This is my third baby and.....

[Ellen Griswold]

I cannot decide whether or not I am in labor. How unfair is that??? It's 3:30 in the morning and I am RESTLESS. Every now and again I was having hard contractions in bed. During the contraction, I'd feel like for *sure* this was the real deal. And in between, I just think I'll be tired in the morning with nothing to show for it.

[GoBecGo]

DDCC

My second baby i wasn't sure i was going to have the baby that day 15mins before she was born! I had ctx all night, on and off. 4 an hour, then 8 an hour, then 2 an hour. Getting more challenging, but not always longer and DEFINITELY not closer together!

Eventually i was catching myself grunting at peaks so i summoned the MW, she came and looked at my "purple line" (kind of above and down into your butt crack, sorry if TMI!) and said "hmm, i think you might be fully", she checked me on my request at 7.50am because i could NOT believe i had dilated with my weird sporadic on/off labour, and i WAS fully and DD2 was born 6minutes later, at 7.56am!

It turned out she had a true knot so we think she was doing it all as gently as she could - having a good strong contraction then a nice long gap to recover really well. Her apgars were 10, 10 and 10, she was literally puce with rage and oxygen, screaming her head off as soon as her chest was out, but her knot pulled tight just with me holding her, so i do think it was something she was dealing with.

So maybe your babe is in a bit of a funny position and is getting sorted out in there, or maybe there is a cord-excitement (i don't like "issue" since it wasn't an issue for DD2 at all, she just needed to drive a careful labour), or some other reason for a bit of a steady go. Hang in there, stay nourished and hydrated and wait. I'm guessing you'll know in time - even though i wasn't sure i was having the baby right now until after my body began massive involuntary pushing (definitely the expulsion reflex i have read about), i DID know i should call the MW a good hour before that. I really feel for you, for me it was baby #2, but for DH it was #1 and he kept saying "so are you in labour do you think?" and i kept saying "hmm, maybe, i don't know!"

[Ellen Griswold]

~VENT~~VENT~~VENT~~VENT~
I think the real question might be Can a person be annoyed out of labor? It was such a fiasco last night with dd getting up with me and deciding that she really ought to jump on the couch, the cat barfing on the floor, dh deciding he ought to shower because clearly I was so close to needing to leave for the hospital , and stepping in cat pee from the other cat. Didn't help that I went to bed severely annoyed at the woman I babysit for because she didn't seem to understand that, no, I really didn't think it was a good idea to babysit her school age child who was too sick to go to school because of strep throat. Then she couldn't decide if I ought to pick up the other kid at her house or where we usually do pick up. I don't care, really I don't, her house is a block from the school, but freaking tell me one way or the other. Then there was that whole issue of getting into bed and realizing that the cat had peed in my bed. And coming to the conclusion that I can't live like this and I'm going to have to put her down. VENT over.

[St. Margaret]

I still remember the day my mom picked up the cat and tossed her outside, after she had changed the all the sheets and blankets just before, and they were peed on again. Stormy became an outside cat that day! I don't think anyone can live like that, let alone pregnant.

I hope things settle down... except in the baby-coming sense

[my kidlets and me]

Did you end up getting any sleep? I can't believe that woman would even consider sending her child who has STREP THROAT over to your house!

Have things petered out, or are you still contracting once in a while?

[Lemoncello]

Okay, so here I just finished complaining about my "rotten" night in the chat thread, then I read about yours! I've got nothing on you, mama! I hope your day gets better and that your body decides what it's doing soon.

I hear you on the cat problems. DH is seriously threatening to make all three of our indoor cats into outdoor cats if they can't behave themselves. Besides the normal feline things they do, like tossing cat litter everywhere and scratching the furniture...one of them has digestive issues and regurgitates her food on a regular basis, and another one enjoys finding anything stringy and attempting to eat it. Sunday he tried to eat the straps off one of my tank tops! I am about to the point of agreeing that the cats need to go outside at least part time, just to preserve our sanity! But that's a hard decision to make because I do love them to bits, and I know they would not stay as healthy and live as long outside... Sometimes you have to wonder why people get pets in the first place?!

[kittywitty]

Wow, Ellen. That is one craptastic night. I can't wait to hear if you are in labor, though!

[MaryLang]

Ugh!!! Sorry your labor feelings stalled!
I so hear you on the cat stuff. We have two and one has off and on had a peeing habit. I'm sure it's not UTI, its emotional or he's just being a PITA. I finally let him out this week. And he'll have to be an outdoor cat. I just can't handle him peeing on everything, and his favorites are blankets and baby chairs. So I am so not living like that with a new baby. I'll have enough extra laundry as it is.

[Ellen Griswold]

No, no not in labor. I feel like the girl who cried wolf. I need to go check in with the zen mamas - though I feel like I need the heavily drinking mamas . I'm not sure why I can't relax about going into labor. I've done this before, I can say with almost absolute certainty that the baby is not just going to fall out with no warning (and frankly, maybe I could go for that). The cat thing weighs on me very heavily. She's really not suited to be an outdoor cat and we don't really have the space for it. She's afraid of wind. The problem is the fact that she has kidney disease, and this is just going to get worse. I've never gone through the whole losing a pet thing as an adult, only as a teenager when my parents had to make those decisions (and they were really clear cut cases). I'm not sure that prolonging this is going to make it any easier for her or I and I should probably just call the vet.

[Earthy Mama]

Originally Posted by St. Margaret

I still remember the day my mom picked up the cat and tossed her outside, after she had changed the all the sheets and blankets just before, and they were peed on again. Stormy became an outside cat that day! I don't think anyone can live like that, let alone pregnant.

I hope things settle down... except in the baby-coming sense

My cat became an outside cat during this pregnancy, too!

[FarrenSquare]

Oh, Ellen, I am so sorry you have to make that tough call. I've been there myself with several pets (My childhood dog, my childhood pony, and one of my cats) and unfortunately it is never an easy decision. In one case, with my dog, I definitely waited for it to be obvious that it was her time and then I had sooo much guilt about waiting too long and putting her through needless suffering.
Maybe the vet can offer some insight into your decision? What a yucky thing to have to go through during this time!

[Metasequoia]

Originally Posted by Earthy Mama

My cat became an outside cat during this pregnancy, too!

Mine too - a barn cat.

[BirdMum]

Sorry that you had such a crappy night. I think frustration can stop labour, so hopefully you're in for a more peaceful night tonight so you can get some good sleep and relaxation.

[ERue]

Yeah, I had a night like that a couple days ago. It is infuriorating! I'm so sorry!!

[naturelady]

I'm right there with you on the pet ordeal.. My dog has had a mystery disease for about a year..and he's only 17 months old. They are suspecting it is auto-immune related and a month ago, he went into one of of his "spells" and almost died. He's required tons of meds, nasogastric feedings, subcutaneous fluids, and shots. (all administered by me) And JUST when he is a week and a half into improving and is feeling great, he has a stroke. This happened yesterday and he went into shock. SO SCARY. Everything returned to normal except he's lost all function in one of his front legs. (vet expects him to recover though) So he can't walk and has basically become a newborn. Again.

So I basically sleep with one eye open. And have been. :sigh: He's on the road to recovery and I love him to death but it's so draining. And I could never imagine giving him up to someone else. And to top it off, my other dog is regressing on potty training! UGH. (We just moved..)

So, I feel your pain. Hopefully our pets will settle down enough to let us keep our sanity!!

[sewcool]

ive been going through a very VERY frustrating 2 weeks of crazy contractions especially last night - I really though last night was it and after about an hour and a half they painful contractions stopped UGH. Ive even had a night where they were so strong they woke me up. This is my 3rd baby I should know but its so confusing and I keep telling people and keep hearing other similar stories.

[pomegranate]

Originally Posted by Ellen Griswold

Can a person be annoyed out of labor?

yes, i do sort of think so! labour can stall/stop for other reasons, so why not annoyance too? not the same thing, but with my 2nd baby, i felt that i just could not have the baby until i had steam-cleaned the carpets. i believe that i went into labour only a day or 2 after i finished the task

i hope that things go better tomorrow