Naps & and An Update

I surpassed the 34 week mark on Saturday.  Which means if I were to go into labor they wouldn’t stop the labor from progressing.  And in my world that means I’ve had a couple of eventful days.  Saturday I went to my friend Erin’s baby shower.  She’s expecting a girl on May 4^th.  It’s super fun knowing I have two friends who are due around the same time as me, and thinking of our babies becoming friends. 

Saturday I also spent some time organizing the baby’s room.  We also went to one of the local fire stations and got the car seat installed, and picked up the rocker for the baby’s room.  Things are definitely coming together.  I still have something’s I want to do, but if baby were to come, we would (for the most part) be ready. 

Sunday was a rough day.   I can’t remember if I didn’t sleep well Saturday night or what (right now time is just blurring all together), but I was just tired all day Sunday.  We had zero food in the house, so we left for breakfast and a trip to Target.  Once we got home from Target around 11am, I decided to go back to bed.  I slept until about 3pm.  I took a shower, then fell back asleep on the couch until we had to leave for church around 4:30pm.  Over the past year or so I volunteer at church during the 5:05pm service we attend, displaying the lyrics, verses, captions, videos etc… on the TV screen used for that service.  It’s pretty simple, and I do it once a month.  This past Sunday was my last volunteer day as I go out on “maternity leave”.  It was extremely important to me to keep my commitment, even though I really wanted to stay at home and sleep.  Against Chris’ wishes and my stubbornness we went to church.  I felt horrible, but wanted to follow through.  After church I really didn’t have much of an appetite but we got some dinner and went home.  After dinner and a little bit of TV I went to bed at 8pm.  By the time I crawled into bed I was freezing and had the chills.  In a word I felt like crap.

It’s extremely rare for me to sleep this much.  I have never been much of a nap taker, and have taken more naps through the duration of this pregnancy then my entire non-nap taking life.  It’s safe to say that when I do nap it’s because I’m either extremely tired, or really don’t feel well.  I’ve never really understood people who just take a nap to take a nap.  I do however understand, that taking naps could very well be part of my new normal once I become a mom.  But as of right now, I’m not there yet. 

Anyways Sunday night I slept from 8pm to 6:30am, the sleep itself wasn’t great, and after so much sleep you would think I would wake up feeling rested and ready to go to work, but not so much.  I dragged myself to work yesterday, and by 9:30am I had gone to the bathroom 4 times and had my first case of pregnancy hemorrhoids (gross I know, but true).  I had remembered in our birthing class that going to the bathroom (I’m sure that if you’ve ever been pregnant you know what I mean by “going to the bathroom”, and even if you don’t know it’s ok) could be a sign that labor was about to start.  After the 4^th trip I did a quick Google search and confirmed my suspicions.  I called the doctor, just to speak to the nurse who I am really not a big fan of and didn’t really get any resolution.  I plugged on throughout the day thinking that this baby could be coming.  After work on my bus ride home I felt what was my first real contraction.  I had asked Dr. Jones at last week’s appointment the difference between a Braxton Hicks contraction and a real contraction.  She advised me that a contraction would stop me in my tracks, and feel like a strong menstrual cramp.  Well, that’s exactly what happened on the bus.  I had definitely felt pain and pressure “down there” in the past, but nothing like what I felt yesterday afternoon.  It was short and afterwards made a mental note of the time.  Once I was off the bus I went grocery shopping, and had two other short contractions while shopping.  Once I got home right at around 5pm I knew I wouldn’t hear from my doctor, so I figured a call into my doula was due.  I left a message for her, put the grocery’s away and started a load of laundry, and packed for the hospital.  Shortly after that Chris got home and my doula, Josie called me back.  I told her about my past 36 hours and advised that all of this could be because I got a weird sickness or because I’m pregnant, who knows?  She told me to not be concerned, to take it easy, take a warm bath or shower, and that if I do have 5 contractions in an hour to call my OB.  Chris rocked dinner while I stayed on the couch and rested.  Over the course of the evening I had about a contraction every hour for about 3 hours (so 3 more contractions).  Once dinner was done and the kitchen cleaned, Chris started me a warm bath.  This was magnificent.  I loved it.  Relaxing in the warm bath felt great and did me wonders.  Just as I was getting into bed I did have another contraction, but I feel asleep on Chris and had a great night’s sleep.  I woke up this morning feeling so refreshed and fantastic.  I can’t remember the last time I slept like that, and waking up feeling so…good.  I’ve had no contractions today, and baby has stayed active (so active!), and we have nice warm weather that I hope to go home and take a walk. 

We thankfully now have all our hospital bags packed, but I truly hope this baby stays put for a few more weeks.  My big goal is to get into the month of May.  It’s an emotional feeling wanting this pregnancy to be over with, but knowing that baby needs to cook a little bit longer.  It’s crazy knowing that the end is so near, and even though right now these days and weeks are dragging, that soon (when they are over) I’ll look back on this time and realize how quickly it all went!