Hiccups

Google should be shut off for all pregnant women. It should be absolutely impossible or illegal to google “early pregnancy symptoms” or “menstrual like cramping during pregnancy” or “spotting during pregnancy” or anything else like that until you deliver a healthy baby. My most recent google violation was “fetal hiccups”. Why oh why did I ever think that it was necessary to obtain more information on something so cute and sweet that my baby was doing. Of course now, I dread the hiccups like a dreaded seeing blood on the toilet paper in the beginning. Turns out that “excessive fetal hiccups” can be a sign of fetal distress. Of course, there is no good answer on what constitutes “excessive”, but it seems that 2-3 times per day is in the ballpark of excessive. Starting on a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been noticing the baby hiccupping and I absolutely loved it. Then it started to happen a little more frequently and this week we are up to 2-3 times per week. I mentioned this to the doctor last week, and he didn’t act alarmed at all, but also admitted that there are some studies that indicate that excessive hiccups could be a problem. He told me to keep an eye on it and report back at my next appointment.

Today, I had a slow day at work and I had noticed hiccups 3 times per day several days in a row and I decided to obsessively google this issue until I was sufficiently convinced that I would surely have a stillborn baby. I called the nurse today to let her know about this, of course, the doctor is out today. She called me back and told me that if a sonogram was necessary, there was a room available at the time of my appointment and that I had the last appointment of the day, so we would have time to talk. Somehow, this reaction on her part made me even more obsessive about finding out as much as I could about fetal hiccups.

I read plenty of reassuring stories of how several bouts of hiccups a day was completely normal, but on almost every site, there was one story about that one woman who didn’t think anything of the hiccups until one day, her baby no longer had a heartbeat. She was urging those whose babies had frequent hiccups to alert their doctors and insist on an ultrasound to ensure everything was ok.

So basically, I am just trying to wish away the next 21 hours until my appointment. Honestly, deep down, I don’t think there is anything seriously wrong with this baby, and I’m generally grateful for the ability to be proactive in his health thanks to all the information available out there (however alarmist some of it may be). I just wish that there would be a time when I wasn’t stressing about this baby’s well-being. Is this my fate as a mother?? I just want a healthy baby on the outside of my body.

34/35 Weeks

I’m starting to get really excited about this baby actually coming. I am 34.5 weeks, and although I definitely do not want him to come anytime soon, I do feel like there is some excitement now that I can start to look for signs of impending labor. Of course, so far I’ve had none.

As far as my symptoms, I’m feeling pretty good. I continue to struggle with constipation and heartburn (although the heartburn has been curbed by Prilosec OTC, for which I am so grateful). I am starting to notice some swelling in my ankles, but it’s still pretty minor. I get so overly full after every meal, particularly if I eat too much or too late. I will be glad when the baby drops, because I’ve heard that one of the noticeable changes you’ll have when the baby drops is less bloating after eating. I also now have to pee at least twice in the middle of the night. This really isn’t a big deal (and pales in comparison to a middle of the night feeding and diapering session), but getting up always makes my cat think that it’s time to eat, so then I have to either listen to him cry for an hour or shut him out of our room so he can’t bother us, and the whole ordeal is annoying. The cat has also found that our pack and play with the changer installed makes an awesome hiding place. I am NOT a cat person, and really have no interest in this cat, so if he knows what’s good for him, he will quit with the shenanigans and stay away from the baby’s things. He could end up living in the barn if he keeps it up.

We are meeting with our doula again tonight to go over our birth plan. I’m excited to talk with her again and start to do some planning for the birth. Having this meeting makes me realize that things really are starting to get close. I feel like the weeks do go by more quickly ever since our third trimester began. I’m not usually one who enjoys lots of attention, but I have to say the bigger my belly gets, the more people who stop me and talk to me or try to help me or just give me knowing smiles and understanding faces. I think it’s all very special. Don't get me wrong, I will be very happy to shed this basketball from my frame, but I really think the third trimester gets a bad rap. I’ve enjoyed it so much. It’s like people finally recognize that you are carrying this special package inside you, and they roll out the red carpet. It’s fun.

I don’t believe that I’ve experienced any noticeable Braxton Hicks contractions except maybe for today. I can’t even be sure about today’s experience but it did feel slightly different from any other contraction-type feeling I’ve had. For a long time I thought I was having BH contractions that lasted just a couple of seconds, but now that the baby is bigger, I really think that feeling is him stretching across my uterus. I get a butt up in my upper left uterus area and a hand or something in my lower right area. It’s uncomfortable, but I really do think it’s movement, not a contraction. Today, however, I did have a feeling that was a bit uncomfortable and reminded me of a ligament being pulled or something and it went on for probably a minute. I’ve been wishing for another feeling like this all day to see if I can better diagnose it, but I haven’t had one yet.

In baby prep news, our beautiful nursery furniture is delayed and isn’t likely to arrive until July 18th (and even then, who knows). This timing should be just fine. I don’t expect to go into labor early, but it really annoys me that something like nursery furniture can take 13+ weeks. Most of us just don’t have that much time. I ordered this furniture at 24 weeks, and I didn’t feel that comfortable ordering prior to that. Luckily, they had the crib in stock, so we do already have that, which would get us through if baby did come early. I just want to put everything away and organize all his things BEFORE he arrives.

Childbirth Class

We attended an awesome prepared childbirth class at the hospital last weekend. I always assumed that this class would be primarily review, and I planned to go for my husband’s benefit more than my own. I couldn’t have been more pleasantly surprised with the content. The class did have a great deal of review. My husband kept whispering that I should be taking notes, but I reminded him that the things that were being discussed were things I could recite anytime without notes, but I was so happy that he was engaged enough to be listening that way. So, we went through the obligatory informational part of the class, and got that out of the way, which is when I feel the real value came in.

I went into this class pretty scared of the idea of getting this baby out of my body. I had plans to get to the hospital when it was appropriate, manage through the pain until it seemed like an epidural would be welcome, and then get the epidural and chill through the rest. I knew pushing would be exhausting, but I didn’t really expect it to be terribly painful, and I was just hopeful that I could handle the whole process without a great deal of pain, trauma or fear.

The other idea that I had before I went into the class was that it would be extremely convenient to simply schedule an induction for the birth. This would allow me to give my family dates that they could come visit and I could schedule the time off work appropriately. I also wouldn’t have to worry about going into active labor at 1am or my doctor being unavailable at the time. Of course, there is always the chance that the baby would decide to come earlier than the induction, but I’ve always had the hunch that he would come late. My mom was 2+ weeks late with all three of us and my sister was induced about 12 days past her due date. My doctor won’t allow me to go more than 2 weeks late, but I figured I would just schedule the induction for about 2 days after my due date.

After an 8 hour class with a lovely doula/nurse/lactation consultant at the hospital, I have changed my mind completely on both of these items. Melissa gave us so much information about the benefits of allowing labor to begin on its own. I could write pages if I tried to go through it all, but it made so much sense to me. Here is an article that covers many of the items she discussed.

http://www.lamaze.org/ChildbirthEducators/ResourcesforEducators/CarePracticePapers/LaborBeginsOnItsOwn/tabid/487/Default.aspx

I am now very much dedicated to letting labor begin on its own. In fact, I will be disappointed if I must induce because I’m going so late, but not disappointed enough to put the baby at risk. My hope is that if we’re already 2 weeks late, then the baby won’t be too terribly unwilling to come out, like he might have been if we induced a week early.

The other thing I have really changed my mind on is the epidural. Now I’m not suggesting that I’ve committed myself to a drug-free birth. I wish I was brave enough to commit to that, but I’m not. What I am saying is that I am committed to trying to do this birth without an epidural, but if I need it at some point, I won’t beat myself up for “caving in”. I used to think inducing and epidurals gave me the largest amount of control that I could have in my birth experience, but after reading all this information, I feel just the opposite. Being hooked up to IV’s, monitors and catheters put me in a position where I am completely powerless to use my own body to help get this baby down and out. I’m totally at the mercy of the doctors and nurses. I still am very trusting of medical professionals and I’m not in any way trying to say that I would prefer to run the show rather than them, but the fact is, this is not a malfunction or a sickness in my body that needs to be treated. My body was designed to perform this function. I feel that giving my body the chance to actually participate in this without immediately stripping myself of all control makes sense for both me and for baby.

For this (still intimidating) process, my husband and I have enlisted the services of a doula. We feel that there is no downside to having her there and she can help us carry out our plans the way we want them and also provide me with a great deal of support.

Update 31 weeks 3 days

So far the third trimester has been my favorite. I know this is likely to change in the next 8 weeks or so, but it really has been the best so far. In the first trimester, I was miserable with all-day sickness and fatigue, but I had to keep my misery to myself for the most part and put on a happy face for work and everything. Plus the first trimester went by so slowly. I feel like I can remember every single day. I was so stressed about making to the 2nd trimester and I wanted the nausea to go away so much that it really dragged on forever.

The second trimester, I felt much better than the first, but it was just kind of boring. I still didn’t really look genuinely pregnant. Strangers would take a second glance at my belly, but no one seemed to be willing to say anything for fear of being wrong. I also became pretty uncomfortable moving around and sleeping at this stage, but everyone seemed to constantly remind me how great I should be feeling, so I was just waiting for everything to get worse. I did begin to feel movement in the second trimester, but it was still so surreal that it was hard to equate those taps to an actual person inside me.

Now in my third trimester, I’m definitely uncomfortable getting up and laying in bed and getting in and out of the car, etc, but it’s because I have a big BABY in the way. Everyone can see the reason for my discomfort and it somehow validates it. I have to pee all the time, but I don’t care because I have a big BABY crushing my bladder. I can feel the constant movements of the baby and they can be so strong that they are uncomfortable, but it makes me feel like I’m getting to know him a bit. I still find the whole thing surreal, but even looking at my belly, the little creature inside is starting to resemble a small baby, not just some unknown bumping feeling. I am starting to get big enough now that I have to be very careful about how much I eat in one sitting or I am incredibly bloated and uncomfortable for the rest of the day. Again though, this is all due to this growing baby that is taking up all the room inside me. I don’t mind sharing with him.

I am not generally fond of being the center of attention, and actually find situations where this is the case somewhat uncomfortable, but for some reason it doesn’t bother me that everywhere I go, strangers strike up conversations with me about the little one in my tummy. Not a day goes by where I’m not asked a question or given a piece of advice or just generally admired for my pregnant state. It is such a reminder that pregnancy is a special time. It is even more special to be pregnant for the first time. The third trimester has just treated me well. I am hopeful that I can continue to enjoy it for as long as possible before I’m counting the days for this little one to come out.