Category Archives: baby movement

In Labor…Got Sent Home

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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.

My Belly’s the Size of a Watermelon

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I have a few different pregnancy apps on my iPhone, and for the past few weeks my baby’s size has been the equivalent of a watermelon.  This week, that watermelon is now between 6-9 lbs (goodness, I hope he’s not 9 lbs!).  I can definitely tell that my belly is huge, because it’s getting in the way quite often…

  • Every time I get something in/out of the microwave, I knock the towels off of the bar of the oven.
  • C’s feet often take up residence inside my rib cage (thanks, short torso), so it’s nearly impossible to bend over the sink to wash my face.
  • Turning over in bed is like running a mini-marathon.
  • Yesterday, I had an itch on my foot.  I couldn’t reach it.
  • The majority of my maternity shirts no longer completely cover my belly.  The Bella Band was honestly the best maternity purchase I made (outside of my pregnancy pillow), because now I have to use it to make sure the bottom of my big ol’ watermelon isn’t hanging out.
  • If I drop something on the floor, I have to spread my feet real wide and do a squat to pick it up.
  • It feels better to sit on my exercise ball, because my belly hangs so low that it can then rest on the surface of the ball.
I hope this watermelon doesn’t turn into a pumpkin (overdue)!

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.