I can't believe how fast time is just flying by. The weeks are whizzing by. But seriously, it feels like just yesterday that I was finding out I was pregnant! And here I am 30 weeks along! Only 2 months to go!
What is crazy about it is that with your first pregnancy time seems like its at a standstill. Everything takes forever! Especially if you have been waiting and wishing and trying to get pregnant for a while. You are so excited that you just can't wait to start showing so you can go buy some cute maternity clothes and show off your baby bump!
And then it takes absolutely forever to feel the baby move! And at first you just really aren't sure if its the baby moving or gas. And then when the movements become more pronounced and you know its the baby, you spend your days marvelling at the kicks and hiccups... and anxiously awaiting the arrival. Which takes absolutely forever! And its all such an unknown, all so new and exciting.
Then the last few weeks are the worst! You spend every day listening and feeling for every little thing your body does/is doing and wondering if its the onset of labor. Hoping its the onset of labor. Thinking you might somehow miss the signs (as if you really could!). Thinking that at each weekly dr's visit she's going to proclaim "you're in labor!" Or at least tell you when it might happen! Because you are so anxious you want to see and hold that little kicker right NOW! :)
My first pregnancy I was so overanxious. Everyone said that I was going to go early. So of course I was set on going early. And towards the end when I asked the Dr if she could guess how much the baby might weigh, she said she thought he might be about 9lbs if I went to term. That freaked me out. After she said that, I was bound and determined to go early!! I couldn't have a 9lb baby! I had just bought a lot of "newborn" clothes that only went up to 8lbs! (you later learn that lbs don't really mean a whole lot, and neither do the months when it comes to sizing clothes).
So, the closer I got to my due date the more overly-anxious I became. I ended up having issues with high blood pressure at the end (probably because I had worked myself up so!). I was induced the day before my due date. I had the choice. They had given me something to help dilate my cervix, which didn't really work very well and she said I could either stay and be induced or go home and wait. I was so done waiting by that point!
If I ever am given that choice again, I will totally wait and go on my own! I was in labor for about 23 hours. He was born on his due date and weighed 6lbs and 8oz!
The second time, I was much more relaxed. I knew exactly what I was waiting for my body to do, and I knew there was no way I would miss such a thing. And I didn't care how big the baby was going to be. And I really didn't care if I went past my due date. I was willing to wait.
The funny thing about the second time around was that everything happened so much sooner. I was in maternity clothes by 6 weeks. I felt the baby move around 10-12 weeks. Again, everyone said that I was going to go early. But I didn't let that affect me. Then at 36 weeks I thought my water broke. Turned out that I had just tinkled myself a little bit ;) which is pretty normal with your second one at the end.
I did go past my due date. And honestly, I slept through all the beginning stages of labor if you can believe that. I vaguely remember looking at the clock and trying to time the contractions, but being too tired. Until I was woken up with an especially strong one. We barely made it to the hospital (which is a 30min drive). By the time they finished with all the crap they have to do with admitting and IVs and all that bit, I was ready to push. Baby B was born about 30mins after we got to the hospital.
One of the biggest differences between the first and second was that I had constant access to the internet the second time around. Due to lack of foresight, with my first pregnancy I didn't take any notes about the very end... and it was all so full of anxiety that I just didn't remember all the details very well. So the second time around, with every passing thing (Mucus plug, dilation, stripping of the membranes, etc...) I went to the internet. Here's what I learned: do yourself a favor and don't google these things unless you want tons of conflicting info, humorous info and just plain bad info. Every pregnancy is differnt, and it just happens in its own time. There is nothing but labor that is an indication of when it will happen. Some women lose their mucus plug and go into labor right away, others can lose it weeks or even months before. You can be dialted up to 3 or so and still go weeks. You can have your membranes stripped and go that night or have them stripped 2 or 3 times and still go another week or two. I'm just glad I didn't have the opportunity to google all this stuff the first time around, because I probably would have taken it all much more seriously.
And this 3rd time around? Got bigger quicker, felt movement about the same time as the second, and the best thing is that I started wetting myself around 20 weeks instead of 36 :) At least this time I didn't mistake it for my water breaking ;) This pregnancy is going by unbelievably fast! And this time, I'm just hoping that we make it to the hospital on time. It would really help if I could start the labor process before I'm asleep ;) When I'm tired, I just don't want to wake up for anything!
