I'm in my 38th week and have been playing the waiting game for the past couple weeks. I am ready to meet the baby, and to not be pregnant anymore! I am apprehensive about the upcoming life changes, and kinda wish I could have a couple days to just sleep and relax between pregnancy and taking care of a baby, but I am also increasingly excited to meet Sophia.
I find myself getting a bit short-tempered lately, a state probably brought on by hormones, the suspense of waiting, and the tendency of people to ask me "So have you had that baby yet?" and "How ARE you?" every day. I'm still good at smiling and answering politely but I can feel the strain! Vic has even commented on it as he is asked the same questions at work. The first thoughts that tend to pop into our heads are generally along the lines of "Yes, we had the baby and didn't tell anyone!" (especially when it's his MOM who asks) and "Still freakin pregnant, how do you think I am?" My impatience is pretty sad when I'm still a week and a half from my due date, but it doesn't help when everyone else reminds me daily that I'm still waiting. Vic has said that maybe he should start making stuff up, just to give a different answer when asked how I am. It's either that or discuss dilation and mucus plug status, both of which are a bit TMI for most people :b
Anyway, I am excited to see Sophia. It will be nice to be able to meet her, see her, and make sure she's ok. She scared me a bit this past week by reducing movement, and it's not like I can do a visual check on her. It'd be pretty sweet if I could--pregnant women need an abdominal window with a light, like an oven! The doctor said she was fine but sent me to labor & delivery at the hospital for a nonstress test, where they monitored her heart rate and my contractions for about 40 minutes, and of course everything was fine. I was a bit embarrassed at even being there and told the nurse I was mostly there for my own peace of mind, to which she very kindly replied that it was a great reason to come in :) So that was nice. It was pretty exciting being at L&D too, and a lot more comfortable than it will be in the near future lol. I saw a girl checking in due to labor who was in my childbirth education class. She was eerily calm. It's not that I expected her to be constantly screaming or anything, but she did not visibly show any contractions in the five minutes or so that I saw her. I hope I have her calm when it's my time, but knowing myself, I doubt it.
Speaking of contractions, prodromal labor sucks. I've been contracting on and off for over 2 weeks now and in the past week they've definitely gotten more intense. They still aren't terribly painful or anything, but they are uncomfortable, annoying, and increase the suspense of waiting. Last night I woke up at 2:30 am due to a contraction that stretched all the way around my lower front, hips, and back. Then I couldn't fall back asleep because I was having more of them--still far apart, but more frequent than in the past. Just about the time I was getting excited, however, they grew further apart again--so frustrating! I was awake until about 5 am anyway though. I spent part of the time running through the few last minute items I'd like to accomplish before she shows up, and the rest of the time just trying to get back to sleep. Sleep has been frequently interrupted for the past several months but this week, insomnia is definitely getting worse. Yesterday I woke up at 5 am and couldn't get back to sleep. So the difficulty sleeping doesn't help me remain patient with these contractions. I know they are helping me progress, but it is a very slooooow process.
The Great Hunt of 2018
5 years ago
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12 comments:
ya know, you might surprise yourself, hon. once it's finally the real thing, you may find that your internal doubts fall away. you mentioned once how calm i seemed when you saw me in the hospital to deliver bug that i looked so calm and peaceful....i can gaurantee you (and your brother will attest you this, lol) that 'peaceful' is not a word to describe my demeanor when it was the home stretch.
it's uncomfortable...annoying....exhausting...and really stretches you mentally at the same time..
which is why men don't give birth.
btw...how ARE you doing? *ducks head and runs*
Men don't give birth because we're smarter than that...before God made Eve, we had a little conversation...something abot whining over a sliver or something to get the pity vote.
We prefer the fun side and leave the painful work to you, because we're fun-loving wussies!
Dani, I never expected you were calm by the time you reached the END of labor lol...and I'm fine! *gritted teeth* ;) Actually, that question is much less annoying when it's coming from people I don't talk to on a daily basis, so I guess I won't throw anything at ya!
Mike, God decided men can't give birth because if they did, the human race would die out.
You're damn right the human race would die out....dont think our parts would be willing to expand the necessary width required for babies. And if anyone is sticking a knife in our belly, it better be for killing us!
I remember when Ryan, my first son was born. It was exciting, I stayed with my wife as she gave birth (but refused to cut the umbilical cord -- I'm not here to work!), and then met my son for the first time as I went with the nurse to clean him, weigh him, and all that. The emotions were totally unexpected. I felt such pure and profound love for this little, ugly, wrinkly, weird looking thing. I was surprised, I honestly don't think I'd felt that kind of love before. As my mom once said, when you have a baby it fills a hole in your heart you didn't know you had.
I remember almost freaking out (on the inside of course) when our first, Josh was born. I knew babies were supposed to come out face up, and I see this blob come out, and their are no eyes, no nose, no mouth...
My first thought was, I know I'm ugly, but Dani's genes surely should have cancelled something out!! Then they flipped him over, and I breathed a sigh of relief...turns out he did have a nose and mouth and eyes!!
As for men being wussies, Dani was squeezing a couple of my fingers during contractions. In between I wiped my sweating hand off on my pants, and another contraction hit...I offered the opposite hand, where I had a very painful and swollen hangnail issue.....she squeezed my fingers together just right to intensify the pain to a level 10....One of the most painful things I ever felt...why didn't they give ME an epidural or something?
ScotterB, thanks for sharing your experience! It's reassuring, though I'm a little nervous that I won't share those emotions and instead will be thinking "What IS that thing?!" Though I've been told that's an unnecessary worry, it's still in my head. But, at least I'll be smarter than my brother and know she has a face ;)
Speaking of being stupid, Mike, why in the name of God did you give her your finger w/a hangnail? Not that I'm sympathetic to your wimpy pleas for an epidural.
It was such a quick turn from the end of one contraction and teh beginning of the next. I started wiping the sweat off, and suddenly this hellish guttural noise came from out of Dani's body, I just threw up a hand (obviously the wrong one), and that's when it happened
Mike, OK, I can see how that would happen. Your stupidity (on that issue) is excused ;)
Well, geez, I am so relieved that the country is still free enough that I'm allowed to practice stupidity still, and ocassionally get a free ride from you, the self-appointed Stupidity Czar!
btw,
anymore info on just exactly what that astronomy picture of the day is (mon sep 8th)? It looks cool, but doesn't seem to mesh as though it is all one picture
Re the pic: Not sure what you mean--it looks like one regular picture to me.
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