/ The RE's Muse: Rounding third *Updated*

The RE's Muse

After 4 years of infertility, 2 surgeries, 1 miscarriage, and 19 months of high risk pregnancies, hubby and I now have two little women in our lives--one a toddler, the other not far behind. Buckle your seatbelts, it's gonna be a wild ride.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Rounding third *Updated*

Today I started the third trimester. To celebrate the milestone, I opted to do my (second) 3-hour glucose tolerance test this past Thursday. I'll find out the results at my next OB appt, which is this coming Wednesday. Actually, if I failed it, I'll probably find out before then as they'll call me to schedule a nutritional consult or at least that's what I've been told they do.

Overall, I feel pretty good. No swelling, no headaches, just some shitty sleeping coupled with incredible nasal congestion, along with random contractions every couple of days that are reminiscent of menstrual cramps (and that have me beginning to consider the L&D process, which--even though I've done it once already--still gives me pause and sometimes even scares me a bit).

I mean, I know what it's like, I survived it once but I know that every experience is different. My (induced) labor with J took just over 7 and-a-half hours from start to finish with 1 1/2 hours of it pushing (before the doc threw in the towel and brought out the vacuum--which failed miserably--and then the stainless steel salad tongs, which worked like a charm, an incredibly painful charm). My OB was kind enough to recently tell me, after I asked, that most women who have a forceps delivery with one are usually able to deliver without forceps in subsequent L&Ds. Yeah, my guess is that's because those tongs stretch you out quite nicely, thank you.

Statistics say that subsequent labors are typically faster than first-time labors. I thought that my 7 1/2 hours was pretty quick...but oy, that means it could go quicker with 2.0 (who still does not have a name, btw)...and we've all heard those horror stories about women whose labors go so fast they don't have time for the epidural or any pain meds (I actually know one of these gals IRL). Yeah, please don't let me join their ranks. I loved my epidural. Even when it wore off and I couldn't get another full med dose, I realized that it could have been much much worse since I'm the world's biggest pain sissy.

So here I sit, beginning to ponder the inevitable: that this baby has to come out one way or another. Sometime in the next few weeks, I'll preregister at my local hospital (where I had J) as well as the facility about 40 minutes away that has a level III NICU, standard procedure for a high-risk patient in these parts.

In the meantime, though, I'll continue to spend my days enjoying the kicks that remind me she's really in there, despite the fact that at times I still find it hard to believe. I'll also spend time admiring the stretch marks I've recently acquired. I didn't get any with J and, believe it or not, I felt like I was missing something; like I didn't have any lasting tangible proof (well, besides the revised state of my girly bits post-J) that I had a baby. I've currently got about 3 small stretch marks, they're actually kind of cute I think. And they'll always be a reminder of what I've been through, just as my lap scar below my belly button reminds me of all that we went through long before these babies graced my body, my soul, and my life.

*Updated to say that I passed my 3-hour GTT, again. Heh heh. But...of course, one reading was slightly elevated (132 out of 135) so they may send me back a third time at some point in the next month. Yippee.*

8 Comments:

At 2:09 PM, Blogger lagiulia said...

Glad things are going well! I think you have a great perspective on the stretch marks.
Most of my more significant stretch marks came at the very end of my pregnancy. They are indeed a reminder that I carried my boys... though I must admit that I don't like the spongy feeling of the tissue. Oh well. It's a small price to pay, as you well know.

 
At 5:39 PM, Blogger Heather said...

Congrats on the third tri! Also, love your thoughts on the stretch marks. I got them -- boy, did I get them -- with P & E. And you're right, my belly isn't as cute as it used to be, but look at everything I gained in place of that formerly pristine piece of skin.

 
At 6:07 PM, Blogger WriterGrrl said...

Heh. I am one of those fast labor girls. With my first, we had 2 hours from first contraction to holding baby. I came in begging for the epi, there was no time, and I had a baby a few minutes later. Once I knew that I could do it without the meds, I did all the rest that way on purpose. And, um, I am just a giant walking stretch mark. No belly shirts for me.

 
At 10:34 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congrats on the 3rd trimester and best of luck with the GTT results!

 
At 10:36 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hmm, that was me up there. Don't know what happened there.

 
At 10:14 PM, Blogger Toffee said...

Yay for you! At least you won't be wasting money on stretch mark creams (they don't work anyway, once you've stretched, there ain't no cream applied topically that will glue you back together). I always thought it was amusing they handed out free samples at the maternity store with each purchase.

Just keep chanting epidural from the moment you enter the hospital to anyone that will listen!

 
At 9:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You just reminded me that I never got around to writing J's birth story. Five minutes of hard labor. After two hours of contractions.

And these are battle scars, my friend. If it weren't for the stretch marks, I'd have a hard time believeing that these two gorgeous beings came out of my body. Amazing.

And yay for the third trimester : )

 
At 10:41 AM, Blogger Erica Kain said...

Hip hip HOORAY, you're in the final "stretch!" And I don't know about you, but I starting kind of craving that sweet orange soda you have to drink at the gestational diabetes tests, so maybe it's not so bad??? Anyway, I hope you don't have to go back yet again, and send me your extra soda if you don't!

 

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