Taking Stock at Week 36. 12-26-11

Here’s what’s happening at Week 36:

• I can’t believe I’ve made it to 9 months. One more week and Boop will be ‘full-term’. Mom and I joke that if born this week, Boop would be a 7 or 8lb premie. Of course, we don’t know for sure, but she sure feels big to me!
• Folks are waiting to hear that I’ve gone into labor any minute. Mom headed back home. She had hoped that the baby would arrive while she was here. It wasn’t as if I didn’t stay busy; I walked a lot, which can bring labor on a bit faster. It’s better that Boop wait a bit to make her arrival. Just as long as she isn’t late!
• I’m getting more and more things marked off my list. I got rid of most of my old kitchen cabinets today. So, my other shed is starting to get cleared out. My kitchen and downstairs bath are clean. The students took my crib upstairs; so it’s ready for me to put together. My mom took the diaper changing table upstairs; so I can work on it next. And more importantly, I found some Minnies during the day after Christmas clearance this morning ;)

A bit better lighting...

Exam, Take 3. 12-28-11

Is there a prize for having the most pelvic exams in 1 week? If so, I think I would be a top contender for that awful prize. Hearing my concerns, B at work had suggested that I see a physician in the practice; so I called in to the office to see if the receptionist could get me in. As it turns out, the midwife was there when she asked the physician; so the midwife said she would see me. No new information.

So, there’s not much to do at this point. I’m dilated to 4cm. The midwife said that biologically, I’m one of the most favorable she’s seen to go into labor, and she can’t figure out why I haven’t progressed. I can think of a few reasons (e.g., Winnie, that long waitlist for daycare). I also believe it is better for Boop to hang around as long as possible. It sure is pretty miserable, though. And it’s certainly not intentional that I’m trying to stop labor. In fact, it would have been great if I could go into labor during the morning. Mom would have time to get here, and we wouldn’t have to worry about Winnie.

Minnies for my mini-me

In the meantime, I stopped at Walgreen’s to pick up a few things, and they had their Christmas stuff marked down. And what did I see? Another Minnie Mouse. That makes 3 Minnie Mouses? Minnie Mice? that I’ve found in 3 days. Mom and I each found a Minnie Mouse for Boop the day after Christmas in the after Christmas sales, and then I found  this one. I need to figure what I’m going to do with all of the Minnies. I got a few little ones at my 2^nd shower. And I got a Minnie Mouse pillow from one of the people that my mom works with. So, it’s full-tilt Minnie Mouse. I can’t wait to get the crib and changing table put together; so I can finish decorating!

Telephone Line. 12-27-11

The decision to seek care is a tough one.  I’m here on my couch with my dog, debating. Yesterday, I called about the swelling in my foot. Then, I went to Labor and Delivery for contractions. I bled from the exam. They told me to expect some residual bleeding this morning. They told me to call if I had new bleeding. So, here I am. It’s past noon, and I’m still seeing blood, still in pain, still having contractions. What do they mean by new bleeding? It’s past noon; they said to expect some blood in the morning. Do I call? Folks typically have these exams once a week at this point in their pregnancy. I can’t imagine that they would respond like this. However, and more importantly, I don’t want to abuse the system and be a pest, taking time away from someone with more important problems.

The consequences of not calling are variable. There’s the possibility of infection setting in, which could harm my little Boop. I could become even more anemic. And other problems, I don’t know. I’m just trying to keep matters from getting worse. It could be nothing. I took a shower, and that helped a bit. But then, after I went to the bathroom, it started to get worse. By that time, it was about 4pm. So, I called the office to speak to the nurse, and she called the midwife on call at the hospital in Labor and Delivery. Of course, then, I started to do better and talked myself out of going in. A little later, I got a call from the midwife in the hospital, and she thought I should come on in for a check.

Another evening in L&D. Boop started moving right on when we arrived. They put the monitors on us, and another exam—grrrr… I was between 3-4 cm dilated this time. And Boop’s head was stage 0. Actually, Boop’s head was in the way of getting a good estimate of my dilation. Come to find out, the midwife explained that she noticed that I was having a contraction as she did the exam, which made it even more painful. After monitoring me for a while, she said I was having contractions every few minutes. However, she said the key for me would be that the contractions would last longer and be more intense. I double checked on my goal dilation; I had heard 10cm. She said that was true, but that I should probably be back in L&D at 5-6cm. She told me if that if I continued to have bleeding to come on into the office tomorrow.

This Is a Test. 12-26-11

“This is only a test. If this had been an actual emergency, the Attention Signal you just heard would have been followed by official information, news or instructions.” I felt like I was having contractions. Then, I remembered what the midwife said to me last time: if I had 5-6 in an hour, then I needed to come in. She also said that I should drink plenty of water and that if the contractions let up in the bath, that they weren’t true labor. They started about 4:30pm, and they were happening every 10-15 min. So, I drank a glass of water. Nothing changed. Then, I drew a bath. It didn’t phase me. My back was still hurting. With that, I wasn’t going to wait for them to get worse. I figured that I was still in good enough condition to drive myself. If I waited much longer and they got much worse, I would have to figure out who I would get to help me.

I remember that the midwife had told me about the hospital and the location of Labor and Delivery. So, I made a bag for Winnie in case the dog sitter needed to come, grabbed my bags, drove myself to the hospital and headed to L&D. The facilities were nice, the nurses actually seemed ready for me—although I didn’t call ahead and didn’t have any prior contact with the hospital. I was surprised to have a private room. The nurse gave me a very painful exam. My cervix was thinned, and I was 3 cm dilated. She could feel Boop’s little head, which turned at her touch. She said I was ready to deliver, but as a first timer, it could be today; it could be 3 weeks. I tried to figure out my next move. Do I call Mom to head back to Morgantown? Do I call the dog sitter—who I had never met and was only for emergencies? I waited. I tried to figure out if my water broke. I called the nurse. She did a test. The test was positive, indicating that my water broke; however, it could easily be a false positive.

The Toco Meter (non-stress test) was not picking up my contractions. Part of it was location, part of it was little Boop moving around, and part of it was the strength of the contractions that weren’t quite to the level of birthing contractions. The floor nurse said she thought my uterus was irritable. The rest of me is irritable; it makes perfect sense that my uterus would be too. The midwife came to the floor, and she told me to get cleaned up and walk around to prepare for another test to see if my water broke. Meanwhile, I was ready to go back home. I was worried about Winnie and wanted to just chill at home. And so, the midwife was on that page. She did say, to my relief, “I don’t think you’ll make it the full 3 weeks.” And she also advised me not to come back until my contractions are 5 min. apart and last for 1 min. and are so strong I can’t stand up. It should be interesting getting to the hospital in that condition!

Swollen Stollen. 12-26-11

It’s nearly 1am, and I should be sleeping. I managed to get a few hours though. It was a hectic Christmas. Mom and I hosted some international students, and Mom made a ton of food. I was running the whole time, and we were thoroughly exhausted. Besides Mom’s bad back, I’m hobbling around. Not so easy with a baby head in your pelvis, and I wonder what gives babies that lovely conehead appearance—is it mainly the time in the pelvis or the time in the birth canal? If it’s the pelvis, Boop will rival Jane Curtin on her most pointy day. Thank heavens those bones can move back into their proper round position. I just hope little Boop doesn’t have to wear one of those awful helmets!

Meanwhile, I’m debating about whether or not it’s worth buying a pair of support hose. One of the students was telling me about a less expensive place to order them online. However, I’m wondering how long it will be until the baby arrives. After running around for our visitors, my swelling has gotten significantly worse. And I’m not sure why, but my right hand and foot definitely are more swollen. I’ve been trying to drink lots of fluids, but I have a little bit of work to do to get the salt from the country ham out of my system. Santa brought me a lovely country ham for Christmas, and it smells so yummy. But I think it will need to wait until after the baby arrives to have very much of it.

I also got some other nice gifts. Power tools! Those will need to wait until after the baby, too. I also got a book of illustrations from Donald Jackson of the Pentateuch; only I haven’t opened it, yet… And then of course, folks sent along some things for me and little Boop. My aunt D sent me a really nice Oxo Goodgrips paper towel holder and bottoms for the baby and a really sweet card—telling me that she was only 5 hours away and would be happy to come when we needed her J I also got the adorable hat for Boop  from cousin KB, which I included in my blog a few days ago. And then my cousin R sent a huge box of stuff for little Boop, another sleeping bag that I needed so Boop won’t need a blanket in her crib. My cousin B sent some rattles. Santa also managed to get Boop an adorable crib set. I can’t wait to get Boop’s crib all put together!

You Again? 12-22-11

For the past week, every time I walk through the door at work, I am greeted by, “You’re here?!?! How are you feeling?” They are surprised to see me. Most folks expect me to go into labor at any moment. I feel a bit like the hot potato. Most folks seem a bit panicked by the prospect of being the one here when my water breaks. There are a disproportionate number of single women where I work, and they seem as baffled as I do at the prospect of giving birth. Of course, there are also a crop of recent moms, too, and they are trying to give me encouragement, telling me things I need to hear like, ‘You’ll be a great mom!’ and ‘You look great!’ Maybe they are trying to make me feel better by saying, ‘You won’t make it until January!’ before delivering, but I kind of believe them. It’s hard to replicate that look of surprise that greets me these days as I walk through the doors, again with the eyebrows raised.

Shower at Work

And so I had a nice shower at work, and before the event, they kept saying, ‘Do you think you’ll make it until Tuesday <the day of my shower>?’ I could only say that I hoped so—because who really knows? At the start of the shower, my friend, G, announced, “We appreciate you all coming on such short notice. We had thought about having the shower when we returned in January, but we don’t think they baby is going to wait that long!” They did such a nice job on decorating and pulling things together so quickly. Many of the students got presents for baby. One of them found little frames for the hand and footprint of little Boop that I can put on the wall. And I got some bottles, binkies, and things for safety. I need to sit down and write my thank you notes. Everyone was so generous and in good spirits, making it a very special day J They played the clothes pin game, where folks would get your clothes pin(s) if you said the word ‘baby.’ To be a group of mostly women, folks got pretty aggressive over those clothes pins! It’s good to see folks having fun and enjoying the prospect of Boop’s arrival.

Christmas Day. 12-25-11

I hope you are having yourself a merry little Christmas...
A few, sporadic contractions, but Boop is hanging in there. Tomorrow is Week 36!