A few thoughts on pregnancy...

As I enter into the final phases of pregnancy, I keep telling myself that I am NEVER DOING THIS AGAIN!

Of course, that could change, if I ever meet someone that I would like to marry and have a child with. I would have to be very willing to endure the agonies of pregnancy again, and that would take some convincing. I've had a very easy pregnancy up until the past few weeks...but these past few weeks have soured me to the idea of experiencing it all over again.

For the last two days, I have had unrelenting, and at times severe, pain in my lower back and my abdomen. It has been so severe at times that there has been nothing I could do to relieve it. Sitting hurt. Lying down hurt. Squatting hurt. Being on the exercise ball and doing hip rolls hurt. Being down on all fours, doing pelvic tilts, hurt. Walking hurt. Standing still hurt. Nothing helped.

Finally, tonight, I decided it was time to go to the hospital and check to see if I was in the early stages of labor. My mom drove me in, and I was so hoping I would not be sent home tonight. I was hooked up to a fetal monitor, and the nurse told me that my baby boy is doing fantastically well. She also commented that he is very active...more active than most babies. This is good. I'm just hoping I can keep up with him once he is no longer contained in my womb.

She did an internal exam, and said that what I am going through is definitely not labor, but my body is getting ready for labor. Basically, what I am experiencing is the final stage of pregnancy, which is going to be very uncomfortable, and there really is no avoiding that. The pain can be minimized through using different positions, maybe soaking in a hot bath or using a heating pad, and perhaps taking Tylenol...but this stage of pregnancy is necessarily painful and uncomfortable as the body prepares for labor and delivery.

That was SO not what I wanted to hear! I was hoping I would be one of those lucky women who was in labor, but didn't really know it, and would be admitted to the hospital and not sent home until my sweet baby was born. *sigh*

So, my mom and I headed home, and I thought to myself, "OKay, worst case scenario is that I am pregnant for four more weeks. It's only about three weeks until my due date, and I know the doctor will not let me go more than a week beyond that without inducing labor. So, four more weeks, tops. I can do this. It's already been 37 weeks...what is four more?"

All the while, I'm also thinkng, "I BETTER NOT GO PAST MY DUE DATE! THIS IS MISERABLE!"

My friend and labor coach, Terry, said she thinks God made it this way for a good reason...the last few weeks of pregnancy are so miserable that when it comes time to deliver the baby, we will work as hard and push as hard as we need to in order to get that baby out. As bad as labor and delivery hurts, it sure beats days and weeks of horrible, unrelenting pain. You better believe that when the doctor says it's time to push, I will be pushing with all I've got!

Up until now, being pregnant was so much fun! But, the third trimester is a bear, and I cannot wait for this last bit of the journey to be over. I want to meet my baby! I want to wake up without having to think about how much it will hurt as I heave myself out of bed. I want to be able to bend over and pick things up off the floor without grunting like an old man as I do it. I want to see my feet again!

Funny story...

Today, my niece came over for a visit. As she sat at my desk, coloring a picture, she dropped one of her colored pencils. Just as I settled into my recliner, she asked me to pick it up for her. I asked her to do it herself, but as I was in no mood to argue with a 4 year old, I grunted and heaved out of the chair, and went to get the pencil.

My niece looks at me and says, "I know, I know."

I asked, "What do you know?"

"I know you're going to bend over to get the pencil, you're going to stretch, and you're going to say 'Ow, ow, ow'." She shook her head just a little, and went back to coloring.

I couldn't help laughing. I think we are ALL ready for this child o' mine to be born!
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