We went to church this morning and everyone looked pretty disappointed when we walked in the door. Sorry for the inconvenience! I was hoping to be in labor too, but unfortunately Turner is running the show for now (hopefully that will eventually change!).
So we headed to Escalante's for Mexican food with Troy's mom, Peggy. She got to watch as Troy stacked jalapeno after jalapeno into the queso and on my stack of chips.
Long walks. Check. Sex. Check. Spicy food. Check. I even found myself eating pineapple last night on the recommendation of a random website I pulled up. Nothing.
I drew the line at doing jumping jacks (or jumping on the trampoline as per the recommendation of our Sunday School class this morning) and have discouraged Troy from pushing down on my belly from time to time with a very impatient look on his face. I kindly remind him that I have EIGHT days left until my due date!
For the record, I am enjoying my time off to relax before the baby comes! Baby's happy and warm, I'm happy and rested, but this doesn't work well with Troy's work schedule. He keeps "dropping hints" that the sooner this happens the more he will be able to enjoy it...but no pressure.
So here I wait (complete with indigestion from the 40 jalapenos I ate) 3 centimeters dilated and 60% effaced just waiting for Turner to make his debut.
Hopefully I will have another update soon complete with baby's first picture!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
I Can't Live Without My Legs!
As you know if you read my gingerbaby story, I've had some bizarre dreams lately. After our last visit to the doctor I left feeling that I have very little control over the decisions that are being made for me. The midwives are concerned because my blood pressure has been high lately. I explained that it is because I am concerned that they will find something that will cause them to whisk me off to the hospital to be induced, or worse, a c-section! The closer I get to my due date the more I realize the possibility of that happening.
I have this idea of going into labor on my own and having a natural childbirth. This idea does not include induction or a c-section. So when I go to the doc I am thinking about all of these possibilities and I get progressively more and more nervous as I wait in the waiting room. By the time they take my blood pressure it is usually somewhere around 153 over 67 (which Troy could trump in his most relaxed moment). But they do not want it to be over 140/90. The bottom number is always low, but the top number (which is related to nerves and is affected by a pounding heartbeat) is always a little bit high.
Two words: WHO-CARES?
I take my blood pressure three times a days myself and it is ALWAYS normal. I take it when I am rushing to work, when I'm watching TV, after a stressful day, after a "tiff" with Troy...and it's always always normal no matter what the scenario. Yet I go to the doctor and without fail it is high. They call this "white coat" syndrome. Some say it's a myth. Some say your BP shouldn't react that quickly. Others swear that this is a real thing that affects a lot of people. I heavily lean toward the latter.
BUT apparently this is a big enough deal for the midwives to consider putting me on bed rest. Not happening! First, unlike the rest of their housewife patients I cannot just stay home and put my feet up. I work a 40-hour a week job and I "gotzta" get paid. :) So hopefully we will avoid the bed rest talk at least until January 22nd when my short term disability kicks in! I know Troy is praying that I will not be put on bed rest. Me tied down to a bed, unable to go anywhere or see anyone for 3 weeks....not good!
Anywhoooo....the night that we got back from the doctor I had a wicked-crazy (as they say on the west coast) dream. In the dream we had come home from the doctor's office and they had told me that they were going to have to amputate my legs. We were both really sad but knew that there was nothing that we could do, the decision was made by the all-powerful doctor. I woke up, wondered if that had been a dream or real life. I wiggled my toes and realized it was a dream and sat appreciating the use of my legs few a few minutes. Then I began to wonder where on earth that dream came from! As I sat there pondering at 3 o'clock in the morning I realized that the whole point of the dream is that my fate is in the hands of the doctors and midwives. The fact that I'm sitting there telling them that I'm fine is irrelevant. If they catch one thing that looks abnormal they have to test, poke and prod you until they realize that there's nothing there to worry about. They are so jaded by malpractice suites that they can't even stop to ask if the risk of stressing out their patient by making them think that something is wrong is worth the trade-off. If I didn't have high BP before...well I do now!
Troy keeps reminding me that they cannot MAKE me do anything. So there's a difficult balance between trusting the professionals who do this everyday and trusting your own body and instincts. So for now I will continue letting them test me even though I feel confident they will not find anything. And if my BP stays the same that it has then it shouldn't be enough for them to overreact to and I will ultimately get to have my natural childbirth if I can keep my nerves in check.
Ughhhh....FRUSTRATED!
I have this idea of going into labor on my own and having a natural childbirth. This idea does not include induction or a c-section. So when I go to the doc I am thinking about all of these possibilities and I get progressively more and more nervous as I wait in the waiting room. By the time they take my blood pressure it is usually somewhere around 153 over 67 (which Troy could trump in his most relaxed moment). But they do not want it to be over 140/90. The bottom number is always low, but the top number (which is related to nerves and is affected by a pounding heartbeat) is always a little bit high.
Two words: WHO-CARES?
I take my blood pressure three times a days myself and it is ALWAYS normal. I take it when I am rushing to work, when I'm watching TV, after a stressful day, after a "tiff" with Troy...and it's always always normal no matter what the scenario. Yet I go to the doctor and without fail it is high. They call this "white coat" syndrome. Some say it's a myth. Some say your BP shouldn't react that quickly. Others swear that this is a real thing that affects a lot of people. I heavily lean toward the latter.
BUT apparently this is a big enough deal for the midwives to consider putting me on bed rest. Not happening! First, unlike the rest of their housewife patients I cannot just stay home and put my feet up. I work a 40-hour a week job and I "gotzta" get paid. :) So hopefully we will avoid the bed rest talk at least until January 22nd when my short term disability kicks in! I know Troy is praying that I will not be put on bed rest. Me tied down to a bed, unable to go anywhere or see anyone for 3 weeks....not good!
Anywhoooo....the night that we got back from the doctor I had a wicked-crazy (as they say on the west coast) dream. In the dream we had come home from the doctor's office and they had told me that they were going to have to amputate my legs. We were both really sad but knew that there was nothing that we could do, the decision was made by the all-powerful doctor. I woke up, wondered if that had been a dream or real life. I wiggled my toes and realized it was a dream and sat appreciating the use of my legs few a few minutes. Then I began to wonder where on earth that dream came from! As I sat there pondering at 3 o'clock in the morning I realized that the whole point of the dream is that my fate is in the hands of the doctors and midwives. The fact that I'm sitting there telling them that I'm fine is irrelevant. If they catch one thing that looks abnormal they have to test, poke and prod you until they realize that there's nothing there to worry about. They are so jaded by malpractice suites that they can't even stop to ask if the risk of stressing out their patient by making them think that something is wrong is worth the trade-off. If I didn't have high BP before...well I do now!
Troy keeps reminding me that they cannot MAKE me do anything. So there's a difficult balance between trusting the professionals who do this everyday and trusting your own body and instincts. So for now I will continue letting them test me even though I feel confident they will not find anything. And if my BP stays the same that it has then it shouldn't be enough for them to overreact to and I will ultimately get to have my natural childbirth if I can keep my nerves in check.
Ughhhh....FRUSTRATED!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Gingerbaby
The other night I had a dream that I went into labor, fell asleep and was waking up just as the kid was making his grand entrance into this world. My mom was there and she said "Wake up, Kris! This is it, you don't want to miss it!" I groggily opened my eyes just enough to see him being born.
But when I looked closer I noticed that he had tiny eyes made of red hots and I knew something was a little off.
When I looked even closer I realized that he WAS a gingerbread man. I looked at my mom in terror and she explained to me that this was just the "practice round" and the real thing would be coming later.
We then broke up the cookie and shared the snack right there in the delivery room.
Minutes later I woke up looking around my room just to be sure that there wasn't a little gingerkid snoring away at my bedside. Luckily, the coast was clear and I went back to sleep.
I have had many many trippy dreams since finding out that I was pregnant. But this one takes the cake....the gingerbread cake that is!
But when I looked closer I noticed that he had tiny eyes made of red hots and I knew something was a little off.
When I looked even closer I realized that he WAS a gingerbread man. I looked at my mom in terror and she explained to me that this was just the "practice round" and the real thing would be coming later.
We then broke up the cookie and shared the snack right there in the delivery room.
Minutes later I woke up looking around my room just to be sure that there wasn't a little gingerkid snoring away at my bedside. Luckily, the coast was clear and I went back to sleep.
I have had many many trippy dreams since finding out that I was pregnant. But this one takes the cake....the gingerbread cake that is!
Horror Stories
My previous notions of what it would be like to be pregnant may have been a bit skewed. I had visions of people standing up to give me their seat on the bus (the fact that I never ride a bus is irrelevant). People would be extra sensitive and ask you what they can to for you and how they could help to make you more comfortable.
WRONG!
People LOVE to tell their horror stories!!!
"I was in labor for 4 days." I am stupid enough to ask, "But it wasn't excruciation labor pain, right? It was more like light contractions until you fully went into labor?" And the answer that I knew was coming but hoped against all odds wasn't coming, "No. It was excruciating. But every labor is different."
Fantastic.
"Oh you're 24 weeks pregnant? I was pregnant once but I lost the baby when I was 24 weeks pregnant."
Great! Thanks for that. As if I haven't already Googled enough and found my own terrifying information about what can happen when you're pregnant.
"My stretch marks never went away. Your body will NEVER go back to the way it was before."
Awesome.
"Labor and delivery is the closest thing to death that you will probably ever experience."
Except actual death.
"I had an emergency c-section...with no pain medication."
Awwwww man!
"I tried to have a natural birth but ended up crying so hysterically that they had no choice but to give me the epidural. Everyone who tries to have a natural birth ends up asking for an epidural."
Thanks for that.
"I tore all the way from my hoo-ha up to my belly button (I may have exaggerated that one a bit). I had to have 38 stitches (that part is true)."
What?!
I told someone that my mom was 2 weeks late with my sister and 4 weeks late with me according to our estimated due dates. I told her that I wasn't getting my hopes up about going into labor any time soon because the labor history of your mother tends to repeat itself. Their response? "Oh. Well, I knew this girl who was 3 days over her due date. When she went in to see her doctor they sent her home and told her she wasn't ready. Her baby died inside of her the next day."
Pardon my French, but WHAT THE HELL?!?! Who tells that to someone who is pregnant with their first child and more than likely scared to death about what's to come?! Do you not remember how scary this whole process was or you just really enjoy providing vulnerable pregnant women with new nightmares?
I vow at this time that even if I have a very difficult labor and things go all wrong that I will tell every pregnant woman I know how beautiful the experience of labor was. It was amazing. It is truly a privilege to be a woman and be able to experience such a joyous miracle! Or at the very least I will just keep my mouth shut! No horror stories. No discouragement.
From now on when someone talk to me about anything negative I will just nod my head and smile. All the while I will be hearing, "La la la la la la la la. I can't hear you!" in my head. So if I have a dazed and glazed over look in my eye next time we have a conversation, you may want to stop and think about what you're saying :)
WRONG!
People LOVE to tell their horror stories!!!
"I was in labor for 4 days." I am stupid enough to ask, "But it wasn't excruciation labor pain, right? It was more like light contractions until you fully went into labor?" And the answer that I knew was coming but hoped against all odds wasn't coming, "No. It was excruciating. But every labor is different."
Fantastic.
"Oh you're 24 weeks pregnant? I was pregnant once but I lost the baby when I was 24 weeks pregnant."
Great! Thanks for that. As if I haven't already Googled enough and found my own terrifying information about what can happen when you're pregnant.
"My stretch marks never went away. Your body will NEVER go back to the way it was before."
Awesome.
"Labor and delivery is the closest thing to death that you will probably ever experience."
Except actual death.
"I had an emergency c-section...with no pain medication."
Awwwww man!
"I tried to have a natural birth but ended up crying so hysterically that they had no choice but to give me the epidural. Everyone who tries to have a natural birth ends up asking for an epidural."
Thanks for that.
"I tore all the way from my hoo-ha up to my belly button (I may have exaggerated that one a bit). I had to have 38 stitches (that part is true)."
What?!
I told someone that my mom was 2 weeks late with my sister and 4 weeks late with me according to our estimated due dates. I told her that I wasn't getting my hopes up about going into labor any time soon because the labor history of your mother tends to repeat itself. Their response? "Oh. Well, I knew this girl who was 3 days over her due date. When she went in to see her doctor they sent her home and told her she wasn't ready. Her baby died inside of her the next day."
Pardon my French, but WHAT THE HELL?!?! Who tells that to someone who is pregnant with their first child and more than likely scared to death about what's to come?! Do you not remember how scary this whole process was or you just really enjoy providing vulnerable pregnant women with new nightmares?
I vow at this time that even if I have a very difficult labor and things go all wrong that I will tell every pregnant woman I know how beautiful the experience of labor was. It was amazing. It is truly a privilege to be a woman and be able to experience such a joyous miracle! Or at the very least I will just keep my mouth shut! No horror stories. No discouragement.
From now on when someone talk to me about anything negative I will just nod my head and smile. All the while I will be hearing, "La la la la la la la la. I can't hear you!" in my head. So if I have a dazed and glazed over look in my eye next time we have a conversation, you may want to stop and think about what you're saying :)
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