Midwife visit

[ailbhe]

The contractions will continue until morale improves.

The midwife came today, lovely as always. I'm still having contractions nice and regularly - I was woken by a violent and painful one at about 5:30 today, but between paracetemol and the TENS machine I was able to go back to sleep at about 7:30. Rob also went back to sleep, so he started work a little late, I believe.

Rob found a contraction-timing program for his Visor, which is the easiest way we've found to time them so far. I only start timing if I suspect there has been a change in pattern, in case it's significant. We're down to ten minutes between contractions now, but only the first few this morning hurt, so I'm not in labour yet. I'll have the best-prepared uterus in the Western hemisphere before I'm done. I only hope it hasn't burnt itself out in training, expecting to rely on steroids to get it through the main event.

The nappy people came today and left us our first batch of nappies and took away our cheque. When I have the baby (when, when, when, not if!) we call them and they come back and deliver more. They're as simple as I thought they would be, and won't take up as much space to store as I had feared. With any luck, when we get used to them we can buy our own and launder them at home. I'm reluctant to lay out huge sums until I have a better idea of what is likely to suit us.

Rob built a window seat and Mum has made a cover for it. The bay window in the library is now even nicer to look at than before, and has space underneath to store the buggy, the catalogues, and the phone directories. And Rob's ancient collection of BIRDS magazine.

Comments

[sshi.livejournal.com]

And fingers crossed all around still :>

[rmc28]

Indeed

[murkee.livejournal.com]

I'm certainly following this avidly.

I can't help wondering how many contractions you must be up to now? Perhaps we could rig you up to some gadget to count them from today and hold a sweepstake - winner gets to name the child!

... or would that be bad taste?

All the best, do keep us all informed.

[ailbhe]

From 8pm last Thursday until 8pm today, about 500+. But they're every ten minutes now, so who knows?

[liadnan]

Yep. It's getting a bit inconvenient actually: am going to get cramps soon...

Seriously though, am thinking of you.

[radegund.livejournal.com]

I can't believe you've been having contractions for six days - I had no idea that was possible! Hang in there...

(And on a side note, would you recommend the TENS machine? Don't feel a need to discourse upon it forthwith, or anything, but I'd be curious to know at some stage.)

[perdita-x.livejournal.com]

my mother had contractions for 3 weeks before my brother was born.

[megabitch.livejournal.com]

I have a TENS machine for general pain-relief. It's very very handy for back pain. I didn't use it for childbirth, but they were a little less easily available at the time.

[pne.livejournal.com]

Point your baby to that calendar again.

All the best, and hope things go smoothly.

[supermouse.livejournal.com]

Best wishes and I'd been wondering what was going on. Fingers crossed.

[betanfrill.livejournal.com]

If they're washable ones and the service washes them and brings you clean ones, and if they're using something like an industrial laundry or a hospital laundry, it can be better for the environment, as well as a lot less work for you at a time when you'll have a lot of work just with the baby, to let them keep on doing that. You have to wash them separately if you wash them yourself -- well, obviously! -- and they can do great huge, excuse me, shitloads of them at a time. Some friends of mine looked into this in great detail and decided to stay with the service.

Good luck for a fast and easy labour -- soon!

[ailbhe]

I *hope* to go the more economical route. But my heart's not set on it. I shall have to wait and see. I certainly won't be washing my own for the first month at least.

Assuming I ever have the baby.

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

I'll have the best-prepared uterus in the Western hemisphere before I'm done.

it's too bad they don't have an olympic event for uteri!

*grin*. it's good to see your sense of humour continues unabated.

baby! soon!

[ailbhe]

I have actually received a number of compliments on my uterine and abdominal muscles since it all started on Thursday.

And on my pain threshhold.

[rampantpenguin.livejournal.com]

I hope it's over soon. Then you'll be able to read Garth Nix's Very Clever Baby book series (Very Clever Baby's First Reader, VCB's Ben Hur (starring Freddy the Fish as Charlton Heston), and assorted others. I think the most recent one is the VCB's Guide to the Greenhouse Effect.