Introducing Pearl

Pearl in my arms, just after birth:

An hour or so later, being poked and prodded in the nursery:

Now I'm Really Glad I Didn't Agree To an Induction

I appear to be in labor. I have been having strong and regular contractions, lasting for about a minute with about three minutes in between, for the last six hours. I really hope this is the real thing, because I don't think I could handle this being a false alarm! The back pain accompanying the contractions and sometimes stretching between them is pretty intense. Still, the evening has passed quickly. My husband and I walked around outside at sunset, smelled the honeysuckles and saw a rainbow in the clouds. It was pleasant. I thankfully had a nap at noon, I don't think I could sleep through this, though I might try. Right now I think I'll go take a shower.

39th Week Appointment

This afternoon I had a weekly prenatal visit. My weight is up, in fact I've gained somewhat more heavily than I'd like this week, and last week, too. My CNM hasn't mentioned it though, so I'm not going to worry about it. I don't care at this point. I am looking forward to getting in shape once I have recovered from the birth but until then, don't care. My blood pressure and the baby's heart rate were both good (again... I may as well not write that out every time!), and I was measuring perhaps a few days ahead.

I had an internal exam once again, and learned that I am now 80% effaced and 4-5cm dilated! So I am now halfway there. It's pretty crazy - this is as far as my sister got after 30 hours of regular contractions... I find it interesting, all the different ways labor can go. I wish hers had gone better but she seems to be dealing with it well. I am feeling less traumatized about it today as well.

Another piece of news... my CNM is going to be out of town starting Saturday, until Wednesday. So once again she asked me about induction. Now previously I had thought she was going to be out of town starting June 9th, at which point I would be past 41 weeks and probably willing to have an induction, so I was thinking it would be better to induce than be delivered by some strange obstetrician I'd never met. The baby is low but not engaged so she wouldn't be able to break the water to start induction but she said she could do pitocin. That is really not the route I want to go. At this point I feel it is better to let the baby come when it is time, and not induce just to have my care provider deliver. Of course I feel it is better to have my CNM deliver rather than the on-call OB (especially if it's the asshole my sister got stuck with, the fucker. He wouldn't even look her in the eye. If he's on call and I go into labor when my CNM is gone we'll be delivering the baby in the parking lot by ourselves.), but still I think the baby being ready to be born is the most important thing. Especially since we are going to try to stay out of the hospital until the last minute. We hopefully won't be dealing much with the on-call OB if I do go into labor while my CNM is gone, since the L&D nurses do most of the work. My husband is prepared to fight for the things we want to happen and against the things we do not, in the event that labor leaves me unable to voice my desires. No amniotomies, no episiotomies, no IV, no forceps, no vacuum extraction. Etc, etc.

Anyhoo I have been having my usual contractions... I will have periods where they come 1-2 minutes apart, and last for about a minute, and they are mildly painful but never go anywhere. And then throughout the day/night I have some that are less obviously patterned; if they aren't coming close together I don't even bother timing them. My uterus and I are getting lots of practice at the whole contractions thing.

The Moon Failed Me

Last night's full moon was supposed to send me into labor, and it didn't. I had some pretty strong contractions complete with backache starting at about 3am but eventually I fell back asleep so they must've stopped. And I've been having some throughout the day, some pretty strong, some pretty wimpy, which is about normal for the past, what, week? Two weeks? I guess nine weeks if you count all the premature contractions, but except for the ones that sent me to the hospital, those were mild compared to this month's contractions.

My sister, on the other hand, has been having pretty strong and steady contractions since 4am! So maybe this is it for her. She predicted the 23rd is when I would go into labor, and the 25th for herself - looks like she might be right!

Soon, I'm going to be an Aunt!

Mondays Are Lonesome Around Here

After my husband is home from work all weekend, the house seems especially quiet during the day. I've been keeping myself busy scrubbing the bathroom. Once I finish up in there I'm going to vaccuum the carpets and mop the kitchen floor, then get in the junk room and straighten it up. Perhaps I will do some dusting as well. And that is all the real cleaning that needs to be done, after that I can just concentrate on keeping the house in its clean state so that it isn't a disaster when baby arrives.

Marshmallow Feet

So I now have the whole swollen-footed pregnant woman thing going on.

It's not fun. If I'm on my feet at all they have been puffing right up and it's kinda hurty.

Baby has been very very still today. Enough to make me worry but not enough to make me panic. If she's still very inactive tomorrow, or, heaven forbid, isn't moving, I might run to the hospital. Hopefully everything is okay though.

Off to put my feet up.

Gigantobelly

The mirror isn't dirty, by the way, just old!

Back to sewing machine I go.

Project Complete: Babyghan

This is a granny square afghan I crocheted for baby, done on bedrest, finally finished up a few weeks later. It's made of a nice white cotton yarn, really soft, and will get even softer with washing. Taking a decent picture of it was about impossible, as you can see:

Close up of the squares:

Hooray! I'm quite pleased with it.

Still Here, Still Pregnant

38 weeks along today, ladies and gentlemen! That means two weeks until my due date. Two weeks is 14 days. And that is not very many.

I am feeling pretty antsy but also not ready. It's amazing, all the different emotions you can feel about one matter.

Today I had a visit from two of my friends from high school. It was pleasant to chitter-chatter with them, even though things have changed a great deal since high school and I'm not really the same person. We don't talk a whole lot these days; I am very different from them. (And then there's the whole antisocial thing I have going on.) Last time they came to visit me, shortly before the presidential election and before I was pregnant, I managed to be rather rude in a discussion about politics, calling their fiances "gun-toting rednecks". They were less offended than I would've been about it, which is good or else we might've had a big fight about it. Speaking of rednecks, one of my friends today said something really funny. We were talking about how her and her fiance got together, and how she'd thought that she didn't like him, and she said, "All I knew about him was that he was a nasty redneck. I didn't know I was into that at the time."

Cracked me up.

They were both amazed by my giant belly and amused by my waddling.

My mother-in-law says that the baby has dropped, and my husband told me so himself today. I agree. My heartburn (which was so mild I feel bad complaining about it! my pregnancy has been very easy) has gone away, so I know she's lower down at least. My belly is looking quite huge. More stretch marks than ever, and today it is itchy, oh so itchy. I will try to remember to take a picture and post it tomorrow; right now I am on the laptop and my husband is on the computer that can handle my phototweaking.

A Somewhat Exciting Appointment

Yesterday we had a prenatal visit with the CNM in which we got good news! My test for Group B Strep came back negative, so I don't have to have iv antibiotics during labor and worry about getting to the hospital FOUR hours early to get them. I am quite pleased and relieved about this.

I didn't gain any weight this week (altogether so far I have gained approximately 40 pounds so it is nice when that number isn't growing), my fundal height was 38.5 cm (about a week ahead, I am 37 and a half weeks along now), and once again baby's heart rate and my blood pressure were excellent.

The CNM asked if I wanted her to check my cervix and I said sure! She said it was soft and stretchy, 2cm on the inside, 2-3cm on the outside. So it's going! I know cervical dilation isn't worth much as an indicator of when labor will start, but it's exciting to know that my body is getting ready for birth. It makes it seem very real, very impending - we're going to be having this baby soon! I still have no idea where the last nine months went. Also she could feel the baby's head while she was poking around down there, so now I know where her head is - way down low!

Oh, and I forgot to leave a urine sample! At the beginning of every appointment the nurse weighs you and has you pee in a cup. This time I was just so relieved to be getting to pee that I completely forgot to catch any! She came into the room a few minutes later and asked if I'd left it, oops, nope! I can't believe I forgot... I've been doing them forever, weekly for the past two months! But I sure did. It was pretty funny.

I've been having lots of contractions this week, still nothing major obviously, but often they're pretty regular. This afternoon is my older brother's wedding - I mustn't have the baby yet! After today she can come whenever. But I don't want to steal my sis-in-law-to-be's show!

Stretch Baby

All day the baby has been stretching out - pushing her butt out right beneath my left ribs, and a foot way out of my right side. I have no idea where her head is. It's hard to make sense of the body parts most of the time. The stretching is amusing though. My husband says she's ready for some bigger digs.

Good Morning

Lately it has been foggy around here in the mornings. The sun burns it off pretty quickly but it looks neat while it lasts,

I did indeed buy myself a sewing machine yesterday. Inexpensive, sturdy, good for a beginner. It was somewhat of a pain to get set up but I am quite pleased with it now that I have figured it out, and have been playing with it all morning.

Iris

My Belly, This Morning

Thirty-six weeks!