I am a wimp
Well, last night got a lot better after I headed to the guest room. I was sufficiently uncomfortable that I made it three-quarters of the way through a lengthy New Yorker article about Libya before I fell asleep. I slept decently until 7 or so, at which point I was up for the day.
That's the part that hasn't gone particularly well -- the daylight hours. I was still achy and uncomfortable this morning, so I paged the midwives who cover the on-call hours for my docs. D and I sat around waiting for the return call. And then we waited some more. I struggled to straighten myself in my chair without straining the sore spots, and then we waited some more. Finally, after more than an hour had passed, I called the answering service again. This time, I got a call back almost immediately.
The upshot is that the midwife wasn't overly concerned, calling this a "watch and wait" situation. She advised me to spend some time on my hands and knees, and then to lay on my right side (the pain has been on the left) to see if I can get the bambina to move and stop pressing on whatever she's been pressing on. I'm supposed to call back if there is any bleeding or fluid leaking, or if the pain becomes rhythmic and I feel more than four contractions in an hour.
It's that last one that worries me a bit... the pain has spread out across my lower abdomen in the last hour or so. While the hands and knees bit helped a little, laying on my right side did absolutely nothing to improve the situation. So I've now begun writing down the time at which the pain increases, and hoping that it doesn't happen three more times between now and 1 pm (not least because D is out on a 7-mile run with a friend -- something I encouraged him to do).
I have (ridiculously melodramatic) visions of bedrest and emergency C-sections, of a baby in the NICU and a house that is completely unprepared... none of which is helping me relax and try to get through whatever my body is doing today.
So, any of you experienced moms out there, I'd be more than happy to hear your stories of bizarre mid-third-trimester pains that resolved uneventfully. You know where to find me -- I'll be on the couch.
That's the part that hasn't gone particularly well -- the daylight hours. I was still achy and uncomfortable this morning, so I paged the midwives who cover the on-call hours for my docs. D and I sat around waiting for the return call. And then we waited some more. I struggled to straighten myself in my chair without straining the sore spots, and then we waited some more. Finally, after more than an hour had passed, I called the answering service again. This time, I got a call back almost immediately.
The upshot is that the midwife wasn't overly concerned, calling this a "watch and wait" situation. She advised me to spend some time on my hands and knees, and then to lay on my right side (the pain has been on the left) to see if I can get the bambina to move and stop pressing on whatever she's been pressing on. I'm supposed to call back if there is any bleeding or fluid leaking, or if the pain becomes rhythmic and I feel more than four contractions in an hour.
It's that last one that worries me a bit... the pain has spread out across my lower abdomen in the last hour or so. While the hands and knees bit helped a little, laying on my right side did absolutely nothing to improve the situation. So I've now begun writing down the time at which the pain increases, and hoping that it doesn't happen three more times between now and 1 pm (not least because D is out on a 7-mile run with a friend -- something I encouraged him to do).
I have (ridiculously melodramatic) visions of bedrest and emergency C-sections, of a baby in the NICU and a house that is completely unprepared... none of which is helping me relax and try to get through whatever my body is doing today.
So, any of you experienced moms out there, I'd be more than happy to hear your stories of bizarre mid-third-trimester pains that resolved uneventfully. You know where to find me -- I'll be on the couch.
posted by mc at 11:59 AM
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