Friday, January 21, 2011

Time out to complain

I can't believe The Bean isn't here yet.  I'm getting SO frustrated, and am just trying to keep my mind off of the waiting. 

On Tuesday, I woke up at 4:00 with contractions that kept me awake.  I got up and had a bowl of cereal, and started making lunches around 5, figuring that if the contractions stopped, I'd be ready for work, and if not, I'd be ready with snacks for later.  By the time it was our usual wake-up time (6:30-ish), the contractions were still coming, and were about 10 minutes apart.  I called my sub to tell her I wouldn't be coming in, and LB called in for a sub at her work.  We got up and had breakfast, and tried to contain our excitement every time a contraction came.  We took Olive for a walk, and I noticed that these contractions were much stronger than the braxton-hicks contractions I'd had for weeks - they lasted longer (almost 2 minutes), and radiated around my back as well as my abdomen.  I was feeling really optimistic about seeing our Bean!

We passed some time at home, watching daytime TV and keeping track of the contractions on my phone.  They were about 8 minutes apart, and still strong enough that I was looking for some gentle comfort measures when they came.  I couldn't lay down through them, because they were much stronger in my back, but standing up and bending forward really helped.  Since they weren't getting closer together at this point, we decided to go on another walk and try to get things moving faster.  After the walk, we watched a movie, kept on timing contractions, and then decided to go to Costco.  At Costco, the contractions started being less regular - 6 minutes, then 3 minutes, then 7 minutes, and were less strong.  When we got home, we played some Settlers of Catan, and the contractions continued being irregular and weaker.  We tried one more walk with Olive, but as soon as we stopped walking, the contractions spread out again, now to 10 or 12 minutes apart.  I had a few strong ones once I went to bed at 10, but they quickly fizzled out.

On Wednesday, we headed to a nearby shopping center that is near to the hospital to walk around and try for an earlier midwife appointment.  We passed some time at the bookstore and walking around outside, but the contractions were much weaker than the day before, and not regular at all.  That afternoon, we saw the midwife and were told that "it happens sometimes," which may be true, but was a very frustrating thing to hear.  She checked my cervix, and I was barely dilated and not effaced, so probably not looking at Bean arriving in the next day or two.  This was amazingly discouraging.  She did recommend some measures we might take to bring labor a little faster, which I had been pooh-pooh-ing only days before, and was now hanging on every word.

So, for the last two days we've been using Evening Primrose Oil, and hoping that it is working its magic.  I've also been refusing to time any contractions, because I just can't take a repeat of Tuesday.  That, combined with a long bath last night, made today a little easier.  I've also been trying some techniques from Spinning Babies, since the midwife mentioned that Bean was "sunny-side up," and am hopeful that I'm able to make some difference, should labor try to start again. 

The hardest part of all of this is that I knew I wanted to work until Bean came, because I would find it incredible torturous to be home, pregnant, and waiting for the Bean.  After four days at home, I can confirm that I was right about my own reaction to sitting around waiting.  Sigh.  It's so hard to see my sick leave ticking away, without anything to show for it.