Friday, October 31, 2014

10/24/14 Perspective

I had a Midwife appointment today. The baby's heart beat is strong and healthy. I am measuring at 33 weeks instead of 34. I am at 34 weeks. I haven't had consistent rhythmic contractions since last week when I went to get checked out. I evidently misunderstood my diagnosis by Patty last friday. She said I was having preterm CONTRACTIONS, not labor. Labor actually affects the dilation of the cervix, and mine was unaffected. Wendy, the midwife I saw today, doesn't seem to think I will have any trouble carrying this baby to term. She said that having a lot of contractions with a second baby is normal and she is not in the least concerned after reviewing all the information. She also said that after Halloween if I don't want to continue with my modified work schedule it's ok. She said at that point they wouldn't try to stop labor, so I won't have to be so careful. We'll see how this week goes and I'll decide.
If I look back and compare this pregnancy to the last one. It's quite rough. I had bad back pain, nausea and extreme tiredness for the first trimester. When those things let up, I caught a rather nasty upper respiratory illness that lasted 3 weeks and a little into the 4th. Around that same time, I started having contractions that were pushing my pelvic floor lower and I learned I have a cystocele. Between that and preterm real contractions the rest of the pregnancy has been rather uncomfortable.
During the rough parts I try to focus on the brighter points. Even through the nausea, I never puked. I found out that eating the white part of orange peals helps my nausea. My experience with nausea really wasn't as bad as many mothers' experience. My back pain was my disc acting up again. I already knew what to do about it. I just had to do the physical therapy exercises I learned last time, be careful not to bend or twist, and it only took 6 weeks to be back to normal again, unlike last time taking 16 weeks. I didn't have to take any time off work for it, and I have a loving husband who is pretty much always around and did a lot of lifting for me during that time. The respiratory illness came during camping and backpacking. It probably helped me make wise decisions about my capability and I learned that I could take benadryl after the first trimester and I was able to get some good sleep. The illness sure lingered but it could have been much worse. I don't have a whole lot I can say about a bright side to the cystocele. At least it isn't my uterus and the baby is safe. I am doing some physical therapy exercises to help, but am only able to achieve minimal effect due having the constant pressure of a baby and intermittent contractions to push on it even more. I worry what labor will do to it, but I really have no control over that and there is nothing short of a c-section to prevent that from furthering the problem and I would rather have to have a bladder surgery later in life than to choose a c-section for a chance at avoiding it. The contractions have helped slow me down so I am getting more rest pre-baby than last time. They haven't dilated my cervix pre-maturely and they may have helped brake the ice for me and being admitted to the hospital when labor does happen. Maybe that will be less emotionally traumatic for me now that I have been though at least their triage process and hung out in the triage room some.
I guess all this to say, sure it was easier last time but really it's not that bad. There are many other things I have not had to deal with. I haven't been on bed rest. I haven't had to decrease my hours at work, so far just changing them a bit is working. I haven't had horrible swelling or unbearable head aches.
I am so looking forward to meeting this little baby that God created without any medical intervention. I am excited to see what kind of personality he will have and how I will grow and change because of him. I am excited to start the journey of a family of 4 and see how we are stretched and grow though it. Just 5 more weeks until my due date, the time will fly by I am sure.
If I look back and compare this pregnancy to the last one. It's quite rough. I had bad back pain, nausea and extreme tiredness for the first trimester. When those things let up, I caught a rather nasty upper respiratory illness that lasted 3 weeks and a little into the 4th. Around that same time, I started having contractions that were pushing my pelvic floor lower and I learned I have a cystocele. Between that and preterm real contractions the rest of the pregnancy has been rather uncomfortable.  I had a Midwife appointment today. The baby's heart beat is strong and healthy. I am measuring at 33 weeks instead of 34. I haven't had consistent rhythmic contractions since last week when I went to get checked out. I evidently misunderstood my diagnosis by Patty last friday. She said I was having preterm CONTRACTIONS, not labor. Labor actually affects the dilation of the cervix, and mine was unaffected. Wendy, the midwife I saw today, doesn't seem to think I won't have any trouble carrying this baby to term. She said that having a lot of contractions with a second baby is normal and she is not in the least concerned after reviewing all the information from when I got checked out last week. She also said that after Halloween if I don't want to continue with my modified work schedule it's ok. She said at that point they wouldn't try to stop labor, so I won't have to be so careful. We'll see how this week goes and I'll decide.
During the rough parts I try to focus on the brighter points. Even through the nausea, I never puked. I found out that eating the white part of orange peals helps my nausea. My experience with nausea really wasn't as bad as many mothers' experience. My back pain was my disc acting up again. I already knew what to do about it. I just had to do the physical therapy exercises I learned last time, be careful not to bend or twist, and it only took 6 weeks to be back to normal again, unlike last time taking 16 weeks. I didn't have to take any time off work for it, and I have a loving husband who is pretty much always around and did a lot of lifting for me during that time. The respiratory illness came during camping and backpacking. It probably helped me make wise decisions about my capability and I learned that I could take benadryl after the first trimester and I was able to get some good sleep. The illness sure lingered but it could have been much worse. I don't have a whole lot I can say about a bright side to the cystocele. At least it isn't my uterus and the baby is safe. I am doing some physical therapy exercises to help, but am only able to achieve minimal effect due having the constant pressure of a baby and intermittent contractions to push on it even more. I worry what labor will do to it, but I really have no control over that and there is nothing short of a c-section to prevent that from furthering the problem and I would rather have to have a bladder surgery later in life than to choose a c-section for a chance at avoiding it. The contractions have helped slow me down so I am getting more rest pre-baby than last time. They haven't dilated my cervix pre-maturely and they may have helped brake the ice for me and being admitted to the hospital when labor does happen. Maybe that will be less emotionally traumatic for me now that I have been though at least their triage process and hung out in the triage room some.
I guess all this to say, sure it was easier last time but really it's not that bad. There are many other things I have not had to deal with. I haven't been on bed rest. I haven't had to decrease my hours at work, so far just changing them a bit is working. I haven't had horrible swelling or unbearable head aches.
I am so looking forward to meeting this little baby that God created without any medical intervention. I am excited to see what kind of personality he will have and how I will grow and change because of him. I am excited to start the journey of a family of 4 and see how we are stretched and grow though it. Just 5 more weeks until my due date, the time will fly by I am sure.
Being cute with a Red Robin balloon.

I love his little smirk. 

He went from tripping over himself trying to get away when the vacuum was turned on to swatting our hands away and just wanting to do it himself in about 10 minutes the other night. The carpets are sure cleaner with this new activity. 

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