We had another doctor's appointment today! The good news is that the baby has indeed dropped some, and my cervix is dilated to 2 cm! So we're making progress and that's great!
The bad news, however, is that I was up all night with pretty strong, frequent, painful contractions, so I should be a lot further along than 2 cm after all that. (For the most part, what is happening is that the lower part of my uterus is contracting, not the whole thing. So I have sharp pains down below, but it's not actually pushing the baby downward to make progress the way contractions should.) So the doctor felt like I may or may not continue to make progress, and it's probably going to be a really long and hard several days of painful contractions before I finally do have the baby, IF I do at all. So he strongly recommended that we go straight to the hospital and let them break my water to try to speed up labor and get things moving. However, the problem with that is twofold: Firstly, artificially breaking the water means much more painful and difficult contractions than before the water has broken, and I think it's unlikely I'd be able to go on with the drug-free birth I want if my water is broken prematurely. Secondly, there's no guarantee that breaking the water would actually jump-start labor. If it doesn't, we'd be looking at a c-section. So we declined his advice to go have the water broken, and we decided to just come home and wait for labor to progress on its own.
This is all well and good, but the contractions I'm having are really quite painful, and I'm kind of dreading the thought of 2, 3, or more days of this. So I ask for your prayers that labor progresses quickly and this baby comes OUT! Pray that my uterus will contract fully and do the work it's supposed to do! Pray also that I can get some rest - I barely slept last night, and I really don't need to be exhausted right now. I'm going to try to take a nap right now!
4 comments:
Joni - this is Tim Staley's wife Tracy. When I was in labor back in February, the best relief I found was getting in a warm bath. Unfortunately, there's the chance that the water will slow contractions if you get in too early. But ask your doctor or read up on it. It was the best!
Joni, you are my hero! I wish I could have been as stong as you. And you are right, after they broke my water I wanted to die because it hurt so bad! Go with your gut and Eli will come soon enough!
The best relief I found was on a big yoga ball. I would sit on it for hours and rock my hips back and forth or in a circle. Seriously, it was very helpful. (Ashley's water broke on her yoga ball -- kind of messy, but worth it!)
Also, kneeling on all fours helped relieve some pressure, but I don't know that you want to work against gravity that way. Maybe squatting and leaning against Justin -- that was nice too. (Of course, I leaned against Matt instead of Justin . . .)
When you wake, go take a walk. Have Justin drive you to the mall and walk laps around it. (Then reward yourself with ice cream!)
Keep your eyes on the prize: In just a few days this will all be over and you'll be holding your precious, though stubborn, baby boy. I love you!
We're praying for you guys! Hang in there!
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