We are so blessed to be pregnant with our first! We TTC for 5 months (3 l.o.n.g cycles) before we got that thrilling second line on June 1 at 10 DPO :) Due February 12, 2008
33 week appointment - having a lot of braxton hicks contractions and false labor (menstrual-like cramping) so OB did an internal. No progress.
37 week appointment - still no progress! 0% effaced, not dilated at all.. Not that it means anything, but it's still discouraging. I'm reconsidering my original thought that Kylie would be early... now I feel like I'm going to be pregnant forever! ;)
38 week appointment - at exactly 38 weeks I started feeling some major pressure down really low! Sure enough, OB said her head was really low! Yay, finally a little bit of progress to cling on to ;) Still not effaced, but barely fingertip dilated.
39 week appointment - getting a lot of Braxton hicks and menstrual-like cramping lately. OB said that was a really great sign, however I'm still just fingertip dilated and not effaced. So.... he wanted to schedule my induction and it is set for the 19th. I'd go in late Monday night (18th) and hopefully have Kylie on that Tuesday. Gosh that seems sooooooooo far away!! :( On a positive note, OB did say that with all the contractions I've been having, he doesn't think I'll actually make it that late, but just in case, they don't want me going past 41 weeks. I've also been having the non-stress tests done to monitor Kylie and he said she looks great on paper and seems to be a very healthy and comfortable baby in there. If I make it to my appt. next Weds, they'll also do a quick ultrasound to check on the fluid and make sure all is good. Pray that I don't make it to my next appointment!!!!!!!!!!
*** I'm hoping with all this snow coming down, that with our luck she'll come during this storm! ;)
40 week appointment - after the non-stress test, OB checked me and I am finally a bit more dilated.. 1 1/2 cm! yay for progress, not that it's much. I'm also at -1 station, which just means Kylie's head is down low. Cervix is really soft. So based on all of that, OB said I had a good Bishop's score to be induced. Still hoping not to make it until Tues, but we'll see.
I've heard that some OBs will strip your membranes and not tell you.. I could be way wrong, but I think he may have done that today during my internal. He sure did a LOT more then usual and it was really uncomfortable and he sure was poking and moving stuff around... so maybe that will help get things started! Of course he could have just been double checking measurements and Kylie's head...
I was sent to the hospital to do a more thorough non-stress test, one hour. During that time I had 3 contractions, then one more right after they took the monitor off. So that's a good sign! I was pretty sure I was having contractions, but not positive if that's what they felt like... so it's nice to know for sure! I have to go back on Friday for another NST. Again, hoping to go into labor before then!
40 weeks 6 days - BIRTH STORY - I woke up at 6:30 am with menstrual-like contractions that felt more painful and different.. I knew this was it. They were coming every 10 minutes or so and there was no was I was getting back to sleep. After watching TV, vacuuming the house, mopping, getting everything ready (oh, was I nesting?! ;) ... by early afternoon the contractions were about every 5-8 minutes. At 2:30 I called my OB and he told me to go in because they were about every 5 minutes and getting stronger. After showering and DH getting ready (he was in absolutely NO rush and didn't seem to believe this was really happening.. lucky man I wasn't in more pain then I was.. which is why I think he was so relaxed about it!) we made it to the hospital at 4:30 and went to triage where I was monitored.
In triage, my contrax were every 3-5 minutes for awhile and getting progressively stronger and more painful, yet my cervix was not changing and was still at 1.5 cm dilated. Starting to efface though! I have no concept of time past this point, but I do know that around 6-7 or so my contrax started slowing down to every 5-8 minutes and the nurse asked me if I'd be able to sleep if I was sent home. I was in quite a bit of pain by now and DH immediately told her no! She called my OB and we were monitored some more. OB said if no progress was made soon, they'd hook me up to a low-dose of pitocin (since I was supposed to come in the next day to be induced anyway).
By 9 pm contractions were feeling pretty awful (little did I know that this awful pain was NOTHING compared to how it was going to feel shortly!). They moved me to a L&D room and started the pitocin. A few minutes later I had the most awful contraction yet! Wow! I could still handle it... kinda. W/in a half hour or so I was dilated to 3 cm. A doctor came in to break my water (crazy how much water there is!! Still can't believe all that was in me. I immediately felt way lighter and smaller it was crazy!) My contractions got even stronger at this point and I needed some pain meds. They gave me some narcotic (?) through my IV, which I really don't recommend! I felt extremely drunk and still in a lot of pain. It wasn't long before I was whimpering to DH to call the nurse for that epidural! I can't even describe the pain of contractions. It's so painful and uncomfortable and yet looking back I know I could handle it again to have another child.. as long as I can get that epidural!
By this point I was at 5 cm dilated (which I had told the nurse I wanted the epi no early then this point so it just so happened to work out). The epidural was not painful at all and I soon felt much better. I was able to sleep on and off until about 3 am when the nurse came in to check again and realized that Kylie's head was right THERE! She was shocked that I didn't feel the urge to push, but I guess that epi was working it's magic! ;) I started pushing about 15 minutes later and after a short hour, Kylie Catherine made her entrance into this world! I had a hard time pushing, felt like my head was going to explode every time, so the nurse played tug-of-war with me, using a bed sheet. That worked really well and progress went fast. My OB did give me a quick episiotomy (2nd degree cut) at the end because I was tearing.. not part of my birth plan, but at that point I didn't care! The epidural was absolutely wonderful and I felt no pain while pushing, her crowning, cutting, it was wonderful, though certainly not easy. Kylie was born at 4:17 am, 8.1 lbs, 21 inches, head 13 inches. Her apsgar score was 8/9 and she is just perfect!
At a week pp, I'm still sore down below, but I'm feeling much better. The first week was tough and sleepless but we're getting used to each other and learning and finally starting to sleep a bit at night. Being a mother is incredible and can't be described and understood unless you are a mother yourself. Breastfeeding is going well and I'm already down 25lbs, with about 12 to go until pp weight. In all, this has been a wonderful experience!
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