Monday, April 4, 2011

Suck It Up, Sister!

I don't know why I do this... it frustrates me to no end, but yet, every pregnancy I end up doing it anyway. And I get darn frustrated every time. Sigh... Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment (in more ways than one).

What is my issue?

Those darn pregnancy message boards. Inevitably as I draw closer to my due date, I find myself stopping by a message board for women due about the same time I am during my afternoons home alone. And every day there is another woman *begging* to go into labor. At 34 weeks, 35 weeks, 36 weeks... You get the picture. It's not the same woman, either. Apparently, the idea that a 40 week pregnancy is average doesn't make sense to them. That if 40 weeks is average, some women will be 2 weeks early and some will be 2 weeks late and still be considered a "normal" gestational age.

Who on earth would want a baby that will go straight from her body to the NICU? When asked that question, most backpedal and say, "Well, I don't WANT a sick baby... but I do want to be done being pregnant." Because the extra three or four weeks to get to term will be unbearable? Right?

Simple fact: no woman is comfortable at the end of pregnancy, even if she has had a textbook pregnancy. She's slow and sore and can't sleep and has heartburn and might be swelling and, well, you get the picture. But we're ALL that way. A wise friend once told me that you go through the last month of pregnancy feeling so uncomfortable that you're ready to do anything, including delivering a baby through your ear, to get comfortable again.

I'm sort of on the fence about being induced at 38 weeks with the twins. Logically, I understand that it is usually safer for babies and mother for twins to come then, but on the other hand, if my placentas are still functioning well and my blood pressure isn't skyrocketing, I kind of have a hard time thinking it's OK to evict them before they say they're ready to come out.

I sympathize with the women who are just over being pregnant, really, I do. I can't sleep for more than 45 minutes at a shot before waking up in searing hip pain, then spending 30 seconds climbing out of bed to use the bathroom and another 30 seconds lowering myself back into the bed on my other side, only to repeat the cycle in another 45 minutes. I am winded to the point of needing to sit for 5 minutes upon arrival at my office -- the walk is uphill no matter from which direction I approach it. And right now, my daughters are in a race to see which will get their head down into my pelvis first, but both have miserable aim, so they are grinding their heads on the insides of my hipbones. And the heartburn? ATOMIC. So I get wanting to be done.

On the other hand, this is the last time I get to do this and, most of the time, I am in complete amazement at the crazy dance in mt belly. Which, I'm guessing will measure a full year pregnant at my next appointment. A FULL YEAR. So suck it up, sister, and imagine carrying my belly around for a while.

Yep, it is a good thing it's me and not you...

7 comments:

Jeanette said...

I wish I had enjoyed my pregnancy more, not knowing we weren't going to have anymore. We always talked about having 2 and that 2 was plenty. Well, after 1 we eventually came to a decision that 1 was plenty and we didn't think we could handle more than that. Boy do I miss those pregnancy symptoms- not the heartburn mind you, but the little kicks and maybe the grinding on the hipbone a little bit. :-)

Jeremy said...

I hear you. My wife is pregnant with triplets (I saw your blog on the M&M site) and we're praying she stays pregnant as many weeks as humanly possible for the safety of the little ones. If we make it into the 30s, week-wise, that'll be a huge victory.

IASoupMama said...

Jeremy -- congratulations to you and your wife! I hope your babies stay put as long as possible and come into the world as healthy as possible, too.

Amanda said...

I am guilty of this.
However, after every time I say it, I always rub my belly and say "bean, whenever you're ready, I'm ready. you come when you feel it's right"

I definitely sympathize with you having twins. My mom had twins after me and man, she was probably more uncomfortable than I could EVER hope to be.

But the women who are trying to self induce and all that jazz are crazy to me. I'm a part of the WTE board too, so I see them and I shake my head and think they're nuts. Babies come when they're good and ready.

WildThingsMom said...

Hahahaha! I love this post. I tried really hard to enjoy every last bit of my pregnancy with #3 because he was/is my last too. I think I succeeded. The hardest part for me is waiting for the surprise (who will he look like, what does new baby smell like again, how will I feel...) and dealing with the excitement. Babies are awesome.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you 100% on this!!!! Nothing drove me more crazy when I was pregnant with my twins! Whether it was a mom to be on a birth board, or the close friend of that was preggo with a singleton at the same time as me... This drove me nuts!!!!! I can't tell you how many times I had to bit my lip when I heard things like this.... UGH!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

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