To Bravely Go...
...where billions of women have gone before: Planet Labor.
If it's so normal, why is it so intimidating?
*shudder*
If it's so normal, why is it so intimidating?
*shudder*
posted by WinterWheat | 10:21 AM
12 Comments:
you're in labour?? ooh ooh!
i never did the labour thing - i did the (semi-elective) section and in its own way it was just as special
good luck!
look forward to hearing the news...
UC
Well, not yet -- but it could start any day now. I'm a little over a week away from my due date, and the Braxton-Hicks contractions have been coming on like gangbusters. Of course, having a BH contraction is like flexing your bicep without actually lifting any weight. The real test comes when they hand you a 100-lb barbell. :-)
It is scary, indeed. (You know, death seems pretty normal, too, and yet look how many folks are scared of that.) It's traumatic and hard, but once it's over, you're done, and you don't have to do it again, because some wonderful new person has come into the world. I had folks giving me all sorts of "advice," but the truth is you just have to handle it all in your own way. And you will. You will be able to handle it, and you will get through it.
Good luck, K.
Okay, so I will impart one wee bit of "advice" - if well-meaning people get disturbed by you if you choose to start cursing like a sailor, don't listen to them, just turn around and curse them out for shushing you. And if they still persist in telling you how to behave at that moment, have whoever is acting as your agent/advocate kick them out of your room. I'll shutup now.
Elbowing in here uninvited with my 2ยข - I didn't really get any Braxton-Hicks, and I'd never had cramps with my periods either (just start hating me now), so labor was a whole new thing for me. The best way I can describe my contractions is "a charley-horse of the uterus."
The way I deal with charley-horses (cramp in calf muscle) is to wait it out, because it hurts One Bazillion Times More if I move at all. EVEN MY EYELASHES. Same thing with contractions. The birth classes were right: resist the urge to thrash around! (I only tried it once.)
Wishing you an easy L/D! Can't wait to see the new little face. Oh, and Cowgirl is TOO PRECIOUS in the crib!
Yez
K, I am so excited for you!!! Wishing you the easiest delivery ever, and can't wait to see the pictures...you will post a pic of the baby, won't you?
Does this mean you are in labor, K?
I thought the baby was due on Valentine's day! Wishing you an easy labor and delivery. I'll give you a call.
Kris I really did not have contractions/with pain ,as others describe . I got a back ache the day of delievery . I thought I had been doing too much yoga,so I went for a jog. I know ignorance is great. All I felt was restless,and was visiting the loo too many times. I only went to the hospital to see my Doctor about what that was since I had no pain.(he was only at H to deliever someone else) So what I am saying is maybe nature tells you it is time(even like in my case ,without me feeling the contractions ) I delievered 10 minutes later with the three real contractions . LOL !!! So I think you will know when it is time,as my instinct did not let me down. Wishing you my kind of delievery OX's Katie
Oh my effing LORD, I can't stand the excitement. I thought it was ACTUALLY HERE, but I see that alas, not yet.
I can't wait for your take on everything and to see you as a mom. It is so exciting! And honestly, it can't be as bad as everyone says. Nothing, in my experience, ever is.
K., I'm thinking of you so much lately -- I hope all goes well. These last few weeks are anxious and achey, aren't they?
Can you stand a few more bits of unsolicited, anecdotal advice? When you lose the mucus plug, you'll go within the next few days (that happened to me). Also, a little "encounter" with DH can help get things started (that didn't work for me, but I've heard it worked for some others). A woman I used to work with brought two of her labors on by sitting in the bathtub and doing Kegels and n_pple stim at the same time. I'm sure you've heard all the old wives' tales by now, though :-)
The first several hours of labor aren't that painful. I actually powdered my nose and put on lip gloss between contractions when I was in the early stages (I didn't wear perfume, though!). I didn't want to look too sweaty/unkempt in the photos. Ahh, vanity.
One last comment...a lot of women who haven't yet given birth wonder what labor is like. It's hard to describe exactly how it feels, but I would compare the level of discomfort (not the actual symptoms) to being sick with the stomach flu for a day. Bad but tolerable. You feel pretty crappy for a few hours (once you're dilated to 5 or so), but you know it's going to end, and when it's over, you have the best possible reward. I bet you will do fine; tall women always seem to have quicker and more productive labors. My 5'11" Kegel friend delivered an 11-pounder sans epidural. Hugs and best wishes...Sue
I'm so excited for you! Sending lots of good delivery vibes for you and the baby!
Hi K, thinking about you lots. I tend to agree with Katiedid. You'll just handle it. Can't wait to hear about the little one!!
xo
laura
I've never had a baby myself but I love watching births on the TV. I always cry a lot. LOL!
I'm not sure one can generalize, Sue, from one's own experience: I know a couple of women who had incredibly painless labours, and others for whom it certainly was a lot more painful than 'being sick with the stomach flu for a day'. It was 'bad' and almost intolerable.
Let's hope you have an easy one, K! :-)
Post a Comment
<< Home