Daily Thread- Wednesday 8/13

[holothuroidea]

I am awake and just not feeling into laying down so...

Some stats for you guys:
Out of 29 mamas who've confessed to the length of their labors...

The average length is 9 hours, much lower than the commonly reported average of 12 (RRLT anyone? )
If anyone knows a little statistics, the median is a more accurate representation of the length of labors around here (unaffected by outliers), and the median is 5.5 hours!

There are 17 labors that were 6 hours or less...
only 4 labors that lasted longer than 24 hours...
and 2 labors that were less than an hour long!!

What's our secret? I mean, honestly... we are so awesome with all these short labors.


I'm afraid of a short labor, though, I want at least 8 hours. I must be crazy, but I would be totally overwhelmed by a short labor I think.

[OhMel]

Good morning! A 6 hour labor would be fine with me. I think less than that would be a bit overwhelming. But I'll take what I can get!

So my due date buddy, one day to that milestone. My son was one day late but my daughter 9 so I'm not really holding my breathe. However I feel like my body is doing some weird hormonal stuff so maybe it's close??? Probably just wishful thinking.

[Shiloh]

bleedin ths morning
uber crampy
backpains

[rach03]

I would like to have longer than 2 hours...I'm 45 minutes from the hospital and that makes me nervous!

I was having some more painful than normal contractions last night, but just one or two an hour still. They are changing, though...not just tightening any more!

I have my 39 week appointment today...hoping I've made some progress!

[jennykilbo]

41+1 today.
I am pissed, you know, because I was really fine and being patient until my mw got me all worried about waiting around and her getting too big, and I ended up doing the castor oil on Monday night - which was not that bad in itself - but it didn't bring on labor. So now I am more stressed than before because apparently I am not having a baby anytime soon - I figured the CO would just nudge her and then hey she'd be here. I have an appt to have my membranes swept at 4 today - and I am telling Allison, girl it would be great to already be in labor and not have to go deal with mw lady while we're in such a pissy mood. It could happen, I really hope, fingers crossed...

My dh was talking to her through my belly last night and we laughed so hard we started crying... he was like "you look fiiiine, let's GO" and "Turn off the lights when you leave or your mom is gonna lose it" (lol that is totally me)

[megsy]

Originally Posted by Shiloh

bleedin ths morning
uber crampy
backpains

Yay, shiloh! I hop this is it for you!

[megsy]

Nothing new to report here. Prodromal labor seems to have stopped.

A contraction here and there but nothing regular. Pubic bone is killing me. I'm heading to the chiro today.

37w5d. Five more days pregnant than I've ever been!

[zoebird]

kitchen drain is completely clogged up; i keep reminding my husband that he has to scrape all of the fat/grease off of his pans (he eats meat; i don't--so he's responsible for his meat dishes) before cleaning them, as the fat clogs up the drains. he "forgets" and then gets upset when the sink gets clogged up!

well, no duh!

anyway, i'm dealing with that, finishing up the closet today (DH hasn't gone through any of his stuff from that closet, so i've put it all in one bin that says "ryan, purge" on it. i can fit it in the closet if he doesn't get to it.

also, i have two appointments with two different cleaning companies this afternoon for them to give me the "final estimate" on what it will cost to clean our place each week. we don't have a big house, so i don't expect it will cost all that much. and we're good at doing our own dishes/laundry.

i'd hoped to do baby stuff today (finish that), but it looks like the closet is the way we're going.

[psychocandy]

I meet with the midwife in about an hour. Yay! I need to do some cleaning before she gets here. A cat threw up on the floor last night. Yuck, it's making me gag just to think about it.

Anyway, things are going well here! No signs of labor, but I'm ok with that. I could use another couple weeks alone with my husband.

I wouldn't mind having a long labor, as long as the majority of it is early labor. I want to make sure I get the house cleaned, get the food ready, maybe run to the store, hang out with my husband for awhile, and when things start to get intense, call my mom and sisters. Then things can move fast!

[sapphire_chan]

What kind of data do we get if labors are divided between first timers and multiparas?

[greenmom4]

Well, I asked my magic 8 ball if today is the baby's birthday and it said "absolutely" so, y'know, it's nice to have that settled.

I was up just about all night last night. And here I am at work today. Yuck - I had a great day yesterday, but I'm going to need naps a'plenty today, I think. We did meet some great neighbors yesterday (we moved about a month ago). They have 5 kids, 2 of whom were UC'ed. They live pretty much off the grid and self-sustain. I'm hoping to get to know them better - they have chickens and I really want to get some laying hens next spring, plus they're just our kind of people Anyway, they had a big catfish fry and invited us over - it was so much fun!

Shiloh - I think this is really it for you! Yay! :

[sapphire_chan]

I set up my birthing area yesterday. Draped a sheet over the non-fiction book case, put up some lights, put a sheet near the TV to be ready to drape over that. The futon has layers of sheets and plastic protectors and is folded in half to be out of the way of daily life.

Have a couple plastic bowls lined with grocery sacks for catching ick. (Well, okay, one's for the placenta which isn't ick.) A bin of cloths ready for hot water.

Hmm, still need to get some spiraly straws to use with the gallon jug of water that's being maintained in the fridge.

[treehugginhippie]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

I set up my birthing area yesterday. Draped a sheet over the non-fiction book case, put up some lights, put a sheet near the TV to be ready to drape over that.

You and I have the same birthing area in mind, lol!!! I did this EXACT same thing to my area a couple weeks ago. I have a dyed silk draped over the bookcase with lights over it and another sheet ready to be draped over the computer desk. I don't want to see stuff around when I'm birthing, lol!

[redebeth]

Originally Posted by jennykilbo

My dh was talking to her through my belly last night and we laughed so hard we started crying... he was like "you look fiiiine, let's GO" and "Turn off the lights when you leave or your mom is gonna lose it" (lol that is totally me)

So funny! He sounds great!

We are approaching my DD on Sat. and I had an appt. with my midwives last night. They were like "so you having good orgasmic sex?" and I'm like "ha ha very funny ladies". They were serious though. So apparently, starting tonight, I'm doing my best impression of jenna jameson from here on out.

My belly button hurts badly. It's stretched out flat, and I was fiddling with it like, a week ago and it has been sore ever since. It feels raw.

About the length of labor, my last baby was less than 5 hrs start to finish and it was awesome! It wasn't too intense, it was very gentle. That's why my midwife got there late, I didn't sound very urgent. At 8:30 PM we were walking around the mall, at 9:30 some friends stopped by, at 10:30 I took a bath as my husband was filling up the birth tub and I called my midwife. She was born at 11:15ish into my friend/doulas hands, 3 min. before my midwife walked in the door. It was fabulous. I could have been in labor for hours, it was so mellow (until the last half hour or so). So that's what I'm hoping for, a repeat of the last time.

Anyway, have a nice day everyone!

[~Megan~]

My first labor was 4hrs active and the second was 3 hrs active. I think I was just lucky. Plus I don't count the prodromal early labor stuff

[naturegirl]

What is the secret to our shorter labors?

I believe it is more momma's letting baby come when it is ready if possible (less inductions), using alternative health care such as chiropractic and acupuncture and more trust and less fear in our "community".

For me getting adjusted during labor of my ds helped us achieve a 6 hour active labor stage for a first baby!

[becomingme]

Nothing much happening here. Eating, working, sleeping, and chatting a bit with my dad, who arrived in town last Thursday and has been hovering quite a bit the last couple of days. It's possible he's worried the baby is going to come flying out if he turns his back for a moment. If only...

My dad's energy is rather intense, so while I'm glad to see him and would love to see him daily while he's here, I'm glad he's heading to stay with other folks starting tonight. I find myself a lot more anxious when he's around -- mostly because I can't tune out all his phone calls with the folks he works with, he has a pretty aggressive (and loud) communication style, and he tends to be heavily focused on the negative.

Still, this is the man who quit grad school to care for me day and night when I was born and my mom was still in law school. He's capable of being quite nurturing, but he's (really) out of practice. I put him to work yesterday and asked him to make my favorite childhood breakfast, and he happily complied. It was delicious!

I had one of those slightly freaked out - "Holy crap,I'm having a baby!" moments this morning. It was really sort of weird...I thought I was done having those.

- nk

[Shiloh]

Nope....not enough progress to be called labour...
no membrane sweep even....

I am now officially stuck in prodromal hell.
went in saw midwive (got the backup whooo
came home the plan is to have a bath and a good cry not sure yet what order.....

[megsy]

Shucks, Shiloh. Prodromal Labor Hell is no fun. Definitely have a good cry; it'll make you feel better.

I had a major cry over a baked potato that got left in the oven overnight (oven was off) instead of in the fridge and I'd been looking forward to eating it all day. It was ridiculous that I was crying over it and I knew it ... and that made me cry even more. DH said I had the voice of Satan when he politely and calmly said, "Baby, it's just a potato." Apparently I was overcome with evil and said in my meanest voice (I have no recollection of this LOL), "You DO NOT say that to ME!" ROFL

[diamond lil]

Hoping baby stays put this week. My doctor and my doula are both gone this whole week. My backup OB (I see a family practitioner) is really good, but I really want my doula present. She is on vacation and will be back on Sunday.

Keep your fingers crossed that baby will wait until next week! I think she will...I've had no "signs" that indicate she's ready to be born (although I just finished perusing a thread about going into labor with NO signs! LOL!)

Hang in there ladies! I hope to hear some more wonderful birth stories soon! I've read a few several times because they are so inspiring...especially the member who gave birth to twins at home and caught them herself! (DoulaSarah???)