All clear (... probably)

[oloriel]

Well, it didn't cost me any sleep, at any rate (aside from having to use the toilet every few hours, but that's nothing new). And at the moment, the contractions have stopped, so it seems to have been Senkwehen (I refuse to call them "false" labour, as they do serve a purpose in the whole birthing process, they just don't kick it off) after all.

Well, now I've had the obligatory "is it starting?" scare - I suppose the cleaning spree is up next, and afterwards, it'll start for real? ;)

Comments

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Well... don't rely too heavily on the cleaning spree. I did; I'd counted on that day of Nesting Instinct when I'd get everything done in one great burst of perseverative orderliness, and it never happened, aagh! I went into labor a solid week after my due-date, with my house just as messy as it had been.

I'm guessing 'Senkwehen' is what we call Braxton-Hicks contractions? They definitely serve a purpose; they're like your womb doing warm-ups before the marathon.

Anyway, you don't need to go to the hospital until your pain-level is at least 5 on this scale (http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/02/boyfriend-doesnt-have-ebola-probably.html). Don't wait to go till it hits 7, or you'll have a hard time with the hospital sign-in procedure - you want to be safe and settled before it gets that bad, but if you go too soon, you'll just have longer to wait and be bored. And hungry, probably, because hospitals never have much in the way of decent food.

Everybody hears these mythical tales of women who never even knew they were pregnant, went to the bathroom one day and gave birth just-like-that. I suppose it is possible, but it's damned unlikely. For most of us, giving birth for the first time is a long, slow process, and hurts enough that we don't have to wonder whether or not to call it 'pain'.

What can I say - when it's Showtime, you'll not only know, you'll know that you know. But best to get all your cleaning done before then, in case the Nesting Instinct passes you by, the way it did me. I never caught up on my housework until my daughter was grown and moved out of the house. :p

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Not sure - Senkwehen are the contractions that lead to the Lightening of the baby but do not yet have an impact on the cervix. No idea whether that bit is covered by Braxton-Hicks (which I'd otherwise consider Übungswehen, that is, "labour practice").

Actually, it's common here to do the sign-in procedure in advance, around week 32-37 (depending on the hospital's policy), so unless you can't reach the place you registered with on time or the baby decides to get going a lot sooner than expected, you don't have to worry about any check-in formalities on the big day. This also means that the doctors will have a file on how you (tentatively ;)) want the birth to happen, how you feel about episiotomy, whether or not you want an epidural, whether to prepare the bathtub etc. etc.
I have an appointment for just that purpose tomorrow :)
And I've got books and snacks in my hospital bag just in case there's a longer wait anyway. While most of our midwife's advice on labour was just as unhelpfully vague as anything else I've found on the topic, she did offer some practical considerations on preparing for when they come.

My mother told me that both times she gave birth, she didn't find it "painful", merely "an effort". Which of course is part of the reason why I wasn't reassured by yesterday's painlessness - I might be genetically biased, so to say ;)

See, but if I do the cleaning too early, everything will be dirty again by birthing time! (Housework - except for cooking - is my arch-nemesis. I'm hoping that, if the nesting instinct really passes me by, the hubby will do the cleaning while I'm recuperating... *innocent whistle*)

[rahja.livejournal.com]

Und senkwehen sind zum Kotzen... die taten bei mir mehr weh, als die eigentlichen Wehen

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Wobei Nils ja auch schon ein Riesenbrocken war, das ist da sicher nicht ganz unerheblich... meine waren ja bisher wirklich nur ein bissel anstrengend, aber nicht wirklich schmerzhaft.