10/25/11

We have another doctor appointment today. I'll get checked for more dilation and effacement and we'll get an idea of how close we're getting to D-day. I've been thinking a lot about D-day. What are the signs that it's actually here. My biggest fear is going into labor while I'm at work and not having anyone to drive me to the hospital. Josh is an hour and 15 minutes south of Wausau and our hospital is 45 minutes south of Wausau. I'd really like some warning so that I don't get stuck in that situation. However, everything that I've read says there really aren't any clear cut warning signs. The signs of labor can start occuring weeks before the baby actually comes. Here are the warning signs that I've found:

1. Baby drops. This happens a few weeks before baby comes. My baby has already started dropping.
2. More Braxton Hicks Contractions. I feel them sometimes, but not real often. Some women start feeling them in their second trimester.
3. Cervix begins to open and soften up. We know that's already started from my last appointment and we'll get an update today. But I could be 3cm dilated for 2 weeks before I actually go into labor.
4. Pass your mucus plug. This is the thickened mucus that's been sealing the cervical canal for the last 9 months. This sounds really gross. When this happens it could still be a matter of several days before labor starts.
5. Water breaks. Some women need to have their water broken at the hospital while some women have a slow leak and others have a big rush before or after labor starts. If contractions don't start right away after your water breaks you have to go in to have labor induced because that puts the baby at risk for infection. So this is a sign that you are in labor.

My dad said to me on Sunday, "I sure hope you're little girl doesn't give you the scare you gave us." My poor parents had no family here to support them or help them through the crazy ordeal of my birth, their first baby. My mom was in labor for a long time with me and the fetal monitor that they had straped to her belly stopped. They were all alone in the room no nurses or anything so my dad had to run out and get someone. I was under stress and my heartbeat kept stopping so they had to put a different kind of fetal monitor inside her womb and into my scalp. They thought they were going to have to take me by C section which of course freaked both my parents out, but I ended up being born the old fashioned way and I was fine. They did rip the fetal monitor out of my head though instead of twisting it giving me a nice scar on my head that I still carry around with me to this day. It's about the size of a dime and perfectly round. We lovingly refer to it as my bald spot. The doctor told my mom they could fix it by stretching my scalp and stitching it. I told my mom that I'll wait until I start getting wrinkles then have them stretch my scalp to see if it helps :)