I have been keeping your wife, the baby and her parents (and you, your daughter and the sheep) in my thoughts since this thread surfaced. I cannot wait for the Baby Train to arrive!
Actually, the pendulum is swinging back, and it’s harder and harder to find a doctor who will allow a VBAC. I interviewed quite a few before I found my current OB, and my perinatologist is still not on board (but hopefully also not in charge).
Update time again:
My wife just got back from her weekly doctor appointment – he was shocked to see Maya still hasn’t arrived. He stripped her membranes again (with extra strippage, it seems – she said “it felt like he used his entire forearm this time”).
Maya is head-down, engaged, and the water is bulging. Should be any time now!*
And yes, Nava, I’m a major shutterbug so I’ll certainly have tons of pics when the time finally comes.
*Of course, it should’ve been any time now last week as well…
A question not so much for you, but for everyone: I thought membrane stripping was considered to be somewhat dangerous (infection, rupturing sac prematurely, and just plain effing PAINFUL) and not done so much any more? Why on earth do doctors interfere that way unless there’s a strong medical reason why labor needs to start soon???
On the surrogate-after-C-section: friends of ours had a baby via surrogate and their birthmother had also had at least one caesarian prior; the surrogate baby was born via planned C-section.
Back to the OP - here’s hoping things start to happen soon!
Sorry for the hijack.
Membrane stripping- not supposed to be painful, uncomfortable yes, painful no.
Not done before 38 weeks, therefore no risk of early labour.
Not demonstrated to have a significantly increased risk of infection, and done with sterile gloves and an antiseptic obstetric cream as lubricant.
Usually used for post dates ladies (i.e. term plus a few days), and these ladies are the ones who say things like “do anything you have to do to make this baby come, I can’t stand another day like this”.
Can only be done if the cervix admits a fingertip- i.e. 1cm dilated already.
Where I work, it is usually midwives and not doctors who perform membrane sweeps ( our more euphemistic name for stripping). It’s more natural than an induction anyway!
[hijack of the hijack]
Y’know, I *really *wish OBs would stop using the word “uncomfortable” as if it had some meaning other than “painful”. It’s patronizing and obnoxious, and worse than that, it’s often untrue. I get that they’re trying to keep the patient calm and relaxed (and that’s a good goal, because a calm and relaxed body often experiences less pain than a tense one) but IME, “uncomfortable” means “this is going to hurt but you’ll get no acknowledgment, sympathy or pain relief” and “painful” means, “this is going to hurt”. “Uncomfortable” makes me more tense than painful!
While we’re at it, “a little pressure” means I’m about to feel like I’ve been impaled on a spike or smooshed by a steamroller, mmm’kay?
Stop trying to tell me how I feel! You’re not in my body, you don’t know!
WhyNot,
who knows that in three years when nursing school is over, she’ll be telling patients that something might be “uncomfortable” when she applies “a little pressure”. :smack:
If I may suggest…if your wife is up to it and the doctor says it’s okay…
Sex has been found to be helpful. And as long as I don’t get smited by the wives…it doesn’t have to be intercourse. *
WhyNot, Ivylad was told during his vasectomy “You may feel a slight tugging sensation.” In actuality, he said he felt like he’d been kicked by a mule clear up to his armpit.
So, basically, when the doctors and nurses tell you something may feel less than nice…brace yourself. 
*BTW, I had to search about five different times, 2:00 between each search, just to post that link. I hope you appreciate all my hard work. All because Lissa Lisslar doesn’t know how to spell “labor.” 
I was re-reading my Bradley workbook the other day, and it said the average time of delivery is 41 weeks and a few days, FWIW. (And yes, given how uncomfortable I am at 35 weeks right now, I totally sympathize with not wanting to hear that!)
Sex might be what the midwife ordered, so to speak. Gets the uterus contracting (if you do it right ;)) and IIRC semen contains prostaglandin, which can help ripen the cervix. Also, nipple stimulation is well known as a labor kickstart.
I’ve also heard of people using castor oil (taken orally) to get things moving, no idea if it’s scientific or not.
When I had my membranes stripped for the birth of our son, it didn’t hurt at all and I went into labor that night. ( I was one of those women that respond well to stuff like that, I guess.) ( I wasn’t overdue, infact, he was a week early.)
My doctor did it without asking me first in the middle of my induction. It was moderately painful, but not extremely so. My water broke shortly thereafter, and the contractions went from quite manageable to excruciating. I’m still mad at her about it.
Uncomfortable like when yesterday the gyne said “this won’t hurt” and my next thought was ARRRGGGHHHH? I’ll admit that, ok, even my relatively mild periods hurt more and definitely longer, but still, having a piece of that place scrapped away isn’t something I’m used to (sample for cytology analysis). Judging by the compassion/laughter look in the nurse’s face, I’m not the only one who arrrggghhhhs at that point.
Medics notions of “pain” and “discomfort” usually make me wish haemorroids on them. I wish they’d just say “this may hurt” and give me time to take a few deep breaths, rather than “this won’t hurt” and then try to take my senses by surprise when I’m still wiggling into place.
Y’know, maybe I should have started another thread on this topic, but it just occurred to me that there may be another reason entirely for this “uncomfortable” or “won’t hurt” stuff: these poor people have to “not hurt” dozens or hundreds of people a day. Maybe it’s easier on their own psyches to tell themselves (and each other) that a given procedure shouldn’t hurt, and anyone that does feel pain is an anomaly, or overly sensitive or has a low tolerance for “procedures”. Might make it easier for them to do what they do and still sleep at night.
I still don’t LIKE it, mind you. But I can at least understand it, if that’s the case.
I guess I’ll continue the hijack…
WhyNot, when I first read your last post, I didn’t agree at all, but once I thought about it I realized you’ve at least partially got it. I’m a nurse and I sure don’t like it when I have to hurt people. Lots of people are well aware that their treatment is necessary (for whatever purposes they might be trying to accomplish), and won’t freak out if we tell them something will hurt. Others will simply become even more anxious in anticipation of the pain to come, and aren’t able to calm themselves down before it happens. By saying, “You’ll feel a little stick,” or “This will be a little uncomfortable,” I can give the warning before I actually start breaking people’s skin without causing them to ask me to stop, giving them time to hesitate about whether they really want to go through with this. In my experience, it’s better to get permission, give warning, then get it over with than wait for them to let me proceed, which just drags the agony out even further.
I don’t usually employ those lines, though. I’m more likely to say something like, “I’m going to stick in 1-2-3,” or “I’m pulling some tape off your skin,” and then calmly state, “Ouch, ouch, ouch” a couple of times while committing the offense. I learned that last part from another nurse who seemed to effectively use it as a distraction from the current pain, while at the same time acknowledging the fact that what I’m doing doesn’t feel good.
OK, that works… thanks!
/hijack
Thanks for the nurse’s point of view, Kerrigan. I like your approach, those are the cues which have always worked best for me as a patient. I plan to steal them when I begin working as a nurse!
That pic was amazing. Things sure have come a long way since the ultrasound picture I have of my son.
I hope we get an update soon.
Maya Lynn is a lovely name.
Timeable contractions started again last night – seven hours worth of them, five to seven minutes apart. Of course, after last week’s fiasco, we didn’t even bother calling the parents.
Turned out to be a smart move – the contractions stopped around 3am. The wait continues.