The One Where My Water's Broke

Nope, this wasn't a Friends episode, this was a My Bed episode this morning when I woke to feel something slippery in between my legs.

I couldn't believe it!  Did my water's break?  Was labor actually about to happen?  I was sure I hadn't wet myself and my leg was damp.  This could only mean one thing...

My heart started to thunder in my chest and I tentatively woke up Chris.  "Chris, I think my water's may have broken.  My leg's wet.  Feel my leg."

Chris isn't a morning person but that got him up in a flash!  "Really?" he gave me a careful look while I shoved my leg towards him.  But then his expression of half shock/half excitement faded as he examined my leg.  "I don't think your water's broke.  If they had there would probably be more fluid and there's nothing on the bed, just this little bit on your leg.  I think this is just sweat."

Say WHAT?  Sweat?!  But actually....that kind of made sense.  I hauled my body out of bed and dashed, alright waddled, down to the bathroom to explore further.   No, I wasn't damp down there.  No, there wasn't any trickle to indicate my water's were broken...just my legs, slightly sticky from rubbing together under my night dress thing.

What an anti-climax I'm telling you.....I wasn't in labor.....I'm just an uncomfortable, nearly 41 weeks pregnant lady with sweaty legs as my big body attempts to regulate its temperature in the night.  Wah.

Baby, look at all the fun you're missing!

Getting out of the house this weekend was extremely therapeutic! After three days housebound due to my ice rink of a road, Chris and I took advantage of the weekend's slightly milder temperatures to go play in the snow. We're really just two big kids at heart - it took a lot of restraint and my burgeoning coat to remind Chris that he can't peg me (and baby) directly with snowballs! These pics were taken 2 days after my due date.

I know it's nice and warm inside me, but look at all the fun our little lady is missing out on! Not one to be left out, she continues to put in some solid kick boxes of her own. I'm also experiencing increase pelvic pressure and little zings in my groin that occasionally radiate down my leg. Nothing, however, is getting longer, stronger and closer together. For as many times as contractions are described to me, I still feel like I'm not going to know when they are actually here because of all these growing sensations. But I'm assured I will know when the show gets on the road. Let's hope it's soon. Thank you everyone for your encouragement and well wishes!

I’m Off to see the Midwife, the Wonderful Midwife of Oz….

Okay, it’s not the Wonderful Midwife of Oz….it’s my Wonderful Midwife of London who I’m hoping will tell me the little lady is nicely engaged and will be making her out of womb appearance shortly!

I’m 39 weeks pregnant. I’m starting to feel more uncomfortable. I feel like a beached whale in bed – it really is easier to turn over by flipping on all fours instead of hauling the weight of my body from side to side. I have a sketchy stomach, possibly a sign that things may kick off soon though this could be wishful thinking on my part.

I’m also getting lots of pressure down below, though the baby is still managing to kickbox like a prize fighter under my bust line. Chris and I have taken to watching my belly ripple in waves on a daily basis. I guess she feels cramped too.

Here’s my week 39 picture, taken in the last moments of 2009 before bed. We stayed up for the strike of midnight but we were in bed, worn out by but a game of scrabble.

So I’m hoping Midwife L, who has been extremely supportive to me throughout my pregnancy and who I haven't seen for two weeks (in the US by this stage I'd be having weekly checkups but here in the UK they are bi-weekly) may be able to offer some words of solace and confirmation of progress. Keep your fingers crossed please.

My Cervix the Trampoline

Dear sweet Baby Stevens, my cervix is not a trampoline. But you don’t see it that way I suspect….

Zing! There goes another shooting pain, one of Cupid’s good old arrows, down below! This has become an almost daily occurrence, particularly when I’m active. I tried to explain to the little lady that it’s fine for her to settle down in my pelvis rather than bouncing down there like a gymnast but she’s having none of it. As she continues to fill out, her acrobatic maneuvers have become limited so I guess she's enjoying this little “move” while she can.

I’m actually happy for the zings because with each one, I know she is gradually settling in my pelvis or at least preparing my body for this imminent pre-birth event - and that’s a good sign at my stage of pregnancy. Still, I had to ask myself if my secret want of a trampoline while growing up despite the many things generously given to me by my parents has now come back to bite me.  Be careful what you wish for!!

Numb Hands, Warm Words

No, this blog is not migrating its focus to fingers and hands; their just hot topics during my 35th week of pregnancy...

Here is pictured my right hand, as proof that it’s not overly swollen and my ring still fits on it without issue. Still, my hormonal body must be maintaining more fluid than normal since I’ve woke a few mornings in the last week with numb, pins and needle-like hands. The situation is hardly dire – I’m not unable to sleep because of the tingling and it doesn’t ail me during the day – but when I wake up in the morning, I seem to have a mild bout of carpal tunnel syndrome. For those unfamiliar with this little gem, it involves swelling and compression of the main nerve in the wrist, resulting in tingly, numb hands.

Pretty common in pregnancy (Babycentre.co.uk suggests that up to 60% of pregnant ladies may experience it), particularly at night and in the 2nd and 3rd trimester, carpel tunnel syndrome often disappears once baby is born. Still, if I can kick this little plight in the ass before it gets established, I’m going to try. Taking action abated my legs cramps by stretching before bed, so fingers crossed some of these natural remedies might do the trick here.  If anyone else has experienced this and knows of any tips to share, please do!

• Kneel on your hands and knees, leaning your body forward and stretching your wrists. We do this in pregnancy yoga so I’m going to introduce this into my bedtime routine.
• Massage your wrist from the inside outwards when you have the opportunity. Doesn’t sound too intrusive, I can do this while reading or watching TV.
• Sit with your hands elevated during the day. Difficult to do while going about my daily business but maybe doable on the couch?
• Sleep propped up or with your arm on a pillow at night. I think I do this already but maybe I’ll add another pillow since I’m down to one under my head as my other one is under my leg.  I guess no one can really control their "sleep position" though....I can't at least...
  
• Use a wrist splint at night or wrist rest at the computer. I don’t have either of these things; maybe I’d explore if the problem became chronic but these are useful FYIs all the same.
  

Ahh, the exciting ramblings of a pregnant mind.

I have to also put in a mention for the warm words I’ve been receiving from women in the street, at the gym, in the shops. “When are you due?” “Is it your first baby?” “Do you know what you’re having?” “Ohh, I hope you get through the Christmas period before the birth. I don’t mean to scare you but I was 4 weeks early with my first.”

Does being pregnant mean that all of a sudden random British people will break the silent ranks and talk to me? Great!  Maybe I should be pregnant all the time. I’m grateful for all the newfound conversation I’ve been having.

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Butter Fingers

I have a tendency toward clumsiness at the best of times. I’ll never forget the time I floored it in front of the busy student union at college. I was wearing sneakers and essentially tripped over my own feet. Then there was the time that I dropped a glass, on a knife on the dinner table, which then shattered and cut me landing me in the emergency room for stitches. I have a poorly stitched up scar to this day as a badge of my troubled dexterity.

So every time my pregnancy updates warn that my shifting center of gravity and looser joints would only exacerbate this less desirable trait, Chris shakes his head and warns me to be careful and I silently curse under my breath. I don’t need anything else working against me in the clumsy department.

So far I’ve avoided any crash and burn spills and I am trying to “slow down” and take care in protection of my bump. But today I just had a really clumsy day. I dropped Rico’s food bowl on the floor and sent his food a flying. Then I dropped my hair brush on the dirty gym floor and had to stoop and rummage under the counter for it (more easily said than done these days). Later I banged my head on the kitchen counter on my way up from the washing machine and soon after dropped a whole role of aluminum foil, which unraveled across the kitchen floor.

By that point I was pretty frustrated, probably cursed out loud and decided I needed some time out with Rico and bump. As I sat at the kitchen table grumbling the little lady started belting me with her foot as if to say, “buck up mama, chin up, easy does it!” Yes, that’s exactly what she was saying…..in my world where babies in the womb dish out adult advice. Either that or she could feel me getting riled and wanted to fight back!

So I'm ready for bed tonight. I’m tired and looking forward to A Christmas Carol, which Chris is in the process of reading to bump. We thought we’d try to get her in the holiday spirit a la Dickens – with his wordiness and my jabbering she’ll probably come out of the womb talking!

Cupid's Arrows

Yesterday Chris and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary! This year he's got all the more to love, as you can see from my 34 week picture :) It was our last anniversary sans children and we toasted (yes, I had a small glass of red wine) that after 5 years of married life and 10 years of knowing each other that the romance is still in the air. Thank you Cupid for your love arrows in this respect.

Of course the love in the air extends to our little one in utero, though she was keen to remind us of that a la Cupid as well. "What am getting at", you ask? The sharp, arrow-like pains that I now sporadically feel shooting into my nether regions. Don't be alarmed; it's nothing bad or sinister - the opposite in fact. It's my body and baby's way of preparing/stretching/doing something to ready me for her birth. It just feels like she got Cupid on board and asked him to shoot some of his love arrows down under. Sorry, TMI, but true.  But I'm still smiling.

Here's the Rub....

I'm 32 weeks pregnant! Wow - only two months to go now (hopefully, provided that she is not running late....). Though I've been charting each week of this journey the imminence of birth hit me today like a brick wall. That sounds bad, but I don't mean it in a negative way. While in the shower I was suddenly enraptured by my swelling tummy and the little person that it holds....a little scared that I still feel I have so much to learn and discover, much of which I probably can't plan for, planner that I am....shocked that it's really truly soon to be three of us day in day out. I can't wait, I am ready and I'm sure Chris and I will be fine. But in this moment the mix of emotions was a bit overwhelming....I lathered my belly and took a deep breath.

My brick wall moment may have spurred me to start reading my Secrets of the Baby Whisperer book by Tracy Hogg. I've heard she is structured and loving but less hard core than Gina Ford who many new parents swear by for routine making. I've only read the first chapter, but her tone and style are conversational and easy to relate to. More on that once I've read more.

I've also started wondering a bit more on random parenting logistics like when babies can sleep through the night without a feed every 2-4 hours and the best way to clean up messy poop - muslin in warm water, cotton wool...and if so which type of cotton wool? (No, I haven't totally lost it!)  I think I'm going to avoid wipes for cost saving and baby skin sensitivity issues but I really don't know what is best.... Like I've said before I'm sure we'll pave our way and find routines and practices that work for us, however, in the absence of really knowing what's best, I'm very open to ideas from experienced moms. Then at least I'll have some starting points to consider and pick and choose from. My wonderings may seem small and ridiculous (they do to me at least) but put them all together and they can be a bit overwhelming too.  Chris says I need to chill and just take things one step at a time.  I know it - sometimes I just get on a roll - I'll blame those raging hormones!

Our lady is now the size of a jicama and is moving around constantly in my belly. She may have less room to stretch out but boy can she wriggle - particularly at night! I just read on Babycenter that it's theorized babies have more control over their movement when their mom's are still at night, thus they take advantage of it! This is no proven theory but I found the reasoning interesting so thought I'd share.

Last but not least, my other odd pregnancy "rub" of the week. Yesterday the crease where my bump meets pelvic area kept really itching. I haven't had issues with itching or dryness but hey, new week, new little ailment. I think the problem may have been exacerbated by my jeans, which hitched to that area via my bump band and subsequently caused my underwear to dig into the crease! Why wear the jeans you ask? Maybe I should have changed but I didn't feel like it....anyway, I found that rubbing a little bit of Vaseline in the crease soothed the itch and kept any irritation at bay. A little tip to try if you're ever caught out with the "bump crease rub!"

Fruit Photo Credit: Babycenter.com

The Pain in My Ass

Today I encountered a real pain in my ass - literally, that's what it was.....a pain, or pressure, in my rectal area. I've had this happen sporadically throughout my pregnancy but today this little niggle decided to stick around from first thing in the morning to sometime in the middle of the afternoon. I wasn't constipated. I don't have any haemorrhoids....I checked. More uncomfortable than hurt, my butt felt like a cranked up pressure cooker, a little achy, almost sore? In past this feeling has radiated into my upper thighs but it preferred to stay nice and concentrated in my butt today.

My 31 week pregnancy newsletter had a link to signs of pre-term labor, one of which is increased pressure in the pelvic area. Red alert! Does rectal area equal pelvic area?....my gut feeling after an initial stomach lurch was no. I wasn't experiencing any other signs of pre-term labor so I then felt less concerned and more stymied....had our baby has found a pillow in my rectal passage? Did I sleep in some funny position? I've also read that first babies can engage or drop in the pelvis from 33/34 weeks but I'm not there yet and have had this feeling before only to have it fade as it did today, which does not suggest engagement. I considered whether I was again going nuts, but fellow mama-to-be LH reassured me that she has also experienced this tender/tight ass sensation since becoming pregnant. The old adage that misery, or in this case wacked out pregnancy symptom, loves company proved true. Ahhh, what will tomorrow bring?

I've included a couple of 31 week photos. Please excuse the lines on my bare belly shot; this is a pitfall of bump jeans with tight elastic at the top! Also direct your attention away from my little hooded bellybutton - not popped, but not pretty!!

This week baby is weighing in around the size/shape of four navel oranges. She can turn her head from side to side and dream! I found some maternity pads at Mothercare (they do a handy 48 pads for the week after birth pack & disposable undies for pretty cheap) and Chris and I started shifting some things in what will be baby's room.....it currently looks like a tornado hit it, but when that blows through there will be progress.

Fruit Photo Credit: Babycenter.com

Up to My Eyes in Hormones

Rightly or wrongly, women are often accused of being overly hormonal, particularly at that certain time of the month.  I don't think that I usually suffer from any serious PMS symptoms but now that I'm pregnant, I'm constantly reminded that the influx of hormones raging through my body may turn me into a weeping, wacky wild woman or a clumsy oaf with heartburn, stretch marks and varicose veins.

Please join me in knocking HARD on wood that I haven't yet fallen victim to these unfortunate "badges of pregnancy" aside from my dear, occasional moments of madness.  Saying that, last weekend my right eye was really bothering me.  It wasn't red, swollen, bloodshot or giving me double vision but just prone to random bouts of sensitivity where it would suddenly burn and then spontaneously start to tear.  I didn't know what the deal was and ironically didn't even consider that this new ailment could be linked to those fateful pregnancy hormones until I stumbled upon dry eye syndrome in my pregnancy newsletter.  My sporadic tearing had ceased by then - it stopped as suddenly as it started - but it looks like those pregnancy hormones were yet again making themselves known.

I'm now 30 weeks pregnant and our daughter is the size of a cabbage, weighing in at about 3 pounds!  It's hard for me to imagine that I now have a real, nearly developed baby in my belly and that in about 10 weeks she'll arrive here with us.  This may be what we've been working towards and waiting for but it's still mind boggling all the same.  Chris and I still have plenty prepare and take on board during this home stretch but ultimately we are ready and know the real learning will begin when she is here with us.  I'm excited!

Our great friends T&D just spent the weekend with us and it's been a fabulous, relaxed couple of days.  I will share 30 week pictures tomorrow.

Fruit Photo Credit: Babycenter.com

Vitamin E is my friend

Today I owe a big shout out to good old Vitamin E. It's long established that Vitamin E is linked to healthy skin care (anti-ageing benefits; prevention and treatment of sunburn; reduction of stretch mark appearance) but I've truly seen its magic in action this last week. The side of my lip cracked while flossing my teeth in the midst of my cold (yes, gross) and my Vitamin E chapstick has helped it stay moisturized and heal rapidly. If anyone else is suffering chapped or split lips, definitely give good old Vitamin E a whirl. It might look like a plain Jane compared to the many fancy schmancy chapsticks on the market but don't be fooled!

I've also noticed that it's an active ingredient in my stretch mark fighting Palmer's Cocoa Butter and recently purchased Burts Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter. I was discussing this latter product with LH and decided to pick up a jar of it in the USA. It's thicker, more tacky and takes a bit more effort to rub in than the Palmer's lotion and similarly doesn't have a great smell, but it's chalk full of Vitamin E and I'm all for that this week. I don't have a preference between these two products (though the Burts Bees cream comes at a higher price tag)and will probably carry on with both for the sake of variety. I know they say that stretch marks can't be beat if they're coming, but if anything can help fend them off, I'm sold on introducing "E" power!

Stretch Away

This isn't an extensive article, but recently Pregnancy Weekly reports that stetching may prevent preeclampsia, or pregnancy induced hypertension. It suggests that light stretching releases a special kind of protein called transferrin, which protects against stress on the body.

I usually do a few yoga or pilates stretches before bed to ward off evil leg cramps and generally unwind. After reading so much about relaxin release and how it's important not to overstretch (valid advice but yet another pregnancy risk), it's nice to read about stetching in a positive light.

From what I can see preeclampsia is still much of a common wonder to the medical world and there are no clear cut answers on how to avoid it. But if stetching might stack the odds in your favor of keeping it at bay while allowing your muscles a well earned breather, why not?

16 Weeks and Counting

I'm now 16 weeks pregnant and my baby is the size of an avocado! I'm a visual person and I like my fruit so I'm loving these analogies. Apparently a growth spurt is on the cards, and I can expect our little one to double in weight over the next three weeks. Maybe that is why my stomach feels tender and is just starting to pop out...everything is stretching. I usually put lotion on my arms and legs morning and night, but I've now taken to rubbing Palmers Cocoa Butter on my stomach, sides and butt in an effort to stave off stretch marks. I think my mom escaped that - I hope that genetics work in my favor here but I guess we'll see.

I woke up early Thursday morning to the sound of me shouting about a really annoying leg cramp. Apparently these are also common in pregnancy because of the excess weight on your legs and/or the pressure of your expanding uterus on nerves leading to the legs. I fortunately kept it at bay by straightening my leg and flexing my foot a few times. I have a good routine down since I can be prone to leg cramps, probably because I'm often on my feet. I also read that stretching before bed is a good way to avoid cramping, so that's a tip worth noting.

Aside from that, nothing major to report. I just finished a fantastic book called 'A Confederacy of Dunces' by John Kennedy Toole. Join the educated, foul sloth Ignatius J. Reilly crudsade against modern society....If you're looking for something to add to your reading list, check it out.

I'll post a new 16 weeks picture tomorrow.