When I began to experience painful labor contractions a couple weeks ago, nobody expected my pregnancy to last into July. The inhabitant of my womb is, it seems, remarkably stubborn. I am pretty damned proud of the Whippersnapper for hanging in there, and even more proud of the stubbornness. I guarantee that every inch of stubborn behavior this kid exhibits comes from me.
As far as the contractions are concerned, not much is happening. At Tuesday’s appointment, I had one on the table and the doctor exclaimed that WOW! Well he’ll be! A contraction! Would you look at that? And I was all UM YEAH, I FEEL IT, THANK YOU. The end.
No, seriously. That was the end of the excitement.
The contractions have slowly and steadily increased in frequency (they now occur every 25-30 minutes) and intensity, but the baby has given no indication that it intends to vacate the premises anytime in the near future. I think we can safely assume that the child has a death grip on my uterus. This is okay for right now, as the labor pains feel more like a rhinoceros tap dancing on my belly than a rhinoceros tearing me apart from limb to limb, but, um, yeah, it’s getting old. I’m ready to just pop out the kid already.
In addition, this is my first week of maternity leave. I honestly thought that maternity leave would bore the crap out of me, but it turns out that my body really appreciates the downtime. It amazes me how much more energy I have and how much healthier I feel when I have time to pay more attention to my body’s cues.
I am also, for the first time in ages, getting adequate sleep. And since I hear from the veterans that after the baby is born, Sleep and I will have a tragic falling out, I will gladly admit right now that we are having a raging, passionate affair. I figure I may as well make the most of this precious time we have left together, right?
There are only 12 days left until my due date, which means that all eyes are on the belly. Last night, Donald and I spent a good chunk of the evening on the couch watching the pulsing, throbbing twists and turns of our baby. This has become something of a routine for us, a way to wind down our evening, but for the first time, my husband looked so enthralled by the whole process that I thought his eyeballs might burst out of his head.
“I’m just so excited,” he said. “This is gonna be good.”
I AGREE.
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I can’t wait to see the new addition.
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Quick note: while on my 62.5-mile bike ride in Buffalo, by best friend Ro turned to me and said, “I’m kind of obsessed with that Becoming Sarah blog.“
I said, “You like reading about her blue vag and crazy pregnancy boshit?“
And she said, “Yeah! I never knew the clit turned purple!“
Thought I’d share.
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OH MY GOSH, 12 days!?!!?!?!??! How did this happen so quickly!? I am BEYOND excited for both of you.
And yes, you and sleep will part ways for a while, but you do get to be friends with benefits around month 2/3. Jasper slept for five hours the other night, and routinely goes three to four, which is amazing and so much better than his 1 1/2-2 days.
WOW I can’t wait for all of this. I can’t wait to read the birth story, see the photos, watch your lives with a baby unfold. Amazing.
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The last few weeks seemed to last FOREVER… ans then looking back they went by way to quick. So glad that you are getting that sleep :) Have a hapy 4th!
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I love that you are both so excited! I have not had children yet, but I hope that when I do I am equally as excited. Yay for babies!!!
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12 more days?! I’ll just be over here… trying to keep my patience…
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Great belly! Do you mind me asking how much weight you’ve gained? I put on 60lbs with my son. EEK! lol
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No, Jaye, I don’t mind. I gained 35 pounds total, but in the past two weeks I’ve lost nearly 2 pounds. So right now, I’m abotu 33 pounds up from my starting weight. The doctor says that’s pretty normal, but I haven’t figured out how because I’m eating everything in sight.
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I can’t believe the big day is almost here. Have to admit I’m like some poster up there that said every time I check my reader and there’s nothing from you and I think there should be I get all antsy and imagine you are in the throes of labor and ohmygodhowlongdoihavetowaittofindout. Then I remember to chill the freak out because it’s not my baby. Sigh. SO EXCITED FOR YOU. Can not wait.
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You are so close! And I just can’t get over how cute your belly is. With the little popped out belly button! Man, be glad we don’t know eachother in person because I would just have to touch your belly. (And I hated NOTHING more than when someone just touched my belly while I was pregnant. Made me SO ANGRY.)
Enjoy the sleep while you can ;)
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I find I am not bored during leave either…it’s nice to spend some time with just you and your body and listen to it’s rhythm. I am glad you’re getting more sleep! I now try to BE in bed for 8-10 hours, even though I don’t sleep the whole time. Go baby Schlothan-Christensen! Good job staying in there!
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Isn’t maternity leave grand? I wish I had taken my full four weeks (prior).
Now, some days, I can’t wait to go back.
I too am anxiously awaiting BC (Baby Christensen) and stalker-ly imagining you in labor when you don’t post. :) Can’t wait for your kiddo to be on the other side!
Btw, the upside of no sleep is that there is a whole lot of internet to explore at 130a.
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Thank you for so generously sharing this magical time with all of us!
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Woo! Glad things are proceeding as they should, it’s so exciting to think how soon you’re going to have a baby! :)
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This is such a sweet post. I LOVED watching my belly at the end. It is a wild and limited experience. I’m glad you guys are enjoying it! I video taped each kid through my skin. I’m sure it’s a bore to everyone else, but I love to watch those movies…
Also? I hate male Obstetricians. I finally got a woman on my last pregnancy. I couldn’t stand the comments from someone who hadn’t been through pregnancy! :)
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Oh it’s going to be so good. I’m sleeping with my baby Lauren and it helps me get more sleep. Babies want to be with their mamas! Here’s a quote that helped me through a long, slow labor. “It’s not that your body can do it. It’s that it’s already doing it.“ All these contractions are helping to get your baby here! Congrats!
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Tracey - I took the doctor’s statement completely out of context. He actually mentioned the contraction so that my husband could see the muscle tension and relaxation that I can feel. I have more confidence in my current OB than I did in my prior OB, and that has nothing to do with whether or not he’s male or female. I chose him because of his educational and professional background, not his sex, and I could not be happier with my pick.
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12 days?! I need to write that down in my agenda.
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Congrats on getting this far! I only made it to 36 weeks with my son (and was thankful as I was already uncomfortable enough)!
Since people have been commenting on maternity, I live in Canada and we get a YEAR of maternity leave. Yes, one YEAR. It’s fabulous!
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38 weeks… Yeah!!! Just think, sometime within the next 3 weeks, you’ll be wishing you never saw that penis and wondering why you didn’t chose a life of celibacy. No worries, those thoughts only last momentarily. It’ll be worth it… until they become teenagers. Then you’ll be wishing you never saw that penis… and wondering why you didn’t chose a life of celibacy.
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Yay for almost being done! I’m sure it’s going to seem like forver before the kid actually pops out, but you’re almost there!
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Just found your blog. You’re making me want to be pregnant again :)
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do you really have contractions that regularly? I have so much to learn. I always thought that if you had contractions starting, you have to rush to the hospital. But you seem so calm. I hope he/she comes soon, I’m crossing my fingers over here!
By Gracia Fraile on July 02, 2009
Every time you fail to update on the time I expected you to do I think you’re giving birth. This sounds like I’m a stalker or obsessed. But hey, life as a jobless freelancer gives me time for this and much more. You should start using twitter again to keep us (life-less people) updated.