Labor of Love

Well there is alot of controversy over when everyone thinks I will go into labor. My doctors best guess was that I woudlnt make it to see the end of November, Jared originally thought Dec 6 but once I started with the contractions and medicine he re-aligned his bet to say Nov 22nd, my sister in law Lisa thinks it will be a week after we stop the terbutaline which will be Sunday December 3rd, and a ton of others thought I would go as soon as I stopped taking the terbutaline. I myself have tried to be prepared to have our little bundle the moment we stopped taking the terbutaline but figured it woudl be a while.

Thursday November 30th - Nov Baby?
This was the first day I wondered if labor was beginning. I had alot of much stronger contractions that would originate high but work low and end in a very strong lower belly cramp. I also did not feel like eating anything due to some nauseau and was in the bathroom alot so I began to wonder. The contractions stayed on at a pace of about every 15 minutes for perhaps 4 hours or a bit more but then petered out so it was a no go. Perhaps it was a first sign of 'false labor'? So thus ends our chances of having a November baby!

Friday December 1st - Lightening?
Well I had heard that up to two weeks before a 1st baby they will 'drop' so to speak and you will be carrrying much lower. I dont think my profile looks all that different and I can still feel her feet in my ribs but overall her feet and butt which she sticks out opposite sides of my belly as far as possible normally are a bit lower. What really makes me think I dropped though is that I am back to being in the bathroom almost continuously, there was one other point where she was laying VERY low and back down about 3-4 weeks ago and this had the exact same effect - then she figured out her head down position and alleviated some of the lower pressure. Makes me wonder if her head is dropping and she is still able to reach my ribs because she is a bit more elongated/stretched out as oppose to completely jack-knifed and pushing out my sides as before. Still have contractions but no change in them or their frequency. Since I had taken it pretty easy and been tired all day I had taken a nap and then had Jared take me grocery shopping to stock up, by the time we were done I was having VERY strong contractions and alot of cramping, after side lying for about an hour I began to feel better.

Saturday December 2nd-
Well last night while sleeping and then this morning I had some more cramping very low down. Wasnt sure what this was all about but some ladies who know better than myself claim this is the result of your cervix opening, we shall see. I did suddenly have an obsessive compulsion to clean my house -- and the energy to do it for hours just as the proverbial 'nesting instict' says you will but then in the afternoon I had to take a nap so maybe it was just a bit of OCD kicking in? I scrubbed walls and trim, the bathroom floor on hands and knees, cleaned all the appliances and gadgets in my kitchen, got all the babies diapers organized and last minute room items in shape, and re-organized multiple cupboards! Still having contractions but no real change in their timing or frequency though for a few days they do tend to get a bit stronger if I dont submit to them and rest a bit.

Sunday December 3rd-Will today be the day?
Well I am beginning to think that I am going to make it quiet a bit further in this little waiting game. I am definately beginning to get uncomfortable and am having a very hard time sleeping, last night I gave up trying to sleep in our bed about 3am and moved to the futon, I have been tossing and turning and keeping Jared awake for over a week and just can never get comfortable. I stacked alot of couch pillows on an incline on the futon and was able to sleep on a 45 degree angle on my back for a while which seemed to help a bit. We went on our last 'date' for a while, I am sure they will never be the same again. We went to brunch at Fieldstone Grill and ran errands and went shopping afterward, nothing too glamarous but very nice since we hadn't been out in a while. After all the walking around the contractions are a bit increased but nothing worth noting. Still cleaning and organizing like a crazy woman and overall just driving Jared nutso!

Monday December 4th - Cruise Control
Well just like a kid waiting for christmas, the more you think about/anticipate and hope for something the longer it seems to take so I am going to try and stop wondering each day if "today is the day?" --who believes that?? Went in for my NST today and all was looking very well with baby. Mom is a bit tired having only been able to sleep for a few fitful hours, I woke up to some lower abdominal cramping that has lasted on an off for the morning but nothing major.

Tuesday December 5th - Cows
Well nothing too exciting today, I have had some mild cramping and back pain all day but nothing too strong, just enough to be uncomfortable. The insomnia is really kicking in. I was on my feet a bit today and my feet and calves look like cows now, my feet swelled out around my loose house slippers!

Wednesday December 6th - Prophecy Proves False
Well Jared originally guessed that she would be born December 6th but it doesn't look like his psychic connection was up to par as no additional developments today, we will see what the doctors have to say tomorrow.

Thursday December 7th - Maybe Baby?
Well last night I was having cramping and contractions on and off and I had an early doctor appointment this morning and was contracting pretty regularly on my NST. Doctor said to monitor and call if contractions continue at regular interval for 2-3 hours so we shall see. Of course there have been days when I have been at regular intervals for 4+ hours but they always go away so we shall see.

Friday December 8th - Practice run
I woke friday feeling 'off' and really tired. I took it easy most the day though I did go to the pool at the gym and walk and stretch in the water a bit to try and feel better. I developed a headache later in the day that felt unlike most my headaches, I was also swelling a bit. I took my BP at meijer and it was 143/91 then 127/90 so I called to see if this was ok and they had me report to L&D triage. I really didn't think I needed to go but we did as we were told and after a few hours of monitoring and basically just waiting for my bloodwork to get back they said all was fine and I was free to go and to watch for any additional headaches or blurred vision and if I thought BP was rising to lay on my side which reduces it.

Saturday December 9th - No developments
We went to my holiday party tonight, it was fun, everyone was surprised to see us. Once the music started for the night the baby got to doing a jig in my belly so we only stayed about an hour after that as she may have been having fun but it was doing a number on me!

Sunday December 10th - Batter Up?
I had an appointment today at L&D triage which my doc had requested on thursday, she was the one working today and wanted to see me and said she hoped I could go into labor today as she coudl then be the one to deliver the baby. Well I suspected and was right that she wanted me there today to give me a 'helping hand' so to speak if there were no developments. NST was still looking good with no regular pattern to my contractions and my BP was good so she did an exam and said I was 70-80%effaced, -2 station, and 1-2cm dilated so she manually stripped my membranes and scratched the babies head to see what response she would get. The baby started moving, kicking, and heart racing which she said was a perfect response to the scalp scratch. She had us go do some walking and now we are home waiting to see if her 'help' did the trick.

Tuesday December 12th - Waiting Game
Well although there have been some signs that labor may be 'iminent' it is still holding off and this girl seems to be on her own time table as to when she makes her debut into the world. If nothing happens by thursday we have an ultrasound, NST, and OB appointment. In actuality, the past few days I have had less contractions than normal, my only hope is that when they restart they are real!

Wednesday December 13th- Waiting Game Continued
A few more spontaneous contractions today but still no pattern to them it is nice out today so perhaps we can go for a walk and see what that does.

Thursday December 14th-Plan of Action
All looked good with the baby today. Doctor's plan is to bring us in on monday for an induction using cytotec if we have not went into labor by then. It is a prostaglandin pill that will be administered in 3 hour intervals with monitoring of the baby and my contractions between doses so hopefully we should have a baby on monday.

Monday December 18th-Stall
Well we went in today and got our first dose of cytotec to no avail as there was no change in the cervix and I didn't get any contractions. For the second dose they did a double dose and still no contractions which is very disapointing. We will go back tomorrow for 2 more doses and see what progress can be made.