40 weeks

 

Well, my 40th week was an eventful one.  Before the end came, I'd delivered a baby!

Here he is: my 9lb, 9oz, 20inch long Chunky Monkey 

But let me start at the beginning. 

My 40th week began and ended with a visit with my midwife.  At my first visit I weighed 205lbs and by my second I was up to 206.  That brought my entire pregnancy weight gain up to 29lbs which is 21 less than what I gained with Bunny.  

My uterus measured 39cm both visits and I was 1cm dilated and 50% effaced for both visits.  For my Thursday visit, it was the first time and left me very hopeful.  On my Monday visit, it meant no change, which was discouraging.  

For my first visit, my midwife said that Monkey was 7lbs, maybe close to 8lbs.  For my second visit she said he was definitely at least 8lbs.  I was hopeful that he was going to be smaller than Bunny.  In fact, most of the pregnancy I was really excited because I was sure that would be the case based on my weight gain and the predictions of my midwife.  

I had a lot of low pressure in my butt and tailbone, and sometimes in the front.  

I had more painful and frequent contractions most of the time--except over the weekend when I was stressing about the possibility of having to check my sugars again and get a weight check ultrasound.   The doctors called Rosie to pressure her about that on Friday before I delivered and I stressed about it to the point of depression until my visit with her on Monday.  I'll get into that more when I post my birth story, though. 

That was as far as my pregnancy progressed.  

On Monday evening, after I gave my worry to the Lord, I started--almost immediately--experiencing contractions 10 min apart.  They were slightly painful at first, and lasted throughout the night, increasing in pain level but not really in frequency or duration.  The frequency didn't increase until maybe 6 or 7am.  Maybe not until 8am because Rosie told us to come in around 9am on Tuesday morning and we left at 9:30. 

I lost my mucus plug throughout the night from Monday into Tuesday.  It started at 9:30pm and I was hopeful but realistic.  

By 9:30 when we left the house, my contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart, coming fast but still not lasting long.  They were painful enough that I had to breathe through them.  

We dropped Bunny off at a friend's house at 9:45am and were in the hospital room by 10am.  From about 10-11:30 or 12 I progressed 2-3cm to 4cm.  The time frame is lost on me after this point because all I remember is pain and ridiculously strong contractions that eventually gave me no break.  I started acting like I was going into transition a lot earlier than I thought I could be and at some point here my water broke as I was being monitored and as the contractions were bringing me to a point of delirium.  I was checked maybe 10 or 15 minutes after being found at 7cm and it was time to push.  I pushed through 4-6 contractions (8 minutes) and Monkey was out with a slippery slide.  

His cord was cut after a minute of letting it finish pulsating and then he was put on my chest skin to skin and a blanket was put over him.  As soon as I got my bearings I immediately tried to nurse him but he just wasn't interested for at least a half hour.  I'd try and he'd just flop around my nipple so I'd let it go and just talk to him and look at him.  All the while, I was getting stitched up and my belly was being pressed hard to tighten my uterus and push out any blood clots.  Then, he nursed--actually he was nursing when they pushed out the blood clots--and Rosie said she wanted a good 10 minutes of nursing from him or she'd have to put me on Pitocin to make my uterus contract.  She never did have to do that.  Once he caught on, we were good. 

The second time he nursed I did have to sort of teach him again and Rosie came over and helped me as well.  Then, it was smooth sailing as all he wanted to do from that point on was nurse and nurse and nurse.  Almost immediately, sucking was his favorite way to self soothe.  

Monkey barely opened his eyes while in the hospital.  He opened one eye when he was born and then once or twice when he was nursing just for a moment.  There was just so much fat and skin around his eyes that it must have taken deep effort. 

He also liked to be nursed so much that I couldn't get him to go to sleep while we were in the hospital so I sent him to the nursery so the nurses could take care of him and I could sleep.  I didn't sleep well anyway, thinking of a new baby in the other room, but I needed a half decent shot at sleep since we were going to be on our own the second night of his life. 

As mentioned before, he's a really good nurser, though he has what Rosie calls a "lazy latch."  Bunny latched the same way, which explains why my nipples hurt like crazy for the first two months of her life.  

He pooped a couple of times and peed for the nurses in the morning.  

Apparently he fussed and wiggled most of the night for the nurses.  They brought him in to be fed around midnight and then he slept for them the rest of the night.  I wish I would have known because I would have kept him with me in that case.  

He's a calm baby--calmer and quieter than Bunny. 

His cry is squeaky and very high, but we didn't hear it often.  

He weighed 9lb 5.6 oz when the pediatrician checked on him before we were all discharged. 

His sugars stayed at a good level the whole time he was there.  They were on the low end of good, but he didn't need any special care. 

We didn't circumcise him in the hospital.  We're going to wait to do that in the OB/GYN office.  He has an appointment for the 16th of this month.  

His sister absolutely adores him and we're looking forward to starting our lives as a family of four.  

Welcome, little man! You are so, very loved!!!

 

39 weeks

 

As of last Thursday (6 days ago) I weighed 204 lbs which is 27 weight gained total so far.  

The baby's head is still down.  

My uterus is measuring 39 weeks at 38 weeks--one week ahead. 

There was no cervical change last Thursday. 

I have contractions some days and other days not. 

Rosie says I'll probably go late. 

I've been having some awful, queasy digestion issues--two to three days of it.  I stopped taking Protonix and I felt better and better with each day afterwards.  Now I'm taking either Protonix or Zantac if I really need it.  

The baby is still more often. 

I'm getting really hot at night.  I had the air down to 60 some nights and when it wasn't that low I had to strip naked so I could bear it.  

I'm starting to get some pressure in my butt with the contractions. 

I'm pooping a couple of times a day now and it's still soft.   I feel the urge if my stomach is acting up, but also with contractions which have been more frequent.  

When my stomach and digestion isn't at its best, I have the nastiest farts!!!  I think the farts and the pooping just go along with the awful stomach aches and queasiness I have sometimes.  

The baby's been having lots of hiccups these days.  They'd stopped for awhile but now they're back.  The hiccups are soft and really fast.  I feel that his hiccups are softer than Bunny's were towards the end and also softer than they were back in the middle of the pregnancy when he had them so often.  

I've been regularly doing perineum massages with primrose oil, inserting the primrose oil caplets near my cervix, and drinking raspberry leaf tea in preparation for this labor.  I've been doing this since about 36 weeks.  I'm also trying to remember to do certain exercises every day such as Kegels and some lunges that help prepare the lower part of my body for the labor it will be undergoing soon. 

Towards the end of this week, my contractions became more painful, stronger, and more frequent.  There were a couple of times where I was sure I would have to call Rosie because labor might be starting, but then they always subsided just as I was about to call.  They were worse at night (and still are) and also worse when I was/am working hard around the house.  When I wake up and get moving, though, they've calmed down.  My checkup on the 27th (one day into my 40th week), I was 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced.  Rosie says the contractions that were causing pain and pressure and were coming more regularly during this past week were dilating my cervix and preparing it for labor. 

Here's a comparison of Bunny's pregnancy at 39 weeks, and this baby's: 

 

And here's an adorable maternity shot my husband took of Bunny and I on the 26th: 

38 weeks

 

I'm super gassy this week. 

TMI, but my stools are really soft.  

There was no cervical change as of last Thursday's appointment but the perineum stretches Dave has been doing for me are working because Rosie says I'm much more relaxed down there. 

I weigh 202 as of last Thursday.  That's 25lbs more than my pre-pregnancy weight of 177 (which was 7lbs more than I weighed when I got pregnant with Bunny)

The baby is about 6.5 lbs and the head is down. 

My belly is measuring a week ahead--39 weeks. 

I'm feeling great so far this week.  I'm eating more variety and feeling less queasy, though it's still a struggle in the morning.  

I'm suddenly feeling SUPER hungry when I wake up in the morning.  

According to Dr. Jones, the relaxin in my system is really at work--what's most likely been causing the backaches that were coming in the evenings and were gone by morning.  

Very little nausea. 

Having a couple of very painful Braxton Hicks contractions during the night. 

I have a hard time getting out of bed without pain at night.  Getting up also causes contractions--usually the most painful ones come when I've been sleeping. 

My capri pants that I wore with Bunny's pregnancy are too tight.  I think this is because my belly is lower with this baby because I'm smaller and weigh much less with him than I did with Noelle...I weigh 25-30lbs less at the moment. 

My contractions are getting more painful and coming more frequently every day.  During the day it's usually when I'm active.  However, they come sometimes when I'm at rest too, and sometimes I'll get them regularly during the night. 

The baby seems to be active and then sleeping on alternating days.  

37 weeks

Total Weight gain-21 lbs

Belly measuring on target.

The baby is head down and about 6lbs

I'm actually slowly starting to feel better.

Rosie agreed I don't have to test my sugar anymore!

Gum has been helping me to digest better and to calm the acid reflux that happens in the mornings.

Saturday I went yard sale shopping, did lots of cleaning and sewing, packed our hospital bags, and did laundry, dishes, and dinner.  Also, I wasn't hydrating like I should have been.  All this gave me lots of contractions--more than 5 an hour--that didn't go away when I rested.  So, I had to call Rosie.  She told me to drink a quart of water and to lie down on my left side.  Meanwhile, Bunny was certain that we were going to the hospital that evening to have the baby because of all the baby preparations and the phone call to Rosie that she overheard.  Thankfully, Dave had just gotten home because I couldn't have dealt with her otherwise.  She was literally bouncing off the walls, and on the bed where I was trying to rest (and the contractions were coming every few minutes at this point) and I just couldn't calm her down without exacerbating the situation.  Meanwhile, I'm sitting there thinking about how my grades weren't done, the curtains on the baby's closet weren't sewn, and I hadn't altered my friend's bridesmaid dress.  That, and the baby was still premature at 36 weeks and I didn't want to risk him coming early.  I told Bunny, "Honey, I don't think we're going to the hospital tonight."  She responded,
"Please, Mommy, PLEASE! I want to go NOW!"  (she had grabbed more stuff to throw into her "hospital" bag). 
"Baby, Don't take it up with me.  I don't decide when the baby comes.  You'll have to talk to God about that." 
She walked into the hall, and excitedly prayed that God would let us go to the hospital that night and then hollered, "He said yes, Mommy! God said yes!"  Later, after I'd followed Rosie's instructions and was down to only 4 contractions in the hour, I told Bunny that we weren't going to the hospital that night.  "But Mommy, God said yes!" she responded.  When Dave finally put her to bed (she'd continued to run around the house like an excited little jumping bean throughout the duration of the hour) she laid awake for about 1.5 hours.  She was quiet and good about it, but obviously too excited to sleep.  When we woke up the next morning, I told her I was sorry that the baby didn't come the night before but that he would come soon.  In church, as Dave and a friend walked the kids to Children's Church, she told the friend, "The baby didn't come last night."  The whole ordeal--though a bit scary--was really quite funny.  I remember how me and my siblings would go crazy when we thought it was time for my mom to go to the hospital.  I feel badly, now, contributing to that.  Bunny was a handful and she is only one child.  I am sure that 3-6 of us getting into a frenzy like that must have been a lot for my poor mom to handle as she went into labor each time!

My breathing is better.  There were a couple of days there where I felt that I didn't have room to breathe, but that went away. 

My maternity capris are tight. They weren't with Bunny and I was bigger with her, so all I can think is that this baby is lower.