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Maternity & Parenting Center

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.

OB Appt & Moving!

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On Wednesday, Elliot and I met with one of the OBs connected to the midwifery practice we are using. I have been quite upset about this whole c-section possibility, so I thought going to meet with the OB would somehow put me at ease. I think it was a great decision! The OB we met with was so nice, and relatively young (late 30s/early 40s). He came into the room with a laptop, so Elliot liked him immediately. We explained our situation, and he reviewed my test results. He agreed that all the medicines we have been using are exactly right, and he talked about my options. Immediately, he seemed to agree that he thought I could (and should) continue to 36 weeks. He said that unless the baby was in actual danger, he would not encourage doing a c-section at 34 weeks. That was a HUGE relief to me. We also talked about the different pain medications, and he said that there has been no proven harm to babies if you limit the heavier pain meds to either no more than 1 week of continued use, or you can do 2-3 weeks of occasional/sporadic use. So, if the pain worsens after 33/34 weeks, there are several pain management options I can use.

He is fairly certain that when I stop the Terbutaline at 36 weeks, the contractions will come back. At a minimum, Terbutaline can cause a “rebound” effect with the contractions after keeping them suppressed for so long. He felt that if the contractions continued more than 2-3 days without me progressing into full labor (or if they became quite painful), he would not let me continue on that way any longer. They would start bringing me in regularly once the contractions begin to monitor me – check the fetal stress levels, see if the contractions are productive, etc. If after 2-3 days the contractions do not turn into full labor or do not subside and disappear, he would hope to induce at that point (assuming that my cervix appears to be “receptive” to induction). There are several different ways they could induce, and they will not make that decision until after they see what my body is doing. If they cannot induce labor and the contractions continue, a c-section would be necessary. We talked about anesthesia options, and he agreed that he could work with the anesthesiologist to identify a short-acting inhaled anesthesia that would knock me out sufficiently to get the spinal/epidural in, and then allow me to be lucid for the birth of the baby. That was a huge relief to me! So, hopefully a c-section will be unnecessary, but I feel better knowing that 1) I will not have to walk around contracting and in pain for weeks and 2) If I have to have a c-section, we can find a way to do it so I can see the birth of my son!

I have actually been feeling really good most of this week. I’ve been vigilant about taking my medicines on time and not letting it stretch beyond 6 hours. Unfortunately, right after I commented about what a great week I was having and started to hope that Frank was shrinking or disappearing, or that I could hold him at bay with just a bit of Tylenol, today I am definitely starting to hurt more (although I am able to do another course of Indocin any time I want). We have another midwife appointment next week, and another ultrasound, and we will see where we go from there! Four more weeks left until we stop the medications.

In other news, we attended our first hypnobirthing class last night! I really hope this helps me, and I am excited to explore ways to relax and try to embrace this whole process in a confident and stress-free manner. We are in the class with our friends Ken and Erica, so it should be a wonderful experience. We were taught 2 breathing techniques, and we have to listen to this deep relaxation CD everyday to practice the self-relaxation techniques. Now, if I could just keep Elliot from snoring loudly during the relaxation exercises . . . .

And best of all . . . it looks like we are finally moving! We started packing up the house, and we are going to start making our first runs with boxes this weekend. I think I will probably schedule the “big” move either next weekend or that following week. The carpet was installed last night, and the floors are being finalized today along with the touch-up painting. They still have to replace the one kitchen cabinet (it should be in Monday) and fix up the tile backsplash, install a light and accessories in the powder room, install the baby’s vanity (which should be in today) and install the shower panel (which should be in Tuesday) and finish tiling the master bathroom by the shower panel. That means by this weekend all the big stuff will be finished, and by Wednesday of next week, all the “little things” should be done. Also, our living room couch arrived, so that is being delivered on November 11! It is finally coming together. I am supposed to have a friend from out of town coming to stay with us the weekend of November 14, so it looks like we will be sleeping at the house by then!

Another Ultrasound

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Today was our appointment with the Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist and another ultrasound. The good news is, my cervix is holding steady, and Frank is not growing in size . . . yet. The bad news is, Frank isn’t shrinking (and is highly unlikely to shrink at this point). We did not get such good pictures of the baby. Today he is head down, facing upwards, with his feet up by my ribs and his hands on either side of my pelvis. Every time she tried to snap a photo of him, he arched his back and looked kind of like an alien. I may try to scan and post the picture later.

I am supposed to do a few more courses of the Indocin over the next 1-2 weeks, and then I have to stop taking that. According to this doctor, his goal is to get me to 34 weeks, and he is not convinced I’m going to make it to 36 weeks. He seems to think a scheduled c-section shortly after 34 weeks is in my future, but for right now, I have different plans. I’m going to do whatever it takes to get to 36 weeks, and then hope when we stop the meds I can go into labor on my own. I’m not sure what I’ll do if I stop the meds at 36 weeks and I am contracting but not getting anywhere, so I am trying not to think about that. The bottom line is I might not be able to have that nice natural birth with a midwife I had planned.

I should have known this wasn’t going to be easy for me . . . I think the “other shoe” I’ve been waiting for has finally dropped.

In other news, we went out with my parents to celebrate Elliot’s birthday last night. The restaurant was wonderful – good atmosphere and the food was excellent! We stopped by the house on our way home to check on the renovations, and I’m thrilled to say we have real progress! Two of the four bathroom sinks are installed (with faucets and everything), the lighting looks like it has been completed, the floors were refinished, and some of the hardware for the showers was in place. There was 1 broken light fixture and the toilet in the master bathroom is cracked, but I’m starting to believe there is an end in sight!

Time to celebrate!

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So today was Elliot’s birthday! I took it easy most of the day . . . Frank has been a bit temperamental since we stopped the Indocin, and I have a feeling he may have a girlfriend Fiona lurking in there, too. I suspect they are fighting today, so I’ve been trying to give them some quiet time to work out their issues.

I’ve been having difficulty finding the “right” gift for Elliot this year. He has been wanting this USB external, self-charging hard drive to backup his computer, and I found a good deal on one on Amazon, so I’ve been thinking of ordering that. I decided to ask him to make sure it was the right thing – I hate ordering things to find out I didn’t get it quite right. So, when we sat down together, I told him what I wanted to get him and asked him if I had the right thing with the right specifications. He is currently on the fence with that gift – I was going to order him a 320 GB drive, and he kind of wants the 500 GB drive, but that is a bit more money than I wanted to spend right now (since my “real” present is the other gift I’m about to discuss). I’m still waiting for a decision from him on the backup drive. Perhaps I’ll save that and buy it for him for another holiday . . . . maybe Chanukah!

The 2nd present is a joint gift from my parents as well. Elliot desperately needs a new grill. He doesn’t actually realize it, but his old grill died. The grates have rotted through, there are layers of scum (and now cigarette butts from the contractors) and just flat out poisonous decay, and I firmly believe it is too dangerous to ever fire that grill up again. The problem is, he truly loves his grill, and like everything else in his world, he hates parting with anything. Part of him sincerely believes that he will be using that grill again. I’m sorry to say, he isn’t going to win this battle. So, I did some investigating, and I identified what I think is the “perfect” grill for Elliot. But, again, I know how much his grill means to him, so I decided to let him select his next grill instead of dictating which one I thought was best for him. It turns out, he really liked the one I picked out and showed him online! There is one other one I saw, and he is trying to decide between the two. He asked me for a few days so he could go see them in person and decide which one he likes best, and if he finds something else he likes even better, then I will get that for him. There is one we saw that is really cool, but super-expensive. It looks kind of like a built-in grill – it comes complete with a stone facade workspace! I’m willing to spend the money, but Elliot won’t let me . . . he thinks it is cool, but not worth the money. We’ll see . . . perhaps I’ll buy that one anyway.

So, we’ve been trying to figure out how to celebrate Elliot’s birthday for weeks now. We had hoped to be all moved into the house and invite a bunch of people over for a bbq dinner in our Sukkah. Needless to say . . . we haven’t moved, we have no Sukkah this year . . . and so we didn’t have a party. Elliot was extremely disappointed – he just loves to have everyone over for his birthday dinner in the Sukkah. Once we realized the Sukkah party was out, we discussed other options. We talked about going out for a nice dinner somewhere, but Elliot has been crazy busy with work and running around, and hasn’t really been in the mood to go out for dinner at night, and Frank has been making my life difficult, so I get nervous planning anything specific since I never know how I will feel from one minute to the next.

After much discussion, we decided that I would make Elliot a nice dinner at home. We didn’t get the place cleaned up enough to set the broken dining room table for a romantic dinner by candlelight, but I was doing well enough to cook for him, and we sat together on the couch and ate dinner. I decided to make Chicken Marsala (well, a vegetarian version of Chicken Marsala with veggie Chicken), rice pilaf, and broccoli. For dessert, we had chocolate lava cakes and a side of ice cream. I didn’t have the energy to cook up a full cake yet (I’ve been fighting a cold all day, probably thanks to our friend Greg who was sick at the Sukkah party last night). I’m hoping to bake a cake for him for Wednesday night when we go out to dinner with my parents to celebrate his birthday.

Unfortunately, just as Elliot got home and we were preparing to have his birthday dinner, our contractor, Keith, called. He was extremely pissed off, and we ended up fighting with him on the phone for 45 minutes. Long story short, he works with my cousin, and I finally contacted my cousin about all the problems we’ve been having. He must have ripped our Keith a new one, because he was PISSED. He tried to tell us that all of the problems with the house were our fault, not his (because clearly, we are responsible for mis-measuring and mis-ordering). It was a HORRIBLE conversation . . . and I certainly did not need to get that worked up or upset. Frank was quite unhappy for the rest of the evening, but at least Elliot & I got to have a nice dinner together. Too bad Keith ruined Elliot’s birthday :(.

Feeling Wonderful

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I have to say, I love taking Indocin . . . it just puts Cranky Frank right to sleep. I started feeling great on Friday, and then Saturday I was able to run to the jewelry show with my mom and go check out the progress (or lack thereof) on our house renovations. I was feeling so well that I actually forgot to take my last dose of the medicine on Saturday! I even managed to reduce my anti-contraction medication (Terbutaline) to half the dosage and space it out longer than 4 hours! It was so nice to feel human again.

I have a big day planned for Sunday (I’m volunteering at an event all day, and then I’m off to a dinner at a friend’s house).

Cranky Frank Strikes Again!

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It is official . . . we decided to name the fibroid Frank . . . or Cranky Frank, or Frank the Crank. Funny how easy it is for us to name things other than our son! Well, Frank has been quite crotchety the past 2 days. It all started late last night . . . I fell asleep on the couch and was 2 hours late taking my tylenol. Frank was definitely unhappy about that, and decided to punish me with stabbing pains and contractions from 4:00 am until about 8:30 this morning. I finally managed to subdue him with meds, but he let me know he was pretty displeased on and off all day.

Tonight, we went out to celebrate my mom’s birthday! Just a quick little dinner. Apparently, Frank did not want to go out to dinner, so back to cranking he went. I was pretty miserable by the end of the meal. We did stop off at a new gelatto place, but even that didn’t satisfy Frank. We came home, and Frank is feeling a little better (thanks to some tylenol and some anti-contraction medication). I hope he decides to let me sleep tonight.

I’ve been having a fair amount of contractions tonight – I think they have mostly been small, but still . . . I’d prefer it if they went away. I’m counting down the days until our appointment next week – I just really wish we could cut the little bugger out!

Perhaps I spoke too soon . . . .

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Well, after my great sense of relief that everything has been going so well, my fibroid (you know, it kind of feels like it needs its own name . . . please feel free to offer up options) started to get pissed off again. It hurts. It stings. It is stabbing periodically – I’d say, it is generally displeased with my current state of being. Around 4:00 today, the contractions started back up. I had been emboldened by the past 24 hrs, so I had dropped down to only 1 pill of the anti-contraction medication “as needed” – so perhaps that approach is now letting these contractions sneak in there. I’m not so happy about it. I took one pill at 2:00 today, and I took a 2nd pill at 5, and the contractions do seem better, but I may need to think about returning to my structured regimen of 2 pills every 4 hrs. And to think I was having visions of stopping the medication, just taking tylenol, and avoiding future bouts of contractions. Ahhh . . . how foolish and cocky I can be.