So I've had Braxton Hicks for the last couple of months but they became really frequent in the last week or two. Then the other day I had a couple of semi-painful contractions. But only a couple. They stopped. This morning I woke up as my partner was leaving for work at 5am with more painful contractions. They haven't gone away! I've been timing them (it's now 12.30pm) and they're really irregular. The frequency varies between about 10-30mins. They feel like really painful period cramps low in my belly. I'm also feeling fairly constant back pain & tightening in the belly. I tried going back to bed around 8am but woke up with every contraction. Still, it was good to get a little rest. I also used a heated wheatbag to ease the backpain which worked ok.
Now I'm just watching TV, playing Bejewelled on the computer & trying to play it cool. But could this be the start of labour? I'm not sure seeing as they're so irregular, but they are coming frequently if that makes sense. I don't want to get DP excited as he's at work trying to concentrate, so I only have this forum to vent to! My mum wanted to know the minute I started getting signs but again, I don't want to get her hyped up if it's not the real thing.
The weird thing about today is that it's the ultrasound due date! We decided with our Dr that we'd stick with the IVF ICSI due date way back in the early days as he said it was more accurate (knowing the actual date of conception & all). Plus we liked the date - 10.11.12 (November 10 2012)! But hey - at the end of the day, baby chooses its own birthday right?!
Anyway, I still haven't noticed a lost plug or had the bloody show or anything. And my waters haven't broken. I know all these symptoms don't necessarily happen straight away but I'm just hoping for a "real" sign! Until then I guess I'll just get on with things. I've got the ingredients for some lactation biscuits so I might go & bake.. that'll help pass the time a little. And at least I'll have something yummy to nibble on between the niggles.
I'll keep you posted.. fingers crossed!!
Wow! What an amazing journey! A few of your posts made me teary eyed. We're going into our second IVF cycle (first one didn't work) and it's great to read a success story. Helps me keep positive in this very trying and stressful time :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment! Definitely don't lose hope. I found visualising myself holding my baby against my chest was a really strong image to hold onto. And funny enough, I was actually holding him like that this morning when I realised it was exactly the image I'd had in those trying times! Don't lose hope. Have faith it will happen when it's right.
ReplyDeleteAnd just an update on this post - they were definitely the real thing (the contractions). Unfortunately they stayed irregular throughout the whole labour which meant it dragged on for about 27hrs! I never did get around to making those lactaction cookies but turns out I didn't really need them - I'm "overflowing"!!! ;-0
I still find it very surreal that I now have my little bub at home with me and our struggles have come to an end. I'm the mum of a perfect baby boy, and all that other crap is fading into the background.