So Long, Farewell

Well, now that the baby is here, I guess it's time to close up shop (hey, that's what the doctor said when they tied my tubes). I'll be writing all about the baby and everything else here. At some point, I'll share some tidbits of my labor, hospital stay, and post-partum issues -- but they'll all be over at the main blog. Thanks for reading!

High Alert

I've been having contractions since 5:30 or so this morning. They have been intensifying but are still not at the magic "every 5 minutes, 1 minute in duration" level. Nonetheless, we've kept Viva home from school while we wait to see what happens and we've got all local family members on standby. I am cramping, hips are extra sore, back is killing me. It feels like this is it.

FYI: I'm using contractionmaster.com to time contractions.

Stay tuned...

P.S. If you can believe it, we still have no name for the baby. Trying to decide between two - I guess we'll wait until she gets here!

Thirty-Seven, But Really Eleven

I am technically thirty-seven weeks pregnant this week, but I only have 11 days to go until my C-section. ELEVEN DAYS. Eeeeeeeeeeeee!

I went to work today to drop off some maternity leave paperwork and submit my timesheet for the last pay period. Note that I haven’t been to the office in two weeks (also note that yes, in that short span of time they gave my office away to someone who is clearly More Important Than I Even Though She Has Been There Less Than Two Months and I Have Been There for Over TWO YEARS, Not That I’m Bitter). One of my work friends gasped, and said: “She’s really dropped! Are you sure you should be driving?”

Um, no, but I don’t know what my alternative is.

So at any rate, at the doctor’s office this week:

* I’ve gained one pound since last week
* My blood pressure is normal
* My pee is normal
* Baby’s heart rate is excellent (140)
* Cervix, dilated 1 cm – i.e. exactly where I was last week

Why this is, when I have been having real contractions and cramping for about two weeks now, is a mystery. The baby is not coming today or evidently any time soon (I don’t count eleven days as soon, and neither would you if you had to deal with elephantine swollen feet, cramping, contractions, and heartburn so bad it wakes you up gagging).

Speaking of my elephantine feet, here is a picture Viva recently drew of me. The feet are pretty much proportional:

I am not sure what happened to my nose, but in reality, it's quite a bit bigger than portrayed here. I love the fact that I have this kind of R. Crumb posture going on in the picture. Keep on truckin'!

Thirty-Six

Pregnancy does not cloud the brain, says Australian study

Wow, that's good n--whuh?

Where was I?

Oh, so earlier this week, I went to the doctor's office because I was having so many contractions and nasty cramping. Cramping at this point indicates that the cervix is ripening! Yes, like a piece of fruit!

So they hooked me up to one monitor to track my contractions and to another monitor to track the baby's heartbeat. Well, the first one worked great. The other one, not so much. "Wow," said Nurse Barbie. "Your baby is, um, very active. Wow, look at that!" What was happening is, they would get the monitor strapped to me and you could hear the baby's heartbeat loud and clear, and then you would hear this even louder noise as the baby shifted position and the heartbeat would go away. They readjusted the monitor several times over ten minutes and then gave up. because the baby kept moving.

So after twenty minutes I'd had several minor contractions and two major contractions. My doctor came in and did a cervical exam. Can I just say, there are few things at this point that would be more painful? Conclusion: I am just ever so slightly dilated.

Final verdict: false labor. Sweet.

Here Me Am

I have been working from home for the past two days. My last day of work is officially tomorrow, but I have been having intermittent cramping and contractions since Friday, so I'm kind of coasting into maternity leave.

I just took all the tags off the "newborn" sized clothes and put them in the washer. I don't have a dresser to put them in yet, but I am nonetheless compelled to wash and fold and organize them. I have also moved the larger baby clothes (from 3 to 24 months) to one side of Viva's closet, and reorganized her closet a bit. I believe this is what's called "nesting."

Tune in tomorrow, when I regale you with tales of stocking my pantry and fridge. Woo hoo!

Last Night

Last night I had one of those nights during which, were this my first pregnancy, I would have headed straight to the Emergency Room. I started having regular, painful contractions, cramping, nausea, and a lot of pelvic pressure -- including a feeling like the baby was pressing hard against my pubic bone. The very selfsame thing happened (well, the regular, painful contraction part) when I was 35 weeks pregnant with Viva, and when we went to the emergency room then, they told me I was dehydrated and made me drink vats and vats of ice water. So this time, instead of hopping in the car and careening over to the hospital, I drank a bottle of Gatorade and then three tubs of ice water and took a Tylenol.

Sweet Dub put Viva to bed, and I then actually fell asleep. And woke up at 10, at 12, at 1, at 2, at 4 to pee, wincing with every step into the bathroom. I'm supposed to start maternity leave on Thursday. I think I'll be working from home and/or taking sick days Monday through Wednesday if this keeps up.

Meanwhile, thanks to the generosity of friends and family, the baby pile in our living room corner continues to grow, threatening to take over. It's so sweet! I wish we had a new house to put it all in. All in good time, yes?

Thirty-Five

Feet swollen like balloons. Having not Braxton-Hicks, but real contractions. Not with any regularity, but day-um. One hit me while I was driving to work today. Braxton-Hicks = annoying. Real contractions = AAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW! Having one right now. CRAP.

Nervous, because I went to the doctor this morning and she said I was measuring big. "You're only 35 weeks, but you're measuring at 38," she said. Even she was kind of shocked at how much I've grown in the past couple of weeks. She signed my paperwork authorizing me to start leave next Wednesday. Not soon enough, I tells ya!