last week i had a sense that the baby was lower and wasn't sure if he'd actually "dropped" into true birth position. well, all that changed over the weekend. i have now joined the club of pregnant ladies who absolutely knew it when the baby dropped, and it wasn't all that pleasant.
friday i was much more achy and uncomfortable than i have been, but blamed it on a long(ish) work week and my general lack of energy. saturday this continued, along with way more contractions and pressure than i've felt so far. the contractions still made me feel nauseated, but they were way worse (i basically felt like i was going to puke or poop all the time) and then i had these cramps that radiated down my thigh. which seemed really strange. i started to get nervous that i was actually going into labor. THEN i realized that the baby was moving more than i've felt him move in weeks, since before he got too big for his acrobatics. i couldn't figure out what was the precursor to what: was he moving because of the crazy contractions? or was his movement causing the crazy contractions? i was actually a little nervous that he was in distress or something and was flailing around helplessly in there... but my gut said he was ok... i just needed to wait it out and see what the heck was going on.
by saturday night i was pretty sure i could tell what was happening. he had definitely shifted. the lump that i've learned is his butt and the large, flat surface that i know is his back -- which i've felt off to the side of my belly button for weeks -- were suddenly front and center, right behind my belly button. and his leg kicks had shifted down a bit and more towards the back of my uterus rather than right up in my ribcage. my whole belly had changed shape: i could see that it was sitting much lower than it had been, and protruding out farther as his body now seemed to be totally vertical. and it felt like i had a bowling ball inside of me. the increasing heaviness i've felt for months was nothing compared to this sensation. every movement was like a herculean feat. this, i've read, is exactly what women say it feels like when the baby drops so that his head is actually engaged in the pelvis where it needs to be to start labor.
my doctor confirmed yesterday that this is pretty certainly what happened. she could feel that his positioning had changed and said it seemed like his head was down in my pelvis now, meaning that he is ready for the big show! she also said i'm a little bit more dilated than i was last week, which still isn't much but is a sign of progress; it at least indicates that my body is also preparing and will likely continue to do so and be able to handle a normal vaginal birth. of course there's no way to know when i will actually go into labor. at this point it could be any day... or not. when i left the OB's office she said, "See you next week! If not sooner!" but... there's no guarantee of anything at this point.
i go to the high risk doc on friday and i know they'll do an ultrasound and also a growth assessment. i'm not sure if they'll have any more insight on when the big day will actually be. i'm hoping for next week, i think. i'd like to get through this week and the weekend (when i think the hubby has a birthday surprise planned for me) but i'd really like not to wait until my actual due date in 2 1/2 weeks, if only because i can't imagine how much more uncomfortable i can get and i think the baby will be a giant by then. but i guess we'll just have to wait and see. it is exciting to know that the time is close, for real. and, of course, that everything seems to be happening as it should. i'm also feeling good about the fact that (right now, at least) i feel really in touch with my body and the baby. i'm glad i was able to discern what was happening over the weekend and i hope that means i will have a good sense of how things progress from here on out. i've asked the baby numerous times to hold off on making his entrance until after this week, so i'm going to trust that he heard me on that.
for now i'm trying to be productive at work (though my colleagues are all totally freaked out that i'm here and are developing strategic plans in case i go into labor at school) and get as much done as i can. it's getting harder and harder to focus on work. things are home are squared away: i got my flu shot, finished packing the hospital bag, and have everything else in order that i can possibly think of. so now it's really just the waiting game. i am so excited to meet the little guy. soon!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment