Friday, July 20, 2012

T minus 3 days!

  The due date is a mere three days away. Still getting fun contractions, though not quite as fun as they have been. Last week was a roller coaster of a lifetime with all of the contractions I was getting, but I will get into that later. We had a doctor's visit today, and with there being very little dilation going on, we may be looking at going overdue. Sad, but definitely not uncommon. So, current plan of attack- we'll see what this week brings, and if I'm still carrying Jace for next week's appointment we'll see how much I've dilated and discuss inducing options. The doctor doesn't want me to go over 7 days, apparently the risk of still birth increases after 7 days overdue. The thing about inducing is that if I'm not dilating myself, inducing could just mean a very long labor that ends in a c-section. So we will have to see what the next week brings. Best option- Jace figures he's ready to come out and starts labor on his own before we get to the next appointment. I know in my family, babies tend to be overdue, but I have so been hoping that Jace would at least come very close to his due date, instead of hanging around for a couple of extra weeks.
  Because I have been so intent on wanting Jace to come close to his due date, (even a little early!) I think it has caused us a lot of undue stress in this household. I've been so fixated on wanting Jace to arrive, I've had difficulty enjoying the time that is left. I suspect that the extra stress was a factor in there being so many contractions last week. It all culminated Sunday morning when I got up from my chair at breakfast and I had a wet spot on my chair. My water broke? I didn't want to think my water had broken, but I couldn't think of any other explanation! I freaked out about it all morning, going back and forth  in my mind. I consulted the doctor but still couldn't decide exactly what had happened. My dear husband was so good and patiently watched me waver and try to figure things out for myself because he knew the very delicate emotional state I was in. (For the first time in this pregnancy, I snapped at him!) Finally, I decided we just needed to get it checked to see if the water had actually broken. I think I should have known by my own indecision that it hadn't but we already mentioned my emotions were pretty frayed at this point. We went to the hospital and spent an hour and a half hooked up to monitors to be told that it wasn't my water and we were sent home.
   Most people find this a very disappointing experience, but for me, it was a relief to know. I just needed to know one way or the other, and once I knew, I could move on with my life. After that experience, I felt I'd had quite enough drama in my life, I could do without giving birth for a few days. So this past week has been quite a stress less week, because I had very little interest in actually delivering the baby or experiencing contractions. I'd had enough drama. I'm feeling ready again to get him out, but I'm a little more patient. I'm still hoping that he doesn't hang around for two weeks before coming out. Instead, I'm counting down for the next 10 days. I figure, he may arrive anytime in those 10 days, and hopefully sooner rather than later. I think the most difficult thing about waiting for Jace to arrive is the complete uncertainty. It really could happen at any time, but no one knows when that time will be. So for now, I'm planning on it happening in 10 days (3 days to the due date, 7 days to when the doctor wants him out) and if he arrives sooner, I will be a very happy clam. :)

Monday, July 9, 2012

Almost Showtime!!

The last two days have been very mixed emotions, both exciting and nerve-wracking. For the most part of this pregnancy, I haven't really had much in the way of contractions. I had my first ones towards the middle of this trimester, and if I had any, it was one maybe once a week. That was it, very exciting, I know.
     Well, within this last week, things have begun to change. I have had contractions a few days this past week, Wednesday and Friday, and then Sunday got very exciting. I woke up with contractions Sunday night, had some Sunday morning, walking home from church triggered the most exciting set of contractions yet. I was having contractions almost all the way from the church door to our house, and they didn't stop until I sat down and rested for a bit, allowing my body to cool down too. Sunday night--perhaps triggered by laughter, I'm not sure--I had another series of contractions that required rest in order for my body to settle down. I woke up this morning with a few, and had an uncomfortable series of them mid-morning. My body has settled down now, but these contractions are definitely more and more frequent, and there are a lot more of them. According to one of my pregnancy books, this may be a sign of labor within the next week or so... although I have heard of false labor like this a few weeks before labor begins. (which my mother confirmed for me this morning) So the good news? We are getting close, very close. The bad news, no one knows how close. Hence the mixed emotions!
   This morning were the most regular ones I'd experienced, so there was a lot of anxiety in the house, wondering how close we truly were to welcoming Jace home. These contractions are making it all seem so real, so much closer to actually taking on the responsibility of being parents! Are we ready? Probably, but that doesn't mean we aren't feeling a little nervous!
   Other new developments include a lot of swelling. I knew my mother had a lot when she was pregnant, but I hadn't had any yet, so I thought I was going to be lucky. Due to either the heat, or how far along we are, my hands and feet have swollen like balloons in the past week! It took me a few days to manage to get the swelling to go down enough to get my wedding rings off my finger so they didn't get too stuck. Now I'm just wearing some fake rings that I had that were waaaay too big for me because I couldn't stand having a naked hand. Sometimes those fit me just right lately, my hands have swollen so much!
   We are so excited, we are getting close. Technically, we're at 38 weeks, so we have another two weeks before the due date, and a family history of late births, so it may be a while yet, but it looks like my body is definitely in the process of preparing for a birth. I just keep telling myself, Soon! So soon!