*Originally posted July 17, 2018 on Fab . Fit . Me*
Like any other mama-to-be... I tried to do as much as I could to prepare myself for D-Day. And I started early. Like as early as right after the hubs and I were married back in 2009. Even though we didn't plan on starting a family right away, I just felt it would be better to educate myself as much as possible. I mean, the thought of childbirth was scary enough. So the first thing I did was ask my friends and family members who had gone through this life changing event about their experiences. Some were reluctant to share this info with me because they were afraid they'd scare me enough to not want to have kids. But I had heard enough stories to know that every pregnancy and childbirth experience is different with each person.
And it wasn't till I went into labor myself that I finally understood just how different these experiences really were.
So before I get into specifics, let me preface this blog entry by sharing with you what I wrote down in my birth plan. It wasn't very long nor was it full of diva-ish demands. It was pretty short and simple. I specifically stated I wanted a natural birth with no pain meds. Pretty straightforward, right? And then I also mentioned on there that if I really couldn't tolerate the pain, to "forget what I said and bring on the epidural!!!" đ. My reasons for wanting to go natural without the use of meds was because I know our bodies were made to endure this pain. And the "fit chick" part of me saw this as a challenge. And that I knew I was capable of doing it. I had heard so many horror stories of epidurals sometimes not working, or it slowing down the contractions and laboring, and also affecting recovery time that I didn't want to go through all of that. I've also heard that it can even leave you so numb and unable to feel how strong you are pushing that you could be pushing for hours! So I opted for the "no epidural" option. Because I wanted to try to be a badass đ. But all kidding aside, any woman who has gone thru childbirth, whether it was natural with/without the epidural or via c-section, they're badass period.
Alright! Moving on! This blog post may be a bit lengthy so please bear with me.
Let's start this timeline a few days prior to D-Day.
Thursday, June 25th
This date not only marked my 38th week, but also my last prenatal doc appointment (although I didn't know it would be my last). I gained a whopping 4 pounds in the course of 2 weeks. Which brought me up to a total of 34 lbs gained. Well in between my target range of 25-35 lbs. Everything looked good. My vitals were good. Results from my last blood test were on point. Baby's heartbeat was strong and my belly measurements were on track. My midwife examined me and confirmed I was already dilated 1 cm. Of course, that didn't really indicate that I'd be going into labor soon, but knowing that I was already dilating was kind of exciting! And a little scary, too. For some reason my midwife was hoping I'd deliver soon. And while I was kinda over being pregnant because of how uncomfortable it was to do anything... I was still fine with carrying Baby P till 40 weeks if at all possible. But my midwife had other plans for me. She wanted to jumpstart the process and did a membrane sweep during my pelvic exam - which was painful by the way. Not gonna sugar coat it. I didn't even know what she was doing till after the fact because we never discussed it nor did she ask if I wanted it done. Anyway she said it would release hormones (forgive me for not knowing the name for this hormone) that would aid in softening the cervix. She advised that I would have some spotting because of the sweep and not to be alarmed. And then even advised us (TMI ALERT) to go home and have intercourse. Because apparently, his hormones mixed with mine would work magic on that cervix! Yup. Just a little sex ed for us right there đ.
Ok so that's that.
Friday, June 26th
Knowing that I could go into labor any day kinda forced us to hurry up and get things done. Everything was all ready for Baby P's arrival - laundry washed, dried, and put away, bassinet all assembled and ready to use, infant car seat installed in my tiny car... We were ready for her! All that was left was to do was finish packing up our hospital bags. So we spent this day running errands... And getting last minute things for our bags.
Saturday, June 27th
Hospital bags were packed and ready to go. Last thing we needed to take care of was getting snacks for the hubs... So that when I'm laboring at the hospital, he'd have some food to keep him energized. Because coaching a woman in labor is no joke and requires a lot! And taking a break to go down to the hospital cafeteria was out of the question! There was no way he would be allowed to leave my side.
We also stocked up on coconut water. Best thing for hydration.
And I also put together a care package for the nurses that would be taking care of me during my labor as sort of a way to say "thank you" even before the crazy.
And they loved it. They deserved it. They were awesome.
Ok so now that everything was all set and ready to go, we settled in for the evening with dinner and a Netflix movie. Yeah we are exciting people đ. Pregnant lady was exhausted. We watched Transformers... The most recent one. The one with Mark Wahlburg. Yeah I don't have my movie titles straight either. (Forgive me but I'm trying to write this while holding a sleeping newborn in my arms).
And little did I know that this would be the last night as just Peedens: Party of Two.
Stay tuned for Part 2.....
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