| "False" labor |
Why do they call it false? The contractions feel painful and consistent, and the anxiety is still there. False labor makes it seem like you're in grade school again, trying to psyche out your friends.
For a while there yesterday, I thought for sure that I was going to be holding a baby by the end of the day. I had regular 10-minute apart contractions for hours, eventually going to strong contractions only 5 minutes apart. I figured that was the time to call the doctor -- and then, as soon as I'm in touch with her -- everything sloooooows down. Great, I think. I'll take a nap to prepare myself for later today. And nothing. The occasional discomfort and strong contraction, but the regularity and intensity of earlier labor pains are gone. Grrrr.
I even cancelled (yet again) the shower planned for me that was supposed to be tonight.
So now I'm left feeling pretty ripped off. I was gearing all up for the delivery process, and we're back to waiting. Granted, things are a little different now. I still have the occasional contraction, my lower abdomen is feeling crampy pretty much all the time, and I think I may have dropped a little bit. I'm tempted to try some old wives tales in encouraging the baby to make its appearance -- but I'm not very keen on the idea of digesting castor oil. I think I'll try the less evasive (and more fun) measures.
I've got another checkup this morning, so I'll find out if I've dilated any more or if I'm any closer to holding my baby yet. Meanwhile, I'm going to try not to be too disappointed that it hasn't happened yet, and enjoy my last few hours/days/weeks of it just being Jerry and I.
Update 12:05pm: Just got back from the doctor's office. I'm almost 4cm dilated, and she could feel the top of the baby's head and my amniotic sac. All that hard work yesterday (and most of this morning) was NOT for naught! It looks like the baby will be making an appearance TODAY. She basically told me "don't go far." I'm at home for now, but will be heading to RUH soon. |
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