Now, if I could just convince him to take his stomach meds . . . . then he might be helpful to me through these contractions!

Anyway, I tried relaxing in bed for about 1 hour, and then the pain in my back was making me quite uncomfortable. So, I decided to fill up the tub and climb in the Jacuzzi. I was SOOOO excited. I got in the water, I put on my ipod, and I hit the button . . . . and nothing. Yup, the Jacuzzi wasn’t working AGAIN! I was so upset! Elliot came in and tried to help get things started (in between trips to the other bathroom to throw up). We eventually gave up, and instead I took a nice warm bath. I listened to my recordings, and was feeling much better. After the bath, I took a shower – it was about 6:30 or so by the time I was done. I crawled back into bed hoping to get some sleep. No such luck, but I did manage to relax until 8 when we needed to go to our appointment.

Elliot & I drove separately to the appointment. It was rather uneventful – we just talked about what happened this weekend, when I should come in next, etc. My belly was measuring perfectly at 35 cm, and she said I am 70-80% effaced, over 2 cm dilated, and the baby is at -1 station, so all is well! She said this could be today, or it could be weeks. I’m hoping the baby decides to make an appearance this week. Did I mention I’m ready to get this labor thing going? Someone remind me of that when this process intensifies and I’m having second thoughts!

After the appointment, I went to get our car seats and have one installed in my car. That should have been so simple, but the people at the car dealership were being SOOO difficult. I had to drive to 3 different locations before they would help me. And I was cranky because I was having contractions every 4 minutes. I then went over to the baby store and picked up a preemie outfit (just in case) and then went to my parents’ house to drop off the 2nd car seat and trade them for their base to put in Elliot’s car. While at my parents’ house, I ran into their cleaning lady – who has been working with my family for at least 25 years. She was so excited to see me, and we had a nice little chat before I left.

I came home to relax a bit . . . and, of course, I’m now frustrated because the contractions seemed to have slowed a bit. I want this guy to come OUT, not play games!! Let’s hope they pick back up again.

Adventures in Traveling

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Friday morning, Elliot & I woke up to the contractors showing up 1 hour early. That NEVER happens! We were then trying to finish getting ready to leave with the contractors doing work. I told Elliot he should put his sandwich together, but, of course, he was too busy being lazy. We then were surprised by our insurance agent – we forgot we made an appointment with her. In the midst of all this chaos, we were trying to finish decorating a cake for my niece, Stephanie, since we were planning to head up to NJ for her bat mitzvah! We decided to keep it simple – a basic 9×13 inch cake with an edible image of her facebook page on top. Elliot wanted to help, so he started icing the cake – mistake #1. He had the cake upside down on the tray, and he got crumbs all over the icing :(. I was so frustrated – and didn’t have enough icing to fix the problem. We tried flipping the cake back, but it broke in half because of the weight of the icing. So, I was then sitting there trying to repair the cake. Then, I went downstairs to print out the image . . . and, naturally, the printer was out of ink! Elliot offered to help refill the cartridges – let’s just say, that was a disaster, too. Elliot took FOREVER – he spent most of the time looking for gloves. Something about Ellilot when we are on a very short time frame makes him slow down . . . he moves like molasses when I need him to hurry! After all of that, Elliot didn’t fill all the cartridges that needed to be refilled, so the printout looked terrible – the colors were all off. Even worse, it took him so long that the icing crusted, so I couldn’t get the icing sheet to attach. I was SOOOO frustrated!

We then had to take Nugget (I couldn’t leave her here with the contractors) up to my friend’s house so she could watch her for 1 hour while we had our ultrasound. The plan was to grab the dog then go straight to my brother’s house to drop her there overnight. As we were driving to the ultrasound, Elliot realized he forgot his phone. We were so late, we didn’t have a choice but to keep going. This little factoid becomes important later on . . . .

We arrived for our ultrasound about 10 minutes late – only to find that the doctor we were supposed to see had left a few minutes before – sick! The office was all backed up – we waited over 1 hour to get our ultrasound. We had a different tech again – and we have learned that some under-measure, and some over-measure. We had one with a generous hand – who informed me my cervix had grown larger than it had been even at 28 weeks (3.5 cm). That didn’t seem right to me, but it gave us our “green” light to go on our trip. We then met with the doctor, she re-measured some of the images, and said she thought the cervix was closer to 2.4 (which made more sense). Regardless, there were no signs of imminent labor, so we decided to head out for the weekend.

We stopped and picked up dog food, dropped my dog off with my brother and SIL, then went on our way. We arrived in decent time, and had dinner with the family. There was a bit of family drama (as usual) and then we had cake with everyone back at the hotel. My stomach was bothering me, and I was up pretty early not feeling well. When I finally got Elliot awake, he complained he wasn’t feeling well, either. I assumed he was playing the “me, too” card, and I was totally unsympathetic. We went to breakfast, and I could barely eat anything. I had 2 bites of oatmeal, 1 piece of scrambled egg, 3 frosted mini wheats, and a bite of the home fries.

We got back to the room, and I called my mom, who informed me she had been up all night puking. At that point, I realized that it was pretty likely we all caught a stomach bug from my niece (who was getting over a stomach bug on Thanksgiving). I no sooner hung up from my mother when I began puking. I spent the next 6 hours throwing up, with bouts of diarrhea thrown in the mix. It was NOT a fun day. The whole time, Elliot complained he wasn’t feeling well, and mostly slept. I realized I was having a lot of cramps and contractions, so we called the midwife. She suggested I drink more fluids and increase my meds, so I did. At 3:00, I decided to join my SIL, Jodi, for a manicure/pedicure (actually, I asked her to tell me where I should go to get one, and she offered to make the arrangements for me and keep me company). I was really feeling horrible – my stomach was out of control, and I realized I was having contractions every 4 minutes (and they were pretty intense).

Now, here is where things get interesting. Since Elliot forgot his phone at home, I gave him my cell phone to use while I was getting my nails done. I had my niece, Stephanie, send Elliot a text to tell him to get back to the hotel asap. We returned to the hotel, and I went to our room. I was waiting over 1 hour, and the contractions were getting worse, and Elliot still wasn’t back. I started to panic about having the baby there. I had no cell phone, and couldn’t call anyone, and he had the car with all of my hypnobirthing stuff in it, so I couldn’t even listen to my recordings and relax. I decided to call Jodi in the hotel, and ask her to hunt down her husband, Steven, and Elliot and get them back ASAP. When I called their room, Stephanie was FREAKING out about her bat mitzvah. I couldn’t get her to talk to me, and she threw the phone on the ground. I started getting mildly hysterical while trying (unsuccessfully) to calm her down. I finally spoke to Jodi (I had to insist) and she managed to get in touch with Elliot who was on his way back.

When he walked through the door, I LOST it. I told him what was going on with me, and at that point, he went to the bathroom and started throwing up. So, he wasn’t in any position to help me for a bit. I called the midwife, who told us I should go to the hospital to get IV fluids. She really felt that my contractions were induced by dehydration, not actual labor, but said that if we couldn’t get them to stop, it could cause my water to break. I knew I’d never leave the hospital if I went, so DH & I decided not to do that. When I was in the hospital at 28 weeks, I was able to avoid the IV by drinking 40 ozs of water in 30 minutes, so we decided to give that a try. I was taking my terbutaline every 3 hours, and I GUZZLED the water down. We got the contractions to slow a bit and lessen in intensity. We made the decision to get dressed, go to the bat mitzvah, and if everything held steady, we decided to head home right after the service and skip the party. We didn’t tell everyone exactly what was going on, but at 8:20, we were on the road back home.

Well, by this point, Elliot’s stomach issues were as bad as mine. AND, I was pumped full of water. Let’s just say we hit EVERY rest stop and hotel at every exit the entire way home – it made for a long trip. Elliot puked a few more times, we were both dealing with diarrhea, I had to pee every 5 minutes from all the water, and neither one of us had really eaten a meal since Friday night. It was NOT a pleasant ride home, but at least the traffic wasn’t terrible.

When we got home, we called the midwife, and she said I should keep taking the meds, see what happens, and call her in the morning. The contractions are still 4 minutes apart, but much less intense. I have not been able to get a hold of her today, so I’m not sure what is next. I don’t
know that it is worth it to keep taking the terbutaline for another 24 hours – I feel at this point it is more of a hindrance than a help since we can’t make the contractions stop. Regardless, I only have a few more doses left, then I stop and we have another appointment tomorrow morning. We’ll see if this baby decides to make an appearance this week!

So, after all of that, we did make it to the service, we dealt with a horrible stomach flu, and we didn’t get to stay and enjoy the food or the party. But, we did make it home safely, with only 2 of us in the car! I’m just so relieved to be back home again.

Heading South for the Winter . . . Snowbird on the Way?

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Well, we just got back from our 35 week appointment with the midwife we’ve only seen one other time during this pregnancy – and she was really nice! The last time I met with her, she yelled at me about my weight, so I’ve been avoiding her. Anyway, we talked about my situation and my labor, and she was really helpful and great about everything, so I’m feeling good about her if she is the one who ends up on call when I go into labor.

In other news . . . I had my first internal exam. I’m apparently 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated! The baby is between -1 and 0 station (meaning he has started his descent already). We asked about going out of town this weekend, and she wants me to base my decision on my cervical length at the ultrasound on Friday. She said if it hasn’t changed drastically, I have a yellow light to go . . . she doesn’t think I will go into labor, but she recommends taking my pills closer to every 4 hrs, bringing my hospital bag, a copy of my medical records, drinking lots of water, and doing my best to take it easy.

Bottom line is she thinks this baby will most like come next week – she’d guess I will go into labor when I stop the medicine (especially since I’m already experiencing cervical changes, the baby is dropping, and I’m dilating while ON the medication). I’m so excited . . . I might actually be a mommy next week!

In other news, the stupid contractors were here all day yesterday and took everything off our bathroom shelves and left it on the floor. Being 35 weeks pregnant, it never occurred to me to go upstairs and check the bathroom before I ran out last night because I was too tired to climb the stairs. Long story short, we returned home to find that Nugget had gotten in to Elliot’s travel kit and had managed to consume a bunch of vitamins and some metamucil. She was spitting out big gelatinous chunks of the stuff! That poor dog has the WORST gas today – my whole house stinks from it!

Mommy Preparedness Party

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Well, today was our “Mommy Preparedness Party”! For those of you currently wearing a puzzled expression and trying to figure out what the hell a “Mommy Preparedness Party” is, it was our attempt to do something baby-shower like without calling it a baby shower. In the Jewish tradition, there are many superstitions around babies (and celebrating babies and birth prior to the actual event), so most people still do not have baby showers. They wait for the bris or the baby naming after the baby is born. However, in recent years, baby showers are growing more common among Jewish circles. We debated for a long time about whether we should do anything. Elliot was very disinclined to have a shower, and I was on the fence. After I ended up in the hospital at 28 weeks, I panicked about not having anything for the baby. So, we decided that if we didn’t call it a shower, and if we didn’t bring any of the gifts into our home until after the baby was born, we thought we were okay with the whole idea.

Elliot, however, strongly objected to calling it a shower. So, my mom and Heather put on the “not-a-shower” today (and my friend Niki made party favors for everyone) and it was wonderful! We only invited a small group of our closest friends/family because we did not want to make anyone uncomfortable. It was great to see everyone, and I had a lot of fun. It was so exciting to actually be looking at and touching baby stuff, and we got a lot of wonderful gifts to start us out. They also requested that everyone bring their favorite baby book as part of the gift, so we now have a wonderful collection of books, too! I’m so excited to actually have things for the baby now! My mom made a gorgeous afghan and a sweater and 2 hats for him. We won’t bring anything in the house yet, but it is nice to know that we have access to the things we might need at my parents’ house.

In other news, we also got a call yesterday that our baby furniture is in! I’m shocked – I really didn’t think we’d be getting it before the baby arrived (since we ordered it so late), so it is a relief that we can have it at any time. The only thing that isn’t in yet is our glider, and the store will give us a loaner until it comes in, if we want it. Elliot isn’t sure if he wants to get any of the furniture delivered before the baby arrives, so we’ll see what we decide to do. At least now we know my Dad could arrange for delivery while I’m in the hospital if that is what we decide to do.

34 week ultrasound

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Today’s appointment was fairly uneventful . . . except for the fact that the doctors and ultrasound technicians have been confused about my presence at the last two visits. Today’s tech actually came in and asked why I was there and what she was supposed to do! Somehow, the doctor’s notes got lost in translation, and they were acting like I just kept showing up for the fun of it.

After going through the saga a few times, they checked my cervix (which shrunk some, but is holding steady around 2.4/2.5) measured Frank (who seems to have shrunk almost another centimeter) and did a biophysical profile of the baby. Baby is doing great! He was moving and breathing and is still head down.

So, with all that good news, it might actually be safe for me to travel to New Jersey right after Thanksgiving for my niece Stephanie’s bat mitzvah! We just have to make sure nothing significant happens in the next week.