I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tad disappointed that she hasn't decided to come just yet. Since today is January 30th, my hopes for a January baby are slowly fading into the sunset. I know you're dying to find out how last week was as I tried to convince this baby to come out, so I'll just tell you so you don't have to ask. ; )
Wednesday was my 39 week appointment. I was 4cm dilated and 80-90% effaced,. The Dr. even went ahead and stripped my membranes to try and encourage labor along. She was very optimistic about the baby coming very soon and encouraged me to stay active all day and walk to try and move things a long a bit. I was.... cautiously optimistic as I was having flashbacks to the end of Reaghan's pregnancy. But I did exactly as she said. I went and had lunch with my mom and Sara and Reaghan and then we walked all around the mall. After that I had to head to work and I tried to demonstrate as many squats and lunges as I could to patients while bouncing on a therapy ball whenever I was sitting at my computer. I had a few contractions here and there but they weren't any more intense than what I had had leading up to that day and nothing that stuck around consistently. A coworker gave me a therapy ball to take home and I hugged everyone goodbye that day because it was my last day of work until after the baby! Yay! I was sure that I'd have the baby over the upcoming weekend.
A comparison of 40 weeks with this one and with Reaghan!
Summer time tan makes for a cuter pregnancy "glow" yes?! :)
Thursday was fairly warm out so Reaghan and I met Erin in our neighborhood and we walked for 3 miles! Again, some little baby contractions but nothing that made me have to stop walking and nothing intensified later that day either. My hips were just really, really sore!
Friday Mark was off so we went out to lunch to a Mexican place and I had a big meal, though not spicy. Spicy food isn't worth it to me! haha I felt awful afterwards, really full and just blah so I thought hmmm.. maybe this could be good? But nope. Nothing. We were able to host the parenting class that we started a few weeks ago (I totally forgot to talk about that!) even though the week prior we were all ready to take a break for a few weeks because our friend leading the class is due 2 days after me (so today) and we thought for sure there would be at least 1 new baby in the world by then.
Saturday Was extremely hopeful! I labored with contractions that were 10 minutes apart for about 4 hours. The first couple of hours I tried to not to get my hopes up but as they continued I started getting excited. I put Reaghan down for a nap and started to get serious. I got my bible out and got on my hands and knees to try to rock and keep things moving along. I prayed and memorized a few scriptures and though I wanted to beg God to let the baby come that day the scripture that He pressed on to my heart was Isaiah 26:3-4 "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock." While on my hands and knees I had a couple of really strong contractions but after that they started going back to the ones I'd been having. I got up after a while to change positions and walk and squat and see if I could intensify them again but they stopped around 4pm. I was upset. We decided to try and meet up with friends but ended up just taking Reaghan out for a dinner and a special date night with mommy and daddy. We hit up Panera bread for some soup and then Mark had the perfect place to take Reag - Barnes & Nobles! She loves books and I think we were in there for a little over an hour letting her walk around and pick out books for us to read to her.
We ended up buying her the last book because Daniel Tiger is one of her favorites and the book was perfect as you can see. This girl is ready to be a big sister! She rubs my belly every day and says "C'mon baby its time to come out. I want to meet you."
That night around 11pm my contractions started up again. Talk about getting excited! After an hour of them being consistent I was all Yes! This baby is coming tonight! They were about 9-10 minutes apart until 1am when Mark decided to go get some rest. I told him I'd wake him up when things got more intense - because again they were the annoying, I totally feel you but can still go about my business type of contractions. After he went to bed they started getting closer together so I used an app to track them and was surprised to see them coming 5-6 minutes apart. I know thats when you're supposed to technically go in to the hospital but I wasn't so sure yet. The intensity just wasn't there. Around 2am I decided to go get rest because I figured if it was real, ACTIVE labor it wouldn't stop. After laying down for a bit I couldn't sleep and the contractions were still coming, though a bit further apart they seemed, so I figured I'd get up to keep things going! I made myself some oatmeal and hot tea thinking I was prepping for a lot of work ahead. The contractions kept coming every 5 minutes or so. I was tempted to call my mom a couple of times for advice about when to go in to the hospital but felt bad about waking her up and could hear her voice saying "Stay home and labor as long as you can. Until the pain is almost unbearable." I could hear the Drs saying we'll be able to tell by your voice on the phone if you need to come in or not. And you know what? I could still easily talk through every contraction, though some were more intense than others. They were more than Braxton Hicks type of contractions and I could feel them everywhere. I was a little nervous that things would get really intense really fast, but I was still waiting for at least one take my breath away, knock me down contraction to convince me. Unfortunately it never came. Around 4am things completely fizzled out and I was asleep by 4:30 only to wake up at 7 to get ready for church.
I was exhausted all day Sunday. Physically and emotionally. So disappointed that I was not in a hospital bed showing off my brand new little girl to family. I teared up a couple of times yesterday evening as I laid on the floor playing with Reaghan. Reaghan wiped one of my tears away and laughed and said "You have a raindrop mommy!" I did learn the official term of how my body likes to labor from a favorite blog of mine - M is for Mama. She recently had a baby and labors like I do. I looked it up after reading one of her posts and yep! Prodromal Labor is a real thing and apparently its how I like to get my babies out.
I went to bed early last night and thankfully this morning I'm feeling refreshed! The Lord's mercies are new every morning. I decided there wasn't any use pouting or even trying to get this baby out with walking that just makes me tired and sore, so I've simply gone about my routine. Grocery shopping, laundry, house chores. Usually I head to work around 2 but today I'm thankful I don't have to go in. I have had a few random contractions but nothing time-able or intense and that's okay. I really did want a January baby, but God has already determined this sweet girls birthday and that brings me peace. The before mentioned friend ended up having her baby girl this afternoon and while I'm a smidge jealous, I'm working on being content and joyful in my home today towards Reaghan and Mark instead of despairing over not being in labor.
Mark's convinced we're going to end up in the hospital on Super Bowl Sunday and he's going to have to watch the game on the little tv. haha He's joking, sort of, but I would feel so bad for him if that happened! At least the Cowboys didn't make it this year after all.
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