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Home Stretch... | |
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About Madeleine Madeleine comes home Bonus information She's here! Pregnancy |
"It's so annoying because I get tired and I want to sit but then when I get up, my pelvis hurts. It's so annoying..." Jo said to me just now as she entered the room. "Maybe if I lean back..." she whispered to herself sitting in the chair beside me. "Yes," I thought, "this is the HOME STRETCH! It's all just a matter of time." As labor and delivery approach, your mind plays funny tricks on you. You think ridiculous delusional things like, "Being pregnant hasn't been so bad... I'm going to miss it." "Maybe Madeleine will stay in their until she's 18!" "What happened to my other cell phone battery?" "I hope here feet won't be too big." In fact you're plagued by worries, anxiety and angst. You wonder if you're really ready. You wonder if you've forgotten something crucial. You wonder what you'll do if your worst fears -- to fearsome to be articulated in print, speech or thought -- do come true. Every night we read birth stories on the Internet. Last night we were reading one and the woman had just gone into some crazy gut wrenching contractions all of a sudden after having had two days of very mild contractions. She woke her husband up and he spent 20 minutes looking for the doctor's number. I thought, How could he be looking for the doctor's number? Then I realized that I didn't know the numbers to call -- they were all trapped in Jo's oft lost cell phone! I spent the next 30 minutes entering the numbers into my archaic difficult to use cell phone wondering if I'd ever see them again much less at the crucial moment of need. The rest of the night I spent worrying that I had been deluding myself that I was ready for the birth of our child and wouldn't some how muck it up. Luckily Jo is here. She's the vision of calm organization. Every night we read in one of our many giving birth books. We've got great books for every phase of the... what would you call this... child bearing thing! We've got books about what to do when you're pregnant; what to do when you're in labor; how to deliver a baby; how to bring a baby home; how to raise a baby; how to care for a baby; what to expect in the first year of life; what happens to a baby's brain as it grows; what to expect in the first 5 years of life; what symptoms are serious and need a doctor's attention and which ones aren't, but what to do about them anyway. Yes we've got books for every contingency and what's more, we've read them! Jo has quit working -- she has nothing to do except have the baby. (ahem... Jo here. Hope everyone realizes that Jon is joking about the 'nothing to do but...') I've planned my schedule for the next year and a half and arranged for coverage of every given day in the event the blessed event (and I mean that in a good way -- honest) occurs on that day. It wasn't easy finding someone to agree to go to World Cup Germany in my stead, but once I told them I'd book the flight, hotel room and rental car and pay for it all and tickets to games, he readily agreed. I just hope he's a competent soccer fan and doesn't muck it up. (With any luck, though, Madeleine won't be the first baby to be 18 months over due and I will get to go to World Cup Germany.) Here it is 27 February 2005 Jo weighs 68 kg and is in her 39th week. We thought she might have Madeleine over Seol-nal (Lunar New Year) on February 9th since we had the whole week off of classes. But she didn't. She did have some cramping and minor pains though, which gave us hope. Then we thought she would have her last week February 14 - 18 since Jo was scheduled to be in back in class for one last week and was having lower back pain, pelvic pain and cramping. We found out later that she has Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction which apparently is like having someone use your pubic bone for a trap set played with 10 lb hammers. It's really tough watching her wince with pain every time she gets up. Silly me, I thought those might be contractions. Then there is this week (February 21 - 25). We don't have classes. The semester doesn't start until March 2, Wednesday. We have nothing but time. She's had real contractions on two different nights, but otherwise nothing. We took the hospital bags down and went through them again. We've got everything we'll need except for drinking water and snacks. The two things you have to worry about in natural childbirth are dehydration and exhaustion. To prevent them, the mother needs to drink lots of water -- they recommend drinking between contractions -- water that is. And eating at some point. Apparently the risk of asphyxiating on your own vomit during an emergency Cesarean section is pretty low. I've reviewed all of the lovely little exercises you can do to speed labor up. I've reviewed all of the lovely little exercises you can do to slow labor down. I've reviewed all of the lovely little exercises you can do to induce labor. I know the stages of labor. I know what is supposed to happen in labor. I know what to do if shoulder dystocia occurs. I know how to turn the baby if she's in a bad position (I don't know how to determine her position though -- luckily last time we checked, Monday 21 February, she was in the best position for birth) for birth. I know how to cut and clamp the cord -- wait for it to stop pulsing, suppress the heebie-jeebies, clamp it off with those triangular binder paper clamps, sterilize your Swiss Army Knife with a lighter and suppress the heebie-jeebies again, take a deep breath, squeeze your eyes closed tight and CUT! Just writing this makes me feel like I'm going to be sick. Give me a moment to suppress the heebie-jeebies -- again! God I hope it doesn't come to that. I think, and the operative word here is think, we are ready to go into labor and delivery. Now we just have to convince Madeleine that she's ready. So, if you've got any ideas on how to do that -- email me. |
