Ready for Birth! ... Almost ...


Well, my big check-list is all checked off ... got my birth box all packed nice and tidy. Birth boxes, actually, it took two totes to get everything packed up. Today I made my Birth Day chicken soup, it's in the fridge cooling off and then will wait in the freezer until needed. I've got all the little gender-neutral stuff washed and in the dresser, and 2 cutesy little outfits in each gender, waiting to see if they will be the ones needed ... a little pink hat in one pile, a little blue hat in another pile. The bassinet is set up (for the cat, right now) and the teensy weensy diapers are in their drawer. I can't actually deliver yet - if I were to try it now I'd have to go to the hospital. But this coming Thursday is 37 weeks, and then I'll be free to deliver at home. Of course, I really don't expect baby to come that soon, not with my history.

Speaking of birth, I was reading online that babies in the posterior presentation (which mine is, right now, and most of mine are near the end) often have higher incidences of prodomal labor (that stop-and-start contractions stuff, regular, time-able, but not actually "the real thing" simply because they eventually stop ... I don't like to call it false labor since it feels just the same, except for how it ends ...) ... and sciatic pain ... hm. I thought there were a bunch of things on the list that were 'normal' for me, but now I can't remember. But it's interesting that most of my babies are posterior pre-labor (all the little pointy appendages are in front, we have trouble finding the heart tones and the spine and rump ...) and that the other things I thought were abnormal are not-so-abnormal for posterior babies!

My biggest 'adventure' right now is slight pitting edema. Lovely! I don't remember ever having pitting edema before, but I do remember at the end with Leia my feet got puffy, and with Gark I had Chinese food the day before we went in, and then went in and walked all day long trying to keep labor moving (bad idea) and when it was ALL done I had huge pod feet with little toes budding out the ends ... scary! But this is the first time I've noticed the 'pitting' part of the edema ... nothing else seems wrong, other than it really aggravates my carpal tunnel syndrome. Oh, and reading about diet and edema, I find out not only should I avoid excess salt and MSG (which everyone knows, right?), but dairy, animal protein, and sugar and chocolate are on the to be avoided list! Oh agony! So I'm just drinking lots of extra water and using the bathroom allll the live-long day, and remembering that I've only got 6 weeks left, at most ... I hope. :)

Posted: Sat - April 9, 2005 at 08:34 PM          

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