I’m sure I’ve said this before and I’m sure you’re sick of me repeating myself... “Every pregnancy is different.” There’s a lot of new things that I’ve never dealt with in giving birth to Luke or Mila. For instance... contractions. I had them, but they were so mild that I didn’t know it. It was more Braxton-Hicks type stuff where you would have a sharp pain here or a crampy feeling there. I am definitely having contractions now. To where I actually have to keep time on them. I’ve never had to do that. FYI - I got a pretty good app on my phone that’s been helping keep track - simply hit the start as you feel a contraction coming on and stop when your stomach releases (“Full Term - Contraction Counter”). A few days ago my contractions were 9 minutes apart. Then nothing the next day. Then the next evening they were 7 minutes apart. We thought for sure we would be going to the hospital then. Our parents were on standby. And they really haven’t gone below 7 minutes consistently. I notice them more when I’m sitting on the couch with my legs up; not when I’m walking around or cleaning. They come on more in the morning or evening, and after I drink an ice-cold glass of water. (Speaking of... I hope chewing on ice doesn’t mess up your teeth because I’ve been doing it thise past three months.)
So, in case you’re debating whether it’s a real contraction or one of those blasted fake ones... (and sometimes it is really hard to know the difference...) here is the best explanation I could find:
- Braxton-Hicks are irregular. The timing is all over the place whereas true contractions will get closer together at measured intervals and will increase in strength.
- False labor contractions will go away if you switch up your position. In my case, I could feel them really strong when lying on the couch with my feet up, whereas the Braxton-Hicks I experienced went away when I got up and sat at the island, or went to lay in bed, etc. I definitely had real contractions though, and I know because in the middle of the night I would bear down in pain for a couple of hours keeping track of time on my app. I’d also wake Aldo up from groaning in my sleep. Nothing ever stuck until morning.
- False labor contractions are in different areas (a right side here, a pelvic pain there, Wiley in the back); real contractions harden your entire stomach. Sometimes they start out as back labor and wrap around to the front. (I can always tell when I'm having a real one because Nayelli likes to kick, and all of a sudden her kicks disappear because my entire stomach hardens instead of the place where just her foot is.)
What really sucks is that early labor can last for weeks. All the signs show up - contractions, back pain, cramping, pelvic “lightning” or dull pain, discharge or mucous plug (and we already established that doctors don’t care about these), diarrhea (thank goodness I’m not experiencing it; quite the opposite actually), nesting, baby drops, etc. - but the only things that really matter are those real contractions and the timing of them, if your water breaks, and how far you’re dilated.
I’ve never had to deal with whether or not my water broke. I had to look that up. I’ve never had to deal with a mucous plug or bloody show. And I’ve never had to deal with acid reflux. The other night I literally threw up in my mouth. Probably due to the fact that I’m forced by the diabetes nutritionist to not skip or skimp on my before-bed snacks. Wouldn’t you like the taste of cottage cheese coming back up. Yuck. (And, I can’t remember what my snack was... so it wasn’t necessarily cottage cheese.) At the same time I had these pains on both of my sides. I’ll tell you what... I’ve never Googled so much during pregnancy. The symptoms led me to a list of things like ectopic pregnancy and placental abruption. Fortunately one of the major signs of these things are massive bleeding, and I wasn’t experiencing that at all.
The last new thing that we are now scheduled for is a caesarean. We were supposed to get a call from the hospital on how to prepare, but haven’t gotten anything yet... so based on my internet searches, here is what you should know and my thoughts on it....
Before the surgery -
How do I prepare my body? The doc said to take a shower in the morning and evening the day before. Clean the area with anti-bacterial soap. There were a lot of comments online about how nurses appreciated when the patients had their nether regions trimmed before going in. I might try this later.
Are there any restrictions on what I can do before hand? You can still lift and walk, etc. BUT you have to stop eating and drinking by midnight. Can’t even pop in a mint. (In my case, this is because my c-section is scheduled for the morning. If it were in the afternoon, I think you start the fast 10 hours before???)
Any recommendations on what I should eat as my last meal? Anything that will help/not help? No findings. I assume it’s eat what you want. Because following the procedure, you’ll still be off food and then gradually be fed light items like jello and soup until you’re back on solids. I guess I’ll just avoid spicy food so I don’t “poof” on the operating table when everything is numb.
What happens for those two hours of prepping? A lot of questioning surrounding your medical history - anesthesia, pregnancy, prior surgeries, etc. They'll put in an IV for meds and a catheter for pee, monitor you and baby for a while, and let the epidurals set in. Then it's GO time!
Who can be in the room with me? When can photos/video be taken? Only one support person. Photos and video can be taken at any time by your support person. I asked this because Miss C wants to take pictures for us and put together a "birth story", but it looks like she won't be able to come in the operating room. (And she doesn't do blood either, so it's a good idea NOT to let her in.) It's limited to one person and no switching between people in the middle of surgery because they need it as sterile as possible. Aldo won't even be able to snip the umbilical cord. The soonest anyone else can come by is in the recovery room, and the baby will be in there with us.
During surgery -
How long is the surgery? It can range anywhere from 2 to 30 minutes.
Where will the baby be? She'll be going through her measurements and initial heel stick tests, etc. off to the side in the same room as long as everything is going according to plan. When everything checks out, the hospital will push for skin-to-skin.
After surgery -
How long will I be in the recovery room? Is the recovery room the final room we'll be in? Recovery takes about 2 hours. It's the time it takes for feeling to come back in your lower body and legs. And you may experience side effects like a headache, nausea or the shakes. When those wear off, everyone will be moved to a large, final room.
How long will I spend at the hospital? Usually 3 nights. If you go in on a Thursday, you'll be released on Sunday (probably in the afternoon as doctors make their rounds at that time).
At home -
How do I care for the incision? Regular, daily showers. When you wash, save the incision for very last. Refrain from using a scrubby or wash rag; just apply soap and rinse. Gently pat dry with towel. (FYI: You'll also experience the bleeding that comes with a vaginal delivery. So you'll be wearing the mesh undies and abnormally large pads too. Change those frequently. Watch for blood measuring golf ball size or larger. Watch the incision for bleeding, smells, etc. Your biggest threat would be an infection. Applying pressure to the incision does help - such as with a pillow or wearing a belly band - that way you can sit and stand, cough, and so on as your belly goes back to normal.)
What are my restrictions? And for how long? Some people are saying you can only carry the baby or car seat, not both at the same time, and some are saying baby in the car seat. Either way, nothing more than that. (*My doc said that I can carry no more than 20lb. so MY baby in the car seat that we have is just fine and long as I'm comfortable with it.) This will last for two weeks until the follow up appointment. No driving while on medication. You can drive again when you feel comfortable enough to hit the breaks in a quick reaction situation. Yes, you may go up and down stairs. Refrain from exercise... yotta, yotta... although I don't know anyone who would want to exercise as twisting and bending will be difficult. And with that statement, obviously, no hubby time - as with any pregnancy that's restricted for the next 6 weeks. Poor fellas.
Well... I think that's it. Since C-section is happening no matter what, I'll be kicking up my feet these next days. I figure if I "go" then we'll go. And if not, then everything will go as scheduled. I'll take the next days to rest and prep around the house in small batches. In the meantime, parents are still on standby. Mom asks me just about every day how my contractions are going. Honestly, I think it will work out better now just going in on Thursday because we have a plan for the kids, how to get them to school and home, Bandit won't be left alone for hours at a time, bills and trash will be taken care of, and hopefully the house won't be a complete disaster, and we won't forget any last minute things... and I'll be sterilized... less likely to get an infection.
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