I did not think this is how I will learn about her water breaking. She went to the loo and felt a gush of water flowing through. She flushes it out and then tells me her water broke. I had more dramatic scenes run and re-run in my mind about how and where her water will break.
So there is some progress. Talked to the doctor a couple of times before the water broke and they still want us to watch for 5-1-1. Or we could go to the hospital and get checked with readiness to return home if we are not that far in labor. Well, now the water broke so we are coming. May be we will time contractions one last time before we go. But the doctors should know that water broke.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Mucus plug gone, still waiting
Neither I nor she has any idea what is going on inside her body. Contractions are definitely not 5-1-1 which is what the hospital wants before they can take her in. They should be 5 minutes apart, each should last about a minute and this should go on for at least an hour. We have called the maternity a couple of times but have been asked to wait until we reach 5-1-1.
The problem is that we are seeing two different sets of contractions. When she is lying down contractions are very intense, last longer but are still probably 6-8 minutes apart. When she sits up contractions are less intense, last only about 35 seconds and are 6-10 minutes apart. So we are confused. At least we know that mucus plug is now dislodged and water could break next.
The problem is that we are seeing two different sets of contractions. When she is lying down contractions are very intense, last longer but are still probably 6-8 minutes apart. When she sits up contractions are less intense, last only about 35 seconds and are 6-10 minutes apart. So we are confused. At least we know that mucus plug is now dislodged and water could break next.
8/21/08 5:05 pm
It has been almost 16 hours since contractions started last night. This could be called the longest early stage of labor. All morning and also until couple of hours after lunch contractions were coming in but stayed between 35 and 45 seconds. Whether relaxing on bed or sitting up chatting contractions continued to come anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes apart.
Late afternoon the intensity increased and Minal has been fighting with that. Not only that but she also took readings from 3 and 4 pm while I took a booster nap. Contractions are now lasting between 50 and 60 seconds ranging from 6-10 minutes apart. Hoping to get to 5 minutes apart in next couple of hours and get those dots in a straight line.
Late afternoon the intensity increased and Minal has been fighting with that. Not only that but she also took readings from 3 and 4 pm while I took a booster nap. Contractions are now lasting between 50 and 60 seconds ranging from 6-10 minutes apart. Hoping to get to 5 minutes apart in next couple of hours and get those dots in a straight line.
8/21/08 10:00 am
Contractions became long between 7 and 8 am lasting between 45 and 55 seconds. Also we noticed a few being 5 minutes apart. So we said lets get ready and then count them again. Both showered and I shaved, cancelled meetings, took the day off and most of the stuff in car. By that time the intensity got less with each contractions lasting for about 30-35 seconds. So we decided to have breakfast. It has been half hour past breakfast and contractions have lost the frequency, intensity and are not lasting that long either. So we wait. May be most of the day will go by.
Minal says the baby is going to be like me. Because I am always early to whereever I need to get to :)
Minal says the baby is going to be like me. Because I am always early to whereever I need to get to :)
8/21/08 4 am
Contractions are still only lasting for about 30 seconds. Good and bad both happened between the last post and this post. Good thing is that we decided to sleep; and we did for some time. Bad thing is that when she woke up around 3:15 she noticed some discharge and we aren't sure whether it was just the mucus plug that popped or the water broke.
Does not look like the water broke because there wasn't as much water. I am calling the office in the morning because they should know if the water broke. What do we tell them? That we are not sure? May be they will ask us to come in for a checkup and then we will know.
Back to bed
Does not look like the water broke because there wasn't as much water. I am calling the office in the morning because they should know if the water broke. What do we tell them? That we are not sure? May be they will ask us to come in for a checkup and then we will know.
Back to bed
Contractions kicked in
8/21/08 1:27 AM
Contractions have started. They came in out of the blue. Or may be I triggered those. I am known to have 'Kaali Jabaan'. Minal and I had a bet on a bollywood song which she won and started doing her dance moves. This was at about 11:30 pm and I said ' Don't dance too much; it might induce labor'. It was a few months ago at a local Pizzeria that she had felt what she thought was a contraction. But it was too early. Since then she had not even felt any Braxton Hicks. And right after midnight her contractions started. At first they were 6 minutes apart and lasted only a few seconds. Then she had a little bit of blood in her urine and sure I called the doctor to find out if it was normal. It is.
Contractions are now lasting longer (about 40 seconds) but frequency seems to be decreasing. Now they are about 12 minutes apart. We will be watching those and hopefully Minal can get some sleep and get through the night. I hope the intensity increases only after day light. I will be working from home.
Here comes another one - 7 minutes after the last one. But this one was short (~30 seconds) and not that intense. So may be we can get through the night.
Contractions have started. They came in out of the blue. Or may be I triggered those. I am known to have 'Kaali Jabaan'. Minal and I had a bet on a bollywood song which she won and started doing her dance moves. This was at about 11:30 pm and I said ' Don't dance too much; it might induce labor'. It was a few months ago at a local Pizzeria that she had felt what she thought was a contraction. But it was too early. Since then she had not even felt any Braxton Hicks. And right after midnight her contractions started. At first they were 6 minutes apart and lasted only a few seconds. Then she had a little bit of blood in her urine and sure I called the doctor to find out if it was normal. It is.
Contractions are now lasting longer (about 40 seconds) but frequency seems to be decreasing. Now they are about 12 minutes apart. We will be watching those and hopefully Minal can get some sleep and get through the night. I hope the intensity increases only after day light. I will be working from home.
Here comes another one - 7 minutes after the last one. But this one was short (~30 seconds) and not that intense. So may be we can get through the night.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Is my brain multitasking?
I have always liked to think that my brain can multitask but on several occasions I have found that it does not. Like if we had a big vacation coming in a couple of days or some other personal project coming up I found myself thinking about it even at work. Not just thinking but planning and just plain waiting for it and not doing much at work.
I am back to that now. Two days to due date and I find myself idling at work. Thinking about all things relating to baby, labor and delivery and not concentrating much on what needs to be done at work. My brain is not a multi-tasker after all. I just sit here pretending to work while writing away blog entries.
I am back to that now. Two days to due date and I find myself idling at work. Thinking about all things relating to baby, labor and delivery and not concentrating much on what needs to be done at work. My brain is not a multi-tasker after all. I just sit here pretending to work while writing away blog entries.
Not enough pictures
During early weeks of pregnancy I was keen on taking pictures but Minal wanted to wait until her belly had grown enough to make her look pregnant. When belly started showing she wanted to wait until her belly was in 'perfect round shape' as she had seen on some of magazine covers. Then we got busy with moving and other projects at work and what not. After her parents arrived her mom wanted to click at all times but Minal will want her to wait until her hair and outfit were worthy of a good picture. Result? We do have some pictures of her pregnancy but not that many.
It was last night that we realized that soon her pregnant belly will be gone and that we won't have enough pictures. She blamed it on me and I agreed. I should have been clicking more not caring about whether her belly or outfit is photogenic or not. Lets see how many can we click until the baby decides to come out. Two days to the due date!!
It was last night that we realized that soon her pregnant belly will be gone and that we won't have enough pictures. She blamed it on me and I agreed. I should have been clicking more not caring about whether her belly or outfit is photogenic or not. Lets see how many can we click until the baby decides to come out. Two days to the due date!!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Counting down to the due date
Countdown that you see here has been on our desktops since past week. A few moments ago I pressed Windows key + D on my keyboard to access some document from my desktop and my eyes just got stuck on this. I noticed that the baby inside that movie has started moving faster, for some reason. My heart is racing right now and I do not know why. May be it is just that paranoid feeling that I get everytime - that may be I am forgetting something. Something that should be done but has not and I don't know about it yet. Or may be it is realization that the day is getting closer and I am scared by the thought that we will be responsible for a life for next 16 years, at least. I used to scare Minal with this but never thought I will get scared too when it is time.
I don't remember when I last felt this scared. My heart is just pounding away.
I don't remember when I last felt this scared. My heart is just pounding away.
An ultrasound; yet another
After 36 weeks into pregnancy prenatal visits switched to being every week. Since then I have been able to accompany her to only one of those and she went to others with her mom. She went alone last Monday. The first time she went with her mom she wanted the doctor to confirm whether the baby was still head down. They did an ultrasound and figured the baby was in fact head down. Mom, not being able to understand the language, didn't realize the purpose and was concerned.
For past week she has been feeling relatively less movements but there are still probably 10 movements every 2 hours which is what is required. On her last visit she did not say the latter part and the doctor recommended an ultrasound. The nurse found the baby head down, further descended and most active of babies she saw that day. Everything fine and on track. But the fact that they did an ultrasound got her mom concerned yet again and she would not relax until I explained that it was the only way for them to look inside and make sure everything was ok. And they were only doing that to investigate Minal's concerns about baby not being head down or not moving enough.
1 cm dialated but no effacement. Huh? Is that possible? I guess it is and I have not gone back to books to find out. But 1cm dialated means the time could be anytime this week. Hospital bag is zipped and sitting in the corner of the room. Depending on how she progresses in next couple of days I may start working from home after Wednesday.
It is happening. It was only 2 and half years ago when we left behind single life and moved on to embrace 'us' and 'we'. It is now time to move on to 'our little one' and 'our family'.
For past week she has been feeling relatively less movements but there are still probably 10 movements every 2 hours which is what is required. On her last visit she did not say the latter part and the doctor recommended an ultrasound. The nurse found the baby head down, further descended and most active of babies she saw that day. Everything fine and on track. But the fact that they did an ultrasound got her mom concerned yet again and she would not relax until I explained that it was the only way for them to look inside and make sure everything was ok. And they were only doing that to investigate Minal's concerns about baby not being head down or not moving enough.
1 cm dialated but no effacement. Huh? Is that possible? I guess it is and I have not gone back to books to find out. But 1cm dialated means the time could be anytime this week. Hospital bag is zipped and sitting in the corner of the room. Depending on how she progresses in next couple of days I may start working from home after Wednesday.
It is happening. It was only 2 and half years ago when we left behind single life and moved on to embrace 'us' and 'we'. It is now time to move on to 'our little one' and 'our family'.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
From 20th to 40th
It is amazing how time flies. I am sure it did not as much for Minal as it did for me. The last update was at 20th week and we are at the door of 40th now. 8 days to go! Lots of things happened during these 20 weeks (jeez 20 weeks sounds less but it has been 5 months!!!)
- We did move to a new apartment in Royal Crest. Thanks to all friends how helped out otherwise third floor and no movers would have been a recipe for suicide. Although we did not like the apartment and I managed to fight with the management a couple of times, we did eventually forget about the apartment and started concentrating on more important things ahead in life.
- Minal had to give blood twice for her gestational diabetes test. The first came out to be positive which we could not believe and scared the hell out of us. Next round of blood sucking tests showed everything normal.
- Minal also stopped flying at about 28 weeks which was a relief; for her. With no more luggage to drag around and no more flights to wait for and ride she was able to save some physical energy. But she did not rest enough even at home since she would be working non-stop from home. She is a real workaholic but then she enjoys her work a lot.
- My in-laws arrived on 18th of June (can't believe it has been two months since they arrived). They were completely syched at how much Minal works even being at home but soon they realized it is part of her life. They brought a lot of baby clothes and other baby items. Obviously they are excited at the thought of being grand parents. With our completely different life styles we have had interesting anecdotes, conversations and arguments. We have had several trips to grocery stores, nearby lakes and gardens as well as to nearby farm for berry picking. My mother in law has managed to scare her teeth of any berries now. That is how many unripe berries she has had. Sad thing is we have not had a chance to take them out on any decent trip and chances are we are not going to be able to until a month after the baby is born. So hang in there mom and dad!
- During these 20 weeks we also attended a classes on breastfeeding, child CPR and childbirth. Last week we finished our last in series of 5 classes on childbirth and got ourselves a certificate!! We are ready it seems.
- The baby has been growing at a steady rate and we have gone from hardly feeling any baby movements to baby elbow poking her ribs and making arcs from inside her belly. Baby's bones have been getting stronger and her hiccups have not stopped. Mom has gone from gaining a 3 pounds every two weeks to gaining a pound every week. She is now at around 163. I have not be able to go for last 2 prenatal visits and mom-to-be and her mom have had a chance to get out spend time together.
- We also managed to surprise our mom-to-be with a successful baby shower. You can see the pictures. It was a lot of fun and I managed to completely sych people with my answers to questions in one of the games. It was to find out how much dad-to-be knows mom-to-be. And I aced it! Ok getting off of the soap box. But thanks to Aps and Raji without whose support we would not have been able to pull the surprise. Mom and dad were happy to see that we *do* socialize a bit.
- A week before the baby shower we had the traditional 'God Bharai' at home. This is a tradition where mom-to-be is showered with gifts and blessings. Usually performed by her mom. You should be able find pictures here.
- After baby shower there also has been a lot of shopping, lot of returns and lot of shuffling through gift cards and coupons. It has just been crazy with the shopping and mom-to-be :). Returns is what really drives me crazy but hey I should complain only if I can grow a baby inside me. So she deserves it!! As a result of so much shopping and hopping around we think we have all the essentials at home. We did moved things around in our bedroom and also put a few things up to make it look like a baby is also going to be dwelling in the same room. We got the car brakes repaired and also have the car seat installed. We are good to go!
Phew! lots of updates. But above paragraphs cannot even come close to summarizing how many emotions have flown through during past twenty weeks. Minal has been an amazing mom-to-be not only taking care of herself and the baby but also keeping an eye on and making sure everybody else at home is comfortable. I am glad that she now has some breathing time since she quit work last Friday. Two weeks is the least she deserves after 38 weeks of office and house work during pregnancy. She can at least take afternoon naps. I wish her all the luck and strength to cope with labor. Of course I am gonna be at your side honey!
Finally managed to talk to the nurse at the pediatrician's office. We have now decided who is going to be our baby's doctor. One battle still continues and I think it is going to go on until the baby arrives. And that is baby's name. Not just first or last but also about the middle name. I don't suppose we have a final verdict on any of the names yet (first, middle or last). It is ultimately going to be whatever mom wants. She deserves to name our baby whatever she wants.
- We did move to a new apartment in Royal Crest. Thanks to all friends how helped out otherwise third floor and no movers would have been a recipe for suicide. Although we did not like the apartment and I managed to fight with the management a couple of times, we did eventually forget about the apartment and started concentrating on more important things ahead in life.
- Minal had to give blood twice for her gestational diabetes test. The first came out to be positive which we could not believe and scared the hell out of us. Next round of blood sucking tests showed everything normal.
- Minal also stopped flying at about 28 weeks which was a relief; for her. With no more luggage to drag around and no more flights to wait for and ride she was able to save some physical energy. But she did not rest enough even at home since she would be working non-stop from home. She is a real workaholic but then she enjoys her work a lot.
- My in-laws arrived on 18th of June (can't believe it has been two months since they arrived). They were completely syched at how much Minal works even being at home but soon they realized it is part of her life. They brought a lot of baby clothes and other baby items. Obviously they are excited at the thought of being grand parents. With our completely different life styles we have had interesting anecdotes, conversations and arguments. We have had several trips to grocery stores, nearby lakes and gardens as well as to nearby farm for berry picking. My mother in law has managed to scare her teeth of any berries now. That is how many unripe berries she has had. Sad thing is we have not had a chance to take them out on any decent trip and chances are we are not going to be able to until a month after the baby is born. So hang in there mom and dad!
- During these 20 weeks we also attended a classes on breastfeeding, child CPR and childbirth. Last week we finished our last in series of 5 classes on childbirth and got ourselves a certificate!! We are ready it seems.
- The baby has been growing at a steady rate and we have gone from hardly feeling any baby movements to baby elbow poking her ribs and making arcs from inside her belly. Baby's bones have been getting stronger and her hiccups have not stopped. Mom has gone from gaining a 3 pounds every two weeks to gaining a pound every week. She is now at around 163. I have not be able to go for last 2 prenatal visits and mom-to-be and her mom have had a chance to get out spend time together.
- We also managed to surprise our mom-to-be with a successful baby shower. You can see the pictures. It was a lot of fun and I managed to completely sych people with my answers to questions in one of the games. It was to find out how much dad-to-be knows mom-to-be. And I aced it! Ok getting off of the soap box. But thanks to Aps and Raji without whose support we would not have been able to pull the surprise. Mom and dad were happy to see that we *do* socialize a bit.
- A week before the baby shower we had the traditional 'God Bharai' at home. This is a tradition where mom-to-be is showered with gifts and blessings. Usually performed by her mom. You should be able find pictures here.
- After baby shower there also has been a lot of shopping, lot of returns and lot of shuffling through gift cards and coupons. It has just been crazy with the shopping and mom-to-be :). Returns is what really drives me crazy but hey I should complain only if I can grow a baby inside me. So she deserves it!! As a result of so much shopping and hopping around we think we have all the essentials at home. We did moved things around in our bedroom and also put a few things up to make it look like a baby is also going to be dwelling in the same room. We got the car brakes repaired and also have the car seat installed. We are good to go!
Phew! lots of updates. But above paragraphs cannot even come close to summarizing how many emotions have flown through during past twenty weeks. Minal has been an amazing mom-to-be not only taking care of herself and the baby but also keeping an eye on and making sure everybody else at home is comfortable. I am glad that she now has some breathing time since she quit work last Friday. Two weeks is the least she deserves after 38 weeks of office and house work during pregnancy. She can at least take afternoon naps. I wish her all the luck and strength to cope with labor. Of course I am gonna be at your side honey!
Finally managed to talk to the nurse at the pediatrician's office. We have now decided who is going to be our baby's doctor. One battle still continues and I think it is going to go on until the baby arrives. And that is baby's name. Not just first or last but also about the middle name. I don't suppose we have a final verdict on any of the names yet (first, middle or last). It is ultimately going to be whatever mom wants. She deserves to name our baby whatever she wants.
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