Saturday, July 12, 2008

A slow start, if that?

My 24 hours of early labor yesterday was not enough to jump start this labor machine yet, so we're still home. Went to the hospital last night just to be sure and, sure enough, there's not enough happening yet (which we fully expected to hear).

(For those of you who haven't experienced it, early labor isn't really hard. It's not hard at all actually, just irritating and noticeable - just enough to interrupt your life but not enough to warrant stopping what you're doing. The contractions are not painful like you see in the movies during this phase of labor, just rhythmic and long. Which is probably why the movies always leave this part out and rush right to the "Oh My God We Have To Go NOW!" scene.)

So we woke up today hoping that this would continue. It has, but at a much slower pace than yesterday, so there's really no telling what's going on here. Another wrench to throw into the labor machine is the fact that the dense barometric pressure yesterday could have been the culprit for this slow start. Apparently, air pressure sets pregnant women into labor all the time, ready or not. So if Amelia wasn't really ready...well, then this could just be one big, long, slow start or maybe not a start at all. No way of knowing.

However, when we FINALLY got to meet with the midwife yesterday (how many nurses do I have to see and talk to before I can just get to the one healthcare provider with whom I want to talk and who actually knows what she's talking about?!) she said a couple of great things:

• "Things are happening. Pressure or not. Things are moving and this baby is on her way."

• "If you want a VBAC, go home."

She reiterated how hospital staff can get so nervous around women who have previously given birth via C-section and typically call them in too early (as in my case). She made it clear that my best bet for a healthy VBAC is to stay home as long as possible so the artificial clock does not run out too soon at the hospital, causing the staff to leap to conclusions.

She and one of the nurses also reviewed my entire birthing history and current situation and agreed that I have a very good chance of having that VBAC with this child, so that was also very reassuring to hear. (This was a different midwife than my regular one so it was like another trusted opinion, which was nice.)

But for now, I'm tired. I'm bored. I'm exhausted. And I'm tired. I slept a lot last night, we walked more today, Jackson's with Grama for the day and we have a couple of movies to watch...but still. This may not be today, or tomorrow, or the next day. And that's just very, very tiring.

Maybe I'll feel better with a frozen coffee drink this afternoon?

11 comments:

LaVerna said...

Bless your heart.I am sending go into to labor vibes right now.C'mon Amelia! We're all ready to meet you!

Gretchen said...

Frozen coffee makes anything better!

Hope you don't have long to wait- those last days are rough. Especially when people eye your belly and say "you haven't had that baby YET?"

Hugs to you!

Rob and Maria said...

Good Luck, Can't wait to meet Amelia!!!!!

Love, Maria

Unknown said...

Thanks for writing even though you're tired :)
Thinking of you!

Anonymous said...

so we're sitting around with the do's (kendo/jendo/kendojr) in wallyworld talking about you guys, wondering about this baby, if she's here, etc., and i said i'll check the blog, and sure enough, very good timing to check in today... hope all goes well!, say hi to the little one once she's here! and how are you still blogging?... ;) love, the chia's and the do's.

Michele said...

hey, sorry I couldn't finish the convo properly today, yes mom did tell me what the midwife said about going home. I feel like it's Gigi all over again...hang in there and just let Dan wait on you!! Nathan felt bad about the "Amanda" thing, try again much after you have Amelia, hopefully he won't be fooled twice!
Mis :)

Criosa said...

you don't have any WIP's that she's waiting for you to finish before she makes her debut, do you? ;)

hope to see her soon (but not before she's ready). glad you're able to be home and let her take her time

Chris said...

Ahh... I hope the frozen coffee drink helped. Maybe some jumping jacks? ;)

TinkingBell said...

Aaaargh - maybe Amelia's ready now? Now? How about now?

C'mon Amelia - we'd really love to meet you at last!

thursday said...

I'm getting antsy myself, and I'm not even at my due date yet. Was really hoping to find out your little girl had made her appearance! Oh well. Soon! I just got a message from someone today asking if I was having the baby. Um, nope. Not yet. They're taking bets at work, if you'd believe it!

Hang in there! I hope Amelia's ready soon!

Surviving said...

I was in a similar situation about 2 years ago. I had already had 2 emergency c-sections. Several times the hospital staff kept trying to get me to agree to a c-section even though there wasn't anything wrong at the time. One time I had to sign a form stating I was leaving against medical advice. They even called me at home. Even after my water broke they tried to get me to have a c-seciton. But 6 days after my due date I had healthy baby with out any complications naturally.