Just was having a twitter conversation with Red about how the poor thing had morning sickness so her pregnancy had to be announced. Can't imagine! Feeling miserable, being hospitalized because the morning sickness is so bad, and then telling the whole world, "By the way, it's because I have the future heir to the throne in my womb." No pressure for the little one. I wonder what that must be like. We sit here and like to speculate about what our son might want to be when he grows up or what interests he might take. Will he take after his mom and like to write, sing, dance? Will he take after his dad and be good at math, art, athletics? I mean, sure, Wills and Kate get to wonder those things as well but as far as occupation goes, their baby's course is set. Which begs the question: do you wish you knew exactly what you were supposed to do with your life from the time you were born? Is there freedom or restriction in that kind of certainty?
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| Mr. John Braxton Hicks. The obstetrician with contractions named after him. |
For example, there were a few times that I got up to use the bathroom yesterday and I felt like my tummy was hard. And I read that having a full bladder can trigger a Braxton-Hicks contraction. So I wondered, "Is this it?" Because it wasn't that uncomfortable. And I probably wouldn't have noticed it if I didn't have a class on Thursday where the teacher seemed appalled that none of us are having this happen on the regular. And then I read that staying hydrated can help ward off Braxton-Hicks so I thought, "Well, I do drink a lot of water. Maybe that's why I'm not having any." And then I went to use the bathroom again. It's a vicious cycle, isn't it? Gotta stay hydrated during pregnancy but your bladder is squished by the human occupying the same space. I buy a lot of toilet paper these days.
The point of all this is to ask, if you're reading this and are/have been pregnant or know someone that is/has been pregnant, how often do/did Braxton-Hicks strike for you/them? (That was a lot of slashes.) Or when did they start? This might sound really ignorant, but I'm wondering if because I have a long torso I'll experience it later in pregnancy than "normal"? Or is that just wishful thinking? Third trimester, man. Lots of woes it seems. Would love to hear about your experiences!
I didn't feel anything until about a week before I had Alex and it was barely noticeable. And definitely not in the seventh month! Like you, I was wondering what every move in my stomach was. You will have enough contractions when you go into labor so don't feel bad if you don't feel anything now :)
ReplyDeleteHa! I was going to ask how your contractions were once labor started since they were mild leading up to it. I'm guessing they made up for lost time! Another friend of mine wrote to me on FB and said that she never felt Braxton-Hicks either so hearing from both of you makes me feel a little more normal! I was surprised with how...surprised...our instructor seemed at our group's lack of contractions. I'm glad to find out we're not alone!
DeleteYeah, when I was going into labor, I didn't know what it was. The week or two before my body started to get really achy so I knew something was happening. The night before I had Alex I was eating dinner at a friend's house and started to feel some pain (like I had to go to the bathroom-gross, but that's the feeling). It wasn't bad at first, other than the embarrassment of continuously running to their bathroom, but they knew I was going into labor. I labored at home all night, refusing to go to the hospital until my contractions were a minute apart. Well, that never happened! They were actually more annoying than anything and didn't get really bad until I went to the hospital almost 12 hours later after my water broke! I know you weren't this far along in your blog yet, but I can't tell one part of the story without the other?
ReplyDeleteHow are you feeling otherwise? I had the worst indigestion during the last few months! Any of that?
So interesting about your labor story! I actually love hearing them. At our childbirth classes we've been watching a lot of videos and it's been interesting to see how different they can be. I'm planning on laboring at home as long as possible as well. We are close to the hospital so it makes sense.
DeleteI've been feeling good otherwise! A little bit of indigestion here and there but not too bad yet. I do feel like I get full about halfway through my meals even though I'm still hungry. If I stand up and move a bit, then I can finish eating. So that's a little annoying. Especially because I hate eating while standing - reminds me of my days as a server. Ha!