Friday, May 2, 2008

The waiting game …

It’s hard to know that your life is going to completely change, but not know when. Will it be an hour? Tomorrow? Three days? A week?

To describe us as feeling antsy is an understatement. We've got lots of restless, nervous energy, but can't focus much.

I still hold onto the fear that I may not realize when labor begins. I know you’re thinking: How could you not notice? It’s supposed to be the worst pain ever. Well, during pregnancy you spend a great deal of time in pain. Your back hurts, pains shoot through your abdomen, bones separate and ache, and then there are the fake contractions (like the real ones, but irregular). The real contractions the doctors told me I have occasionally experienced don't seem to match the descriptions I've read in the baby books.

Here’s what I've been thinking every 20 minutes or so for the last week: is that a shooting pain or a contraction? How long ago was that last shooting pain? Should I write that down?

And now you’re probably thinking, ‘but you’ll know when your water breaks.’ That’s true, but labor starts with a water break in a small percentage of pregnancies.

Every conversation with our families starts with “I’m not in labor,” and I can only imagine how they feel every time the phone rings.

Today we had unexpected entertainment at the doctor’s office. Our highly energetic nurse pantomimed me experiencing my first real contraction and her encounter with other parts of labor’s early stages (I won’t gross you out by elaborating but trust me, it was bad). She also described her problems with yeast and generally had the attitude of a motivational speaker who had just gotten in the employee lounge doughnuts.

The consultation was encouraging and moderately alarming at once.

Luckily, I don’t think we have too much longer to wait. I took a quiz I found in the findingDulcinea Pregnancy Web Guide, called “Am I in labor?” And of course I’m not in labor, as I write this, but the results were encouraging. Of course, the quiz could be completely wrong, and my enthusiasm just wishful thinking.

3 comments:

Mark Moran said...

Would you please be a little patient ?

I have 2:34 pm on Monday in the pool.

FP said...

Emily, you'll know. That's the first thing I want to say.

And, I think it'll be May 14. That's what I've bet on, so don't disappoint me.

Perhaps you'd like to play Scrabulous? It'll take your mind off ... things. As they wheel you into Delivery you'll be saying, "Not yet! It's my turn and I've got a Z and a U!"

Anonymous said...

But with luck...you have an I, too and the Q is still possible...so you just have to draw once more!

e