40+3

The due date for this little boy who has taken up the habit of kicking my ribs quite firmly (maybe he wants out as much as I want him out) was Tuesday, the 15th. That day has come and gone. I report with great rejoicing that I am dilated to 3 cm and am about 60% effaced and "less posterior" than the previous check up. All of which are incredibly encouraging to me.

A brief synopsis of Cora's birth story: I was not at all dilated or effaced when my water broke 2 days before her due date. I ended up wasting all of my energy walking miles around the hospital trying to get things going a little more quickly, to no avail. I ended up receiving 2 half-doses of Cytotec which only got me to 2 cm, then I received the epidural and pitocin which brought me to completion, I pushed for 45 minutes and Cora was born. All in all it was about 36 hours from when my water broke to when she was born, but I didn't really feel that I was in labor until 6 hours after my water broke. It wasn't a traumatic experience or anything like that, but it sure wasn't ideal. The only "scary" part was after the epidural my nurse was doing strange things and I finally got her to tell me that the epidural was decreasing my and Cora's heart rate or blood pressure (can't remember) but she was able to get it under control after trying a number of different things and it never became an emergency. It did make me quite uncomfortable but I was numb from the chest down...what was I supposed to do?

Anyway, so to be 3 cm dilated is amazing to me and I'm ecstatic to have gotten to this point before true labor has begun. I say true labor because for the last week or so I've been having more "practice contractions" - usually a few in a row and then nothing. They just feel like the muscle is tightening and it's not uncomfortable, but it sure gets my imagination going "Maybe this is it!?!" I've had this mostly in the evenings or in the middle of the night.

Yesterday morning I awoke at 4 am to the worst pain my ribs have ever felt. I could not get comfortable and finally said to Brad "Is it possible to break your ribs just from being pregnant?" I have no idea what caused that kind of pain in my ribs but it was horrible. I finally got up and moved to the recliner and tried to fall back asleep there. But then it all started. It was the most wonderful feeling...labor! This was different than the tightening I had been previously experiencing. One pressure wave (contraction) came and went, then another, and another. I couldn't tell how close it was because there was no clock in sight, but my guess is about 10 minutes apart. I tried so hard not to get my hopes up that this was the real thing, but they just kept coming and I decided it had to be! I welcomed each wave and enjoyed putting to use the relaxation techniques I've been practicing.

After a while I had to use the rest room and was getting quite hungry. One of my complaints about Cora's birthing time was that the nurses didn't let me eat anything and I could tell how much energy I lost because of it. So I was not going to start off this marathon hungry. I got up to the bathroom and then sat to eat a little food and found out it was 6:00 already! I kept waiting for the next pressure wave to come, but it never did...I went back to the recliner and tried to sleep some more, but as time passed and I realized it was not my time to give birth I became very disappointed. Then the sun came up and all was lost!

So we continue to wait. I slept a little better last night, but tossed and turned a lot and had a lot of the tightening sensations again. We are praying he will come on his own and come very soon!

We have an induction scheduled for Tuesday the 22nd at 7:30 am. Our hospital does a limited amount of inductions each day so we decided it would be better to have one scheduled in advance in case we get to Tuesday and just need it to be done. But at this point I'm still very hopeful that he will come on his own before then. We may decide on Monday to cancel the induction and wait some more. We'll then have to do some tests to make sure all is well with the placenta, baby and amniotic fluid.

I keep telling myself that just because I'm not in labor right now, doesn't mean we couldn't have a baby by tomorrow! :) Please pray with us that our baby will come very soon (today???) and for a quick and easy :) delivery; that my womb will remain a healthy home for this little boy until he comes; and for peace and patience in our home as we wait.

I'm sorry I write so much....I never intend for it to get this long. I am partly using this blog as a record for myself to remember things, like a journal, and partly to share our lives with you, our family and friends. I love your comments and responses, even when it's just a quick note to let us know you're there!