You know the story.
A very pregnant woman sets out to go grocery shopping. She packs her children into the car and drives to the store. There, she hustles and bustles (or rather, waddles) around, trying to get everything on her list before her children get too cranky. Or tired. Or hungry. Or whatever.
As she reaches for a box of cereal, she feels it. There's a gush. And suddenly....oh dear.
"Cleanup in Isle Seven!!"
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As weird as I realize it may sound, I've always wanted this to happen to me. It sounds so storybook, so picturesque, so perfect. I've always wanted my water to break spontaneously. You know, without the use of that darned crochet-type needle being administered by my doctor. Having my water break on its own would just be so serene. And quiet. And crazy. But exciting! And messy.
I'm sure you're with me.
Of course, most women who experience spontaneous water breakage don't actually have a GUSH. It's more like a trickle. Or so I hear.
You see, I'm now nearing the end of my fourth pregnancy and I have yet to experience this. A gush or a leak. Today, I was actually quite sure that my water had broken. But, after waiting in the doctor's office for TWO HOURS, it was to be discovered that...nay, no amniotic fluid is present.
It was kind of a bummer, to be honest. You see, as my contractions seemed to increase (or so I thought), the more I began to settle in with the idea that my baby might come tomorrow.
On the other hand, my midwife just had a death in the family so she's out for the weekend and I'd really like her to be present at the birth. She's very supportive of my birth plan and, considering I've only met the doctor who oversees her twice, I'd much rather give birth with someone familiar.
On the other other hand, I'm pretty sure I might have mentioned that I'm hardly sleeping at this point. So sleep was sounding pretty amazing. Even if it only came in 3 hours stretches.
On the other OTHER other hand (my goodness, how many hands do I have??), I realize that I am just now 37 weeks and that it's ideal to be closer to 38 weeks before delivering. Especially if it's a boy. Which we don't know.
If only contractions were a reliable source of labor indication for me. Unfortunately, with my last baby, I had zero painful contractions until I was near the pushing stage. And really, I had had contractions 20 minutes apart for about 3 weeks by the time I gave birth. So now I typically don't even bother timing them or attempt to measure their intensity since it seemed very unreliable last time.
All that blabbering to say this: I'd really like for my water to break on its own. Just once. I'd like to KNOW it's time to head to the hospital, not just wonder if I'm making the right decision to call my husband home from work and pack all my bags in eager anticipation...only to be turned down upon arrival.
So maybe....just maybe....the fourth time's a charm.
5 comments:
Well, I hope your water breaks - just to break up the monotony... Mine did, kind of, but I was still in denial about calling my doctor/going to the hospital/having a baby, etc... I say "kind of" because when we got to the hospital, two tests came back negative even though the nurse was pretty sure I was right. A couple hours later I had the "gush" and we finally got a positive...and many, many, many hours later, a baby!
I've never had my water break on it's own either. I always have to have the crochet hook used. Even when my contractions are 3-4 minutes apart, I only dialate to 4 max...no matter how long the contractions seem to go on. So, they break my water and within an hour, out comes a baby. I'm thinking of just doing it myself at home this time, so by the time I get to the hospital I'll be ready to push. How hard can it be?
I experienced the full fledged gush while laying in bed at night. Therefore, Jon got to experience the full fledged gush, too! :) I had always heard that the gush was a definite sign to head to the hospital. When I called the doctor though, he said since my contractions weren't too strong/regular yet, that I could head back to bed and try to sleep for a few hours. Needless to say, once you have the gush in your bed, not much sleep happens after that!:):) I am praying for you and your delivery. Looking forward to hearing about the arrival of your baby!
Or on the other hand (if you are like me)...having your water break doesnt always mean you think you should head to the hospital. Since there was no gush but some trickle, I had no idea what it was. Sure enough, 12 hours later Luke arrived two weeks early:) I vote for Tuesday...thats my birthday!
My water broke at 3:30am with my first, at 35 weeks. With further complications he was born less than 12 hours later. With my 2nd I just didn't feel good & something told me I should go to the hospital just to be safe. It was labor & this time I was only 32 weeks. They stopped labor for 4 days & broke my water during the c-section.
I hope your water breaks. I too find this the means of KNOWING it's time.
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