OK... so... what is Labor??

It has come to my attention that I need to do some educating for some of you out there.  It is probably not your own fault entirely, but I am finding that way too many people, women are the ones I'm especially concerned for in this case, are very under educated when it comes to female anatomy and how babies are born.  Some of you, it could be because it's been so long since you were in school, and lets be honest, other then school when are you really going over the parts of the human reproductive system? I suppose when you see your gynecologist you may glance at the poster on the wall, but how many of us actually see the GYN regularly like we're suppose to?  I'm very disappointed in us for not knowing about our own bodies and how our own babies will get here.  I'm not saying everyone needs to know every medical/scientific term for everything, but I'm disappointed in many of us who don't even know the basics.

Now, obviously this is my first time being pregnant, and prior to this experience there's quite a few things that I was unaware of specifically concerning symptoms of pregnancy.  However, I still knew all the parts of the female reproductive system, even if i couldn't remember the correct names of every part, I at least knew what they do and where they are.  This is important! How are we suppose to take care of ourselves if we don't even know what "ourselves" is or looks like or does?

Since I'm deciding at present to blog about my pregnancy, there's a few things I want to talk about.  I'm 38 weeks and 3 days along now.  I just went in to the OBGYN to have my 38 week appointment.  At this appointment they decided it's time to do a pelvic exam and check my Cervix for effacement, dilation and to check the station of lightening.

Effacement
 is the thinning of the cervix. Normally, when a woman is not pregnant this cervix is pretty thick and long.  About 3-5cm.  During the first signs of labor, occurring in the last month of pregnancy the cervix will start to efface, or thin out and shorten eventually seeming as though it has become part of the lower uterus. The cervix itself seems to disappear.  Effacement is measured in percentage. 0% meaning no change at all, 50% meaning the cervix is halfway thinned out, and 100% meaning the cervix is fully thinned leaving just the opening at the bottom of the uterus for the baby to come out.  Right now my doctor says I'm at 80%

Dilation
 is the widening or the opening of the Cervix. As the cervix effaces it also dilates (opens) to allow the baby's head to more easily pass through from the Uterus to the Vaginal Canal for delivery.  Dilation is measured in centimeters.  Through most of the pregnancy a woman will be 0cm dilated.  Meaning the cervix is closed up tight preventing anything from getting to the baby that would cause infections and such.  As labor progresses a woman will go from 0cm to 10cm (fully dilated).  Typically Doctors will use a finger to determine dilation.  One finger = one cm dilated, two fingers = two cm dilated, and so on.  As everyones fingers are varying sizes this way of measurement is not exact, but close enough. Right now my doctor says I'm about 1.5cm dilated.

Lightening or engagement
 is when the baby begins to "drop" down into the pelvis. This is an indication that the baby is ready to be born.  But it does not necessarily mean that you're going into labor just because your baby has dropped.  Lightening is measured in stations. -3, 0, +3. At -3 the baby's head is just above the pelvis, at 0 the baby is "engaged" in the pelvis, and at +3 he is crowning, ready to be born. Some women "drop" many weeks before the baby's born/before they're in labor, and some women "drop" just days before. My doc says I'm currently at -3.

Now, we need to discuss labor and what that really means. Most of us, when we think of labor we think of the painful contractions happening super close together, the woman has to be rushed to the hospital, her water breaks, then a few hours later the baby is born. Usually when someone says "I'm in labor" that's what they're referring to. Now, I've been asked if I'm in labor already and this is why I struggle with my answer...

There are three main phases/stages of labor.

Latent Labor or early labor (stage 1)
 is when you start to have fairly regular contractions and begin to see effacement and dilation in the cervix.  The contractions are the easiest way to tell approximately which phase of labor your in seeing as you cannot check yourself for dilation. During this first stage the contractions are fairly mild and can be anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes from the beginning of one contraction to the beginning of the next contraction.  At this point in labor you're usually still able to talk through your contractions, move around, and act fairly "normal". They're painful and distracting but not SO bad that you're doubled over in pain.  For me, Today marks the first day that I'm seeing more of a pattern in these contractions. Prior to today I was feeling REALLY mild contractions that felt almost equal to my normal period cramps. Annoying, yes. They were not in any way painful or too distracting.  Today I'm starting to feel them much more often although they are not totally consistent yet. I've noticed them during the night anywhere from 8 minutes apart to 25 minutes apart. They hurt ... maybe a 5 on the pain scale of 1-10. Not too bad. Typically during this stage of labor a woman will be anywhere from 0-3 cm dilated. It varies though. Just because you're 4cm doesn't mean you're actually on to the next stage. Also, during latent labor you'll probably lose your mucus plug. The mucus plug is just that, its a small bit of mucus that plugs the opening of the cervix. As the cervix dilates this mucus has nothing to hang on to anymore and is eventually expelled from the vagina. Some women lose their mucus plug in one glop, others will notice it trickle out over time. I lost mine about mid last week all in one shot! This is a good sign that labor is on it's way; you're starting to dilate and efface. Once you're actually in early labor it's averaged to last about 8-10hrs.

Active Labor (stage 2)
 is when your cervix begins to dilate more rapidly. Your contractions will come stronger, last longer and be closer together. Typically this stage is when you're around 4-7cm dilated.  The contractions will become very strong and very painful and will usually restrict you from being able to focus on anything else. They're typically about 5minutes apart from the beginning of one contraction to the beginning of the next. At this stage your water may also break. This is the "labor" that we're all used to hearing about. This is the "labor" that usually gets you sent to the hospital and lasts an average of 3-5hrs.

Transition Labor (stage 3)
 is usually the shortest stage of labor averaging about 1-2hrs. In this stage Your contractions will be about 2-3 minutes apart and last around 60-90seconds each, leaving little to no break in between. They're usually VERY strong. The cervix is dilated between 8-10 cm and the "urge to push" may start because the baby is "dropping" lower into the pelvis. This is the most difficult stage of labor. However, it's nearly over because the next stage is to deliver the baby and the placenta.

Okay. So now we know what being in labor actually means. So when you ask if I'm in labor, I guess I would say technically yes, I'm in "stage 1" of labor. Seeing as I am dilated between 0-3cm and I am having contractions that are between 5-30 minutes apart, I'm effaced, and I've expelled my mucus plug. So, this could mean we see a baby in a few days, or that I'll just stay like this for another week or so. As far as I'm aware there's no real way to know for sure. And just because you've begun to dilate and efface and the baby's dropped a little does not mean that you'll go right away into "active labor". Unfortunately we could be looking at much longer then just a couple days. However, because this is already very uncomfortable I'm hoping that is not the case, and we do actually see a baby in a few days. Keep your fingers crossed!!

37 weeks, in the home stretch

It's been SO long since I blogged! There's so much that you've missed...

I'm now 37weeks along, that's 3 weeks until my due date! And let me tell you, it's true what they say about the last month. The last month is HARD. Everything is HUGE and painful and irritating and extremely uncomfortable. If you haven't been pregnant before I don't mean to scare you away from it, but by now I'm SO done with this part and SO ready to meet my baby and start to get my body back to myself (at least for the most part).

The pain that accompanies me during this time is serious sharp pains in my right ribs. I'm not sure if Elijah just has a big butt or has a foot jammed up there or what, but it is shockingly painful almost constantly. It gets worse when I'm sitting though. And funny, I think he's actually dropped a little lower over this last week. I have been feeling a little less pain (not much less) and I'm wondering if he's finally moving down. According to Doc, Eli has been positioned with his head down for the last few weeks, which is good, considering I'm looking forward to a vaginal birth and he's at least in the right position so far!

Some women complain about lower back pain during pregnancy, especially in the last month or so. I have actually had no back pain, with the exception of some a few months ago, but i think that was actually due to whatever is making my ribs hurt. The back pain I had was high on my back and exactly where my ribs hurt right now just on my back instead of my front. Other then that I'd say I've been lucky. I would hate to have back pain! I do however have a lot of pain in my muscles supporting this tummy. Especially when I'm sleeping and try to roll over or get up and when I try to lift my leg to put pants on. It feels like my muscles are straining and pulling in ways that they're not used to. I told my little sister, "Imagine that you did the most hard core abdominal work out that you could possibly imagine doing, but you only did it on your lower abs. Now imagine it's the next day and your muscles are so sore that no matter what you do or how you move they hurt super bad!" That's the closest description I could come up with. I dunno about y'all but that would suck!

Other then that my hips are still hurting when I'm sleeping at night and I've actually started experiencing cramping. It feels exactly like my period cramps which it's weird to feel that feeling again since it's been so long since I've had a period! I asked the Doc about this and I suppose you could technically call them contractions because it's my uterus contracting. However, I would rather say cramps only because in my mind contractions are much worse. These cramps are actually just irritating but not really painful at all. I feel them almost every night now and sometimes in the morning too. The Doc said that if we could hook me up to a monitor I'd probably be surprised at just how many contractions I'm actually having throughout the day without really noticing. I sounds to me like my body is preparing itself to finally get this baby out! Yes! :-)

As far as doctor appointments go, I go in every week now. Since I'm considered a "normal", "low risk" pregnancy all they really do at these appointments is weigh me, check my blood pressure, check the baby's heart beat, and answer any questions I have. Actually at my 36wk appointment they did a vaginal swap to test for a bacterial culture that's called Group B Streptococcus (Strep). Basically this is a bacteria that some people have and some people don't have. It's just present or not and is not necessarily a disease and is not an STD. Some pregnant women test positive for this bacteria. If that is the case, due to the infections it can cause the new born during birth the doctors with give the mom antibiotics during labor. According to my doctor they want to give the antibiotics at least twice during labor before the baby is actually born. They do this through one of the mom's veins, allowing it to get into her blood stream which then gets to the baby. So the baby is born with antibiotics in his system to fight the bacteria and dramatically avoid any infections.

OK so it sounds kinda gross calling it a bacteria. But from what I've read it's nothing to be embarrassed about and it's not something you get because you're dirty and don't shower enough. When I think of vaginal infections or bacterias that's the first place my mind goes. Like, ew take a shower more often or stop sleeping with so many people. Well obviously that's sort of ridiculous and is not the cause of most of the infections, especially this one. It's just one of those bacterias you already carry in  your system and it usually just does nothing, it's just there. But due to the immune system being weekend during pregnancy it can sometimes cause the bacteria to "colonize" thus giving a positive result on the vaginal swab test.

So far Elijah still has a normal heartbeat, which surprisingly is in the 140beats per min range. My blood pressure is still normal (apparently lots of pregnant women's blood pressure can go up), I've gained 35lbs total, I have no signs of pre-term labor, and my pregnancy is still considered very "normal". Oh and I have six official stretch marks. They're sorta small but three on each hip. I haven't noticed any right now on my tummy, but we'll see how it looks later when it starts getting back to it's normal size. I think this is good! And, next week, when I'm 38weeks they're going to check my cervix to measure my effacement and dilation which basically means they'll be checking to see if my cervix has "softened" or "thinned" out. Eventually once it's thin enough the mucus plug that basically keeps the inside in and the outside out will be released which allows your baby to be able to come out. Effacement is measured in percentages. 100% means you're ready to push, and the cervix is fully thinned and dilated. Dilation is basically the cervix opening up to eventually allow the baby to come through. I believe they say 10cm dilated is completely dilated and your baby is ready to be born. You start out with your cervix at 0 which means nothing can get in or out. Throughout labor you'll go from 0cm-10cm. Crazy! That's a dramatic change!

I went on my first nursing bra shopping adventure last week. OK now I've been bra shopping before, which is usually a total pain and expensive. I have a tendency to be a little awkwardly in between sizes. And not because of the cup size. I think it's due to the fact that I have a slight case of scoliosis which makes my upper back (right where my bra would hook) curve outward, but my ribs and around my body is actually fairly narrow in comparison to my cup size. So it makes things fit a little weird sometimes. Anyway... despite this complication I'm impressed with myself because although I should've been, up until this experience, I'd never been sized. Despite that, I was wearing exactly the right size. So props to me! A lot of women are in the totally wrong bra sizes. EVERYONE should get sized! It'll be like you're a whole new woman when you're in the right bra, trust me! :-) So... anyway... nursing bras. Alright, uhhhh what the heck! How am I suppose to know what to do with that?! I've never put on a nursing bra in my life and wouldn't even know what would be considered a "good" one. I've never nursed before. C'mon! Well come to find out, they're all very very similar now. I found that you have basically three general categories: Underwire semi-padded (like a "normal" bra w/ some shape to it), Underwire with no extra padding at all, Formed/shaped with no underwire, and "sleep bras" or "comfort" bras that feel and look very similar to a sports bra. Oh that was four categories! ha ha. Other then this, its really quite simple, they were all build nearly the same. They either have a little hook you can unhook to fold down the bra to allow easy access without taking it off, or they have no hooks but the straps are made in such a way that you can just lift the whole thing up or down, or they have a sort of "wrap" in the front where you just pull it to the side to expose the breast.

This is the first one I bought. It's sort of a lounge around the house/ sleeping bra. Which basically means its comfortable enough to sleep in and still offer support. This is one of the ones that looks and feels like a sports bra to me. However, it has normal adjustable straps and hooks and eyes in the back. You can see in the right picture how it would unsnap to fold down to expose the breast. I tried sleeping in it already, super comfy! And very easy to maneuver one handed as far as unhooking it. I found this at Target for around 20 dollars.

After minimal luck at Target as far as finding bras that were more structured and could actually comfortably (in my opinion) hold up everything I decided to venture to the mall and stop in at Motherhood Maternity. As I assumed they had a much wider selection and the sales clerk was able to give me a couple tips and talk to me about what they had. There I bought this one (as well as a couple others). This one has an underwire and it actually clasps in the front which makes it super easy and comfortable to put on and take off. It's sort of silky and very soft. Super comfortable AND it holds everything up and in place! This one has the same hooks to expose the breasts as the "sleeping" one has. There were a few other options there as well as far as "sleep" bras go, but I'm going to wait to see how this whole nursing thing goes before I invest anymore money. By the way all of the bras at Motherhood were about 20 bucks and they had a sale, buy three get one free. Pretty much a score if you ask me! I dunno about smaller chests, but ya can't get a good bra that gives you support anywhere for only twenty bucks!

I also bought a box of these nursing pads. I wouldn't know which brand is considered best. But i was told these are very popular. So i picked up a box. If you're new to this like me, your breasts can and probably will actually leak and who wants that ruining your bra! Oh and another tip, if you're planning on breast feeding, I took this class at Legacy Salmon Creek, it was wonderful! They had SO much info that even I was not aware of... I'll go into all that some other time :-) We can learn all about breast feeding together! It was very informative and I feel much more prepared now that I'm a lot more educated about what happens to our bodies during this time. There was a lot i didn't know. And to the hubbies out there, it seems easy but I'm anticipating it taking A LOT out of your woman; be aware.

Only other thing that's new and exciting, but not fun at all is all the swollen everything. My feet, my ankles and my hands. All swollen almost all of the time. My feet and ankles have gotten better then they were last week. But man o man, can you say Kankles!! Seriously the other day I tried on like three different pairs of my widest shoes, none of them fit. I finally had to settle on my Nike Shox unlaced almost all the way and they still were tight! I am finding that Ugg boots (or if you're like me, the knock off version of those) actually seem to be fitting me the best right now. Sometimes I wish it was summer so I could wear flip flops without freezing or getting soaking wet. I have found that elevating my feet has helped a lot and mostly staying off them. The more time i spend up out and about and walking around the more swollen they get. And they actually hurt too! They feel tired as if I'd been walking for an entire day straight. They're worn out! This is a time when having your Hubby around to give you a foot massage is a must!

My poor hands are swelling too! mostly at night time. I wake up every day with sausage fingers. It lasts most of the day too. It's been probably a month or so since I've worn my wedding ring :-( I tried it on... It doesn't even go over my knuckle right now! Gosh I hope my hands will go back to normal!!

I've been going on and on about SO many things, I think now is a good time to bring today to a close. I finally packed most of my hospital bag. It's certainly in no way ready to be picked up and walked out the door if i were to suddenly go into labor. But i figure how bad can it really be if i don't have my makeup bag. I mean, it's not like I'll be dressed in my finest, they have hospital gowns and as long as I can brush  my teeth at some point I'll be fine. Besides, I know lots of people who can drive and would love to bring me some stuff if i really needed it :-) I'm not too picky and I'm betting I'm not going to care all that much about looking my best, I would have just had a baby for goodness sake, what do ya expect! :-P