pregnancy week 38

One more piece of good news – I’m negative for Strep B this time around. Since I was positive last time, I expected I’d be positive this time too. The required IV was just one more layer of discomfort among many. I’m very happy to not have it this time around.

The colder weather, the lack of a commute, more frequent access to the car and my increasing size are reducing my movement. At the same time, I’m eating whatever I want – which includes a lot of carbs and sweets. I feel so huge that it doesn’t seem like it matters much if I get a little larger. I know this will create a bit more work for me post-birth, but this doesn’t really seem like the time to deny myself.

Some parts of me really want the baby to come – like the parts that realize the longer it’s in there, the bigger it gets and the harder it is to get out. Or the part that is just tired of being a walking whale. Other parts want it to hold off. I’d like to finish up my stats final first (will be done this week), I really don’t want it born on or near Christmas, I have nesting projects I’d like to get to, I’m enjoying having the time alone with River. Wishing one way or the other probably won’t have any effect. The only decision I may have to take is when (and if) to let my pre-natal masseuse do a foot massage she says induces labor.

I attended my first La Leche League meeting. Mark didn’t want me to go. He was afraid the people would be too crunchy and would encourage me to have the baby on my breast for years. The leaders were more balanced than I expected. They said they were there to support people who wanted to breastfeed, whether that was for three weeks, three months or three years. The leader commented that she was “pro feeding of babies,” whether that was breastmilk or formula, and I thought that was sensible. One leader was still breastfeeding her 14-month old, another didn’t have any children under 10. I admired their dedication to help other mothers and their willingness to serve as a resource. I expected the meeting to be over in an hour, but people were still chit-chatting when I had to leave after two hours. I kind of had the sense that there were “right” answers and “right” ways of behaving, which made me a little uncomfortable. As far as I could tell, I was the only person there because I wanted to build up a supply in order to return to work. And I can’t say I got a whole lot of helpful advice on that front. But it’s only one meeting and it was good to meet other moms of young kids. So I’ll probably try again. I’ll also be trying a Spanish-speaking group in a lower-income area nearby, which should provide an interesting contrast.

Mark is starting to recognize that it’s on the way soon. He proposed spending this weekend getting things ready. Unfortunately, I still have to finish up my class. But once I’ve done that, if there is still time remaining, I can do some nesting.

Though the discomforts are becoming more severe – along the lines of kicks in the ribs, backaches, etc., my prenatal massage still manages to allow me to not feel pregnant for one hour each week. It is such bliss.

Starting to see signs – cervical mucus, contractions – that lead me to think it is coming soon. But yet, I still don’t really know.

River’s why phase continues. I respect his inquisitiveness, but my patience for trying to answer questions (in Spanish, no less) like why was our street built where it is and why can’t it be moved, and why are lakes formed and why are there depressions in the earth where lakes can form wears thin when I’m simultaneously being kicked in the ribs and trying to maneuver a car through traffic. I feel bad about this.

I’m eating in smaller quantities and very picky about what I want and when. I’d love to make more room in the freezer, but not much we have in the house appeals to me. It’s like being back to early trimester cravings.

And she arrives – it’s over at 38 weeks and 5 days.

She's here!

Birth story to follow, one of these days.

pretty sure I'll be in the hospital tonight

I’ve given up on the exam. I sent what I finished to the professor and asked for an extension on the rest. I may well be doing a bit of final statistics with a newborn.

The contractions are getting closer together and more painful. I want to cry, which is what happened last time as well. The doctor said I could come to the hospital, which seems a bit early. But I think I’m going to be there this evening.

is this it?

Mark is kindly taking care of River for the whole day today, so that I can make an all-out effort to finish this statistics exam before going into labor. I’m skipping my planned excursion to the gym. As much as I’d like to move a bit, I don’t want to do anything to stimulate labor right now. If I can hold off until tomorrow, I could both hopefully turn in the exam and avoid giving birth on a weekend.

Mark got out the bassinet and the swing. River is very excited about this. “My sister is coming!” he says. I look over at the empty bassinet and the pink snowsuit lying on the floor and realize that my daughter might soon lie in these things – a human filling the emptiness. It is scary to imagine.

priorities

The best indication I had of my oncoming labor with River was the appearance of cervical mucus beforehand. It started to appear three days before I went into labor and continued for the subsequent days. On the morning before I went into labor, the mucus was streaked with blood (bloody show).

I’m looking for a similar pattern this time around and it’s starting to appear. I’ve seen mucus for the past three days now, though since it was only in the morning, or only after exercising, I dismissed it. Today it has appeared throughout the day, making me think this could be the start of a real sign. I’m also starting to feel some light waves of pain, only slightly painful, which isn’t what I remember from last time. So perhaps they are Braxton-Hicks, or false labor. But they do come and go in a wave, which makes me think it’s not baby movement, and they are occurring with some regularity. This, along with backaches severe enough to cause me to take Tylenol for the past two days.

When we visited the doctor on Friday, he said I was 2-2.5 centimeters dilated, but he didn’t see any signs of imminent labor. He expects to see me at our next appointment this Thursday. But besides the mucus, I didn’t have any other clear signs beforehand last time either. The baby remained high, my waters didn’t break until I pushed. But when labor started, it came on strong.

So now I’m starting to freak out that it could be on the way, that I could realistically be in labor within the next 1-3 days. And this is making me stress out about priorities, all of which seem equally important. Do I:

Try to maximize rest in order to get through labor and build any possible reserve before the oncoming sleepless nights?

Try to finish my statistics final, which is due on Monday? I’m sure I could get an extension, but it would make things easier to not have that hanging over my head.

Or finally get around to the basics of preparation, like packing a hospital bag?

Mark told me to stop stressing and just do one of them. So I started with some rest, and am now working on my exam. I don’t think I can finish it tonight though. I just don’t have the concentration or motivation. Breaking it into pieces, I should be able to complete it by Monday, when it is due.

So I’ll try to make some progress on the exam tonight, perhaps try to pack the most critical things, and get back to the exam tomorrow morning, if I’m not in labor then.

I know in the big picture all of these things will be taken care of. Even if I don’t pack a hospital bag, we live only six blocks from the hospital and Mark can always grab whatever I need later. Though forgetting something critical like a camera, videocamera or my birth plan would be more disappointing. Nevertheless, I’m finding this stressful. What I’d really like to be doing is curl up on the couch with a movie and a hot chocolate. Why can’t babies provide some advance notice of their arrival?

early signs of labor?

We could really use, and would really appreciate, a little advance notice of when labor is going to begin. There are a bunch of people we need to notify, from the people who might be keeping an eye on River, to Mark’s mother, who needs to drive several hours, to our doula, who lives an hour away.

When I look back at my first pregnancy, I see we had good forewarning, with cervical mucus appearing three and two days before labor began, and the bloody show appearing the day before labor began. Mark is counting on the same thing to happen again this time, and I admit, that would certainly be helpful. Especially since we know how to interpret it this time around.

But then I hear of other people’s water breaking with no notice at all. I found this list of six potential signs of imminent labor, though none are quite as clear or give quite as much notice as the bloody show. Any other suggestions of what I should look for, or when to make the call to people that perhaps they should be prepared? Looking back, did you have any clear signs that labor was on the way?