Last week Thea's parents arrived from Wyoming and have been patiently waiting. We've spent a little bit of time together but it's not easy for this pregnant lady to get her ol' bones out of the house lately so it's just been a few short-but-sweet visits so far.
I started having regular contractions and cramping about a week ago and they haven't let up at all. ALL NIGHT and most of the day I have them 5-10 minutes apart so I am tired and worn out already, and that's a terrible way to start labor. I keep trying to tell myself that they are doing work and to just be patient and that any time now I will start active labor, but it's discouraging and exhausting none the less. While eating dinner with the IPs and my son on Saturday evening I started having strong contractions every 5 minutes. I timed them for almost an hour and then decided to call my midwife to see what she thought I should do. She thought it was go time and told us to go to the hospital to get checked out. Well, after 2 hours of walking the labor and delivery halls nothing changed. My contractions didn't get longer, stronger, or closer together and my cervix didn't dilate at all, so they sent me home with an Ambien to try and sleep through the pain. Nothing changed the next day, still 5 minutes apart... and then today I woke up and they were 15 minutes apart!!! I was so freakin disappointed. I had a midwife appointment today and she said my cervix was 3cm and 70% effaced, she also stripped my membranes and we had a nice little talk about induction possibilities. We came to the decision that if by 6pm on 11/1/11 if I hadn't gone into labor that she would break my water for me and get this party started! I asked what their protocol is for administering antibiotics and/or pitocin after AROM and she said they don't have any type of time frame and they will just let my body do it's thing. This made me feel good because although I'm confident that my body will start turning these contractions into the real deal and we'll have a baby in no time, it's nice to know that they won't rush me if it doesn't do it quickly. I still hope that I start labor tonight and everything can happen more naturally but considering our circumstances I think this is a good option for us and I'm glad that there is a game plan.
I am very ready to meet this little girl and let her start her life with her family. They've waited so long for her and I'm beyond excited to give her to them. Seriously, BEYOND excited!
So, my bag is packed, Zeppelin is with his dad till Thursday, and I'm ready to "do the labor" (as my sweet 4 year old says). Wish me luck! I'll be sure to update when anything happens.
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| 10/31/11 40 weeks |
