Ramblings: Expect the Unexpected
This post is about a week late, not because I was being lazy but because there were some things that happened that were completely out of my control last week and I’m still in a bit of a haze because of it all! I compare both pregnancies quite a bit, and so far this one has been a little more difficult and definitely a little more stressful. I didn’t, however, think that there would be a chance that my daughter would be born at 36 weeks. My family has a history of having babies well past their due date and Luna was no exception, so I thought it would be more than likely that I would go to 42 weeks with this one. Especially as my doctors and hospital will not induce before 42 weeks unless it’s a medical necessity.
So I hit 36 weeks last Monday, feeling fine, the heat getting to me a little, lumbering rather than prancing around, but otherwise great. I drink around 3 liters of water a day so I was definitely staying hydrated, even though it was boiling out. I saw my OB on Wednesday morning and she had a little trouble finding the heartbeat, but found it eventually, and when I mentioned that the baby was moving a little less she checked placement on the sonogram machine and sent me to the hospital for an NST and fluid check. It was over 95 on Wednesday but I decided to walk anyway (it really isn’t that far), and I thought it was quite pleasant to have a little more “me” time than expected seeing as Henna was at home with Luna…
An hour later I was in the process of being admitted to L&D to be induced due to dangerously low amniotic fluid! As I mentioned earlier, my doctors do not like to induce unless they think it’s necessary, so they started a slow induction later that night, and had me on a continuous IV for 24 hours.
After 2 doses of Cytotec overnight and regular but not strong contractions it was obvious it was going to take a lot more to get the baby moving (she was and still is pretty content in her little home), and the IV fluids had actually helped build the amniotic fluids back up to a much better level, so it was decided to not push the induction, let little munchkin cook a little longer and have me come in for NSTs every other day.
What a rollercoaster of emotions! I went through an hour of crying because I just wasn’t ready to give birth, because I wasn’t going to have the unmedicated birth that I wanted, that I hadn’t made more of an effort to hug and kiss Luna before I left her that morning. And then it moved to acceptance and that if I relaxed I would be able to guide my body through an induction without pain meds, with Cesar and my awesome nurses help. And then it lead to excitement, we were actually going to meet our little one! I was a little worried about NICU time, but the nurses reassured me that most 36 weekers are born without any issues at all. And then I couldn’t stop thinking about all the things that we still needed to do! The apartment still needed deep cleaning, I still had assignments to finish, we still haven’t finished buying everything, nothing was READY! Luckily we have a little longer. I bet after all this she will decide to come out all by herself at 42 weeks, just for a last laugh!
So here we are now at 37 weeks, baby is moving well again, I have swollen feet and hands due to the IV and woke up with a swollen face this morning (ugh), I feel a little under the weather, but I’m determined to make the most of whatever time we have left, and to also help start the process naturally by walking as much as I can every day. As it stands it could be any day between now and the next 5 weeks. I may talk a lot about the pregnancy and how I am feeling and everything around it, but I like the labour and delivery part to stay quiet. It’s a time of such intensity and I just would rather it be Cesar and myself getting through it and then Luna meeting her little sister before telling anyone else. Well, I mean obviously Henna will need to know as she will be watching Luna! She did a wonderful job the other day, just taking everything in her stride and making sure Luna was safe and looked after. And then Ashton dropped any plans she had and came over to babysit on Saturday so I could go for my NST. We have wonderful friends! Luna is not easy to babysit, but I feel like she is getting a little less high maintenance. Or maybe that’s wishful thinking, it’s not like I’m here while she is being babysat!
I can’t even remember what I wanted to write about last week now after all of that happened! Most likely just a minor update on how there were just 4 short weeks left and about how I was feeling and everything we still had left to do. One good thing did come of last week and that was that I now know that this hospital is like night and day compared to where I delivered Luna, exactly what I wanted. Nurses basically run the show and deliver babies unless a doctor is needed. I actually mainly saw the (wonderful) nurses and PAs most of the time, and the doctors just popped in to see how I was doing. They are completely pro-breastfeeding and skin to skin, and will do everything to help me get through labour without pain meds. The main problem about being induced for me is that you need to stay attached to an IV and monitor so that they can monitor the baby’s heart and your contractions. This means that you can’t just get up and walk about with every contraction. Being stuck in bed is much harder to deal with, so everyone keep their fingers crossed we will still get the birth that I really want. I know it might seem a little frivolous and that the main point is that we both get through it safely (of course), but I would love to be somewhat in control this time.
It’s quite bittersweet, getting to the end of the pregnancy. On the one hand I can’t wait to meet our little munchkin, for our family to be complete, but on the other this is most likely the last time I will ever feel little kicks from the inside. No more measuring the growth of the belly, no more waddling around, no more wondering how long I can get away wearing those clothes before they don’t fit anymore. I still love being pregnant, I still love knowing that the little bean growing inside of me is one day going to be a fully grown person who will make me laugh and cry every day. But now it’s time to get ready for a new adventure, that of having two kids under two, tandem nursing, and learning how to be even more patient and also forgiving of myself. And also figuring out how to continue working nearly full time from home around the littles. Challenges galore!
I can’t say whether I will be updating again before I give birth, but I do have a few other blog posts I would love to get done before it’s too late for them! Hopefully I can squeeze them in this week or next. Before my brain really turns to absolute mush seeing as it’s already halfway there. In the meantime we shall also try to get all the little projects finished before she arrives… The kitchen is done thanks to Cesar and I have scheduled a Salvation Army pick up for all the stuff we want to get rid of, but every time I look at the living room and know that we have to deep clean it I just want to hide. I’m just going to go dance with Luna to the Sisters of Mercy now before I have to get on with some more work. Until next time <3