Back on bedrest

At my 36 week appointment this morning, Igor and I found out that I'm 3 cm dilated, 80% effaced. I've put myself back on bedrest to try to try to make it to Wednesday, when I'll be 37 weeks. But the doctor said that even if the baby comes out now, it will probably be fine. For one thing, the baby is probably bigger than Nikita: I've gained a little over 20 lbs with this pregnancy whereas with Nikita, I topped off at 18 lbs.

At least I was able to finish a bunch of things this week: taxes, mock financial aid forms for private schools, my Classbook page. I even got a haircut and picked up the two baby books I mentioned in my last post.

When I got back this morning from the doctor's, I went straight to bed, hoping to sleep. I had a tough time falling asleep yesterday because the baby was constantly moving, or putting pressure on my side. This is different from the past two nights, i.e. I've been sleeping all right, because Nikita for some reason has wanted to sleep with Galina. Does he know something I don't?

I've actually been nervous about nighttime sleeping this whole week because with Nikita, I woke up in the middle of the night with contractions. But talking with my hypnotherapist has put me in a better frame of mind. She said that the best thing I could do right now is to relax and to enjoy having the baby inside of me. If I'm anxious, the baby will feel it, and may want to leave earlier. Because who wants to stay in a place full of anxiety?

I also called the doula I used with Nikita to refresh my memory about labor. The cervix starts dilating when the cervix is about 50% effaced. By 5 cm dilation (the start of active labor), the cervix is usually 100% effaced. Given that my contractions are not consistent (I barely feel them), I could stay at 3 cm dilated for a while. But, Igor and I already plan to call 911 as soon as the contractions are consistent (doctor says 10 min apart; hypnotherapist says 15 min) - whether or not Igor is around. The doctor said that given the state of my cervix (and Nikita's quick birth), labor this time around could proceed very quickly.

All this time, I've been so worried about my new baby being in NICU. But my hypnotherapist reminded me that even though Nikita's stay at the NICU was extremely stressful for me (and probably contributed to my inability to breastfeed Nikita adequately), looking at Nikita demonstrates everything turned out fine. That's what matters in the end.