Thanks for the sympathies and stories, everyone. I’ve been crampy and sore today, but nothing intense or regular enough to make me want to go anywhere.
stargazer, I’m able to sleep a little better than I was a few weeks ago when pregnancy-insomnia drove me batty. However, last night, our 3yro son completely lost his shit around midnight, and could not be consoled back to sleep until around 2am. He’s coming down with a cold, so he has a cough, and all the chaos of mommy going/coming, grandma here/gone, etc. has him a bit out of his head. That’s the worst night I’ve seen him have in–geez, at least a year, if not longer.
I know, I know ivylass…the whole Ask A Woman Who Gave Birth In Her Bathtub is not exactly hyperbole with me, either. I barely felt my contractions with my first; I had a prolonged early labor (what the OB nurse thinks is happening again this time), and when I finally did go to L&D with him I thought I’d be sent home because I thought they’d stopped. Nope. Strong and regular–I just didn’t notice. Rather than keep me stalled at 4-5cm, they decided to augment my contractions with pitocin. Alice the Goon, the pit did NOTHING to me except put a metallic taste in my mouth. Seriously–I kept waiting for the contractions to hurt, and they didn’t. I remember both our doula and the head OB nurse being slack-jawed that I slept through most of my pitocin-augmented contractions. (I actually remember hearing, through the fog of in-and-out-sleep, the OB nurse saying, “Well, that’s a new one.”) And know this–I didn’t take a drop of anything for pain. With my back history, I didn’t want an epidural needle ANYwhere near my spine, and I wanted to hold off on pain meds until I knew For Sure I needed them. I never really did. Honestly, the contractions never felt bad at ALL–not until my water broke, that is. No sleeping through the OH DEAR GOD contractions that followed. Two hours later, I was pushing; 30min later, RuffLlama was born. I actually stunned the OB on duty (who was at another hospital at the time)–he thought it’d take hours once my water broke. Nope. He didn’t get there in time, and the nurses–despite calling down the hallway for an ER doctor “stat”–delivered my son. He came so fast, my doula and the nurses warned I may not know I’m in labor with my second until he’s halfway out. That might be why they’re sending me every time I feel a twinge. If pitocin contractions without pain relief medications didn’t get my attention, then…yeeeaaaaaah.
ENugent, everything is making me tear up these days…gah. But geez, getting yanked around like that back and forth from L&D…I cracked. Ugh. Much better day today. shantih, your story is AWESOME and HILARIOUS. Heh heh heh. Since my mom is here, I may find myself stuck with a Hallmark or Lifetime movie–watch them actually get under my skin. And while I’m not having 6 shots of espresso, I am drinking coffee (getting my daily caffeine allowance). It’s not sitting well with the heartburn, but dammit, I make it. If I don’t drink more than a third of it, well…I still had my coffee! Dammit.
Here’s the interesting twist:
I’m supposed to have a scheduled C-section on 12/21. This is considered an elective C-section: I want it because I shattered a disc while giving birth to my first, and have had two back surgeries since. My OB and neurosurgeon both reassure me I could still deliver vaginally without further injuring my back, but I’m not convinced. I want to C to protect my spine jusssst to be sure. No WAY do I want to have to deal with a freakin’ fusion.
The C-section is scheduled as early as they will do an elective one: 38 weeks, 1 day. But–my family history is ALL of us (my sisters and myself) delivered our babies, our large, healthy, fully cooked babies, by 37 weeks. So…if I go into labor before the C-section date, I’m delivering naturally. Gah. Since my back has given me no trouble this pregnancy (I swear, it’s the best it’s been since before the first surgery), I’m not as worried…but now I have to cram my Learn to Labor class notes and such to try and remember breathing techniques and positions and whatnot.
Of course, if something goes wrong and an emergency C-section is needed, they’ll go through with that regardless of the baby’s gestational age.
This one is, indeed, keeping me guessing. Of course there will be pics, heh. Alice the Goon–little troublemaker, indeed. When I was 12 weeks, I about had a heart attack when it took 2 nurses and 3 machines to find his heartbeat. This was a day after I’d had light spotting; I suddenly thought…OMG, I lost him! Nope. At 16 weeks, it took 2 nurses and 2 machines. At 20 weeks, we were on to him. Then–this is ridiculous–at 34 weeks, they had a hard time finding his heartbeat. Now, I could feel him moving so I knew he was fine, but I was just amazed. How could they miss such a big target?? THEN yesterday, while contracting, the stinker had a foot wedged under a rib. That felt AWESOME when my uterus would get brick-hard. I’d push the foot out of the way–he’d push back. BTW–my mom said he hooked that foot under my rib in a stubborn act of anchoring himself inside. “NO! I will NOT come out and play!”
I’m in trouble with this one, aren’t I.
