It's only Wednesday

This week is taking forever. But I know it's because my Monday and Tuesday felt about 30 hours long - each. John had class on Monday, so he was gone until 10pm. And then yesterday, he made it home for dinner but then had a meeting at the church at 7pm. This wasn't supposed to be a problem, but it turned out to be a big one. The meeting was for some woodworking project for our upcoming church retreat (in 10 days). We figured the meeting would last no more than an hour or so, then John would stop by the store and head home - in time to get Aiden bathed and in bed. He didn't walk in the door until almost 11pm. This means Aiden didn't get a bath and I had to keep him up until John got home because if I had tried to put him to bed without Daddy, he would have given me the biggest fight in all of creation. He had already been so naughty while John was gone....by the time he got home, I had a huge headache, my back felt like it was about to fall apart, and I was crying. I was so angry at the fact that the meeting had gone on THAT long, when everyone knows full well that he has a 2 week old baby at home and I'm still having some recovery issues (a little hormonal still? I think so). Then he tells me that they spent all that time trying to figure out this project and in the end, there was still no plan and they don't know what they're doing. I asked him, "So this meeting was essentially pointless?". He replies, "Yes". That didn't help to take away any anger I had, irrational or not.

I'm just tired and I feel horrible. For the last 3 days, it's taken until 10pm for me to realize that I forgot to brush my teeth that day. Not that I had really done anything else to get myself ready. Honestly, you could take a picture of me and use it for a very effective "Say No To Drugs" poster campaign. That's how bad I look. Then again, it might be really effective for a high school abstinence campaign too. When we were planning this pregnancy, I kept telling myself that no matter what, I would continue to take care of myself and make myself feel pretty after the baby came. HA! I haven't been out of PJs since Sunday! It's just such a huge difference between one and two children.

Time for baby to eat again. I keep trying to get around to posting more pictures of him on here, so hopefully I can get to that today. But don't hold your breath.

Oh my goodness

That's about all I can say to sum up the last 2 days. It's amazing how little extra time I have now to write on here. I'm going to attempt to write this up as both boys finish up a nap.

Yesterday we had to take Nathan into the pediatrician (again) because his left eye was swollen and very goopy. Turns out he has a blocked tear duct and it had gotten infected very quickly. We were given antibiotics to put in his eye 3 times a day for about a week or so. It looked awful, but when we woke up this morning, his eye looked amazingly clear for only one application. There's still goop, but at least it's not swollen shut anymore. I'm supposed to massage the corner of his eye while I nurse him to encourage the duct to open. It annoys him somewhat.

Because of all that, I had to call John out of work early to take us to the doctor and no one got an afternoon nap (except Nathan, who slept in the car). I was exhausted by evening. Aiden fought us like mad over going to bed and about an hour after we put him down, we hear him screaming. He had massively over-eaten at dinner and was now vomiting up the entire contents of his tummy all over his crib. Needless to say, we won't be having broccoli again for a while. He was up until nearly 2:30am throwing up. We were so tired by this point, but didn't feel as though we should leave Aiden sleeping alone since he was still throwing up. We took his mattress and put it on the floor of our room, so we could attend to him quickly if he did need to vomit some more. He slept surprisingly well and I guess we got some rest.

Today, we're all tired and crabby. My morning started out with Nathan projectile pooping on me as I was changing his diaper. Aiden is throwing huge fits over everything and we're attempting to clean up bedding and towels from last night without much success. The apartment looks like a clutter bomb went off and we're running out of clean clothes. I'm not sure how to get a handle on everything when I'm still so tired. Not to mention still in pain from giving birth. I need chocolate.

Nathan and the Amazing Milk!

We actually stunned his pediatrician this morning. In case you don't remember, Nathan was 7 lbs 2 oz at birth. At the time of his hospital release, he was 6 lbs 9 oz. This morning's weight? A full 7 lbs 9 oz!! He has gained an entire pound since coming home! That's almost unheard of. His pediatrician looked at the chart and said, "Oh my gosh....is this correct? What ARE you feeding him??". I guess I just have a happy little eater! His weight gain was so great, the doctor said we didn't even need his normal 2 week checkup. So we don't go back until he's 2 months old. This is a little strange for me, as our last doctor (the one we had for Aiden with Kaiser) scheduled SOOO many checkups during the first year. It felt like we were there every other week. But I am just fine with not having a ton of appointments, especially since I have 2 kids to juggle now.

On another note, my recovery seems to be right on the edge. I'll start to feel better and then I'll just sort of crash again. I was feeling pretty good yesterday, except for a slight headache, so I did some housework. Later that evening, I ended up with some pretty intense blood loss (which shouldn't be happening nearly 10 days after the birth). John nearly made me go to the emergency room, but since it happened just before bed, I was able to rest and stay off my feet all night and it seems to be getting much better. I guess when they say no housework for 2 weeks, they really mean 2 weeks. I'm a little on the tired side today (John thinks from losing blood), so I won't be doing any heavy cleaning.

Oh, it's that time. Off to feed my little piggy again!

Oh, I am a mommy

I am nearing the end of my 2nd day alone with both kids. So far, there hasn't been anything ultra terrible that's happened and I've only ended up in tears once. I blame that on the ever-fluctuating hormones though and not so much on the boys. I definitely look forward to my hormones regulating themselves out a little more. I remember this point after I had Aiden and it really stinks. Except then I didn't have a toddler that required attention and could nap whenever I felt like it. Luckily, I have been able to get myself to take naps when Aiden goes down for his. I couldn't get myself to nap for the entire 3rd trimester, so it's really great to finally get some extra sleep in during the day.

I didn't get a chance to get myself ready at all today, so I walked around with my hair all frizzed out, no makeup on, and in pajamas. Let's just paste a sign on my head that says, "NEW MOM". Aiden has virtually destroyed the living room. I guess he's figured out that when it's time for "baby milk", mommy can't get up. That's when the fun starts! Our apartment has never looked so much like we have children before. But, as I am still recovering, I can't do much cleaning and so I know it will get worse before it gets better. And even when I can start cleaning, it's going to take a very long time to get back to where I like it.

Nathan is doing really well. He's pretty easy going and is a great sleeper. He really likes nursing too. Of course, for those of you who remember how fat Aiden got during his first year, it shouldn't be surprising that his brother seems to be headed in the same direction. We have his first check-up in the morning, so I'll definitely post later on with an update on his weight and all. I'm really pleased with our pediatrician. He seems to have a lot of the same ideas that we do. And, I didn't know this when we chose him, but he is rated as one of the top ten pediatricians in the Portland area. Yay for us!

I have to get up at 6am to begin my first morning of getting the entire family ready and out the door for a doctor's appointment, so I'm headed to bed. I guess we'll see how it goes....

Visit with the lactation consultant.

It went pretty well. Nathan is gaining weight quite well and is having plenty of wet and poopy diapers. He was 6 lbs, 9 oz when he was discharged from the hospital 2 days ago. At the appt this morning, he was up to 6 lbs, 13 oz.

I've been fairly engorged since my milk came in yesterday, so we were having some latch issues. Turns out, I've been positioning him like I did with Aiden when Aiden was around a year old. I didn't think I'd forgotten how to position a newborn, but I guess so! She was really helpful in relieving the pain during latching.

Funny thing though - to relieve some of the swelling from engorgement, she put frozen newborn diapers on me! Turns out if you run water over 4 newborn diapers, freeze them, and then put 2 on each breast, it really brings the swelling down! And they are reusable, so it won't make you run though expensive diapers any more than you already do. Except now if someone comes over and looks in my freezer, they're going to think I've lost my mind! LOL!

Our newest little guy!

I stole this picture from Aunt Carrie Marie, because we haven't gotten around to taking ours off the digital camera yet. It's pretty cute though, so hopefully it will hold you all over until I can get more pictures up.

The wild ride (induction-free!)

I woke up on January 14 (the day after my due date) to get ready for an appointment with my midwife. We were going to be confirming plans for labor induction for the following day. As I was in the shower, I began having contractions about 5 minutes apart. This wouldn’t have made me think anything was different from false alarms that we’d had, but these contractions felt very different. They were mostly in my back and were quite sharp, yet slightly reminiscent of menstrual cramps. I wasn’t feeling too great in general at the same time. We decided to go ahead and grab our hospital bags to take with us to the midwife’s appointment, just in case.

I arrive at my appointment, still contracting every 5 minutes and beginning to need to breathe through them. Once the midwife came into the room, I let her know and she sat and watched me deal with a contraction. She agreed that I seemed extremely uncomfortable and that I just had a different “sense” about me. She checked me for dilation and I was 4cm and 85-90% effaced, different from 5 days prior at 3cm and 70%. She told me to go get something to eat, get Aiden to grandma, and head to the hospital. As we left, she was calling the midwife who was on call at the hospital to let her know what was going on.

After getting some food, a few more things from home, and sending Aiden off with grandpa, we headed to the hospital. My sister-in-law, who we had invited to view the birth (she’s a nursing student), beat us to the hospital! I was still contracting every 5 minutes, but they had increased in intensity so much that I was starting to cry. Still, it was all in my back. I was hooked up to a monitor and checked again, still at 4cm.

I continued at every 5 minutes for 3 hours. They refused to admit me until I was 5 cm, as they were short staffed and “just too busy” – the exact words from the charge nurse. They weren’t getting any closer together, but were getting more and more intense as time went on. I couldn’t walk, yet the charge nurse told my attending midwife that if I wasn’t 5 cm, my water hadn’t broken, and the contractions weren’t 3 minutes apart, she’d have to send me home. WHAT?? My midwife did her best to console me as I bawled through my contractions, still all in my back.

Around 4pm, I attempted to get up and go the bathroom. The contractions jumped to 2-3 minutes apart and became excruciating. I notified the nurse, who notified the charge nurse, who said I could stay for another 40 minutes and then be checked again for any progress (gee, thanks…). We then didn’t see anyone for another hour and 15 minutes, as I was groaning and crying in pain, packed in a semi-private triage room with 2 other women (one of whom was on her cell phone, telling the person on the other end, “there’s a woman giving birth in here”!).

So finally, John (who was getting very frustrated with the whole experience) thinks it’s time to go find the nurse. This is at 5:20pm. The nurse comes in and checks me – 5 cm. I beg for pain relief and am told that once they get me in a room, they’ll send someone in to talk to me about an epidural. She leaves to go get me a room and not a minute after she walks out, my water breaks. They come in with a wheelchair to take me to my room, as I am still moaning and crying from pain. They get me into my room at 5:30pm. I say that I need to use the restroom and right after I do, I feel this intense pressure. I need to push. They get me on the bed and I again beg for pain relief. “There’s no time – you’re at 10 cm”, they say. I ask for IV drugs. “There’s no time for an IV, you need to push.” I’ve gone from 5cm to pushing in 10 minutes. Trust me when I say that you NEVER want to go that quickly. I had to be hooked up to oxygen. Pushing was awful and I struggled so hard to not fight it. I began pushing at 5:35pm and Nathan Elliot shot into this world at 5:49pm.
It took a long time and multiple shots of different drugs to get me to stop bleeding. I lost a lot of blood, but still just under needing a transfusion. I only had a small laceration at the top, but it was so small, no stitches were needed and I can’t even feel it anymore.

Nathan weighed in at 7 lbs, 2 oz (1 oz heavier than Aiden), measuring at 20 ½ inches long (2 inches longer than Aiden). We are recovering well, though mommy’s after pains need heavy-duty painkillers at times. Nathan nurses like a pro and left the hospital having only lost 7% of his birth weight. Big brother Aiden said hi to the baby, but being a 2 year old boy, was more excited about all the buttons to push in the hospital room.

After having already had a baby epidural-free, I thought it would be no problem the 2nd time around. But I can’t even begin to explain to you how mind-bogglingly painful this labor was. Every moment of it was all in my back. I screamed and cried and honestly thought I could just die from the pain. I wouldn’t wish my labor experience this time around on anyone. I know that it was so painful because I dilated so quickly. I’m not saying long labors are great….but after this, I am pretty confident that he’s our last baby. My attending midwife came back in shortly afterward and said, “I am so glad that you told the nurse that you weren’t leaving. You wouldn’t have made it back to the hospital.” The next day, my primary midwife came to see me and said that she was shocked at hearing the story, because they aren’t actually supposed to let you leave if your contractions are 5 minutes apart. Here they’d been practically pushing me out the door because they “were busy”. We are still just shaking our heads at what might have happened had we actually let them make us leave. Birth is wild….

I'm due!

Well, this kid officially made it to his due date, which no one thought he would do. Even the midwife is baffled as to how I went this far. I'm confused as to why I'm not in labor and a little afraid that I'm going to get even more cranky as the day progresses. He has GOT to come out!! I still don't want to be induced, but I know that sometimes that's what needs to be done. And so I'll do it, but I anticipate it being extremely nervewracking. For now, I get to go to church and have every single person come up and say, "Oh, you're still pregnant??". Just what I need. Here's to hoping my water breaks on the way....

On another note, we had Brady and Carrie over again last night. We all had fun watching TV and I think Brady was happy to finally get Carrie to watch 300. Carrie brought us some ground coffee from work (YAY!) and I am really looking forward to trying it. They left around 12:30, but quickly returned to our door as their car had been towed!! I felt sooooo bad and still do. It's just ridiculous. Tow companies are such a huge rip-off. The car was with the tow company for only a few hours and yet it was still nearly $300 to get it back. Oh, I feel awful about it. Stupid apartment complex, not having enough parking....

Well, I'm off to shower and get myself ready for today. I don't quite know how I'm going to feel as the day goes on or really what I'm planning on doing with myself. For the time being, I suppose we'll just solidify plans for Aiden staying with grandma and grandpa while I'm induced and then maybe take a brisk walk around the mall. I could still really use a lot of prayer on getting through this. I appreciate the support I've gotten from everyone and I've really enjoyed being able to share my pregnancy in this way with all of you.

Some Holiday Photos

I hadn't gotten around to sharing any holiday photos, so I thought I should do that while I still have the time. These are just a few, but you should be able to see the entire album by clicking on the link I've added in the title of this post (if it works). Enjoy!
Aiden tearing into a present, finally. Initially, he wanted nothing to do with any presents, except ones that were for other people.

Trying to figure out how to dismantle ornaments, before they're even on the tree!

Me at 36 weeks, all dressed up for John's company's Christmas party.

Struggling

I'm really, really struggling with this induction thing. I thought that if we got scheduled for it, I'd be very happy about knowing when I would actually be holding my baby. But instead I'm just really scared. I was upset about it yesterday afternoon and ended up crying about it. John thinks it's because I'll feel like a failure if I don't go into labor on my own (especially since I've had a baby before), but that's not quite it. I'd be frustrated that my body didn't go into labor on it's own, but not like I failed.

My trouble with this is the whole pitocin thing. I was able to deal with Aiden's birth fairly naturally (just some IV meds to take the edge off - completely out of my system when it came time to push), but from what I've heard about the pitocin, it makes the pain crazy bad. Epidurals scare the jeepers out of me. I don't want one. But I'm afraid that if I have the pitocin, I won't be able to handle it without one.
I know that no one will judge me or think I'm a big wimp if I end up with one, but I'd be disappointed in myself. Yes, it hurts to push a baby out, but there's something amazing about actually feeling your child come out of you. I don't want to be all numbed up for that. I want to feel it and to fully experience the birth of my child. I did talk to my midwife about the chances of going un-medicated with pitocin and she said that it makes the contractions peak harder and faster, so if I wanted to go un-medicated, I would really need to be prepared. Who knows? Maybe the utter fear of epidurals would make me barrel through the pain of the pitocin.

If I don't go into labor and end up at my appointment on Monday, I am planning on asking if we have the option of her breaking my water before we try pitocin (I'm fairly sure just breaking my water would start labor) or if she's required to start me on pitocin since it's a scheduled thing. I'm REALLY hoping she'll agree to break my water first, even if that means me coming in at 5am instead of 6:30. This baby just really needs to come before then. I was thinking how odd it would be if I went into labor exactly ON my due date. Talk about driving mommy to the brink of crazy!! So, if everyone could just pray that this kid will come out before I'm scheduled to be induced, I would really appreciate it. I know God has his own plan, but he's still been getting me begging and pleading multiple times a day!

It's scheduled!

He's welcome to come out any time before hand, but I will definitely have a baby in my arms by next Tuesday. I'm not totally thrilled about being induced at 6:30am (really not a morning person), but I guess it's a light at the end of the pregnancy tunnel. I see my midwife again on Monday just to go over things and then Tuesday is the big day.
I was a full 3cm today, where I was only nearly 3cm last week. So that's some progress. I was still 70% effaced, just like last week. She stripped my membranes again and boy, was that painful this time around. I'm not expecting it to do very much (besides make me crampy again), but I have been feeling kind of weird since I got up this morning. Maybe I'll be surprised.

On another note, I did get an update on my grandma. It turns out that she didn't have a stroke, but has temporal arteritis. I guess it's an inflammatory disease of the blood vessels, mainly in the head. Her sudden blindness is one eye IS permanent, but since they know what they're dealing with, they can start her on corticosteroids and most likely prevent any other damage from being done.

Well, off I go about my day. I'm feeling pretty awful actually, so hopefully Aiden will cooperate at naptime so I can get some rest. I did send John off to work after the appointment, even though he questioned whether or not I could handle things today. I guess I can always call him home if I start feeling really bad. Since I'm feeling cruddy anyway, today would be ideal for giving birth!

Just a few things

Thankfully I didn't go into labor while John was at class, but we still have Thursday to worry about. I did start having some contractions while he was gone (of course!), but they never got any closer than 10 minutes apart and were down to once every half hour by the time he got home. John was going to try to drop that class, but his advisor (who also happens to be his professor) thinks it's in his best interest to take it. So he will actually have to be gone 2 evenings a week and some Saturdays for this term. I guess I can deal.

Aiden actually went to bed last night without complaining!! No crying, no tantrums, no throwing punches at daddy....and he slept all night! Thank you Lord! I just hope it keeps up. I need the sleep. He did refuse to take his nap again yesterday though, so we're still going to have to work on that.

I have an appointment with my midwife in the morning, during which we will plan my induction. She may make me wait until I've actually reached my due date (Sunday), but I am sort of hoping she'll be open to breaking my water before the weekend. Last week, she sounded open to inducing any time if I ended up making it to the appointment tomorrow. I really don't want to have to go on a pitocin drip, since that will basically guarantee an epidural (I can't stand needles!!!). I'll let you all know how it goes.

On a bit of a sad note, I got a call from my dad last night letting me know that my grandma (his mom) had suffered a stroke. She was staying the night in the hospital, but it sounds like she's basically OK, except that she has lost most vision in one eye. I didn't get many more details, so I don't know if they're thinking that it's permanent damage or if it's something that can be corrected. Hopefully I'll hear more soon.

It wasn't supposed to go like this!

I am just in disbelief. I can't believe I'm still pregnant. My midwife can't believe I'm still pregnant. She was sure I'd have the baby by the weekend. I guess I can say for sure that I'll have the baby a week from now, but even that may require being induced. I am very thankful that she's open and willing to induce me right after my due date instead of waiting until I'm 42 weeks. I couldn't even begin to think of being pregnant for another 3 weeks......UGH.
The problem now is that this baby has waited long enough, John is going back to class tonight. In Clackamas! He's got classes 2 nights a week, but is talking about dropping one just so he doesn't have to be gone as often with a new baby in the family. But it really worries me that I'll go into labor while he's at class sometime this week. I didn't think I'd have to worry about this.

Another thing that's adding stress is the way Aiden seems to be responding to everything right now. He's been fighting his nap and bedtime like crazy. He didn't take a nap for 2 days in a row, making himself just exhausted by bedtime. But then bedtime comes around and he throws the biggest fit. Going so far as to take swings at John's face when he tries to put him in his crib! He screamed for an hour and a half last night before finally falling asleep, but then woke up around 1am screaming again. I then had to be up with him for close to an hour before he would go back down. It's almost like trying to teach him to go to sleep by himself all over again (which Daddy was the one involved in doing, because Mommy is too sensitive to crying babies...). It's really not something I want to have to deal with right now. I don't want to let a toddler run my life, but I'm too mentally shot to figure out how to get him to stop throwing these bedtime fits. We know there's nothing wrong with him, so letting him scream it out seems to be the best option, but then I'm sitting there in tears myself because hearing him cry like that causes me so much stress.

If you couldn't tell, I'm really struggling with a couple things right now. I would really appreciate some prayers. I don't feel very excited for the baby. Just absolutely exhausted from being big, pregnant, and fighting with a toddler all the time.

Guess it wants a break

My body, that is. But you know, it could get a more permanent break by getting the baby OUT, not just by stopping the contractions for half the day. It's getting really hard to not get slightly depressed every morning that I wake up, still pregnant and not feeling at all like I'm about to go into labor. In fact, last night was the first night in over a week that I wasn't woken up by any contractions at all. And I'm actually sad about that, even though it meant that I finally got some sleep. So here I sit, lingering at 3 cm, trying to find ways to keep myself occupied while I wait for this kid to come out.

We did have a pretty fun night last night though. We went to go see Charlie Wilson's War with Brady and Carrie and then headed over to Red Robin for some very chocolately desserts. The movie was absolutely amazing. The acting and the chemistry between everyone, especially Tom Hanks and Philip Seymour Hoffman, was just fantastic. I highly recommend it. I think I really needed to see something that had a bit of substance to it and this did the trick. I begin to feel like my brain is melting out of my ears after a few days of Elmo and Thomas the Tank Engine.
We ended up staying out a bit later than intended (which meant Aiden didn't go to bed until midnight). Once we went out to dessert, we all just got to talking and really enjoyed getting to know each other a little more - so we lost track of time. I wish we could do that more often, but Brady and Carrie have work and school and John and I have work, school, and children. Time is scarce. But even though both of us couples don't have much time, I do enjoy the fact that we can be very open and honest when we get the chance to have discussions with each other. It makes the time that much better!

Now I'm off to go walk around Target to see if that will get anything going. I'm not holding my breath for it....

Another day and no baby yet

After having a very mild day yesterday, I contracted all night. They were intense enough to wake me up every time, covered in sweat because they took so much work to get through. I really needed sleep last night and I didn't really get it. I'm very tired today and just generally feel like crud. Nothing too much in the way of contractions since I got up, but more than yesterday. John and I have a double date with Brady and Carrie tonight to go see Charlie Wilson's War, so maybe Nathan just wants to wait and disrupt the movie.

On a baby preparation note, we were finally able to purchase the baby bouncer seat we've been wanting. I have been trying for nearly 2 months to order the Fisher Price Aquarium Bouncer from Target and they keep pushing back when they're going to get them in. Very frustrating - especially since we'd be paying $50 for a baby bouncer! So, just on a whim, I posted a wanted ad on craigslist. A few hours later, I received an email from a couple who was selling theirs for only $20. We drove over to Lake Oswego last night and bought it from them. I am quite pleased with the fact that we were able to get it before February 15 (when Target was supposedly sending it to us) and for $30 less. Aiden is quite intrigued by the bouncer toy, so I think it may take some convincing that it isn't for him!

Well, off to face the rest of the day. Seeing as I am verging on 39 weeks here, which is when Aiden was born, I'm hoping more than ever to give you all some news very, very soon.

Change in mood

After what was really a good doctor's appointment yesterday and getting some encouraging news, I'm a little puzzled as to why I feel down and frustrated again today. I've made progress and it was progress that I wasn't even expecting to have made. I should be pleased! Maybe I was just hoping that my midwife's "cervical sweep" was actually going to do more than it seems it did. I just spent all day yesterday spotting, cramping, and contracting like mad. Today though....I've had one contraction. I was even woken up multiple times during the night with very intense contractions, but still nothing. If they're going to be so difficult to deal with, I want them to do more! Ok, make that two contractions for the day. Argh.
I guess every little bit that goes by, I start thinking about what might happen if I do have to be induced. I'm sort of afraid of that happening. I know I have another week before I actually need to worry about it, but I almost feel like I'm not doing something right. On the other hand, I guess I can think that I've made such a nice warm home for Nathan that he doesn't want to come out. If I can just convince him that his home out here is pretty nice too.....

Good news!

The appointment with my midwife went very well. There has been progress since Sunday, which is great! I was 1 1/2 cm on Sunday and today I was almost 3. YAY! She also did something to encourage quicker dilation, but I won't go into the intimate details for you. She thinks I will go this week, but I am scheduled to see her next week just in case I don't. If I end up needing the appointment next week, we will make induction plans because she doesn't want me to go past 40 weeks. I of course would prefer things to go naturally, just because I would like to avoid a medicated labor as much as possible (and really avoid a c-section), but I have made it clear that I want my water broken before any induction meds are used.

So I suppose my goal now is to focus on spending time with Aiden and making sure the apartment is as ready as possible for a new baby and my recovery time. I did come home to find more motivation for cleaning - we received a notice informing us of a mandatory apartment inspection tomorrow afternoon. Maybe all the crazy cleaning will finally jumpstart labor! For now, we just wait and see.

In the morning...

I have an appointment with my midwife first thing in the morning. I am really hoping that we'll find something out, since I'll be having a full exam. The contractions have come back and have been very painful this evening, going fully around from my abdomen to my lower back. If they were any closer together, I'd hope this was the beginning of something, but they seem to be about 15 minutes apart. I'm not really timing them, just because that seems to get me a little frustrated.
I am hoping that in discussing how much pain I'm in and how often I'm contracting, we'll be able to come up with some sort of plan tomorrow. John goes back to class next week and so I'm a little concerned about not having given birth by then. His classes are in Clackamas and if I go into labor while he's there, it's going to take him about an hour to get home. I'm worried he wouldn't make it in time. I don't think I would have any trouble in having someone else take me to the hospital, but I absolutely want my husband there.
I've been exhausted all day, so I suppose it's time to try to get some sleep. I'll definitely post when I know more from my midwife tomorrow. Hopefully it will be great news!