Contractions and Delivery Dreams

When I was pregnant with E, I had no contractions until labor began. They didn't stop until she, and the placenta, were out of my body. It was very nice.

Since Tuesday morning, I've had two false starts. At 3:30am, I started having contractions. They were pretty mild and about 30 minutes apart. They stopped around 6 or 7 that morning. I fell asleep in my chair and woke up to one at 8:15. I'd say that was just an aftershock, because there were no more after that.

Last night, after the board meeting (I went, thinking it would induce labor like it had with E), contractions started again at 9:24. They were every 8-10 minutes, and seemed to be getting stronger. I almost called the doctor, but Paul told me we could wait until they were closer together and we were nearly ready to head to the hospital. It's a good thing. They stopped at midnight.

So now we wait some more. Perhaps this is why labor is so much faster with the second child. Perhaps there is a lot of this starting and stopping going on. Either way, it's a real pain, and this kid is in big trouble.

I had an interesting dream over the weekend. I had a dream that I was in my room and Paul was in another room with E. I was leaning up against the wall and looked down to see L crowning. I called Paul into the room and pushed him out, saying "Oh good, you were here for the birth of your child." He didn't cry much, nursed for about five minutes, then turned into a two year old. I was worried, because we hadn't called Dr. Kawahara when he was born, so we didn't have his birth weight and measurements, and now he was suddenly two, and I thought we would get in trouble; not to mention the fact that we were suddenly very behind on immunizations.

Of course, I'm a little nervous about the infancy period, and quite happy with my current two-year-old. It was a difficult time, and I'm hoping that it's a little easier the second time around. I'm sure having an infant and two-year-old will create new and interesting challenges. E seems pretty excited. She said the other day, very proudly "I'm going to be a big sister!" It was like she had just realized it. It was very cute. I hope she enjoys her new role.

Bodily Fluids

And the nosebleeds have begun. I don't remember having crazy nosebleeds with E, but I probably did. It's pretty annoying, especially when I'm driving in the car, between site visits and I don't have any tissues, so when I get to a school I have to immediately go wash the blood from my hands before I go to a classroom to meet with a teacher.

And then this morning, as I was snuggling with Paul, I felt a drip on my arm. And then I felt another. When I wiped it with my other hand, it was sticky. Yep, I'm leaking colostrum. Of course, today marks week 30, so I have 6 more weeks until I'm considered "term," 10 weeks until my due date, and 12 weeks until they want to slice me open and rip the kid out. While I can't remember when my boobs started leaking with E, I do remember having to pull out the boob pads while I was still pregnant.

The kid is getting big. He's big and strong enough to make my entire belly move when he kicks and moves. E finds it hysterical. She loves to sit on my lap, put cream (she calls it "peam") on my belly and watch L kick. She shrieks with laughter, saying "Baby L-L is kicking!" Of course, she goes a little overboard with the cream. She puts so much on me that even when I take a shower afterwards, I can't get it all off. She also likes to cram it into my belly button. In order to get it out, I have to squeeze all around it and push it out like it's a zit. It's pretty disgusting.

I didn't pass my glucose screening, so I have to take the 3 hour test next Saturday. Ugh. That sucks. However, I have good news, too!

I have insurance through work that will cover my delivery at Meridian Park! I don't have to go to a Providence hospital after all! I'm very happy about that! I guess I can deal with the bloody nose and leaking boobs. That's really nothing compared to some of the stories I've heard from St. V's.

21 Weeks!

I have been pregnant for 21 weeks. L has been around for about 19 of those weeks and I have about 19 weeks left, so I am halfway through the pregnancy.

I have finally stopped barfing. I still gag when I brush my teeth, but at least I can get through the entire routine without losing my last meal.

We had our 20 week ultrasound on Tuesday. L was very photogenic, and we even got to watch him drinking the amniotic fluid. Yes, it sounds gross, but what else is he going to drink? It was very cute to watch his mouth moving on the screen. It was about all we could see, since he had his arms covering his face. E was the same way at her 20 week ultrasound. She kept her hands over her face.

I was 20 weeks, 4 days at the time of the ultrasound, and according to their scientific charts and measurements, L was measuring 21 weeks, 3 days. Not that it makes any difference, since he'll probably be late and/or gigantic anyway. If he's less than 8 pounds, I'll be surprised.

Paul's insurance is changing in January to Providence. It's not a big deal, except that we'll have to deliver at a different hospital. I'm nervous about it, since I had such a great experience at Meridian Park. We'll end up delivering at St. Vincent's, which is very nice as well. They have a whirlpool tub, which I will require. The only thing is that you move to a different room and different floor after you give birth. I don't think I'll like that at all. I really enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to do a god-damn thing once I pushed the kid out. No moving, no packing, no nothing. Just hang out with your kid and eat. I'll talk with my midwife about it at our next appointment. Hopefully she'll be able to calm my fears.

L is kicking up a storm these days. Mostly he's down by my bladder, which is a bit annoying, but it's fun to feel again. E is being an awesome big sister. She likes to snuggle with my belly, give it kisses and listen to "Baby L L." I'm sure she'll freak out once he comes out, but for now, it's nice to think that she's going to be an awesome, loving big sister.