My prodromal labor started two Sundays ago, the day after I had gone to the osteopath. I was 37 weeks along, and had a lot of lower back pain. I knew that a lot of women often go into labor after visiting the osteopath, but I didn't worry about that because I knew that if my baby wasn't ready, it wouldn't happen. (And so far it hasn't anyway!)
Anyway, I woke up feeling extremely crampy Sunday morning - I couldn't sit still in church, but had to keep swaying in my seat! Even standing around afterwards I was constantly moving. I had a nap in the afternoon, which actually turned out to be a bad thing, because combined with the going out in the morning, the long sleep in the afternoon, and the usually hot day, I got really dehydrated and collapsed on the floor Sunday evening.
I didn't faint thankfully, but we still had to go to hospital, so that was trip number #2. (Number one had happened some weeks ago with a 'labor' alarm that fizzled out.) They kept me in overnight for observation, and I was sent home the next morning, on the Monday. Tuesday I rested, feeling extremely tired from poor sleep the night before, but then in the afternoon the tightenings that I had been feeling since Sunday morning started turning into contractions.
Tuesday evening my body went into 'labor'. I had contractions regularly, 1 minute long and 1 1/2 minutes apart. I was going pretty well and coping ok, just ready to see what would happen. Then something kinda popped during a contraction and we had a gush of fluid - my doula and I thought it was my waters, because immediately after that, the contractions ramped up and I supposedly(?? Still unsure if I did or didn't - still don't know if I might have had the baby if left alone!) went in transition.
I was shaking, vomiting, and all of that - then the involuntary pushing started. I couldn't have stopped it if I tried. My doula asked if I could get in the car and go to hospital, but I just couldn't even wrap my head around that. So my husband called the ambulance. When the paramedics rocked up, everything went wonky.
The lights were on, they were asking me all these questions and I just wanted them to leave me alone! However, they were insisting that they transfer me to the hospital, and I knew I couldn't just get on with it and let my body do what it wanted to with them around, so I reluctantly agree to go.
Once in hospital (imminent birth coming through!!) I can't remember quite what happened, but I ended up in the bath and I was told that my baby wasn't coming tonight. *sigh*
I was given sleeping tablets, and managed to get some rest, but woke up at 5am only to have my body go into 'labor' again, with the vomiting and heavy contractions again. After monitoring, a canular, and extremely painful internal examination, they determined my baby was not yet coming and I needed to 'relax' and let my body either dilate or stop the show.
Well, it didn't stop completely, but it did calm down. I was still crampy, still tightening, and so on and so forth, and absolutely dead tired by this stage. I got sent home, which I was actually happy about.
I then proceeded to spend Thursday, Friday, and Saturday alternating between extremely nauseous, vomiting, and being able to eat a decent meal. Go figure! I am sure it's not a tummy bug, 'coz Little T and Hubby were(and are) just fine, while I continue to feel quite sick off and on.
A few more sessions of contractions, but I ignored them and managed to get them to tone down again, until Sunday afternoon when they ramped up and I started to feel sick - but in an off kind of way. That scared me a bit, because I haven't really had that with contractions before, so yup, off to the hospital again! (The midwife thought I might have felt sick because of the heat/steam of the shower, which I was in. So I'll know that for next time.)
Everything was okay with the baby, and with me thankfully, so we were sent home again after an hour or two. And here we are. This week the cramps, random contraction sessions and nausea are still going strong. I'm pretty much useless these days - I'm trying to conserve all my energy for the end of this prodromal labor.
It will happen, but whether it's not for another week - or even 2 or 3 I don't know. I feel like my body is ready, but the baby isn't in a good position. She keeps swinging from a right-side position, with her back to my right side, to posterior (not good!!) and back again.... I feel that if she would just "lock and load" we'd be good to go.
I'm still waiting for that to happen. Waaaaiiiitttiiinggggg....... And now we are 38 +4 days pregnant.
xxx,
b.
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