Last night we went up to Labor & Delivery at the hospital because I had been having contractions every 5 minutes for over an hour. These were much different & more intense than the usual Braxton Hicks I've been having for weeks (even months) now.
We arrived at about midnight, I was monitored for 3 hours, and the nurse checked me 3 times. I was indeed having perfect contractions every 3-5 minutes - some of them leaping off the charts - but there had been no progression with my cervix (2cm dilated, 25% effaced - same as Friday) so I was given the option to either stay or go home and wait it out.
One nurse told me that the intensity of the contractions doesn't mean anything. It's the distance between that they keep an eye on. Another nurse told me it's not the distance between that matters - it's the intensity that they like to focus on. Nobody seemed to want to bother a doctor for me, I felt like I wasn't getting any answers, and I was very uncomfortable in the little triage room so we decided to go home.
Jason & I both got very little sleep and my contractions continued to wake me through the rest of the morning. After some coaxing by Jason & my mom, I finally called my doctor's office and the receptionist there told me to go back to the hospital. I paged the on-call doctor for a 2nd opinion and he also advised the same. Just as I was finally going to cave, my contractions suddenly stopped.
TALK ABOUT FRUSTRATING.
They have since come back, but randomly at best. A little one here, a whopper there. I have an inkling that my body is trying to start active labor but something is holding it back, whatever that may be. Perhaps Sofia's in an awkward position (although they've confirmed she's head down, she could be sideways like Tiegan was, which resulted in her shoulder dystocia). As you can see I'm just a little bit nervous about what's to come. I'm also aggravated that no one seems to feel the need to check further or do an ultrasound, despite my repeatedly voicing these concerns.
I feel that it's time. I feel that my body IS in labor. The very beginning stages of labor. I also feel that Sofia needs a little jump-start - maybe I need a little help with my water breaking. But of course with my doctor being on vacation for another week, no one else seems to want to help. The nurse told me last night that doctors don't like to "be aggressive" with other peoples' patients. But... what if it were necessary? What if all these unproductive (yet very intense) contractions are harming Sofia somehow? I'm reminded of when Tiegan was stuck during labor and my contractions were bruising her whole face & head. Her heart rate dropped immensely with each contraction.
I know it sounds like I'm just in a huge yank to have this baby. Of course I'm excited, anxious, nervous & just want to get it all over with. I also just want to make sure everything is OK. That's my main concern. This hurry-up-and-wait stuff is really bothering me, especially when I have no way of knowing what's going on in there.
This is really hard work for a newborn, too. I just hope she's doing alright in there.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
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2 comments:
Wow!! It seems like Sofia is going to come out any time now :) Good luck with everything!!
Ill tell you that with them having you on the monitors for 3 hours they are also watching the heartrate in comparison with movements and with the contractions. If there were to be abnormal decels in HR during those strips, they wouldn't hesitate to order an ultrasound to do a biophysical profile. That would look at the fluid around baby, movements, fetal breathing movements, blood flow in the cord... But they dont usually order that unless there were abnormal heart tones during the monitoring strip. So maybe that can put your mind at rest that she must be okay during those 3 hours at least to not need additional testing. Hopefully all these contractions will just mean your uterus is getting into practice and warming up for a nice smooth, easy, quick delivery when it is really time. :) Im working this Thur-Sat nights, so maybe Ill be seeing you up there if needed. Good Luck this weekend!!
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