Kaia is 7 weeks old already and I can't believe it! She is smiling, laughing, and talking A LOT! I am guessing she weighs over 10 lbs. now, but we will see for sure when we go to our baby group later. She is starting to get herself into a bit more of a routine where she eats every 3 hours during the day, after each feeding she stays awake and plays for about 45 min. to an hour, then she gets sleepy and takes a short nap (about 30 min.), then wakes up, gets changed and played with for a little while until it's time to eat again. At night she's been going to bed around 9 or 9:30, sleeps until about 2:00, eats, then sleeps again till 5:00, eats, then sleep again till 7:00 or 8:00. I look forward to the time she doesn't need the 2am feeding anymore!
We had a fun Easter yesterday and Kaia got several little presents! The Easter Bunny brought her a basket with a stuffed duck, hair bows, a book, and pacifier clips! She also got a swimsuit and sunglasses, several books, and 2 stuffed bunnies from family :) We're not sure where all of her stuffed animals will go... We went to church in the morning and Kaia slept for about half of the service, then woke up and got passed down the pew for the rest. She did a great job! Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Easter lunch (and more baby passing) and then over to Grandma's house to visit with Aunt Kerin before she headed back home.
In the meantime, I got to have an exciting root canal last week and will need to get a crown put on next week. Not my idea of a good time on maternity leave! Hopefully that'll be the end of my dental work for awhile. Kaia gets her 2 month check-up and shots next week. I'm a little nervous about her shots... I don't want to watch her cry! I am interested to see what percentile she is in as far as height and weight though. I'll have to report her progress after her appt. next week!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
4 and 5 Weeks Old
Miss Kaia is growing and changing more every day. She's up to about 9 lbs. 10 oz. and her eating is a bit more regular. Of course now that it's a bit more regular, she'll be going through her 6 week growth spurt any day now! We did start some reflux medicine since she appears so uncomfortable during and after most feedings and poor baby spits up so much. I hope this helps her to fill up and stay happy and comfortable for longer after each feeding. Unfortunately... I also have to try eliminating all dairy from my diet for awhile to see if that helps :( Anything for my baby though!
The smiles are coming more often now as well and I love it! The best is when I pick her up from her crib (or wherever she's sleeping) after she wakes up and she gives me a big smile! Or when she's in the middle of eating and she'll suddenly stop, look up at me, and smile :) I so look forward to when she can laugh, too!
Today I went and bought a Moby Wrap with one of our baby gift cards after hearing such rave reviews about it in our Baby & Me group and from the lactation consultant. Kaia is so much calmer and happier when she's close to us, which results in me having to hold her a lot of the day. She does have floor time and tummy time, but likes it best if one of us is right there with her. Let me just say that this thing is amazing so far! I know I only bought it today, but once I figured out how to wrap it around me and put her in it, she's happy as can be. She cried for about 1 min. while I figured out how to put her in it and got her adjusted, but she quickly calmed down and drifted off to sleep. And this baby NEVER napped more than 10 - 15 min. during the daytime before! Now she's on her second nap of the day all snuggled up against me which allows me to do things like put stuff away around the house, do laundry, or even check E-mail and update the blog! You know, it makes sense... think about all the cultures around the world that wear their babies constantly and have no colicky babies. And do those kids end up spoiled? Nope! They actually seem to end up better off than lots of babies/kids that are not "worn" by their parents! I know there are many, many theories on child rearing out there and some would say that infants will get too used to being worn and will not know how to sleep outside of the sling. I really don't believe that, but if I see it starting to happen, I'll rethink the sling. Obviously, I'm not keeping her in it every minute of the day! Anyway, I'm loving wearing my baby right now! There are lots of good websites about Baby Wearing but here's a simple one with an article that I liked: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/5/t051100.asp
I can't believe my baby is almost 6 weeks old! I already feel like she's growing up so fast! On another note, remember back when I posted about dreaming that my best friend and I had baby girls a few months apart and then I found out that she WAS pregnant and due in April... and that we were both expecting girls? Well she welcomed Baby Emmersyn just a few weeks early on March 30!!! I wish that I could be there to meet the baby and talk about our "new parent" issues and concerns together, but she's about 3 hours away from us, so we have to rely on lots of texting right now. It's so great to have friends going through the same things I am so I always have them to bounce questions and ideas off of!
The smiles are coming more often now as well and I love it! The best is when I pick her up from her crib (or wherever she's sleeping) after she wakes up and she gives me a big smile! Or when she's in the middle of eating and she'll suddenly stop, look up at me, and smile :) I so look forward to when she can laugh, too!
Today I went and bought a Moby Wrap with one of our baby gift cards after hearing such rave reviews about it in our Baby & Me group and from the lactation consultant. Kaia is so much calmer and happier when she's close to us, which results in me having to hold her a lot of the day. She does have floor time and tummy time, but likes it best if one of us is right there with her. Let me just say that this thing is amazing so far! I know I only bought it today, but once I figured out how to wrap it around me and put her in it, she's happy as can be. She cried for about 1 min. while I figured out how to put her in it and got her adjusted, but she quickly calmed down and drifted off to sleep. And this baby NEVER napped more than 10 - 15 min. during the daytime before! Now she's on her second nap of the day all snuggled up against me which allows me to do things like put stuff away around the house, do laundry, or even check E-mail and update the blog! You know, it makes sense... think about all the cultures around the world that wear their babies constantly and have no colicky babies. And do those kids end up spoiled? Nope! They actually seem to end up better off than lots of babies/kids that are not "worn" by their parents! I know there are many, many theories on child rearing out there and some would say that infants will get too used to being worn and will not know how to sleep outside of the sling. I really don't believe that, but if I see it starting to happen, I'll rethink the sling. Obviously, I'm not keeping her in it every minute of the day! Anyway, I'm loving wearing my baby right now! There are lots of good websites about Baby Wearing but here's a simple one with an article that I liked: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/5/t051100.asp
I can't believe my baby is almost 6 weeks old! I already feel like she's growing up so fast! On another note, remember back when I posted about dreaming that my best friend and I had baby girls a few months apart and then I found out that she WAS pregnant and due in April... and that we were both expecting girls? Well she welcomed Baby Emmersyn just a few weeks early on March 30!!! I wish that I could be there to meet the baby and talk about our "new parent" issues and concerns together, but she's about 3 hours away from us, so we have to rely on lots of texting right now. It's so great to have friends going through the same things I am so I always have them to bounce questions and ideas off of!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
3 Weeks Old
We just can't believe how big Kaia has gotten! She's up to about 8 lbs. 9 oz. now and is starting to outgrow some of her newborn sized clothes! However, most of the 0-3 month clothes are still quite big on her, so we're basically alternating between 3 outfits everyday and 3 pairs of pajamas every night! She is also starting to smile a little which of course I can't catch on camera yet. Her smile right now is just her mouth wide open and turned up just a little at the corners and her eyes scrunched up :) It's so cute! She likes to have conversations with us as well. When she's content (that means those rare times when she's just eaten and she actually feels like she's eaten enough), she'll sit on our laps with our hands behind her head and listen intently while we talk to her and she will talk back to us with little coos. I love that her eyes are wide open while she listens to us as well... like she's studying how we're moving our mouths to talk to her.
On the eating front... she still seems to eat an awful lot! If I pump and give her a bottle, she'll gladly gulp down 4 oz. quickly and when I nurse, she's generally getting between 2 and 3 oz. at one feeding. I've had a lactation consultant come to the house a couple times recently and we weighed her before and after feedings to see how much she's eating. She probably could get more from me, but it takes her so long to eat and I think it wears her out to be honest!
Kaia is getting better at night as long as she doesn't nap too late into the evening and we keep her awake enough for her to sleep longer later. She does think that once 5 am hits, her day should be started and she wants some awake time, so we're working on that. I'm looking forward to the day that she sleeps for at least a 5 hour stretch at night!
On the eating front... she still seems to eat an awful lot! If I pump and give her a bottle, she'll gladly gulp down 4 oz. quickly and when I nurse, she's generally getting between 2 and 3 oz. at one feeding. I've had a lactation consultant come to the house a couple times recently and we weighed her before and after feedings to see how much she's eating. She probably could get more from me, but it takes her so long to eat and I think it wears her out to be honest!
Kaia is getting better at night as long as she doesn't nap too late into the evening and we keep her awake enough for her to sleep longer later. She does think that once 5 am hits, her day should be started and she wants some awake time, so we're working on that. I'm looking forward to the day that she sleeps for at least a 5 hour stretch at night!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
2 Weeks Old
Miss Kaia is about 2 1/2 weeks old... and of course since I just sat down to type this, she's crying for me! I'm sure she thinks she's hungry (as always) but she can't possibly be! So I'll go change her diaper and maybe she'll let me come back and write more...
OK yes... diaper needed changing. We'll see how long she will let me type one-handed while I hold her! She will not let me put her back in the bouncy seat. I find it interesting that Kaia does not enjoy the swing OR the bouncy seat! Or her crib... or anything but our arms.
She does sleep in the bassinet in our room at night but we can only put her in there after she's good and asleep or she will let us know how unacceptable it is to put her down! I am getting really annoyed with people saying that we need to just put her in there and let her scream... maybe in another month or so we will let her cry it out, but I really don't think a newborn is going to learn anything from "crying it out" other than that Mommy and Daddy aren't listening to her needs. I don't think it's spoiling her too much at 2 weeks old to hold her either. So anyone with an opinion can be quiet because I'm not letting a newborn scream for an entire 2 hours to be picked up!
Now a couple hours later... she's asleep! But I'll need to wake her up soon to get dressed and fed before her ultrasound appt. Her pediatrician had a slight concern with Kaia's hips being a bit looser than she likes to see, so we have to go today for an ultrasound to make sure the hips are growing appropriately in the sockets. I'm sure everything is fine, it's just better to have it checked now rather than later when it would be harder to correct. Other than that, Kaia is gaining weight (almost up to 8 lbs. now!) and is doing well. Her jaundice is all gone and so her color looks much better, too.
Kaia is such a sweet baby and she does the funniest things! We love to just watch the faces she makes sometimes and laugh at how when we try to burp her over our shoulders, she scoots her little face over as close to our cheeks as possible and tries to lick us! She really is hungry way too often though. I've been going to the Baby and Me group at the hospital twice a week so I can weigh her, feed her, and weigh her again to see how much she's eating (usually 2 - 3 oz) and ask the lactation consultant questions, and listen to/talk to other moms with babies. Kaia is usually the youngest baby there, so it's interesting to see the older babies and what they're up to at different stages. Since I've had so many issues with breastfeeding, I like to get support from the lactation consultants there. One of them is going to come by tomorrow to do a home visit and hopefully help me out with everything from the pain, Kaia's gagging, her spiting up so much, her constant hunger, etc. Now I'm sure since she's coming for a home visit, Kaia will eat perfectly well, seem full, not spit up at all, and go right to sleep after nursing tomorrow. We'll see!
I'd like to post more photos, but I cannot seem to find time to load them on the computer to get them on here. Maybe sometime soon I can get that done... or maybe not. It seems like every time I start something, I have it leave it half-finished and I'm lucky if I ever get back to it. People keep telling me that everything gets easier... I'm not so sure right now! I hope they're right :)
OK yes... diaper needed changing. We'll see how long she will let me type one-handed while I hold her! She will not let me put her back in the bouncy seat. I find it interesting that Kaia does not enjoy the swing OR the bouncy seat! Or her crib... or anything but our arms.
She does sleep in the bassinet in our room at night but we can only put her in there after she's good and asleep or she will let us know how unacceptable it is to put her down! I am getting really annoyed with people saying that we need to just put her in there and let her scream... maybe in another month or so we will let her cry it out, but I really don't think a newborn is going to learn anything from "crying it out" other than that Mommy and Daddy aren't listening to her needs. I don't think it's spoiling her too much at 2 weeks old to hold her either. So anyone with an opinion can be quiet because I'm not letting a newborn scream for an entire 2 hours to be picked up!
Now a couple hours later... she's asleep! But I'll need to wake her up soon to get dressed and fed before her ultrasound appt. Her pediatrician had a slight concern with Kaia's hips being a bit looser than she likes to see, so we have to go today for an ultrasound to make sure the hips are growing appropriately in the sockets. I'm sure everything is fine, it's just better to have it checked now rather than later when it would be harder to correct. Other than that, Kaia is gaining weight (almost up to 8 lbs. now!) and is doing well. Her jaundice is all gone and so her color looks much better, too.
Kaia is such a sweet baby and she does the funniest things! We love to just watch the faces she makes sometimes and laugh at how when we try to burp her over our shoulders, she scoots her little face over as close to our cheeks as possible and tries to lick us! She really is hungry way too often though. I've been going to the Baby and Me group at the hospital twice a week so I can weigh her, feed her, and weigh her again to see how much she's eating (usually 2 - 3 oz) and ask the lactation consultant questions, and listen to/talk to other moms with babies. Kaia is usually the youngest baby there, so it's interesting to see the older babies and what they're up to at different stages. Since I've had so many issues with breastfeeding, I like to get support from the lactation consultants there. One of them is going to come by tomorrow to do a home visit and hopefully help me out with everything from the pain, Kaia's gagging, her spiting up so much, her constant hunger, etc. Now I'm sure since she's coming for a home visit, Kaia will eat perfectly well, seem full, not spit up at all, and go right to sleep after nursing tomorrow. We'll see!
I'd like to post more photos, but I cannot seem to find time to load them on the computer to get them on here. Maybe sometime soon I can get that done... or maybe not. It seems like every time I start something, I have it leave it half-finished and I'm lucky if I ever get back to it. People keep telling me that everything gets easier... I'm not so sure right now! I hope they're right :)
Sunday, March 13, 2011
1 Week Old
I have a very limited window of opportunity to blog, so here's a quick rundown of Kaia's first week. She really doesn't cry too much unless she's hungry. Of course she's hungry A LOT of the time! I'm trying to nurse her, but it hurts terribly and I end up bleeding half of the time, so I'm also pumping and Sean is giving her bottles. I know we shouldn't give her bottles if I'm trying to nurse, but I also can't nurse her without bleeding these past couple of days. I went for a visit with the lactation nurses at the hospital last week and they are so helpful! She gave me lots of good tips and I was able to nurse her without using the nipple shield for several feedings (until the bleeding started).
Kaia sleeps so well most of the day and it's impossible to keep her awake after eating. Yes, we try undressing her, changing her, washing her face with a cold washcloth, tickling her, bouncing her, burping her, etc. but if she's out, she's OUT! Of course then at night, she likes to be awake for 3 - 4 hour stretches and can't seem to get enough food. I can't help feeling like I'm doing something wrong half the time!
She's such a sweet baby though. I don't like to be away from her for long in case she needs me... I mean she's only 1 week old. I don't think there are many new moms out there that want to leave their 1 week old with relatives or friends while they go out. We did it last night though (went out to dinner without her) after contemplating taking her with us. But I didn't want her around lots of people either, so my mom came over to watch her sleep while we had Julio's. The food was great, but I was dying to come home by the end of the meal.
Well, speaking of eating, she might need to eat now, so I better go check on her :)
Kaia sleeps so well most of the day and it's impossible to keep her awake after eating. Yes, we try undressing her, changing her, washing her face with a cold washcloth, tickling her, bouncing her, burping her, etc. but if she's out, she's OUT! Of course then at night, she likes to be awake for 3 - 4 hour stretches and can't seem to get enough food. I can't help feeling like I'm doing something wrong half the time!
She's such a sweet baby though. I don't like to be away from her for long in case she needs me... I mean she's only 1 week old. I don't think there are many new moms out there that want to leave their 1 week old with relatives or friends while they go out. We did it last night though (went out to dinner without her) after contemplating taking her with us. But I didn't want her around lots of people either, so my mom came over to watch her sleep while we had Julio's. The food was great, but I was dying to come home by the end of the meal.
Well, speaking of eating, she might need to eat now, so I better go check on her :)
Monday, March 7, 2011
Welcome Kaia Madelena!
Miss Kaia Madelena was born on Friday, March 4th at 5:56 pm. She was 7lbs. 5oz. and 19 in. long. And after all that worry about her size, she's perfectly average sized :) She's beautiful with lots of dark hair!
I went in to be induced on Friday morning at 6am. They started pitocin around 7:30 to get the contractions started and I was only dilated to 2 cm. By around 1pm I was still only dilated to 2 cm. but the pain from the 30- second-apart contractions was killing me! The nurse ordered my epidural at that point because all I could do was cry at the amount of pain!
I guess around 4:30 I was dilated to 9 cm. and a half-hour later I was at 10 cm. and they had me start pushing. At that point the contractions were probably 5 min. apart though and I couldn't feel a thing so it took a little under an hour to deliver her.
They put her up on my chest immediately and after about 10 min. they took her to weigh and measure her. After about 20-30 minutes I got to try nursing her. She was very unsure of how to latch on, but we tried!
About 2 hrs. after delivery, we were moved up to the mother/baby floor and our family came to meet Baby Kaia. She had lots of excited visitors!
I went in to be induced on Friday morning at 6am. They started pitocin around 7:30 to get the contractions started and I was only dilated to 2 cm. By around 1pm I was still only dilated to 2 cm. but the pain from the 30- second-apart contractions was killing me! The nurse ordered my epidural at that point because all I could do was cry at the amount of pain!
I guess around 4:30 I was dilated to 9 cm. and a half-hour later I was at 10 cm. and they had me start pushing. At that point the contractions were probably 5 min. apart though and I couldn't feel a thing so it took a little under an hour to deliver her.
They put her up on my chest immediately and after about 10 min. they took her to weigh and measure her. After about 20-30 minutes I got to try nursing her. She was very unsure of how to latch on, but we tried!
About 2 hrs. after delivery, we were moved up to the mother/baby floor and our family came to meet Baby Kaia. She had lots of excited visitors!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Baby This Week!
After my appointment yesterday, the midwives agree that I should be induced this week to avoid having to schedule yet another ultrasound next week (which they would have to do for further monitoring). She has grown and fluid is still low-ish, but not dangerous, so she looks perfect. I am dilated to 1cm now and they agreed that with my cervix effaced as much as it is, I am "favorable" for inducing. So this Friday morning we will go in super early to start the induction! I can't believe we will be parents by the end of the week :)
In the meantime, I'm still trying (and hoping) to start labor on my own or at least dilate more on my own before Friday, so I walked around the mall for awhile last night (and maybe purchased a pink Adidas jogging suit for the baby) and shopped a little bit today since it was sooo nice out! I also went and got a pedicure today and I really think it was the most amazing pedicure ever because the foot massage she gave was incredible! I also enjoyed the massage chair on my back :)
I haven't slept much at all in 2 nights now due to the worst acid reflux EVER! I've never really had it before (although I have had horrible heartburn before, but this is different) but just in the past few weeks it's gotten bad. I am not eating anything different than usual on the nights that I get it so bad, or eating at a different time or anything, but I have realized that the more water I sip on after dinner, the worse it feels. I went and bought a large container of Tums today, so we'll see if that helps tonight. I am really hoping to catch up on my sleep before Friday though, since I know I won't get a good night's sleep on Thursday night and Friday will be a LOOONG day. And after that? Well... I know I won't be getting much sleep for awhile after the baby is here! But I'd rather lose sleep due to late night feedings and changings, etc. instead of nauseating reflux!
I'll keep you all updated and post photos when I can!
In the meantime, I'm still trying (and hoping) to start labor on my own or at least dilate more on my own before Friday, so I walked around the mall for awhile last night (and maybe purchased a pink Adidas jogging suit for the baby) and shopped a little bit today since it was sooo nice out! I also went and got a pedicure today and I really think it was the most amazing pedicure ever because the foot massage she gave was incredible! I also enjoyed the massage chair on my back :)
I haven't slept much at all in 2 nights now due to the worst acid reflux EVER! I've never really had it before (although I have had horrible heartburn before, but this is different) but just in the past few weeks it's gotten bad. I am not eating anything different than usual on the nights that I get it so bad, or eating at a different time or anything, but I have realized that the more water I sip on after dinner, the worse it feels. I went and bought a large container of Tums today, so we'll see if that helps tonight. I am really hoping to catch up on my sleep before Friday though, since I know I won't get a good night's sleep on Thursday night and Friday will be a LOOONG day. And after that? Well... I know I won't be getting much sleep for awhile after the baby is here! But I'd rather lose sleep due to late night feedings and changings, etc. instead of nauseating reflux!
I'll keep you all updated and post photos when I can!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Week 39
Yes, still waiting around for Littlekins to arrive! The due date is exactly 1 week from today. That's exactly what it feels like, too... just waiting! I'm trying to find random stuff to keep sorta busy with such as reorganizing parts of her room, shopping during the days (except there's nothing left for me to buy!), surfing the internet looking at message boards of other moms due in March and keeping up to date on how many of them have already had their babies, keeping caught up on laundry and other cleaning, etc. Each day I wake up thinking, "Could today possibly be the day?" but then the days goes on without any real signs of baby :( Oh well, I know she will come when she's ready, it's just that when I'M ready for something, I'm ready NOW!
On Monday I will go back for the last "growth scan" where they will determine whether she is still growing. If not, or if fluid levels are low again, they will talk about inducing next week, but if everything looks OK and her size/weight is still hanging out at the 20th percentile or more, they will leave her alone until the following week is what I gathered. This past week on Wednesday, I was still only dilated a fingertip and effaced about 80% so it doesn't seem that too much is happening on its own lately.
Sean and I are trying to spend some time relaxing together, going out to dinner by ourselves and things before the baby is born. It still doesn't quite seem real though that soon we won't have this freedom to do whatever we want whenever we want to. That is completely fine with us, it just doesn't seem real! I do wonder WHEN it will happen!!!
On Monday I will go back for the last "growth scan" where they will determine whether she is still growing. If not, or if fluid levels are low again, they will talk about inducing next week, but if everything looks OK and her size/weight is still hanging out at the 20th percentile or more, they will leave her alone until the following week is what I gathered. This past week on Wednesday, I was still only dilated a fingertip and effaced about 80% so it doesn't seem that too much is happening on its own lately.
Sean and I are trying to spend some time relaxing together, going out to dinner by ourselves and things before the baby is born. It still doesn't quite seem real though that soon we won't have this freedom to do whatever we want whenever we want to. That is completely fine with us, it just doesn't seem real! I do wonder WHEN it will happen!!!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Week 38
I just completed week 38, which means it's sooo close now!!! After my last post in which I mentioned having some real contractions at work and how I hoped that they wouldn't be a daily occurrence from then until delivery... well OF COURSE they had to get even worse the very next day! On Tuesday morning at work I was in tears from the pain and there was no way to fake my way through those contractions. It was like the worst cramping ever (yes, I know they'll be worse when I'm in active labor) and shooting pains down my thigh which made it impossible to sit OR stand. I'm sure the thigh pain was from the baby pressing on a nerve. I asked if they could get a PM substitute for me and the secretary began working on it, but in the meantime, one of the other staff members was able to take over my class until a sub could arrive so I could leave earlier. On my way home, I called the doctor to see what (if anything) I could do about the pain ad they asked me to come in at 1:30. I am positive that I'm the laughing stock of the whole doctors office at this point and they all probably roll their eyes when they see my name come up in the appointments. But what am I supposed to do?! I figure that's what they're there for... to help me through my pregnancy and monitor my pain! Anyway, I saw a nurse practitioner who said I was effaced about 70% but barely dilated a fingertip. She said my pain sounded like early labor contractions and that the only things I could really do would be take a warm bath, take Tylenol, etc.
I already had an appointment scheduled for the following day with my midwives, so I went and explained my work situation... that I was having to leave so often for pain or problems, that I couldn't really focus on my work at this point and she wrote a note for me to discontinue working. Luckily, it should work out that I do not have to return at the end of the year and still keep my job and benefits. It feels like an enormous stress has been lifted off my shoulders now that I only have to focus on getting this baby here! I didn't even realize how stressed I was about work until I finished up everything there. I went and met with my sub on Thursday evening to explain some last-minute things and I've been e-mailing her with other little things that have occurred to me, but man I feel sooo much better (mentally and emotionally that is... the painful contractions are still happening)!
On Thursday I had the last appointment with the specialist and he found the amniotic fluid levels were up a little bit (good news!) and he just wanted me to get at least another week in with this baby inside so she can put on more weight since she's still pretty little. I wonder though how accurate these weight estimates are. I always hear they can be a pound off either direction. Watch me deliver a 9 lb. baby after all this concern about her size! I hope not because then she won't fit into any of her newborn sized clothing :) He did mention that it'll be best if my water doesn't break on it's own since I don't have too much in the first place.
This morning around 5:30 I woke up to go to the bathroom and when I got back in bed, was having some horribly painful contractions about 8 or 9 min. apart, but after a couple of hours, they went away. I'm a little worried that I won't know when the right time to call the hospital will be! They say to wait until contractions are 4 min. apart, lasting at least 1 min. each, for at least an hour. Well, how likely is it that the contractions will actually reach those times? I mean I'm picturing it to start off far apart and get closer together, but what if they go from 8 min. apart to 3 min. apart and feel very intense? Then do I call or do I wait to make sure they do that for at least an hour? Who knows! All I know is that I don't want to go in to the hospital only to be told I need to go back home because I'm not dilated enough. I keep reading stories (on message boards) about women who have been having horribly painful contractions all day long, they get to be 4 or 5 min. apart, they can't talk or walk through them, but they get to the hospital and are sent back home because they're only dilated to 3cm. They probably already have a poster with my name and picture up behind the check-in desk at the hospital saying "Do NOT admit this lady unless you can see a baby already coming out!"
I already had an appointment scheduled for the following day with my midwives, so I went and explained my work situation... that I was having to leave so often for pain or problems, that I couldn't really focus on my work at this point and she wrote a note for me to discontinue working. Luckily, it should work out that I do not have to return at the end of the year and still keep my job and benefits. It feels like an enormous stress has been lifted off my shoulders now that I only have to focus on getting this baby here! I didn't even realize how stressed I was about work until I finished up everything there. I went and met with my sub on Thursday evening to explain some last-minute things and I've been e-mailing her with other little things that have occurred to me, but man I feel sooo much better (mentally and emotionally that is... the painful contractions are still happening)!
On Thursday I had the last appointment with the specialist and he found the amniotic fluid levels were up a little bit (good news!) and he just wanted me to get at least another week in with this baby inside so she can put on more weight since she's still pretty little. I wonder though how accurate these weight estimates are. I always hear they can be a pound off either direction. Watch me deliver a 9 lb. baby after all this concern about her size! I hope not because then she won't fit into any of her newborn sized clothing :) He did mention that it'll be best if my water doesn't break on it's own since I don't have too much in the first place.
This morning around 5:30 I woke up to go to the bathroom and when I got back in bed, was having some horribly painful contractions about 8 or 9 min. apart, but after a couple of hours, they went away. I'm a little worried that I won't know when the right time to call the hospital will be! They say to wait until contractions are 4 min. apart, lasting at least 1 min. each, for at least an hour. Well, how likely is it that the contractions will actually reach those times? I mean I'm picturing it to start off far apart and get closer together, but what if they go from 8 min. apart to 3 min. apart and feel very intense? Then do I call or do I wait to make sure they do that for at least an hour? Who knows! All I know is that I don't want to go in to the hospital only to be told I need to go back home because I'm not dilated enough. I keep reading stories (on message boards) about women who have been having horribly painful contractions all day long, they get to be 4 or 5 min. apart, they can't talk or walk through them, but they get to the hospital and are sent back home because they're only dilated to 3cm. They probably already have a poster with my name and picture up behind the check-in desk at the hospital saying "Do NOT admit this lady unless you can see a baby already coming out!"
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