Minor news

Right now days pass sooooooooo sloooooowly when it comes to the baby. Every morning starts with "I wonder if it will happen today" and every day ends with "It did not happen today". Everything that happens - whether just a weird kick from the baby or surprising muscle tension - makes me ask myself if this is how my labour starts.

Last few days I'm been feeling a bit odd. In the mornings I feel like I normally would feel once a month. A bit nauseous and a bit crampy. It definitely feels different from how my pregnancy has felt so far. I read about it on the Internet and so many women say, "that's exactly how my labour started! I was crampy in the morning and in the hospital in the evening!". And then some other women say, "I was having menstrual-like pains for three weeks until my childbirth." I'm sure something is going on with my body but apparently it doesn't predict labour any-minute-now as I though a few days ago.

One common way for labour to start is back ache. Yesterday I went out and after walking a few minutes I felt that my back was aching a bit. Of course I thought, "maybe that's how it starts for me!". Walking can induce labour (according to the all-wise guru INTERNET ) and I was indeed walking! I spent a couple of minutes thinking this when I remembered I'm wearing my one-shoulder bag. This has been giving me an uneasy feeling in my back ever since my tummy started to grow. I put it on my other shoulder and started to pay more attention to keeping my back straight. After that I immediately felt okay again. Apparently I wasn't in labour.

Moral of this story - Never Ever Wear Asymmetric Weight When Pregnant!

Even a light sholderbag is enough to shift your body's balance and it can make your back hurt. Always prefer a backpack. I can carry around many kilos in my backpack without any problems.

Today I went to the doctor's and had my first cardiotocography appointment. It's a machine that registers uterine contractions and baby's heartbeat at the same time. It makes sure that the baby is okay in there and there's no arrhythmia. They wrap two elastic bands around the tummy and attach big round pads under both of them. Technician attached the one that measures baby's heartbeat and a second later the baby was gone! She attached it to a different place and again the baby moved away. Another technician came in and attached it to the other side of my belly so it would constantly register at least something. Then they left me there for half an hour.

I was lying there with the machine going "thump thump thump" with the baby's heartbeat. Then suddenly it was more like "thump sshhhhh... BAM" then some quieter heartbeat and again "BAM!". Apparently the baby thought the pads were fun (or annoying) so she got into position and kicked them. I saw my entire belly change shape as my baby was battling the cardiotocography pads! The machine registered a very nice and even heartbeat and a true battle every 5-10 minutes! What surprised me about it was that she moves so much! Even when she seemed calm and quiet, she occasionally shifted around in there.

And to the disappointing part of all this: no uterine contractions!!! I've read about so many cases where the woman doesn't even realize that they are already in labour. They are having contractions without knowing about it. One woman was having contractions weeks before labour. And I have none the day before due date! I was hoping they would tell me, "but girl, you are already in labour, don't you feel it?". Ah, I guess it's okay. ... One person said their wife had a doctor's appointment in the morning and everything was perfectly normal. She went back home and a few hours later she rushed to the hospital and had a baby the same day before 6 p.m.

And as you might have guessed, that made me hopeful , but now it's already past 6 p.m. so I guess it's not gonna happen like that either.