False Labor

Today I am officially 2 days "overdue". To say it's discouraging is an understatement. I've now had two bouts of false labor, one of which sent me to the hospital only to get sent home again.

On Saturday, I started having semi-regular contractions. Rob and I immediately set about finishing last minute details, expecting to leave for the hospital later that night. However, after 4 hours of these contractions, they suddenly stopped. Baby wasn't coming that day.

On my due date, Wednesday, I had my membranes stripped at 9am at the midwives' office. It was quite uncomfortable and a little painful but did not last long. I was instructed to walk and use my breast pump later to get contractions goings. Rob took me home (he came with me to this appointment) and then left for work. I went on a brisk 1 hour walk and then later used the breast pump for about 10 minutes. I then went on another walk. Contractions started around 11am, light at first, but then gradually became more intense. It got to the point where I had to breathe through them. I went to the bathroom several times to pee, and noticed some spotting and that part of my mucus plug had begun to come out (sorry if TMI!). I began to get worried, especially since my contractions were coming every 3-5 minutes. I called Rob at 4pm and told him to come home. We then left for the hospital, thinking this was surely it.

Once we got to the hospital, I was hooked up to fetal monitors so they could track the heartbeat and my contractions. By this point, most of my contractions were occurring in my lower back, so the machine could not pick them up. I was checked and told I had made no progress from earlier that morning (at my appointment I was 4cm and 90% effaced). The nurse who checked me was not gentle, and honestly, it was one of the most painful experiences I have ever had in my life. I lost quite a bit of mucus plug after that. We were told to try and walk around for an hour to see if that helped move things along.

After walking for an hour or so, I had to lay back down because the back pain was becoming unbearable. I had Rob massage it a little and that seemed to help. However, my contractions started to fizzle out around this point. I was hooked up to the monitors again and noticed they were not coming as frequently (slowed to 6-8 minutes apart). A new nurse came in (whom I liked MUCH better) and gently checked me again. I was still 4cm and 90%. At that point, we were sent home. By the time we got home, my contractions had completely stopped again.

Since then, I have still been having a lot of contractions, but they are extremely irregular and mild in intensity. I've been trying to keep active and not worry about the fact this baby is still not here. The days seem to go by agonizingly slow. I can't believe I am 4cm dilated and not in active labor!!

It's extremely difficult to be in this much pain and not have much happening. The contractions are distracting and lower back pain often persists throughout the day. Whenever I sit down, it feels like needles are shooting up my cervix. The cramping is uncomfortable too.

I'm trying to keep busy, but there doesn't seem to be much to do. Yesterday I cleaned every corner of the apartment and actually contemplated scrubbing the walls just to keep busy! Normally, I spend my days writing while Rob is at work, but since Wednesday I have not been able to focus on it. The cats seem to be as antsy as I am.

I'm hoping my next post on this blog will be my birth story, but I am not sure. I technically could still be pregnant for 2 more weeks and have the baby well into July. I'll admit I feel like I am on a timeline since Rob's family is coming to stay 4th of July weekend and there might not be a baby yet.

My friend in Cincinnati who was pregnant a week ahead of me has already had her baby, which makes things even harder. Her labor was extremely fast (less than 4 hours!) and she actually delivered it at home by herself as the midwives were making their way over. She had their baby boy 2 days before her due date as well. This is the same woman who had NO morning sickness whatsoever. Sometimes, it just doesn't seem fair how the cards are dealt. But I guess that's life!

Please pray baby Campbell will come soon (as in, the next day or two)!