4.22.08

Happy Anniversary to my brother Jason and his wife Lee Ann!

So far no signs of labor. Today I went to a prenatal yoga class, and there were 2 other women there who were past their due dates. We did a lot of squats to encourage the baby down.

My appetite is good and I continue to be able to eat comfortably. How nice! It no longer feels like the baby's bottom is squishing my stomach.

I had another check-up for the baby at the hospital today. They kept me on the fetal heart monitors for a long time--maybe an hour. The nurse explained to me that they monitored me longer today because they noticed "variable decelerations". That means that when the baby moved, the heart rate would go up and then drop down below baseline, and then return to baseline. They think that happens because the umbilical cord is being compressed temporarily when the baby moves. It could be squeezed by the baby's body, or it could be wrapped around the baby. The heart rate returned to baseline in less than 15 seconds and so it isn't harmful to the baby, and they aren't worried about me at this point. I asked if today was the first time this happened and the nurse told me that it has happened every time I've been in. (I'm wondering why she chose to tell me about it today, and/or why it wasn't mentioned to me earlier. Probably it wasn't mentioned because it is not something to be worried about.) My friend MPX went with me today, and she thought the nurse's message was that everything is okay and I don't need to be induced. However, because the nurse used the word "induce" several times while talking to me, it is hard for me to feel like they think everything is okay. It is confusing. I was frustrated tonight. The next time I have to go in for the monitoring is next Monday, so if something was wrong they wouldn't let me go that long. And I have an appointment to see the midwife tomorrow afternoon for a check-up. Hopefully it will be uneventful. The nurse encouraged me to go on long walks to bring on labor. I told her about the acupressure I've been doing, and she encouraged that, too. She also mentioned trying nipple stimulation (but to stop if it started strong contractions) and keeping the pelvis tilted back to allow the baby more room to move down. She said squats are good.

So I walked home from the hospital (an hour walk) and I also stopped by the gym and walked for 30 minutes there, and did the elliptical machine for 5 minutes. When I got home I was upset and feeling a lot of fear in response to the hospital visit. Bob soothed me and told me to call my doula which I did. She reminded me that as far as we know at this point, everything is perfect. They haven't found anything wrong, they have just been monitoring me closely to make sure nothing is wrong and they've found that I am fine. My ideal birth is still the most likely possibility.