I turned off the terb pump last Wednesday and took the site out of my leg. That night, I had TONS of braxton hicks contractions throughout the night. Nothing painful, but definitely annoying. Thursday, I woke up feeling ok and around 11:30 I started feeling crampy. Again, nothing major but definitely something I had not been feeling. It was like mild period cramps that were constant and not going away. Along with these, I was still having braxton hicks. I started timing them and then were coming every 10-12 minutes all the way until my doctor appt on Friday. I just assumed this was all from stopping the pump, which I guess it was...but I didn't expect to hear what the doctor said on Friday.
Friday morning rolls around and I go to my appt at 10 am. They did the ultrasound first and then I saw my doctor. There was a line of ladies waiting to have their non-stress tests so I saw my dr first. When he came in, I told him about my mild cramping and that I had been having contractions every 10-12 minutes since 11:30am on Thursday. He checked me and said I was 1cm dialated and then he proceeded to strip my membranes. This is when the bag of water gets separated from the uterus. INSTANTLY, I could feel my cramping get more intense. I sat up and said, "Um, am I supposed to be feeling something?" My dr said, "YEP." He then told me to go out to lunch, walk the mall for a couple of hours, and come back to the office to get monitored to see what my contractions were doing. He then said that he predicted Logan would be here within the next 24 hours. I must have looked like a deer in headlights. Jordan gets off work at 11 on Fridays so I called him and said to hurry and meet me at the house to get our stuff loaded in the car. My dad took me home and Jordan and I began running around packing last minute things. We hopped in the car and headed to the mall! I ate some lunch and we began walking. At this point, things were definitely picking up and I had to stop every few minutes because my back was hurting so bad and my right leg kept going numb. The pain I was feeling, and am still feeling today, is back labor. OUCH. It's like someone is pinching a nerve. Along with this feeling, when the contractions come it feels like someone is squeezing my ribcage as hard as they can and it makes breathing really hard. Soooo....we walked and then headed back to the doctor. I got hooked up to the monitor and things had definitely picked up. I was contracting every 6-8 minutes by this point. However, it was still not enough progress to be sent to labor and delivery. Darn. He checked me again and I was still only 1cm dialated.
So, home we went. :( We came home and I got in bed for a little while. Once traffic died down, I put on my walking shoes and some comfy clothes and we headed to Target to walk some more. Again, I had to keep stopping to catch my breath and so Jordan could rub my back when the pain would start. After walking there for a bit, we went to dinner. Contractions were still 6-8 minutes apart and my dr said don't go to labor and delivery until they were 5 minutes apart or less. SHOOT. We went home and I got into bed and tried to sleep. By this point, I was starting to get super sore...everywhere. On top of all these contractions and pressure, remember that I haven't been up and really walking in 14 weeks. My body was weak and hurting. Sleep that night was pretty rough. Getting in and out of the bed to go to the bathroom made me want to cry.
I made it to Saturday morning and woke up feeling like someone had beaten me with a bat...mostly between my legs. (Sorry...TMI, I know. But it hurt so bad and it felt like a canon ball was trying to push it's way through. Oh wait, that's just my son's GIGANTIC head. Lordy.) I got up at 7 am and told Jordan I had to walk. I wanted to get the contractions closer together again. We went for a walk around the neighborhood and then I started making laps through the house. Contractions were still 6-8 min apart but I was feeling so much pressure. My mom eventually convinced me to go to labor and delivery to just get checked to see if I had dialated anymore. So, at 11:30am we went to get checked. Thank goodness it wasn't busy at all and they took me straight back. I got hooked up to the monitor, contractions were the same, and then the nurse checked me and I was only 1.5cm. UGH. So, home we went to labor on. We came home and I crawled into bed to try to get some rest. My body was hurting so much. Through all of this, I still wanted to do something "fun" since I now had permission to be up and moving around. Going to the movies was out of the question...I couldn't sit that long. Going walking some more did not sound like fun. So, we called our families and treated them all to dinner at Outback. It was nice to visit with everyone, get out of the house, and say thank you for everything the all have done for us. We came home and I went to bed pretty early. I actually slept ok on Saturday night, but I did have some pretty intense contractions that night that woke me out of a dead sleep and left me sweating and in serious pain. Jordan was great and rubbed my back and legs most of the night.
When I woke up on Sunday, the contractions had spread waaaay out...like not even in a pattern anymore. I was so discouraged and exhausted that I told Jordan that I didn't want to try to speed up the process anymore. I just wanted to enjoy the day, rest, stay in bed. However, I did want some crepes for breakfast so Jordan, his brother, and I went to Ihop for breakfast. It was yummy. We came home and I stayed in bed until about 4:30. I got up to shower and then we went over to Jordan's brother's for dinner. It was nice to visit and a great way to end an uneventful day. Tried going to bed early, but that didn't happen. I finally fell asleep close to midnight, but hardly slept. I think it was also because all I could think about was Tuesday and how close it was!
Woke up this morning at 6:30am and have been up ever since. The contractions still have no pattern, but my back and the pressure in between my legs has been intense all day. My dad came over and we went to lunch, to see some of the office staff at my school, and then to Target. It was so GREAT to see some of the people I work with! I can't wait to share pictures with them tomorrow. While at Target, I had to lean on a cart as I walked because my back was hurting so bad. My dad then brought me home and I'm back in bed for now. I still need to do a little laundry and pack some last minute things, but I think I'll wait until Jordan gets home from work. I think we're going to out for dinner tonight for our last "date" before requiring a babysitter. haha. So...that was our eventful weekend. As much pain as I've been in, I'm still glad I was able to get out of the house so many times this weekend.
I just can't believe it's almost here! I can't believe this part of the journey is finally almost over and I will be a Mommy TOMORROW! Wow, you have no idea how good it feels to say that. I doubt I will sleep much tonight. The only other time I've ever been this excited was when the chapel doors open at our wedding and I saw Jordan standing at the end of the aisle. It's like getting on a rollercoaster, waiting to take off, feeling the butterflies, hearing the click-click-click, and then throwing your hands up in the air. It's scary and exciting at the same time! I'm so ready for tomorrow to get here and get this party started!
So...tomorrow is my son's birthday. WOW. My son. That still sounds to crazy to me. I'm going to be someone's Mommy. I can't wait to see his little face and snuggle him anytime I want. The induction starts at 5 am. Jordan will update our friends as soon as possible and I'm sure we'll get some pictures up on Facebook by the end of the day. Thank you everyone for your thoughts, prayers, visits, EVERYTHING. Our little family is truly blessed to be so loved. My next post will be Logan's birth story!
Here is a comparison picture of my "bump" from the beginning to the end. I can't believe I won't have a "bump" anymore! I will surely miss feeling this little guy squirm around in my tummy, but having him in my arms will be even better. :)
***Click on the picture to make it bigger. :)
We will be thinking of you tomorrow. Hope the time flies by quickly! Good Luck!
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