Archive for the ‘Pregnancy’ Category

A Watched Pot

Friday, October 24th, 2008

One week left. To both my due date and Halloween! I feel like I’m practically shaking with excitement. 😀

Though, I have to admit, I feel like a watched pot already. Last night, right before 4:00 AM, I awoke to painful contractions – the real kind. The ones that radiate from the back forward and make it hard to concentrate on anything but how to deal with the sensation. They were a regular 10 minutes apart and lasted about 45 seconds, on average.

I resisted waking up Kevin, because I remember what our birthing class teacher told us: “Let your coach sleep as long as possible.” So, I did. I let him sleep.

I was able to sorta drift in and out of sleep between the contractions, which was nice. Then, around 6:00 AM Kevin woke himself up and asked if I was okay. I let him know I was doing fine, but that I was having regular contractions.

He’s been working on something important at work and he asked if I thought it would be okay if he went into work then to get some stuff done before I progressed further. I was completely okay with that, after all, not much was happening except for the regular contractions and I could still handle those with relative ease.

After he left, I sorta drifted back to sleep and woke up an hour later. I only then realized that I had either a) slept through the contractions and/or b) the contractions had lessened. I started timing them again and they were now 30 minutes apart! What gives?

I called Kevin and let him know. I also called the birthing center, and they said that it was normal for first-time moms to have several “rounds” of irregular contractions before actual labor starts. Super.

So, here I am again, back to square one, and since Kevin texted his family that I was having contractions (he’s since texted “false alarm” – argh), I now feel like a watched pot. And you know how that goes. 😐

A Nice Change of… Size

Thursday, October 16th, 2008

While at Costco last weekend, a lady near one of the sample tables asked me if I was carrying twins. Maybe that would be insulting for most pregnant women who are carrying one baby, but I practically beamed at that, after having heard, “Oh, but you’re so SMALL!” for the majority of my pregnancy.

After telling her that, no, in fact, I am not having twins, the next question out of her mouth was, “So, when are you due?”

“Three weeks”, I replied.

“OH my goodness – you are one of those lucky women who doesn’t gain any weight during your pregnancy. You are ALL baby!”, she mused.

If she only knew! It must have been what I was wearing, because I’ve gained plenty of weight. 30 pounds of weight to be exact. I can feel it and see it and it does not make me very happy. But, who am I to complain? It only took 9 months and 1 week for me to look sufficiently pregnant, but I guess I finally do.

Also, Binary Boy? He’s right on target with weight. Poor guy is probably cramped in there, but the midwives guessimate that he’s going on 6.5 pounds so far.

And because I’ve been so lacking in updating the small profile photo over there, here’s the Week 37 belly shot:

Binary Blonde and Binary Boy at 37 weeks.

Binary Blonde and Binary Boy at 37 weeks.

Twins? HAHAHA!

Edit: Wanted to add that yesterday we finally got our blinds installed in the house and the installation guy, who used to be an EMT and had delivered three babies, asked me: “Only one baby in there”?

Three Weeks Left! Eek.

Friday, October 10th, 2008

Great news! Binary Boy is definitely still head down, confirmed via a quick ultrasound today at my 37-week prenatal appointment. Also, for all 2 of you who know “pregnancy speak”, here’s where I’m at:

  • Baby has engaged or “dropped”
  • He is at -1 Station
  • I am 1/2 centimeter dilated already*

Also, my normal Braxton Hicks contractions have been more often, much longer, more uncomfortable and somewhat painful. In addition, I’ve been having false labor pains in my back. On the tune of about 1-2 an hour. Sometimes, they migrate to my abdomen, which is a good sign and means I am more than likely continuing to dilate.

In a nutshell, and for those of you who read this and felt like they were reading Greek, it means everything is going accordingly! w00t! Probably time to get that bag packed sometime soon, hmm?

*I know 1/2 centimeter doesn’t seem like much, but considering that Binary Boy has been breech up until this past Wednesday, the fact that I’m dilated at all is a super great sign. Typically, the baby’s head pushing on the opening of the cervix is what helps dilation occur (in conjunction with contractions, and, of course, hormones), so it means that during the past 2 days his head has helped in dilation. If it continues at this rate, well, he could be born right on time. :heart:

He Flipped! (With Some Help)

Wednesday, October 8th, 2008

Today, I have some good news! Binary Boy flipped. He is now head down the way he should be. 😀

So, what worked? Well, unfortunately, nothing I had been trying for the past 2 weeks did, so I asked the midwives for a referral to an OB that could perform an external cephalic version. They referred me to Dr. Uribe. So, yesterday, Kevin and I went in for a consultation to see if I am a good candidate for the procedure.

Side note: If you live in Austin and need a doctor to do a version on a breech baby, Dr. Uribe is the guy to see. He’s been doing versions for 20 plus years and really knows what he’s doing.

He checked the amount of amniotic fluid around the baby via an ultrasound and felt for the amount of “give” and wiggle room available. After a few dozen other questions and filling of paperwork, he deemed me a good candidate, especially since I am between 36 and 37 weeks pregnant.

Before I made the decision to get it done or not, we also went over the risks. The most major one is the placenta detaching. If that happened, I would have to have an emergency cesarean section to deliver the baby. Which is why it’s good to be between 36 and 37 weeks pregnant – the baby is still small enough to turn, but developed enough so that we could take him home with us if it came down to an emergency cesarean. Scary thought, that one.

Since there was a very small chance that would happen, I couldn’t eat or drink anything past midnight last night. No water even. That was the toughest thing about it for me. I usually drink water throughout the night when I wake up.

Anyway, after we discussed all the risks, I made the decision to get it done. It wasn’t an easy decision for me to make, but I know that a version is much less invasive than a cesarean and I just had a feeling that Binary Boy wasn’t going to be able to flip on his own. I was told several times, by a few different people that I was somewhat small and it might be tough for him to fully turn around without some assistance.

So, first thing this morning we drove to the hospital. (more…)