The Day We've Been Waiting For...But Not

Well, today is the day we've been counting down to, and of course that doesn't really mean anything, but nevertheless, here it is. Last night was the most "productive" night of contractions that I've had so far--I timed them for three hours and the last hour they were between 6 and 9 minutes apart. Of course, after an hour they up and stopped, as they always do, but still, that has to be a good indictation of...something.

Good news for my friend Maaike, though! Maaike was one of the girls I met the year I lived in Scotland, and we've kept in touch over the years and visited each other, and it turns out we got preggo at the same time! She had her baby a few days ago, and the photos are adorable, so if you're up for some oohing and awwing, go to www.vanalphen.net/pictures/default.html.

So today is Chore Day. Laundry, cleaning, organizing, yadda yadda yadda. Such fun. Can't wait till I have the baby here and have a good reason to blow it all off! :)

Looking Up

Well, the drama and emotion of the last couple days has worn off and I'm doing better with the fact that the baby isn't going to be here for Christmas. I have a killer prayer team who really pulled through for me yesterday--I attribute my miraculous decrease in leg pain and boost in spirits to them. (Thank you, small group!!!) My doctor's office called yesterday to give me the lowdown on induction, and it turns out they've already set the date. So, if nothing else, I can say with certainty that we will have a baby by January 6. The induction itself starts on the 4th with a balloon which they insert into the cervix and then inflate to pressure the cervix to dilate. Then on the 5th we go into the hospital around 7 AM (if I don't go into labor before then, that is) and they'll start me on Pitocin if I'm not contracting. Hopefully things will move quickly and it won't stretch to the 6th, but I can't imagine them letting it go past that. Frankly, I can't imagine lasting till the 4th--but then again, I couldn't imagine lasting till now, and here I am.

So tonight we'll go to one of the Christmas Eve services at church, then tomorrow we'll go to Mom and Dad's for family Christmas. Cinnamon rolls for breakfast, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding for lunch....mmmm, a good eats day. :)

Probably won't post till Monday or later, so hey everyone--have a blessed Christmas!

:(

Had my latest OB appointment today and, despite the fact that I've had some whopper contractions lately, I'm still only 1 cm and 30% effaced. In other words, ain't nothin' happenin'. It was not a happy appointment. I cried. A lot. A little embarrassing, but luckily I have a very cool doctor and she's very encouraging. Part of it was frustration, part of it was exhaustion from getting no sleep last night thanks to a horrendous back spasm that had me basically immobile for half an hour and made it nearly impossible to walk this morning, and part of it was the tremendous let down of knowing that the chances are better I'll be having a January baby than a December one. My next appointment is next Thursday, and she said we'll discuss possible induction dates then. That means I won't even be induced until January. Just what this family needs, a fourth January birthday.

So yeah, sucky day in Alisonland. I'm feeling very disconnected from things at the moment--disconnected from the baby because it all just feels like fiction, disconnected from Christmas because I've been focusing so much on the baby. I'm sure a good night's sleep will help me out some, and thankfully my doctor gave me an rx for Ambien, so I may actually get some good sleep for once. And then tomorrow I'll probably go in for another chiropractic appointment--she spent 45 minutes on me this morning trying to work out the kinks that had built up--and that will hopefully help me relax, if nothing else. I can't wait until I can get a decent massage; I feel like I'm going to need a vacation by the time this baby gets here.

The Numbers Game

9, 6, 9, 11, 16

30, 15, 25, 15, 15

DOn't bother looking for a pattern; there isn't one. And that's what's so freaking annoying, because those numbers represent the minutes between contractions that I've timed so far. The first set actually started right after I posted the last time, and the second were during "Chronicles of Narnia," which Dan and I went to see last night. Oddly, I'm only ever able to get 5 intervals, because then they stop.

WHY DO THEY STOP!??!?!?!?!

So tomorrow is my next appointment. Pray, please, that the doctor looks at me in astonishment and says, "Get thee to labor and delivery! You're 8 centimeters dilated!" Wishful thinking, I know, but hey, 'tis the season that is based on birth-related miracles, is it not?

-Alison

"Pregnant Forever," film at 11

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA--A local woman declared today that she believes she will be the first woman in history to be pregnant forever. "It's not the kind of record I'd hoped to set in my lifetime," said Alison Morrow, 29, "but for some reason it's my burden to bear." While her due date is technically still 6 days away, Morrow claims there has been nothing happening to give any indication that the birth is near, and that the baby seems quite content to just stay where it is indefinitely. "There's a first time for everything," she said as she gazed into the nursery that she fears will never be used, "and while some might say, 'Why me?' I say, 'Why not me?' It was bound to happen to someone eventually. I just hope that my doctors are able to come to an understanding of why this is happening so that others may be helped--if there are others who find themselves in the same situation."

Morrow said she'd been wondering lately if perhaps the being inside her was truly human, or if she was somehow carrying some kind of alien life form. "It would certainly explain the mind-boggling movement I've been experiencing. Who's to say there's not some alien race out there using my body as an experiment?" She could not pinpoint a time when she may have been abducted, but points out that a race capable of creating a lifeform that never births could easily come up with ways to conceive that lifeform in a human without her knowing it.

What will she do while she remains pregnant for the rest of her life? "Milk it for all it's worth," she exclaimed. "Forgetfulness, laziness, chocolate cravings--I can deny responsibility for these traits forever. People will forgive you practically anything once they glimpse your burgeoning belly." We had more questions for Morrow, but our interview with her was cut short when she was overcome by the need for Christmas cookies.

Off target

Well, today was our target date for the birth, and it has come and gone. I'm still not actually due for another week, though, so it's not that surprising.

I can't believe Christmas is a week from today. When we found out we were pregnant all those months ago, it just seemed so far away, and here we are, down to the wire with only a few days left to get this kid out by the holiday. Truth be told, I'm starting to think I'll be late, and I feel like I'm in mourning for the ideal I'd been praying for for so long. It would have meant so much to me to have my baby with me on Christmas, and yeah, I know it's still possible, but chances are slim and I have to deal with that.

Blah.

We have progress!

Not much, but any progress is better than none: 1 cm dilated and 20% effaced, hallelujah! I was up for over an hour last night with practice labor and back spasms, so I'm glad I have something to show for it, however small it might be. I know that some women go for weeks at 1 or 2 cm, so it's not like this means labor is imminent--and wouldn't you know it, the doctor isn't even on call this weekend, which was our target weekend that we've been intentioning with hypnobirth since, like, September, so it would actually sorta suck if the baby came the 18th like we've been hoping and praying. But hey, any time this week would be good, and Christmas isn't until a week from Sunday, so we still have plenty of time to work with here. Funny, the nurse was telling me about a woman who is desperate to have her baby ON Christmas, which is what we've been trying to avoid all along. 'Course, that would mean this woman would be having her baby at 43 and half weeks! Can you imagine WANTING to be pregnant that long!?

Shocking.

I actually slept last night. Not the entire night--oh, heavens no, that would be unheard of--but in much longer stretches than usual. And without any leg cramps, hallelujah. My secret? The recliner! Yes, I have ditched the bed for the recliner in the living room, which allows me to give my body a break from being on its side and lets me sleep on my back, surrounded, of course, by pillows galore. But hey, it worked, so I'm happy. I didn't wake up for good until almost 8:30, which is the latest I've slept in a really long time, and I think the longest I was up for in the middle of the night was maybe 45 minutes. And I'm pretty sure I only woke up twice. Not bad at all! Now, one might think that getting all that sleep and waking up relatively refreshed (and, for once, NOT feeling like a 90-year-old arthritic) would mean I'd be buzzing around getting things done today. Not so much. Had breakfast, had a shower, got the mail, made a milkshake, and really that's about all I've had the energy to do. The list of things I need to do is growing by the minute, and really I don't care. Heck, it took me twenty minutes to gather the strength to get upstairs and check my email, and that's something I actually wantwant to do--what will it take to get the strength to, say, clean the bathroom or closet or look for my hot glue gun so I can finish our Christmas wreath? No thanks. I'm just going to sit here and think of more reasons to stare at my computer so I don't have to tackle all those other pesky chores, and dream of going back to sleep tonight.

Full term!

As of yesterday, I am officially considered full term, and this baby can safely make its appearance any time now. THANK HEAVENS. I am SO ready to be done. Just got back from the OB and she said "Things look good." (She's a woman of few words.) No dilating yet, but the baby is definitely head-down, so hallelujah for that. I did the baby's laundry last night--what is it about socks that are only two inches long that is just SO DANG CUTE?!--and everything is organized in the closet and armoire. I shuffled some of the kitchen drawer contents to make room for bibs and bottle stuff last night, too.

And now we wait. Hopefully not too long, though...

Baby Shower!

Yesterday was my big baby shower. It rocked! About 22 women there, tons of awesome gifts, and great food. My friends that put it together really outdid themselves. Dan and I spent today at Babies R Us and Target picking up the last necessities that we'll REALLY need when the baby comes--still lots of stuff to be purchased, but none of it immediately important. For wee little things, babies sure do need a lot of stuff, you know? Well, I suppose that's not entirely true--we as 21st century parents simply expect that certain conveniences, like Pack N' Plays and Boppy pillows and bouncy seats, should be used because they exist and are such great ideas. And what can I say--I've bought that idea hook, line, and sinker.

There were lots of babies there yesterday, and all of them were very well-behaved and cute. (Like that last part is hard.) We lined them up for this great photo--do they or do they not look like a bunch of Cabbage Patch Kids?!

All's well

Just thought I'd post real quick to let y'all know that nothing has been going on with those contractions for the last day and a half. They stopped yesterday morning. Good thing, seeing as we have absolutely nothing for the baby--the shower is on Saturday. (Actually, that's not entirely true; our small group hosted a shower for us on Monday, so we have some adorable clothes, crib sheets, blankets, etc. But still not all that I think we probably need.)

Tina, our hypnobirth instructor, thinks that it may have been the baby going head down that triggered them in the first place, which would be wonderful. It's been moving a lot, but I haven't felt any "turning" sensations, so hopefully it turned before our Tuesday class and I just didn't know it. Our next doctor appointment is on Tuesday, so I guess we'll see then...