Category Archives: aches and pains

In Labor…Got Sent Home

Major TMI alert…if you don’t want to know the details, just know that I’m in early labor but was sent home from the hospital.

If you’re still reading, here goes…

I’ve had spotting since last Thursday, which is a bit concerning for a pregnant woman! When I saw my OB on Friday, she said that it was probably from my cervix dilating and I didn’t have to worry about it as long as it continued to be spotting and didn’t get any heavier or redder. Well, last night it definitely got heavier. When I woke up this morning, I noticed that there were also some clots. RED FLAG! I was pretty freaked out. It was 7am and I had gotten up early to get ready for my 9:45am doctor appointment (where I was hoping to schedule an induction for next week, since I’m overdue).

The clinic wasn’t open yet, so I called Labor & Delivery. They couldn’t consult my doctor because she was in surgery but they must have talked to someone else who suggested I come in. We got ready and got to L&D around 8:20am. Thankfully, the bleeding was not from a placental abruption or anything equally terrible. All the cramping I’m having turned out to be contractions. They were not regular, but all 3-8 minutes apart. Was still bleeding, but had not made any dilation progress. In fact, I’ve been dilated the same for about three weeks. Every hour was spent walking for 30 minutes, then monitoring for 30 minutes. My doctor decided to keep me there for monitoring until 1pm to see if I was dilating. While there was a small cervical change, there was no progress in dilation. My contractions remain irregular and I was sent home.

So here I sit, with contractions that bring severe cramps and back pain (albeit irregular) and continuous bleeding. I can’t believe I was sent home and not induced. I’m past my due date, for goodness sake! They said early labor could last like this for hours or days.

While we were walking the halls at the hospital, we saw a couple there who had been in our birthing class. She was only due one day before me. They were headed HOME with their baby. We were excited for them when we saw them. After being sent home, it’s just severely depressing. :-/

Well, Baby C, after a month of false alarms and this morning, we are definitely ready for you to get here. I’m convinced you’re never coming out and my body has no idea how to get you out. Hopefully this will all be over soon.

Well Hello, Due Date

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When my doctor told me a month ago that Baby C would be early, I never thought we would get acquainted. Alas, here we are.

I am now convinced that Baby C will not come on his own and we will need to schedule an induction. I’ll be talking to my doctor about that at tomorrow morning’s appointment. Perhaps it’s best for me mentally that I don’t anticipate him coming on his own…the amount of false labor that I’ve endured this month has been difficult physically, but even more trying mentally. It’s so hard getting yourself ready to be checked into the hospital and soon meet your baby, only to have contractions stop or be told that it wasn’t your amniotic fluid that was leaking.

So, due date, please be kind. I hope that becoming officially over-due does not result in further aches, shooting pains, difficulty moving around and irregular contractions.

To all the moms-to-be out there who have also reached or passed your due date, hang in there! Hopefully we’ll meet our babies VERY soon

Waiting for Labor is a Crash-Course in Patience

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I’ve never been a patient person. Waiting for labor is driving me completely insane. I am now convinced (illogically, I admit) that Baby C is NEVER. COMING. OUT. Good thing I didn’t get my hopes up yesterday when they told me I was probably dilating and labor would come soon…I had my appointment today and there was absolutely no change. I’m still at 2.5cm. His head is as low as it can get, so it’s no surprise that I feel like I’m holding a bowling ball in between my legs.

I’m frustrated that my due date has always been incorrect. Had it been correct, I would already be at 40 weeks and we could talk about an induction next week. Instead, I’ll technically be 42 weeks before they’ll entertain the idea of an induction. Stupid PCOS and irregular periods.

I’m frustrated that all my cramping and contractions are getting me nowhere.

I’m frustrated that my doctor told me 4 weeks ago that I would be early.

I’m frustrated that I’m too exhausted and in pain to want to do anything to make the time pass more quickly.

I’m frustrated that I see people with due dates AFTER mine having their babies before me.

I’m frustrated at the following question: “No baby yet?” REALLY?!

So Hubster and I are going to go for a long walk and hopefully get some kind of contractions started. But those contractions will probably end up stopping, just like they have every other time this month.

I’m not patient. Hard as I try, I never will be. Baby C, spare me the insanity and please come out to meet us!

A Baby This Week?

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I’m starting to feel like we might be having a baby this week…

The cramping and contractions are definitely becoming more frequent and intense, although nothing is regular yet. It will be very interesting to see how far I’m dilated at my 37-week appointment on Wednesday (last Tuesday, I was at 1cm!).

I’ve been cleaning and organizing like a crazy lady, even though I’m not quite as productive as normal because I have to take so many breaks to rest. :-p

Hmm…I wonder when Baby C will decide to arrive…

I Have the Sleep Schedule of a Bat

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It’s no secret that I have major trouble sleeping at night. I’m either totally awake until the wee hours of the morning, or I’m exhausted but too uncomfortable to drift off to slumberland. Anyone else have this?

Last night, I experienced the latter. It’s difficult to get quality sleep when you’re up every 1.5-2 hours for a trip to the bathroom. Throw some hip and back pain into the mix and it’s downright impossible. I had finally drifted off just before 8am…then my phone rang.

There was no way I was going to be able to fall back to sleep after a phone call, so I ran some errands. Now I’m pretty much dead to the world, napping on and off.

I’ve become nocturnal.

Tums and Tylenol: The Saving Grace of Late Pregnancy

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I managed to survive 34 pregnant weeks without heartburn wielding its ugly fist. But then it hit – hard. It was time to run out to the store for some Tums.

I managed to survive the majority of 34 pregnant weeks without needing to pop pills for the pain. Then the pain struck even harder than I expected. It’s now almost impossible to sleep at night because my hips and back are so sore. I had to invest in a bigger bottle of Tylenol and some Tylenol PM.

After trying to suffer through without taking any Tylenol last night (and, therefore, not getting much sleep to speak of), I’ve decided that the Tylenol and Tums are parked on my counter and that’s where they’re going to stay until I pop out this baby. Instead of trying to be stoic and struggle through the pain that makes it nearly impossible to walk, I’m going to throw my hands in the air and allow myself to be as comfortable as possible. If my doctor says it’s safe to take some medication, then by golly I’m going to do it. And I will do it happily!

Weekly Update

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35 weeks

Size of baby: Large Cantaloupe (up to 22 inches, approx, 5.5 lbs)

Newly craved food: Veggie subs from Subway

Food aversions: Beef, fried foods

What do you miss? Being comfortable.

What are you looking forward to? The ability to sleep on my back, stomach, or however I wish.

What was the BEST part of last week? Hubster was able to attend our childbirth class and car seat safety class with me, which was awesome! I attended one class solo and was the only one there without a partner…it was very sad, so I’m super glad he’s been able to be at the rest of them.

What was the WORST part of last week? The baby dropped and now I’ve been having a significant amount of hip, pelvic and back pain as well as cramping.

35 Weeks

I Need a Little Sun in my Life

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This winter has dragged by. It seems like we have had a snowstorm nearly every weekend since November 1st! Yesterday, it was beautiful, warm and sunny….and today it’s a rainy mess.

I think I’m a little depressed. On Friday, the baby dropped. That would be a good thing, except for the tremendous pain and discomfort I’m in. It’s hard to bend at all anymore. It hurts to walk. And then this morning, I put a pair of my full-panel jeans on and the panel fits differently now that my belly is even lower than before. I pulled out a maternity top that was billed as a “tunic,” but it looks more like a mumu. It’s raining outside and it’s really dark out. I’m tired and can’t imagine doing this for another five weeks to reach my due date. I’ve been reminded that I might go past my due date.

Ugh. I need the rain to stop. I need a little sun in my life!

Please Keep Your Hands and Feet Inside the Baby-Making Vessel

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I can tell Baby is really running out of room in his temporary home. He’s always been one to stretch out (that’s why they thought he may have been ginormous), but now that he’s getting bigger and stronger, it’s really getting uncomfortable for me. I often have a foot or two sticking out just below my ribs. He stretches his arms to put enormous pressure on my bladder. Last night I tried to push his foot back in. It kind of made me chuckle when he “listened” to me for a while, but then he won out and I had both feet sticking out of my belly.

Dear Baby, please keep your hands and feet safely inside your baby-making vessel for the time being. Thank you, Your Mama.

Insomnia – we are NOT Friends!

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Last night had to be the worst night of insomnia since I got pregnant. And that’s saying a lot.

Went to bed at midnight, like usual, but tossed and turned until 2am, when my stomach started growling so much that I got out of bed for a snack. I decided to take my pillow with me and shut the bedroom door to spare poor Hubster from a bad night of sleep. After Cheerios, cheese, chocolate and two hours of Netflix-watching, I was finally tired enough to doze off. I woke up a ton of times because sleeping on the couch is not the most comfortable place. (Although, these days I’m not really comfortable anywhere.) Then at 9:30am, I woke up and was unable to fall back asleep. My hips are in agony. I’m exhausted. Oh, and because I didn’t get enough sleep, I get to deal with some morning-sickness-like nausea today. Woohoo.

Dear Baby C, I’ll give you three more weeks to become full-term. After that, would you please help mama out and vacate my uterus?! Ok, thanks!

Why Every Pregnant Woman Needs an Exercise Ball

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About a year ago when Hubster wanted to get an exercise ball, I was against it. I pictured this big ol’ ball taking up what precious little floor space we had. I pictured it sitting there collecting dust because neither of us would ever use it.

Then I got pregnant.

Toward the end of my second trimester when the aches and pains starting to really set in, I begged him to pull that deflated exercise ball (which, I was correct, had never been used) out of the closet and pump some life into it. I had heard the benefits of an exercise ball for labor (aka a birthing ball). If it helped ease pain in labor, it had to help during pregnancy, right?!

It. Is. Wonderful.

I bounce on that thing almost every day. Unlike sitting in a chair, laying down or standing, the exercise ball takes all pressure off of my lower back and pelvis. Last night, I think it saved me from a trip to labor & delivery. Cramping and back pain set in and my doctor suggested that it might be the baby’s position on a nerve. If I had an exercise ball, I could move my hips around to try and put baby in a different position. That’s when that little light above my head (you know, the cartoon light that pops on when you have a fabulous idea) sputtered to life. ”Yes, I have an exercise ball!” If the pain didn’t subside, I’d have to take a trip into the hospital to get checked out.

I proceeded to bounce my little heart out on that exercise ball and – alas! – Baby C must have been sitting on a nerve, because the pain started to subside. Hooray!

I strongly recommend an exercise ball for every pregnant woman! Whether you have issues with back pain or just for a strange instance such as the one I had last night, it could save you from popping pills for your pain, suffering in silence, or even from a trip to labor & delivery.

Surrendering to the Waddle

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In the back of my mind, I have always thought that ladies at the end of their pregnancies with the arched backs and the duck waddle were exaggerating. Why would anyone need to counterbalance by bending backward? And why, WHY, would anyone need to walk like a duck?

Reality came knocking on my door over the weekend. This type of walk is NOT an exaggeration. Unfortunately, it’s one of the many “joys” of the end of pregnancy, when your legs feel like disconnected extensions of your aching pelvis and you don’t think your body could possibly support the enormous growth of your uterus for one more second. That’s when you start to waddle.

I’ve never felt more pregnant…or ginormous.