In Joy and Sorrow, My Home Is In Your Arms

Day 2 at home: We're alive and well!

Yesterday evening, a couple friends of mine, who live a few streets away, invited Morgan and myself over for drinks and banter. We were picked up at about 7:45pm, and the moment we walked in, I warmed up Morgan's bottle and changed her nappy and sat down to feed her.

Another two couples joined us, and we had banter. It was good - the only thing I was a bit tense about was the cat who lives up to the Evil Mastermind reputation white poofy persian cats have, and the 2-yr old cute-as-hell lab/german shepherd-mix puppy they have. The cat is a cat - therefore obeys nothing and no one. He kept trying to wriggle in between Morgan and myself in more than one way - mainly metaphorically though. I guess her milk was too tempting for him. The she-pup was very outgoing and curious and kept sniffing at Morgan. My concern was the same kind of concern I had with Whiskey, my dog. Being a big, young dog brings with it a big amount of curiousity _and_ clumsiness. Thankfully, the other 6 people we were with took care of both cat and dog so that they'd keep their distance as much as possible.

I suppose I'm not one of them parents who are willing to take risks with pets and children by allowing said pet to sniff at their heart's content the child. I realise that it might be the best way to go on about it, but I am not comfortable doing it, especially with dogs I don't know and/or dogs who aren't used to children.

We didn't stay out late - by 10.30pm we were back home. Morgan was drowsy, so I put her to bed, picked a book, and joined her. Shortly after, we were both asleep. I must have been more tired than I realised I was as I slept through the alarm. She slept through it as well, so no harm done. Instead of having her bottle at 00:30am, she had it at 1:30am after her nappy change, and then crashed straight away once more.

She slept the whole night again, and woke up at about 6;30am, where I took care of her needs and got us both back to bed to sleep a bit more. She slept until her next feed was due.


I gave her a sponge-bath before feeding her, and clothed her in her first dungarees! She is adorable in this outfit, if I may say so myself! I always liked dungarees, and my favourite was an army green one made of denim - I had matching ankle boots back then too. Needless to say, Morgan owns quite a few in different sizes and will own many more.

See? I told you she's ADORABLE!

Once fed, I put her in her seat, and I managed to cook myself some food uninterrupted whilst Morgan watched the changing light and shadows through the back yard's door. She fell asleep by the time I finished eating, so I took her to the living room so that I could keep an eye on her whilst I do stuff.
After some time, Morgan started getting gas cramps, so we went to bed and snuggled up, and she fell asleep again.

Once she woke up, I changed her nappy and shortly after my mum came over. She gave Morgan her bottle, had brief banter and she ran off to go look after my dad who seems to have manflu of sorts.
Once gone, Morgan and I just chilled. She fell asleep again, and so I had some time to sort out her clothes and to relax a bit.
 
Now, we'll be off to her room so that I can attempt carrying on the clothes sorting process.

You're cramping my style!

So, right now, as previously mentioned, I'm a ticking time bomb, ready to pop any minute.  Just like the Pringles ad says, once you pop, you can't stop. 

Anyway.  I am trying to figure out how to distinguish Braxton Hicks Contractions [BHC] a.k.a. False Labour from the Real Deal.  In theory, it is all well and good, and I understand what they are.  Which leads to me sitting here, shaking my fist at the monitor and growl at it "Yes. I get that! But what the fuck do they feel like?!?!?!"

As you can imagine, Hugh [my laptop] said nothing. Which made me roll up my sleeves and angrily pound on my keyboard "What do Braxton Hicks feel like" in the Google search bar.

I did get quite a few hits - but no clear answer. Apparently, it is different for everyone. YAY!

Ok - allow me to take a breather and retrace my steps as some of you are probably lost.

What are Braxton Hicks Contractions?
Braxton Hicks Contractions are sporadic uterine contractions.  They commence as early as of the 6th week of your pregnancy, although you probably won't start to notice them until sometime after mid-pregnancy, if you notice them at all. (Some women don't.) They get their name from John Braxton Hicks, an English doctor who first described them in 1872.

Look at them Mutton Chops! *wiggles eyebrows*

" If they occur for so long, what gives??"
I mean, it doesn't make sense, does it? Well, the thing is this... There will be a point where the BHC will stop being pretty much painless.... therefore it makes it hard to distinguish from early signs of preterm labour.

Play it safe - don't try to diagnose yourself. If you haven't hit 37 weeks yet and you're having more than four contractions in an hour — or there are more signs of preterm labour, call the hospital [if in Malta, you can call Emergency Services on 112 and ask to be connected to a midwife at Mater Dei Hospital and they should be able to do just that for you].  Alternatively, if you  think it is easier, or you'd rather take a different approach, get your arse to hospital.  It is better to have called/visited for nothing than to risk it.

By the time you reach your 38th week, your cervix will have more than likely started to "ripen" [i.e. to soften up in preparation for childbirth to occur.] Your  BHC might be getting more intense & frequent and probably make you swear a fair bit out of discomfort.  Unlike the earlier BHC, these new-and-improved BHC are probably causing your cervix thin out (efface) and maybe even open up (dilate) a bit. Congrats - you're in pre-labour.

"How on earth am I to know the difference between BHC and The Real Deal?!"
The main difference is this - BHC don't grow consistently longer, stronger, and closer together.  If you start feeling contractions that are rather painful, and regular, do something relaxing - have a bath or something. Drink a glass of water just in case it is mere dehydration that is causing them. If the pain eases up after you're done with relaxing, it means it'll have been a false alarm.  Otherwise, you'll know it is finally happening! Your minion is in the process of popping out!  Well, within the next 20+ hours or so, anyway.

"WHAT?!"
Yep.  Labour can last anywhere from the standard 15 hours, but often lasting over 20 hours it seems!  Oh joy!  Before you panic, it won't be 15+ hours of "breathe breathe breathe breathe BREATHE PUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSH!!!" We're talking about the whole process here.  One which I'll delve into more detail about another time.

"I still haven't got a clue of what they feel like though..."
Yep . I know. Neither do I.  According to other people's descriptions, BHC feel like:

• "like a muscle cramping up (like a cramp in your leg), but without the pain. They don't hurt, they just feel a bit uncomfortable. Later in pregnancy they can make a hard "ball" on a section of your tummy."
• "like my stomach muscles are tightening and my stomach gets rock hard."
• "the muscles in my stomach are pulling to the centre and tightening,"
• "a mild cramp just like you would feel during the period. "
• "like I had a corset built into my back and someone was pulling the strings as HARD as possible!! (Lots of pressure on my back) & my belly went rock hard. It wasn't too painful, but it didn't feel good either."

- a few answers taken off this page.

All I can say is, I will try and let you peoples know what the experience was like for me, if it happens.

The Truth about Pregnancy

No matter how knowledgeable you think you are, or how much you want it to happen, you can never be truly prepared for the horrors that pregnancy brings along with it.

Yes, I said horrors. Deal with it.

Everyone says that pregnancy is the most beautiful period in a woman's life. Yeah right.

Truth it, it is pretty much 9 months of constant PMS. The moodiness, the cravings, the aches, the irrational thoughts. the cramps. 9 whole months.

Forget all that is shoved down your throat in movies. They only show the good stuff.

Let us start with the famous "Morning Sickness".

Don't be misled. It is NOT solely limited to mornings. It pretty much lasts all day and all night. Some have it lucky, and it only lasts for a few weeks. In my case, it lasted for about 4 and a half months. Yes, that is half the pregnancy of being constantly nauseated, and not knowing if I'll end up spewing or not.

Then we have the aches. You know the classical pose of a heavily pregnant woman, holding her lower back with one hand as she goes about minding her own business? Forget it. You'll be doing that after only a few weeks - probably before the first trimester is over.  And guess what? No one tells you that if you're gifted in the breast department BEFORE you get pregnant, it will be much more of a nightmare. You're in for having boobs that threaten to topple you over as they quickly try to reach your belly button, whilst wreaking havoc on your upper back. This means, your whole back is pretty much screwed.

Then you get the heartburn. I was lucky that it only made occasional appearances in the early stages of pregnancy. Not so much now that I'm in my 33rd week - it is my daily companion who comes to haunt me every day.

Toothache is also common. Since Baby needs calcium, s/he will deplete your own calcium sources, meaning you're more likely to get cavities and/or chipped teeth. I found this the hard way.

Rib ache is also common, especially as your belly gets bigger and bigger. The uterus ends up pushing up against your ribs [not to mention internal organs] thus causing aches and pains.

Still reading so far? Good.

I'm sure you're thinking that I complain a lot, and that I must think my pregnancy to be a curse.

Truth is, I don't. All of the above are things I deal with on a daily basis. And I am happy to suffer through all this, as it means that by the end of it all, I will get my very own minion. The aches will be gone after a while, and will be replaced by crying, whining, stickiness and stinky gifts.

I can't wait!