Questions?!

Okay, here are some answers to some frequently asked questions in my life:

1) What did the doctor say?

Well, to be quite honest, I don't see a doctor. I (generally speaking) see midwives. They usually don't "say" much at my appointments. They check 4 things at this point. Weight, blood pressure, belly measurement, and fetal heartrate. If those are all good, they usually don't "say" much to me but will ask if I have any questions. If I don't . . .that's it. They will never guess on what day you will deliver and yes they have "checked" me recently but I'm reading more and more how that is no indication of when a baby will arrive. I've now been 2 cm for 2 weeks. See?!

2) Any changes?

At this point of pregnancy, I hardly know what is a "change" and what is just a minor discomfort that will pass. As I look back on previous pregnancies and birth, I can see some signs leading up to the birth that I should have recognized but I didn't. That will probably be the case this time. I kind of expected to "know" more this time around except I forgot . . . each pregnancy is different!

3) How are you feeling?

My main response to this question is . . . tired. Let me explain. I went to bed last night at 9:30 pm. I was very uncomfortable. I had a head pushing down and some feet pushing up under my ribs, esophagus burning heartburn and pain in my back. I didn't fall asleep until 10:30. I woke at 11:30 pm to go to the potty. I didn't fall back asleep until around 12:15 am because of heartburn and being uncomfortable. I woke at 1:30 am to my husband getting up to go to the bathroom. I was awake from 1:30 am until after 4 am. During that time, I heard some strange noises come over the monitor. I discovered that a toy (which is a BIG NO NO in my book) had been left in Elsie's crib and she was sitting up playing with it. I got up and went downstairs and took it out of the crib and laid her back down again. Then around 4 am, Abigail started to cry . . . no wail . . . in her bed. I got up to see what was wrong. She told me she was hungry. Usually I do not give in to stuff like this in the night but I was oh. so. tired. and she was oh. so. pitiful. so I got her a snack. Back to bed. I slept until 6 am when my husband left for work. I got up to use the potty. Slept until 7:10 am when I heard Elsie get up for the day. That doesn't happen every night but it is a good indication of why I'm tired.

4) Are you having contractions?

Well, yes and no. If you've ever given birth or had contractions you know that if you're having the real thing you'll be heading for the hospital so if you see me walking around, I've probably not had any real contractions. I generally call the other pains you might feel at this point, cramps. Yes, I'm having those but honestly, I've had them on and off since January so it is no indication of when the baby might come (which is what I know everyone wants to know).

5) Induction?

I can't believe I'm actually answering this yet since I haven't even hit my due date but as a general rule my practice does not induce unless medically necessary. That probably means a fetus in distress or VERY high blood pressure. They will do everything possible to no induce because that is a scary road leading to bad things (in my world). The midwife at my last appointment mentioned some "natural" things to try. I told her I wanted to wait for my due date to try them because I believe he'll come when he's ready.

Also a note about induction, I will have the midwives check the babies measurements before trying any sort of natural or other induction. This pregnancy was a wonderful surprise but that also means that I am not nearly as sure about the timing of this one than I was with the other two. Birth control was messing up the timing of my cycle so my due date as always been measured by the baby's size.

6) Surprised?

I'm surprised by how much I can still do at this point. I thought I'd be laid up on the couch but I have all the laundry done (currently), beds are made, lunch dishes are put in the dishwasher, all the dishes are washed, etc. I have a few things that I'd like to do today and tomorrow - including cleaning the fridge and kitchen cabinets - and you know what, I may just get them done. I am trying to just do as much as I can when I feel good because I don't feel good all the time.

Okay, that's it. Hopefully that explains things better than I can do face to face.

Oh . . . one last thing . . . silence from me (on the blog, Facebook, no calls from me, etc.) means exactly that. . . nothing is happening. Someone (me or Andrew) will post or let people know when the event is happening or soon after.

Ah, it's nap time so I'm off to rest a bit.