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Sunday, May 2, 2010

A year ago today...life was about to change, again.

A year ago, I was sporting a rather large abdomen and full of questions about what my baby would be like. I was at the stage of pregnancy when you're uncomfortable enough that labor is starting to not sound so bad, but I could have procrastinated that part a little longer, I think. But someone had another idea...

What, your kid doesn't like to play hide and seek under your belly??
Yes, that freakish bump in the middle was my deformed belly button.

I'd been having contractions for weeks, and they were getting increasingly strong and frequent. If I was on my feet too long, I'd suddenly double over with pains shooting down my thighs. My midwives said those were probably contractions. And the baby was so very low, it felt like he'd drop out if I just squatted long enough. There was one night, a Wednesday I think, when my contractions were regular enough for an hour that I thought we might be having a baby the next day. Then they eased up, which was great, because I wasn't quite ready for him. 

Thursday I had a checkup with one of my midwives. My blood pressure was high and she ordered PIH (pregnancy-induced hypertension) labs. At 37.5 weeks, PIH or preeclampsia wouldn't be nice to have, but at least we could safely deliver the baby at that point. With my first pregnancy, I had PIH for a few weeks before being diagnosed with preeclampsia at 35.5 weeks and was hospitalized for close observation until they decided it was time to induce labor.

Friday I got my haircut and met with my doula. I'd initially thought I could do without since I'd done this before and had great midwives, but an excrutiating kidney stone gave me a reminder of what labor could be like and I rushed to get a doula lined up. Saturday we got a few things done for the baby's room...I think the crib went up. I was going to get my bag packed, but that got pushed off to Sunday. I was trying to enjoy the day with my daughter while she was my only child, and I wasn't feeling that well. I was crampy and starting to think a baby soon might not be so bad after all, because I wasn't sure how many days of that I could take. My stomach started bothering me as the day went on. I knew that could be a sign of impending labor, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. I was prepared to go overdue to avoid another induction, as long as everyone was healthy.

I snuggled with my daughter at bedtime, and she went to bed in her room but joined us at some point during the night. I didn't feel great, but what woman who is 38 weeks pregnant does? I have acid reflux when not pregnant, and at that point I needed a complex mountain of pillows plus prescription medicine to make sleep somewhat possible. When Violet joined us, I was in a queen-sized bed with hubster on one side and her on the other. (He sometimes complained about Gator kicking him when he was trying to sleep. Try being right at the source. And having your bladder and other organs targeted. And you're complaining about some cute bumps?)

While I was scrunched in bed between my husband and my daughter, I awoke with an unusual sensation. Something was going on. My exact thought was, "Uh...I think my water broke." 

Our Sunday was about to get a lot more eventful!

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