sprung a leak, but no baby yet?! AAACK

[Krystal323]

So. I'm 41 weeks 5 days today, and last night we were *ahem* attending to business when all of a sudden DP got flooded and said "omg your water broke!" It did indeed seem that way, but now I seem to just be "leaky", which is odd. I guess the babe could be acting as a stopper? What leaks and what flooded were/are clear and normal-looking, but jeez, I'm only having slightly-worse-than-average contrax and ACK this supposed water-breaking happened 18 hours ago!

I need to read up on the protocol for water-breaking, I am getting paranoid that I'm not holding this babe already!

Both times before i had AROM, and went from zero labor to baby within 4-5 hours. And of course if your water broke then you're not supposed to insert anything, so I'm afraid to check my cervix and see if anything's happening!!

This is the 3rd day I've been seeing a bit of blood down there, got lots of pressure and sleep-depriving contrax for nearly a week now, the contrax downgrade but don't leave when I sleep, etc.... As of yesterday afternoon I was 4-5 cm dilated already.

Been rubbing my belly with castor oil, taking hot baths/showers, walking, nipple stim/sex (well up until last nite!), and yesterday I had started a blue cohosh/RRL tea protocol designed to speed things up (quit that as of this afternoon tho, in favor or Rescue Remedy cause I'm so nervous!!)

So if I haven't had this baby by 1:30 tonite, I guess I have to go to the hospital???? Now I finally have internet access to do research, but any input here is greatly appreciated!!!

[Synchro246]

Well, you don't *have* to go to the hospital. All they will do is give you pit anyway and put you on monitors. Do you think you need that? If you do, that's fine do what you think you need; follow your instincts. I'd recomend taking your temperature and not putting yourself on a 24 hour clock based soley on PROM.
I know it's stressful (and like you don't have enough up in the air already )

What are you feeling? Have you posted over at the UC forum about this yet?

ETA: I had PROM with my first and it was a good 36 hours being only 2cm before we made the call to go to the hospital. From what I've read expectant management (waiting for labor) and induction have only small differences in outcome and maternal preference should be the deciding factor for how PROM is managed.

Do you know what position the baby is in?

Cochrane link about PROM and antibiotics http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab001807.html

[Krystal323]

Originally Posted by Synchro246

Well, you don't *have* to go to the hospital. All they will do is give you pit anyway and put you on monitors. Do you think you need that? If you do, that's fine do what you think you need; follow your instincts. I'd recomend taking your temperature and not putting yourself on a 24 hour clock based soley on PROM.
I know it's stressful (and like you don't have enough up in the air already )

What are you feeling? Have you posted over at the UC forum about this yet?

you are one of the main ppl I was hoping would respond!

well as i type this i am having some good strong contrax, and I've just done a ton of reading on several websites and feel a lot safer/less scared. babe is head-down and veeeery low, moving like crazy as usual I think I am in labor and will do fine--it's just so freaky to have it be different from the last two times, which were cookie-cutters of each other

fwiw i wish i had realized exactly HOW blue and black cohosh work together--the blue stimulates contrax, while the black regulates them....and here i was only taking blue ah well. too late to correct that and use them together, i am just about out of the blue!

so I will try to go about business as usual and keep y'all posted! I do have castor oil as a last resort if nothing else

[Synchro246]

Awww I feel honored

I'm sending you lots of love and happy healthy labor vibes and will be thinking of you tonight

Nipple stim will work in liu of blue cohosh as blue acts like oxytocin.

Good luck mama!!!

[chrissy]

it sounds like you are well on your way! trust your instincts and you'll be fine.

[emiLy]

things sound good to me too. i would have said what laura said. you'll definitely be able to keep yourself cleaner at home than at a hospital - they will check you even if you your water broke. and then will want to give you antibiotics....

can't wait to hear how everything goes!!

[Krystal323]

Well here i am 9:30 in the morning and STILL no baby.

I did come across some info that describes me to a T--it's a midwives' archive on women with "very stretchy cervixes", and how they can go for weeks dilated to 4+, how their labors can seem so strong and far along and then just peter out to nothing, etc etc etc. They go on about how many of them can't handle this emotionally...here

So. I am still contracting, harder than usual but not terribly regularly just now, feeling wicked things down in my cervix, water is leaking so slightly that it's almost hard to believe it is at all... I've been taking garlic and probiotics for a good week at least, as a precaution against GBS, the sniffles, anything, so I'm not terribly worried about infections of any sort.

But jeez--41w6d today. How long is this gonna go on??

:snatches up bottle of Rescue Remedy while cooing "my precious..":

[Synchro246]

Awwww I'm sending you lots of positive thoughts.
Are you taking vitamin C too?

Do you think with so much being up in the air for you these past months that there's a mental something you've got going on that might need addressing? Like you've gotten used to things being up in the air. . .have you reallllllly given your body permission to let go?

ETA: neat link. I never read the part about strechy cervices before, but I am very familair with the passsage above it about stenotic cervices

[Slingin'Momto4]

Here is my labor story...LOL!

My water broke at 3:00 in the afternoon on 5/2, I was like WOOHOO this baby is going to come anytime now! BOY was I ever wrong...LOL! I called my midwife she came and checked on us we were fine, contrax were coming a little bit but nothing extraordinary, I walked, walked and walked some more, still contrax were not regular or getting any more painful, my midwife gave me blue/black cohosh and some cottonroot tree bark or something like that, nothing helped. I was getting so very frustrated and nervous that I was going to have to go to the hossy, but my midwife kept good tabs on us and took my temp every half hour and check the babe and my vitals and everything was fine. Finally after 2 1/2 days of labor on 5/5 at 2:35 AM, my DD decided to enter the world. This labor was by far my most painful, hardest and longest, and for this being #6, I was shocked. My babe knew when she had to come and she did! I was so glad my midwife helped and was there and did not scare me into going to the hospital. Your babe will know when he/she needs to come out.

ETA-Never got checked for dialation one time!

[chrissy]

how are you doing mama?

[amyleigh33]

I'm thinking you're having your baby now, or already have! good luck!

[Krystal323]

:

STILL no baby yet. I can't believe I'm still pregnant. I actually got asked if I was carrying twins at the tire shop today :

woke up contracting about 4:30am, haven't been to sleep since then. weirdly, I'm not tired tho. still contracting hard, feeling it in my back etc....but they're not all that close together or regular. they woke me up several times last nite. i am still not entirely sure that i *did* spring a leak, because even after a day of errands today, I don't feel at all leaky. can leaks "heal"?? been having LOTS of sharp weird-feeling twinges deep down-low, and if my belly dropped any more it'd be falling off. babe is still moving like crazy (i.e. normal) and all seems fine--well, save my emotional state

yeah i know errands aren't probably the best thing right now, but at least they get me walking..

taking garlic and probiotics still, took cayenne pepper, bought more blue cohosh and am taking that alternating with black cohosh as of, um, two hours ago. i have castor oil and OJ on hand, tho I really don't feel like trying that route just yet. maybe in another few hours...! :

sat on the birth ball for a good hour last nite, staring into a candle flame and "meditating", having a mental conversation with the baby... i would like to think that helps, but it's hard not to feel disillusioned right now.

i REALLY appreciate you guys' support here

[chrissy]

i think leaks can definitely reseal.

big hugs to you mama. it really can't be long now. hang in there.

[Synchro246]

Man.

maybe take a break of the induction measures for the evening/night/morning then retry? Just thinking out loud. . .

[emiLy]

Yeah, leaks can heal. You can do it!!!

[Slingin'Momto4]

I definently think they can reseal, my water broke 2 1/2 days prior to the actual birth and as I was pushing I felt the same popping as when my water first initially broke! All will be fine

[Synchro246]

Sling'n mom, That reminds me-- not only can they heal but sometimes only one layer of the two layers breaks so that's another posibility

[Eaglevoice]

thinking of you, krystal!

[Krystal323]

thanks for the support guys

well i have to be honest--I am truly a nervous wreck, and have been for several days at least. this is no doubt my biggest problem!!!

i took castor oil last nite, 1.5 oz in about 8oz of orange juice. that too brought heavy contrax, bit of bloody show, etc, but here i am still pregnant the next day.

i just got off the phone with my midwife, and that was a very reassuring, heaven-sent phonecall for me. i am gonna take a nice warm shower, enjoy the fact that my kids are at a playdate right now, and go out to do something FUN. laying in bed all day crying is NOT going to do me any good

(EPO and acupressure points might, and those are pretty much the only things I haven't tried already )

i shall keep you updated--thanks for listening, i mean it

[chrissy]

oh Krystal! i am going to throw out a few suggestions, but feel free to disregard them all and just take my love and support, okay?

1) what are you feeling nervous about? i don't mean you have to tell me, i just mean really think about it with yourself and sort of discuss with yourself your fears and why they aren't (or are) valid. like i really really really was freaking out about something bad happening to my baby and i didn't want to think about it, but it was freaking me out. so i forced myself to think about it, and ask myself why i was worried, and then me, myself and i had a little in my head discussion about all the reasons i have to believe that everything is okay with my sweet little one and how i am doing everything that i believe is best and safest for me and my baby. and then finally i thought about how sometimes horribly bad things do happen but that worrying about them isn't going to make them not happen. anyway, i think sometimes our fears are toughest on us when we refuse to acknowledge them. if our conscious mind refuses to think about them our unconscious mind just won't let them go. now i won't say that i don't still worry, but i don't as much. or perhaps you have already done all this.

2) is there any way you could go for acupuncture? i am such a firm believer in acupuncture for many things but i think it is especially helpful for relaxation. and i think it really helps get a slow to start labor started too.

other than that i don't know. it sounds like you've got a stubborn little bug on your hands there! i do know that it won't be long though. i know that every day must feel like an eternity though (b/c that's how i feel too and i'm "just" 3 days overdue)

anyway, besides that long and blabbery advice i also am sending you lots of love and BABY COME OUT NOW vibes!

hang in there.