I'm getting tired of this!!!!! (Rant with bits and pieces of TMI)

[gabysmom617]

Ok. So. I woke up Friday feeling weird. My whole stomach seems to have dropped. Lots of pressure in between my legs. Pain in my back. Whenever I had a braxton hicks (? if that's what they were), I would feel it very low, like a horrible period cramp. I was getting them a lot. Felt like I had to do #2.

But I did, and the pressure down there won't let up, but the contractions did a little bit. All my muscles down there feel so sore, and every time I had a contraction, it feels a bit like I have to either let out a huge bout of gas, or have a huge bowel movement, none of which change much how it feels down there.

I feel like I'm walking around about to pass a football at any moment. It's like a football stuck down there waiting to come out!!

It also feels like something is blocking my intestines. I can feel every gas bubble move through my intestines and it feels excruciating.

So I call my midwife yesterday (I waited a day, I thought i was just having a stomach bug...)
She said the baby seems to have dropped, and to take it easy and call her/come in when the contractions get down to about 5 mins apart, and nothing eases them.

So that's what I'm waiting for.
Everytime I have to have a bm, my contractions come 2 by 2 sometimes, and 5 mins apart, but then they space back out once I've emptied my bowels.

It's so annoying!! They seem to be pretty set at about 10 mins apart no matter what. Sometimes needing to pee or have a bm brings them closer together, but afterwards, they go back to 10 mins. No matter what I do, they usually stay @ 10 mins. Even in the bathtub, they stay at 10 mins.

I'm 37 weeks today. My first kid came at 37 weeks. I never experienced any of this. I've sent my 3 yo away to be with my mom yesterday and today (something I don't like doing very regularly and would rather wait to do when it's actually time to have the baby) because there is no way I can keep up with him walking around like this.

How much longer of this crap!!?? Either hurry up and get the kid here, or make it go away!

[Amber Lion]

I hope things pick up for you and you get to hold your LO soon!!

[Baby_Cakes]

Ugh, it is so frustrating! But you are doing great. You are doing everything right, and you are doing everything you can possibly do. Hang in there. Soon your baby will be in your arms instead of in your belly!

[gabysmom617]

I just feel like I"m going to be in this stage for a long time.

[PassionateWriter]

sorry...im on week 3 of this. i dont really know how long it can last. i feel like the last one standing sometimes.

[casemnor]

Ugh. Remember trhe feeling all too well. It sure can make you cranky to feel like you've got a bowling ball in your vagina (that's what it felt like to me!)

Hang in there....babe will be here before you know it!

[meadowmoose]

I feel the same way...
Hang in there--we'll have babies soon!

[OrchideZ]

Originally Posted by PassionateWriter

sorry...im on week 3 of this. i dont really know how long it can last. i feel like the last one standing sometimes.

Me too!
I have felt like this since middle of week 36 and am now entering week 39 tomorrow...

[gabysmom617]

Thanks for the cheering on. For those of you who have been "stuck" this way for a while, how do you manage especially if you have other kids?

[Fireflyforever]

mama.

I had 4 weeks of it with DS (but at least I could rest in between as he was my first) and I've been having it on and off now for a few days with this LO.

I think my advice would be to relax about using gran's help ... if she's happy to have your 3YO, then don't feel guilty about needing her help now. I have one in pre school and one at school, so I get a little child free time each day. Right now I need it - even though I miss them both terribly when they're away but the rest I get helps all of us as this prodromal stuff is making me SOOO cranky .

Hope it resolves itself into "real" labour soon for all of us prodromal mummies.

[PassionateWriter]

Originally Posted by gabysmom617

Thanks for the cheering on. For those of you who have been "stuck" this way for a while, how do you manage especially if you have other kids?

just looked at the calendar and tomorrow is 4 weeks of contrax land. argh!!!!

i try to get my ds3 out of the house each day....that helps immensly

[thechuzzle]

Hugs mama. Try some of the repositioning techniques, my bet is the baby's head is just not on the cervix right and so your contractions continue with no real progress. My absouletly wonderful doula has helped so many mama's I know, who have been in labor for days and are just miserable, be able to go from 1-2 cm with no progression to delivery in 6-7 hours just from getting the positioning on the cervix right. She says you will know it when the baby moves correctly because the pickup of contractions is almost instanteous. One of the big ones to try is you head and shoulders on the bed and butt high in the air for 30 minutes at a time. Also here is a list of other tips that were in our doula folder:
Sit on a cushion in your car to lift your bottom up.

• Check that your favourite chair doesn't make your bottom go down and your knees come up.

• Take regular breaks and move around if your job involves a lot of sitting.

• Watch television on all fours for ten minutes every day.

• Scrub all your floors and skirting boards - our grannies used to say that washing the kitchen floor was a good way of preparing for labour. And they were right! When you are on all fours, the back of your baby's head swings to the front of your abdomen.

I hope this does the trick and you get to meet your baby soon.

[gabysmom617]

Thanks for all the positioning tips! I have been doing the butt in the air thing on the bed a lot lately because, well, it's comfortable. I don't have a lot of furniture (yet) and my favorite does slightly elevate my knees above my bottom a little bit. Can't do much about that right now, but I am borrowing a recliner this evening.

Of course, when I woke up this morning, I realized I was much more comfortable than the last few mornings. Contractions and the feeling of having to go to the bathroom were not what awoke me this morning. I still feel like I have a bowling ball sitting and waiting down there, but I'm nowhere near as miserable. So, sigh....I guess that means things have pretty much petered on out. Again.

Well, anyhow. Not bad. I'm only just barely 37 weeks anyway. I could use a bit of extra time to get more stuff together before the little one gets here anyhow. So I shall seize the opportunity to get every last detail right in this calm before the storm.