Pregnant with #4

I am 27 weeks along in this pregnancy and I feel like I am in my 33 month of pregnancy. Those hormones that loosen up the pelvis have sure worked early this time. I have a hard time walking after sitting.

As fast as my 3rd labor went, I'm concerned with how lose I feel now. I'm thinking a ten minute labor would be possible (but not desired since the midwives are an hour away.)

Prolapse is stable where it has been and I still have no fears about this labor or pregnancy making anything worse. I'm being wise to not lift too much and I will continue that after the birth until I am certain my body is totally healed from the pregnancy.

Jane

Christine,
Vitamin C, calcium and magnesium have been my salvation this pregnancy. They keep heartburn, constipation, and ligament pain at bay. If only they could do something about the muscle pain at the top of my belly and an identical spot in my back.

I am about to go on a search of my old posts to get myself in the right frame of mind for caring for myself as this pregnancy ends.

Jane

There are lots of errors b/c
I typed this on my pocket PC phone.

Announcing Jessica Ann
9# 21 inches January 16,2008

I decided Friday January 11th would be my last day to work. Monday I
cleaned and Tuesday after getting everyone off to school and Ty with
Julie, I went back to bed until noon. It's a good thing and now I'm
wishing I'd have slept longer because it would be 32 hours before I
would sleep again and then that was fragmented.

I lost my mucus plug with bloody show at 7:15 January 15, 2008. I
began to have an anxious feeling and an excitement. I called the
midwives. I went to the bedroom around 9:00 and watched tv until 10,
when Ty came in and went to bed in his pull out bed. At 10:30 I felt
a rubber band snap feeling and it hurt. I had a lot of pain in the
front of my pelvis and it scarred me. I was somewhat afraid of
uterine rupture. I took a bath. I called Nina around 11:15 to ask
her what she thought it was. I had experienced that sensation with
Alyssa & with Ty when his water broke. Still unsure what it was. I
had some sporadic contractions and the pain in the front that was hard
to have alleviated. It seemed movement was spurring them on and I
could handle them by standing up and touching something and thinking open.

By 12:20 I had had 3 strong contractions so I called Nina back to
come. I got the pool set up, tidied up the back bedroom to move the
kids to, and did a few other piddly things while dealing with
contractions. The whole time I felt terribly like I had to have bm.
But the pain got stronger each time I tried. I woke Chad up at 1:15
because I couldn't take the pain. The midwives arrived around 1:30
am. Jill checked me and thought she felt the butt, but it was just
the bag of waters. When Nina checked me my water broke. I felt baby
move down, but the pain still seemed unbearable, even when I pushed.
My legs were weak; I don't know if she was on a nerve, but I had very
little strength in my legs.

The Doppler heart rate dropped to 80 and concern grew. The urge to
push was there but not enough to push her out as quickly as it seemed
would be necessary. Chad called the squad, Katie started to get out
of bed , awaked by my loud exclamations with the pain. The
contractions were rolling one over the other. I could not get comfy.
The squad arrived, but her heart tones had recovered so we stayed. I
was exhausted.

I could not push well enough as she had not dropped far enough and I
was entertaining thoughts of a c/s to end this pain. Her heart rate
dropped again and so we called the squad again. They tried to get me
to blow with the contractions instead of pushing to keep her from
being stressed, but this was almost impossible to do. At some point I
grabbed ahold of hugged Kelley. I needed relief.

I dropped to the floor on my side and found relief for my weak legs.
I could push on my side and I didn't want to get up when it was time
to get on the gurney. The midwives got me up and to it, and I laid on
my side. I then closed my eyes, held on tight, and went into my own
world, pushing like crazy. I didn't open my eyes until I was in labor
and delivery at 2:10 and the nurses were telling me to blow. I didn't
understand why. They were very insistent that I stop pushing. So I
told the nurse I wanted an epidural; she said it was too late, so I
went back to pushing. I now know they wanted me to stop only because
the dr was not yet there. One of the nurses want to put the fetal
monitor in her scalp, which I refused and I agreed to lay still for
the efm belt.

Well I was miraculously able to push her out by 2:35 am while lying on
my back, but there were consequences to this position. Crowning was
worse than it has ever been. I tore slightly up toward my urethra.
My rectum really is sore and I believing God for full restoration.
Thank God that he did not do an episiotomy. However after the fact he
went to put a catheter in and I asked if that was necessary. This
really ticked him off. He sternly said, ''I don't do anything that is
necessary.'' I can't remember if that was before or after he
discovered I was a vbac...

The worse part is that the wisked the baby away from me and I didn't
even get to a good look at her. They did not return her to me for an
hour and a half. They took her to thr nicu where there was no doctor
and they stuck her in a box and let her cry! She only wanted my
breast and would not have dropped her 02 levels if they wouldn't have
let her get so upset.

Her apgars were 8 & 8 so why in the world would she need nicu? It
feels like this was done to punish us for not following mainstream
preactices. Chad followed, they made him sit on a chair outside, and
then they pulled the shade!

Once she was returned to me, I would not go to sleep because I didn't
want anyone trying to take her again. My sister stayed here with me
and I should have slept then.

There was a part of me during this pregnacy that really feared I might
have to transfer. I hope that was a prepatory insight rather than a
self-fullfilling prophecy. However, there was some healing. This
definitely my last chile and birth. I returned to the place of my
first birth where all my power was stripped and I was treated like a
broken machine. This time, I was informed and powerful. I took
charge in the areas that mattered...only regret that we lost that hour
and a half. I disobeyed when necessary (pushing instead of blowing).
And I feel I might have taught some people something.
Unfortunately, not the OB.

He came in around 10:30, while I had guests and asked how I was, said
I had a beautiful daughter, and then his demenor changed as he said
that he was obligated to tell me that what I did was dangerous. I
informed him, pointing to my older children, that I had them at home
and that was far less risky than having 4 c-sections. I really feel
his confrontational admonition in front of my children, parents, and
sister (who all supported my decision to homebirth) was totally
inappropriate and unprofessional. It is interesting to note however
that he is on his second wife who is much younger and they have quite
a number of children. She her last couple of pregnancies have been
full of complications and life threatening and I'm thinking he's
telling me I'm being irresponsible, when he continued to impregnate
his wife, knowing those risks. I'm guessing he has access to birth
controll.

The pediatrician was more professional in his discussion with me about
vitamin K and eye ointment. He shared a recent case (though not
local) about a cerebral hemorage in an 8 day old who had taken oral
vitamin K. I told him I'd consider it.

He did say he wouldn't push the hep b so I was glad about that, since
I'm relatively sure that in the next 10 years she will not being haing
sex or using intravenous drugs and if she does this disease that is
mild and rare in childhood.

I am very sore from my lifegrip on the sides of the guerney during
labor. My palm has a bruise and the muscles in my arms ache.

Jessica has only left me for about 30 minutes since our initial
separation. I am so surprised that none of the nurses stopped me from
sleeping with her. I am going to push for our release today. I hope
to be home by noon (2:00pm is when it actually was) and have chad pick
the girls up early from school.

The maternity nurses have been great. It's nice to be waited on.
However they really interrupted my sleep. I probably got 3 1 hour naps
and 1 2 hour nap during the night.

Thankfully they let us go home a day earlier than they normally would
have.

Jane

Thank you everyone for your support. I am so blessed. And Christine your imagining has been my reality for the last week of my children huddled around me when I am holding her. They get their turns too and my 5 year old seems to have the magic touch with her. She just has a knack for cuddling that little baby in a way that makes her content.
Jane

LOL! I'm wishing I would have kicked him in the head and that I would have gotten up and gone down to the nursery myself to get her. I am starting to get emotional with the shift of hormones and feeling really sad that she spent her first hour and a half of life separated from me. I wish we would not have had to have gone to the hospital, but her heart rate was out of my hands and I wanted to be sure she was okay. I am facing some trauma from the way I had to birth on my back.
Jane