When I've seen this in baby books, I've thought, "I really hope I'll know the difference." One would assume the two would feel totally different considering they come from different places, right?
Well, yesterday at 6:19 pm, I was the .mama-to-be asking, "Did my water just break or did I just seriously pee myself?"
Here's how it went down.
I was lying in the nursery floor, listening to a Mazzy Starr station I made on Pandora and just chilling, singing to the baby and just enjoying a little time with her. She hadn't seemed as active as usual, so I want to really take some time to focus on her movements..it is funny how the bigger she gets, the less I notice her moving, unless she gives a really good kick or I have my hand on my belly. I guess I've just gotten used to it at this point. So she moved like a little dancer in my belly as I sang to her and my worries were alleviated.
So I decided at like 4:30 am when I woke up that I wanted to run the diapers through a final hot rinse (why? I have no idea), and after I knew she was okay, I went to get up off the floor to take the bin of dipes downstairs, when a gush of fluid came out of me. I tried to stop it, but it continued to trickle down my legs as I awkwardly hurried downstairs to the bathroom.
I did urinate when I got to the bathroom, but it felt different. I was in control at that point. (Only way I can explain it) My panties were soaked and my skirt was speckled with the fluid. I was completely aghast.
"Was that my water?" I asked out loud.
Then I thought of the WTE book, where Heidi Murkoff says, "A quick sniff of your sheets should [tell you whether it was urine or Amniotic fluid]," so I sniffed my undies.
They didn't smell like urine at all. They smelled strangely sweet..a very weird smell that I really can't describe.
So that worried me.
I have had two babies. I have never experienced the feeling of my water breaking, except when they broke my water when I was pregnant with T. I remember feeling a gush, but I don't remember anything more than that. I was lying down and there were absorbant mats under me..plus, with a natural labor, you sort of forget the little details like that. With C, I had already had an epidural when they broke my water, so I have no idea how it felt, as I was completely numb down there.
So this whole experience is new to me. New and scary. I knew my aunt J had experienced her water breaking with her son, so I sent her a text. This is basically how it went.
Me: when your water broke, what was it like?
Her: I felt like a prick, then a gush of fluid. Why, did your water break?
Me: I don't know. I was sitting on the floor and when I stood up, a gush of fluid came out of me and trickled out as I was going downstairs. I couldn't stop it.
Her: that sounds exactly like what happened to me.
Me: I don't have contractions though. Her: Call your doctor and see what they say you should do. Is K there?
Me: I let him know, but told him to just stay at work for now.
Her: maybe you should have him come home.
Me: ok.
This texting conversation ended around 7-ish. I sent K another text that said, "maybe you should just come home."
He left work immediately. I called the doctor.
She said she wasn't sure if it was my water or not. She said sometimes the baby can drop suddenly and push on the bladder causing urine to rush out. She suggested I put on a pad and see if it got wet...like a baby diaper, not just surface wet.
I did. It didn't get more than superficially wet, but I started having contractions (they actually started a few minutes after the incident). They weren't painful though. Just like tightening and light cramps.
She gave me the choice to come and have it tested or stay home to wait it out. I decided to stay home.
I hung up with her and tried to relax...took the dipes to the washer. I checked my contractions and they were about 7-8 minutes apart. No biggie, but I was beginning to feel excited that this really might be the night!
K came home and maintained a very calm demeanor, which impressed me, because he said inside he was going crazy. I would never have known. He did great.
By about 8, the contractions were about 5 minutes apart, but not painful. K was beginning to doubt my decision to stay home a little longer. I suggested we play cards for a while. I knew the contractions I was having weren't strong enough to produce a baby, so I didn't want to rush to the hospital for a false alarm. Plus, hospitals make me nervous , so I like to avoid them as long as possible.
Playing cards was sort of hard, because my mind was elsewhere, but it did help pass the time. I lost...miserably, but oh well.
I suggested we go for a walk. During the walk, I had a few that were 3 minutes apart. K said we should go to the hospital. I said, if we have two more at 3 min, we'll go.
Well, this was around 9:30-10:00. I'd been contracting for a little over 3 hours. We got home and turned on the tv to watch Family Feud....I love Steve Harvey as the host. Anyway, the next contraction was 5 minutes from the last one. I had a couple like that. My excitement began to deflate.
The next few were 7 min apart....then 8....then 14.
Yeah, it was once again false labor. I wanted to cry. I was tired. Even when they aren't painful, contractions take your attention and the mental crap that goes with them is tiring.
I decided to go to bed. If it was real, it would wake me up. If it was nothing, well, there is no point in losing sleep over it. I slept through the night and didn't wake up until 8:30, which was weird, considering all the water I drank yesterday.
I'm still here. I'm still pregnant.
I feel bad for having K come home early, but at least it was only an hour early. He said he'd rather I have him.come home to nothing than call and be in a frenzy telling him to come NOW. I guess he has a point.
I still feel bad. I feel stupid. How on earth can I be so out of touch with my body? I guess this means I actually peed my pants like a toddler. *sigh*
Then again, maybe there is a silver lining to the night that still makes me want to cry. Maybe my baby has dropped. Maybe my next appointment will show that she is engaged. If I'm not in labor by the time I have that appointment, I decided last night to agree to an induction on the 17th. I can't take anymore of the worry and the false alarms. It's wearing on me.
Who knows, maybe my body will never go in labor and I could end up like that woman in Thailand who carried around a calcified baby for decades. I think I'll take my chances with the induction on the 17th rather than waiting yet another week...the 42 mark scares me for the baby. I worry about the placenta being healthy and such.
So with some disappointment weighing on me, I'm approaching this day with some level of indifference. I hate to say that, but it is true.
Come what may.
Pics of me the day we found out, and a pic of me at 38 weeks.
Well, yesterday at 6:19 pm, I was the .mama-to-be asking, "Did my water just break or did I just seriously pee myself?"
Here's how it went down.
I was lying in the nursery floor, listening to a Mazzy Starr station I made on Pandora and just chilling, singing to the baby and just enjoying a little time with her. She hadn't seemed as active as usual, so I want to really take some time to focus on her movements..it is funny how the bigger she gets, the less I notice her moving, unless she gives a really good kick or I have my hand on my belly. I guess I've just gotten used to it at this point. So she moved like a little dancer in my belly as I sang to her and my worries were alleviated.
So I decided at like 4:30 am when I woke up that I wanted to run the diapers through a final hot rinse (why? I have no idea), and after I knew she was okay, I went to get up off the floor to take the bin of dipes downstairs, when a gush of fluid came out of me. I tried to stop it, but it continued to trickle down my legs as I awkwardly hurried downstairs to the bathroom.
I did urinate when I got to the bathroom, but it felt different. I was in control at that point. (Only way I can explain it) My panties were soaked and my skirt was speckled with the fluid. I was completely aghast.
"Was that my water?" I asked out loud.
Then I thought of the WTE book, where Heidi Murkoff says, "A quick sniff of your sheets should [tell you whether it was urine or Amniotic fluid]," so I sniffed my undies.
They didn't smell like urine at all. They smelled strangely sweet..a very weird smell that I really can't describe.
So that worried me.
I have had two babies. I have never experienced the feeling of my water breaking, except when they broke my water when I was pregnant with T. I remember feeling a gush, but I don't remember anything more than that. I was lying down and there were absorbant mats under me..plus, with a natural labor, you sort of forget the little details like that. With C, I had already had an epidural when they broke my water, so I have no idea how it felt, as I was completely numb down there.
So this whole experience is new to me. New and scary. I knew my aunt J had experienced her water breaking with her son, so I sent her a text. This is basically how it went.
Me: when your water broke, what was it like?
Her: I felt like a prick, then a gush of fluid. Why, did your water break?
Me: I don't know. I was sitting on the floor and when I stood up, a gush of fluid came out of me and trickled out as I was going downstairs. I couldn't stop it.
Her: that sounds exactly like what happened to me.
Me: I don't have contractions though. Her: Call your doctor and see what they say you should do. Is K there?
Me: I let him know, but told him to just stay at work for now.
Her: maybe you should have him come home.
Me: ok.
This texting conversation ended around 7-ish. I sent K another text that said, "maybe you should just come home."
He left work immediately. I called the doctor.
She said she wasn't sure if it was my water or not. She said sometimes the baby can drop suddenly and push on the bladder causing urine to rush out. She suggested I put on a pad and see if it got wet...like a baby diaper, not just surface wet.
I did. It didn't get more than superficially wet, but I started having contractions (they actually started a few minutes after the incident). They weren't painful though. Just like tightening and light cramps.
She gave me the choice to come and have it tested or stay home to wait it out. I decided to stay home.
I hung up with her and tried to relax...took the dipes to the washer. I checked my contractions and they were about 7-8 minutes apart. No biggie, but I was beginning to feel excited that this really might be the night!
K came home and maintained a very calm demeanor, which impressed me, because he said inside he was going crazy. I would never have known. He did great.
By about 8, the contractions were about 5 minutes apart, but not painful. K was beginning to doubt my decision to stay home a little longer. I suggested we play cards for a while. I knew the contractions I was having weren't strong enough to produce a baby, so I didn't want to rush to the hospital for a false alarm. Plus, hospitals make me nervous , so I like to avoid them as long as possible.
Playing cards was sort of hard, because my mind was elsewhere, but it did help pass the time. I lost...miserably, but oh well.
I suggested we go for a walk. During the walk, I had a few that were 3 minutes apart. K said we should go to the hospital. I said, if we have two more at 3 min, we'll go.
Well, this was around 9:30-10:00. I'd been contracting for a little over 3 hours. We got home and turned on the tv to watch Family Feud....I love Steve Harvey as the host. Anyway, the next contraction was 5 minutes from the last one. I had a couple like that. My excitement began to deflate.
The next few were 7 min apart....then 8....then 14.
Yeah, it was once again false labor. I wanted to cry. I was tired. Even when they aren't painful, contractions take your attention and the mental crap that goes with them is tiring.
I decided to go to bed. If it was real, it would wake me up. If it was nothing, well, there is no point in losing sleep over it. I slept through the night and didn't wake up until 8:30, which was weird, considering all the water I drank yesterday.
I'm still here. I'm still pregnant.
I feel bad for having K come home early, but at least it was only an hour early. He said he'd rather I have him.come home to nothing than call and be in a frenzy telling him to come NOW. I guess he has a point.
I still feel bad. I feel stupid. How on earth can I be so out of touch with my body? I guess this means I actually peed my pants like a toddler. *sigh*
Then again, maybe there is a silver lining to the night that still makes me want to cry. Maybe my baby has dropped. Maybe my next appointment will show that she is engaged. If I'm not in labor by the time I have that appointment, I decided last night to agree to an induction on the 17th. I can't take anymore of the worry and the false alarms. It's wearing on me.
Who knows, maybe my body will never go in labor and I could end up like that woman in Thailand who carried around a calcified baby for decades. I think I'll take my chances with the induction on the 17th rather than waiting yet another week...the 42 mark scares me for the baby. I worry about the placenta being healthy and such.
So with some disappointment weighing on me, I'm approaching this day with some level of indifference. I hate to say that, but it is true.
Come what may.
Pics of me the day we found out, and a pic of me at 38 weeks.
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