-You know you're in the 9th month when you are feeling extra irritable. You are annoyed and frustrated by every little thing that normally wouldn't bother you. Check! For me, this was first realized when all of a sudden I couldn't even stand the 5y/o kid I nanny for sitting close to me, hugging me, or even speaking some days. (lucky for the kid, I may have been irritable but I have good self control).
-You know you're in the 9th month when you drop something on the floor and take 2 minutes contemplating whether or not you really need to pick that up.
-You know you're in the 9th month when you find yourself staring in the mirror, talking to yourself, really really trying to believe those stretch marks are going to fade away.
-You know you're in the 9th month when you get to the top of the stairs and you have a feeling of accomplishment- so much so that a vision of reaching the summit at Mt. Everest plays through your head (...you're so out of breath you feel like you are at 29,000ft...).
-You know you're in the 9th month when you find yourself laying on the baby's room floor face down in crazy yoga positions at 4 am trying to relieve the pevlic pain that's been keeping you up all night.
(Another little known pregnancy reality: when bebe settles down into your pelvis preparing for the grand entrance, the pain felt in your pelvic joints may make you wonder if this is some type of cruel karma pay-back punishment for yanking Barbie's legs out of the sockets as a child.)
-You know you're in the 9th month when you continue sitting next to an annoying overly friendly talker at Starbucks for an entire 20 minutes because it takes you that long to find the will power to pull yourself (+bump) up and move.
We are definitely in the 9th month! Landon is due sometime the first week of June... however, there's been some developments going on that have me and Jason believing he's going to be one, if not two, weeks early. This feeling was confirmed (un-influenced) yesterday at my doc visit. I say uninfluenced because I have purposely not been telling my doctor anything about my feeling of an early deliver because I didn't want to influence her opinion. After my exam tuesday, we found out I'm 1cm dialated and about 50% effaced.
(for those of you a little out of the loop on the preggo lingo- dialation is the opening and effacement is the thinning of the cervix in preparation for labor. If you don't know what the cervix is, well you should have been paying better attention in health class. ;) Important part is that for Landon to make his way out, I have to get to 10cm dialated and 100% effaced.)So my doc confirmed that I am starting to dialate and efface and that Landon IS in position (meaning he's head down). Then out of the blue she says "I think you're going to go early.. first time mom, dialating already... he's coming out sooner than we think." She even threw in a quick "See you next week, ...or tonight!" joke as she walked out of the room. We thought maybe we WERE going to actually end up there as Tuesday progressed and the exam had provoked lots of cramping and regular contractions that were getting stronger by the evening through the night. BUT then they slowed and stopped.
Now I'm feeling increasing pelvic pain (as mentioned above) from Landon's head being engaged in the pelvis (he's "locked and loaded") and adding that extra pressure to my already 'lax joints.
So here's a section I'm going to give a TMI warning on (even though I think this is all just part of the process and if you can't handle the reality of how we all were created and entered this world then that's on you.) but considered yourself warned just in case.
With all the hormones- prostaglandins, and relaxin- my body is releasing to loosen everything up and prep me for labor, you'd think I'd be feeling like I just had a great day at the spa. NoT so much! It actually means that my body feels like it's being yanked apart at the joints and if I was at the spa I don't think I'd order a colon cleanse. Thanks! But nonetheless, it's all part of the process and prep work and all textbook pre-labor stuff.
Here's how things have been progressing: I have had Braxton Hicks contractions ("practice contractions") since I was 20-something weeks along. At 33/34 weeks I had an increase in discharge that sent me to Labor and Delivery to get checked out for possible pre-term labor ended up being given a shot for contractions I didn't even realize I was having regularly at 10 minutes apart. I was not dialated but was almost 50% effaced at that time. At 35 weeks I started noticing cramping and then started loosing bits of the mucous plug over a few day period of time (I won't get into details, but if you don't know what a mucous plug is, it's basically mother natures version of a cork). I also started having an increase in nasal sinus mucous and other secretions throughout my body (brought on my the hormonal changes prepping for labor). An increase in Braxton Hicks contractions and the spontaneous cramps continued into 36weeks as Jason and I began talking about our feelings that he's coming out a little earlier than planned (we thought a week early at that point). Then as I mentioned above at 36 1/2 weeks we are dialated 1cm and a little over 50% effaced now and our doctor also has a feeling he's coming early too. Feelings ARE just feelings though...
In the past few days there has been a definite increase in activity. I'm nesting like crazy, feeling cramping more and more, having bouts of semi-painful contractions (10-20 minutes apart over a few hour period of time each evening), and having lots of pelvic and back pressure.
Today is my last day at work so I'm going to try to take it easy and see if I can get a little more comfortable/ get this pelvic pain under control with some rest and hydration ... but based on everything above, there's a very very real possiblity that this is all pre-labor and we'll be heading to the hospital soon!!
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