Pre-Labor Activity

Had an exciting night last night. Woke up around 2 am with mild contractions every 7 minutes or so for about two hours. I woke up Mark around 3 am and he made me some toast because I felt hungry. After a little time on the exercise ball the contractions started to be less intense and we headed back to bed. Things stopped around 4am and we slept the rest of the night.

This morning I had some bloody show (mucous plug) which means my cervix is starting to open. Things are slowing starting!

No more contractions today so far - bloody show sometimes means that labour will start in the next few days.

I've been taking it easy today. After breakfast I went back to bed because I hadn't slept very well after we went back to bed. Feeling much more rested after my nap.

One week to my 'due date'

So due dates are only guestimates of when a baby will actually be born. I'm 7 days away from my October 20th estimated date of birth.

Here's a pic of my great big belly full of baby:

39 weeks pregnant

Nothing else has happened since our false alarm of Sunday. I'll keep you posted.

Thanksgiving False Alarm

We had a little bit of excitement at Thanksgiving dinner this afternoon. We were in Owen Sound for dinner at Aunt Lillian and Uncle Blair's which is about a 2 hour drive home. Fortunately we'd had an opportunity to enjoy most of the afternoon and all the great food already.

I had what turned out to be a 45 minute 'practice' contraction. When it started I thought it was just some ligament pain on my right side. The discomfort got stronger and stronger and started to radiate up my side and across the front and back of my torso. I got pretty uncomfortable so Mark and I decided it was time to head home.

We paged the midwife on the road because we were concerned that the pain wasn't easing up. It was like a 45 minute charlie horse that got worse and worse! I started using some of the techniques that I learned in our self-hypnosis course which I found really helpful for coping with the discomfort. Of course by the time we actually talked to the midwife the pain was fading.

So, after about an hour, I was pretty much fine. We got home and I had a nice hot bath. My right side is still a bit tender and my belly is still pretty taut but there isn't anymore discomfort. The baby has been really active this evening.

So, we're back where we started. I could have this baby anytime between tonight and early November...

38w4d ga

My first week of maternity leave was glorious. Its much easier to be pregnant when you don't have to go into work everyday! I spent the first few days taking it easy and resting. The last few days I've been puttering around the house, doing some last minute running around, and getting things organized.

We had our home visit with the midwives on Wednesday where we talked about what to expect at a home birth, reasons we would move into hospital, and checking to make sure we have everything we need at home. We're all set so this baby can come whenever s/he's ready.

The baby's and my health are good. My blood pressure is excellent (118/68), urinalysis normal, and babies heart beat is great (146). Baby is squirming around throughout the day and night and I occasionally get some little feet pushing up against or under my ribs. It doesn't hurt but it does feel weird. I've gained about 35 lbs which has leveled off and I don't anticipate putting on much more weight as weight gain usually slows down or stops at this point. I have a bunch of stretchmarks on my lower abdomen which are kind of ugly but I'm trying to think of them as pregnancy souvenirs :) I developed very fat feet earlier this week - around the same time the baby dropped into my pelvis. Its sandals only for me for awhile.

No signs of early labour yet although my body does seem to slowly be moving that way. The baby is nice and low in my pelvis with its head tucked and facing my right side (her/his back is lined up with my left side). So far this just means I have to pee several times an hour!

I'm doing a couple of things to help prepare my body for labour. I'm drinking a couple of mugs of raspberry leaf tea a day which is a uterine tonic. The midwives recommended a prenatal homeopathic regime of Arnica (helps with healing after the birth), Actaea Racem (helps the uterus contract in a coordinated and effective way in labour), and Caulophyllum (helps stimulate contractions and promotes blood flow to the pelvis). I'm also taking evening primrose oil caplets orally and vaginally which helps my cervix get ready for birth. None of these things will actually induce labour but rather help my body work as effectively as possible once labour gets going. I have lots of energy (considering I'm pregnant anyway - I still have a nap most afternoons) and so have been doing lots of walking which is also good for bringing on and coping with labour.

I'm feeling pretty relaxed about labour. I have no idea what to expect so I figure there's no point in worrying about it. Also, worrying will probably make it hurt more :) We'll see how I feel after the first few twinges when I have a better idea of what the expect!

Now - we just wait...