Monday, September 22, 2008

I'm Worried...

...that when I actually go into labor, I won't know it unless my water breaks or until it's fairly advanced.

That sounds paranoid, doesn't it? I know that a lot of people would tell me that you can't not know that you're in labor...but I also know that there are some women who genuinely don't pick up on the symptoms of early labor. One of my friends went on about her business, working all day, life as normal, when BOOM, she was hit with a severe cramp, got to the hospital, and delivered within 30 minutes. First baby.

I have two reasons for thinking that I might have a hard time distinguishing labor from, well, life as usual.
  1. I have a high pain threshold and do not pick up on "twinges."
    After a decade's worth of back, neck and joint pain that has gone largely untreated and unmedicated, I simply have stopped noticing anything but total, full-on pain. My husband brags about my pain threshold to his friends. In fact, he's convince that I won't use any meds during birth. (My birth plan indicates that I will only accept pain meds if I request it.) In any case, if the early contractions are minor, I don't think I'll notice them! And that concerns me, since the doctor wants to know if I have any contractions before next Saturday. What if I can't tell?
  2. Baby stays contorted 90% of the time.
    I joke that Bunny hates me. Quite literally, my stomach is hard as a rock 90% of the time. At first, we thought that I was just having really long B-H contractions. Nope. The doctor tells me that the baby is simply positioning herself to cause that. To me, the fact that my stomach is so hard so much of the time feels like a really long (painless, yet uncomfortable) contraction. We think that I've had some B-H contractions on top of baby's contortions, but (see above), since they're pretty much only twinges that I can barely feel, we just can't tell for sure.
In terms of other labor symptoms like nausea and such...well...I feel nauseous at least part of every day. So that won't help.

So I guess I'm just going to be paranoid. I have full days scheduled tomorrow and Wednesday and then lighter days Thursday and Friday. FD gets to come home next Monday. Let's hope the baby plays nice and doesn't race her daddy to the hospital!

Hugs,

~FM~

4 comments:

Nicole said...

First, CONGRATS on making it to 36 weeks! Thats fantastic, now you know you'll defnitely have a healthy, full-term baby Bunny, whenever she does make her appearance.
Not to freak you out, but with my first pregnancy, I walked around 2cm dialated for weeks anddidntk now it. And even though I was induced, until I got up to about 6 or 7 cm dialated, the contractions didnt feel like much more than crampy, period-like pains. (I dont remember at what point my water broke, but you cant miss that!) So yes, sometimes you CAN miss the early signs of labor - but by the time you get into active labor, you will KNOW it. I'm sure you and baby will be fine.
I hope you have a nice, safe, smooth, uneventful delivery... try not to stress about it in the meantime.

Nicole

Anonymous said...

With my 1st child, I didn't realize I was in labor until the contractions were fairly painful. Think really bad PMS cramps. Ones that you have trouble standing straight up with. You'll know...especially this close to your due date. It'll be in the back of your mind to pay attention.
Almost to the finish line... you'll be just fine. :) And my water had to be broken in all 3 of my pregnancies, so maybe yours will be your sign of labor and maybe it won't. Don't stress about it. Bunny will let you know when its time. Good luck!

A New Beginning said...

I had mild "cramps" in the a.m. that lasted all day. I had also started having a lot more fluid leaking. I was checked in the a.m., but dr said my water had not broken.

So, I went back to work, watching the clock on the "cramps". When I got home, I ate dinner, and about 30 mins later, I had diarrhea. I still did not know that labor was coming.

I started having more pressure down below that was weird.

But when my water broke, and I had my first real contraction, I KNEW labor had began. There was no mistaking it.

Don't worry, your natural instincts will kick in.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your first pregnancy, I know you'll have a fine healthy baby, enjoy your pregnancy do not stress.