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2009-07-09 - 11.55am��previous entry��next entry
40w1d - quick update (a show!)
I have to quickly update about this morning. I woke up as usual with Neil getting ready for work, no signs of anything happening at all. I got up and went to the loo, and when I wiped I was losing quite a lot of mucus plug - more than I have so far, but not significantly more. Well the next time I wiped there was more, and that was ever so slightly blood tinged, so that's much more promising! :)
All morning I have been going to the loo and wiping, lol! Every single time I wipe (and I've used half a loo roll, haha!) there is more of the stuff. None blood tinged though, just goop. Since the first time I went on getting up, I immediately started to feel just generally crampy, front and back. It's like that Friday when I had contractions all day and felt a lot of low back and front pain and pressure all day (seperate to the contractions) - that kind of discomfort is back.
So now it's 11.49am and I have just had a bigger amount of mucus plug. It's very, um, WET and that made me concerned that it wasn't just mucus plug. I had to put on a proper pad instead of just a panty liner because it wet through the panty liner I was wearing plus my clothes at one point! I phoned Heather (who is on stand-by and rather excited!) and the midwives to ask about the wetness and they said just to monitor it and if I'm concerned they'll come by and check the pad for me.
I actually had a midwife appt this morning at 9am, just a routine one. I told them about the mucus plug and the discomfort, and the midwife said she would not be at all surprised if it was going to happen today! Eek! :) Everything was fine at my check, b/p, urine etc, but unfortunately Benjamin is completely posterior and STILL 4/5 palpable!!! They said not to be concerned about that, because with it being my 4th baby, as soon as contractions start he will probably rotate and engage pretty fast. They did suggest I spend plenty of time on all fours or leaning forward though, so I have tried to do that since then.
Now, in the last 20 minutes I THINK I am starting to have contractions. I'm not sure.. they don't hurt (but then I'm praying for a pain-free labour!) and it's often when I'm walking so it's hard to tell, but my whole bump goes super solid and tight, and the main thing is the PRESSURE is almost unbearable. I constantly feel like I need to poo, and it's ever so uncomfortable, so I'm guessing that's baby-related. I have tried quite a few times to actually go, and nada. But I'm a little nervous to really give it a good try because I don't want my potentially bulging waters to break before they're ready, you know?!
The last time I went to the loo to try a BM (about 10 mins ago), I had some more mucus plug and then wiped again and found light pink bleeding! Woohoo! I have since had some more light pink/light red spotting on my pad, and several more very uncomfortable pressurey tightenings whilst sitting here typing this. These ones are starting to hurt a little in my lower back and under my bump.
Benjamin hasn't been too active the last couple of days, like I said last night, and when I went to bed last night I lay my hands on my tummy and said, "Lord, I'm a bit anxious about Benjamin's lack of movement..." and INSTANTLY - I mean, I had hardly finished forming the word "movement" - he started writhing about more vigorously than he has for most of the last week! I was so grateful to God! He carried on like that for a few minutes, and I was so reassured, so I went to sleep after that. He is still pretty wiggly today which is also reassuring, but I know it will get very uncomfortable when combined with contractions, so I'm now praying he'll have a nice nap at the most intense part of labour, hehe!
So there it is. I'm definitely thinking labour is about to start, and the midwife warned me that it could go pretty fast once contractions kick in. I'm supposed to phone the midwife and my doula the moment contractions actually start, so I should keep an eye on these ones and maybe ring them pretty soon if they really are contractions! Which is exciting!!! I really really really feel like I just want to go and do a BM right now, so hopefully I can and that might make me a little less uncomfortable? Although, that's slightly suspicious! ;) I remember that feeling from Matthew's birth and he was born pretty much MINUTES later, haha! I was sure I would just feel so much better if only I did a poo! Which, I did, but then you know, he followed right after! ;)
So I will keep updating as long as I can, but I may not be able to. I hope everything will go well. I hope it actually WILL be labour and I won't be updating tonight to say, "Nothing much happening..." or something exasperating like that! I hope Benjamin will be fine, and this labour will be so much more manageable. And that he can be born at home.
Neil is home today, though he was pretty difficult to talk into staying, rather annoyingly! He said he would rather go into work and make sure everyone there is prepared - which, WHAT?!?! I see his point, but urrrrgh! I kept reminding him about the "one hour away" factor, and how fast things could go. He seemed so unconcerned and kept saying how he just didn't get the feeling things would be happening till the weekend, so he wanted to go in to work!!!! Eventually I'm afraid I said it's no longer about how HE feels about what my body is doing! I felt differently, and it's MY body! Of course he could be right and I could still give birth at the weekend, but I begged him to work from home instead, just to see where things were going. Imagine my relief when both Heather and the midwife said to keep close and make sure to call IMMEDIATELY that contractions started, because it could go very fast once they start. He pretty much switched off his laptop and started looking after the boys instead, after that! ;) So I have been able to come upstairs and update here, bounce on my birth ball leaning forwards onto the bed, and do the toilet paper check as often as I have the urge to, hehe! Which is nice. Right now I feel slightly queasy and light-headed, and suddenly very tired, so I am going to try to nap a little bit while the boys eat lunch.
I have just had another "contraction" - maybe I should start timing these? They hurt like bad constipation, very low and behind, and also low at the front of my bump, and they're very tight and solid. But not as I remember painful contractions. I'm not sure whether I should call anyone or not yet. Maybe I should set up Contraction Master online and time them for a bit, see if there's a pattern? I don't know. Right now I am going to try that elusive BM again, haha! And check the spotting. I'm kind of excited!!!! I'll keep you guys posted where possible.
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