Still Here

[alycewilson]

Just a short update to reassure everyone that I'm not yet in labor. My doctor ordered what's called a non-stress test, which I did this afternoon. Apparently, it's something they do for older mothers. They hooked me up to a heart monitor to listen to the baby's heart beat for 20 minutes. Everything was good, so they sent me home

Comments

[theafaye]

Just remember that you only have an ESTIMATED due date and if you're like most first time mothers, you've got another week to go yet (WHO defines a term pregnancy as anywhere between 38-42 weeks, so you've got two weeks before you could be considered overdue).

I swear that doctors just like making pregnant women waddle :oP

Seriously - glad to hear everything's all right and you're making sure that you do put your feet up for a while.

[alycewilson]

You should talk to my mom and sister. They are so excited they keep calling and texting me, certain it's going to be ANY MINUTE.

I'm told that I'll recognize a contraction when I feel it, so I guess I'll just wait until I start feeling them before I expect his imminent arrival!

[theafaye]

Which reminds me:

http://www.contractionmaster.com/

It's a bit of a gimmick and I certainly wouldn't recommend it to support nursing, but it can be a good way to find out whether you're having long and regular enough contractions to be worth bothering with. You really don't want to go into hospital too early, so it can be quite useful just to go "ok, things are moving but it'll be a while yet."

I did wonder when you went quiet whether something had happened, but I figure you'll let us know when you're ready. Nothing worse than those "have you had the baby yet?" hassles. Heck, I've got people telling me now I must be due any moment and it's irritating as heck, so I feel for you.

[alycewilson]

Cool! I'll forward that app to my husband for his iPhone.

In the waiting room today, another woman who was just past her due date said she's tired of all the questions. And a woman who had the non-stress test with me is having twins. She's at 35 weeks and says she hears all the time, "So, you're giving birth any minute, right?"

[msstacy13]

Any minute but this one, apparently...

[edith_jones]

I note that the nursing app supports up to 10 babies at once and I immediately began wondering whether this was for women who had quints with a nine-month window in between them....there must be a purpose for the 10-baby support system but I'll be darned if I can think of it right now!

[alycewilson]

You could coach up to 10 women at once!

[edith_jones]

My first two labours were inductions so I really wondered, with #3, if I would recognize naturally-arriving labour when it came. What if I didn't? Would I have the baby in the backyard? I'm not meaning to sound scary, because it's not, but there is a huge difference [for most women] between the contractions that the uterus does in the last few weeks of pregnancy just to screw around with your head, and actual labour. The whole feeling is different, and it involves your whole body and not just your gut. Properly managed, with whatever type of pain relief you've chosen, the whole birth process can be really nice. My last one was, except for seven minutes at the end!

[alycewilson]

Thanks for the insight. I had a few pains this morning while walking the dog, and I kept thinking, "Hmm, that just seems like a muscle pain like I've had before." And then I thought, "I think if it was a contraction, I wouldn't be WONDERING if it was a contraction."