Latent Phase of Labor

is in full gear. Meghan is having regular contractions at about 10 minutes apart!! Stay tuned, this phase could last a while....like days. Say prayers, knock on wood, rub your lucky rabbit's foot -- do whatever rituals bring good fortune!!!

BUMMER

This little girl is either stubborn, smart or both! I mean who whouldn't want to simply remain in a warm little cocoon? She's fed, soothed, has no cares in the world -- smart baby! We went to the doctor today and Meghan is neither effeced, nor dialated. So it looks like she will be induced on 03 July! This means we will have a 4th of July baby. I don't realy know what that term means, but I still like to say it. So unless she comes within the next week, that's when she'll come. Meghan's doctor says that inducing labor can last anywhere from 12-36 hours. Whew! I'll be taking my flask to the hospital since I do not imagine the hospital bar will be open for that many hours straight!

We are looking forward to that day. We were probably a bit too hopeful for our own good considering this is MEg's 1st pregnancy. But we are now resigned to the fact that it won't be more than 1 week longer. We are just greatful that she's healthy -- both the mommy and the baby.

Sunday Morning

Nothing says Sunday morning like sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for your first child to be born like a little U Tube fun.

Check out this video!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3537897065356538946

After watching this video click on the one named "...Sensitivity Training." It's a good follow-up laugh.

How to Elicit Disgust From Others

...simply post information on your blog related to inducing labor with non-medical strategies. I know it's a little bit too much information, but I never said anything about how Meghan and I are going about trying to make this baby come out. I merely related some silly facts the doctor and the books had advised. I know there are parents reading this...

THE CURRENT STRATEGY FOR MAKING BABY CORSO COME OUT:
Kent: Meghan, do you think we should take a walk or go for a swim or something? They say if you exercise it's more likely to induce labor.
Meghan: Nah, I'm gonna eat this bowl of ice cream instead.

Kent: Hey Meg, want to get on the new treadmill we bought? They say increased walking triggers labor!
Meg: No, I did some walking a few days ago...and I walked across our house today on my way to the kitchen.

Kent: I just heard from a nurse at work today that if you do squats (in a pool to minimize impact) you can build your pelvic muscles. The motion makes the baby drop, and the exercises build the muscles you'll use during labor. She said it'd make your childbirth easier if those muscles are in tip-top shape.
Meg: I don't really feel like it. I'm in good shape anayway.

The lesson I have learned from such interactions like this is that nothing I can say will be particularly helpful unless it is "Yes dear" That's really the only type of help I can offer!

No Stella Yet!

Our doctor's appt went well in that the baby is still healthy -- and Meghan is as well! However, she is neither effaced, nor dialated. But there's hope - she's been feeling increased pain, cramps, fatigue, and sickness. They say these are good signs, whereas if they happened months ago they'd be signs of trouble. But here are the recommendations we've gotten from books and from the doctor:

Increase exercise
Increase sex
Increase spicy foods
Increase sex

Notice a pattern? Is sex supposed to be an assignment from your doctor? It kind of takes the romance out of things, huh?

The oddest thing we've heard -- AND I AM NOT NECESSARILY ADVOCATING THIS -- is oral sex -- for the male, not the female. The latter is supposed to be hazardous due to the risk of bacterial infections. Apparently the semen contains oxytocin, which is a hormone that helps bring about labor. If you have heard of the synthetic hormone Pitocin, this is the man-made version of oxytocin. That is what they use to induce labor. So I guess oral sex is the "natural" way to induce labor. Seems kind of convenient, though... the book we read it in MUST have been published by a man.

STELLA

Meghan had a doctor's appointment today and we found out some good news and bad news. The bad news is that our doc is going away until 17 Jun. So if Stella comes in the next week we'll have a stand-in doc. But she promised someone good for us. On the 18th our doc is going to disrupt or "scrape" (sounds so painful and violent) the membrane. This is not the same as breaking her water. According to the research, 50% of women go into labor within 48 hours of this. The doc is pretty sure meghan's recent cramping is not Braxton Hicks contractions - rather REAL labor cramps. But they are so intermittent and short that they are not indicative of active labor.

The doc wouldn't even check to see if Meghan was effaced or dialated today out of fear of inducing labor. I'm convinced that it is an indication that when they do the procedure on the 18th that Meghan will start labor. Woo HOOO!

And for the skeptics who are still concerned that the baby may come out with a penis, we visually confirmed again that the baby will be a girl. We saw the genetalia clearly -- and it is of the female type.

I think regardless of our doc being away, we should do active things to induce labor. :)

PIGS!

Welcome to Crestview, FL...where the biggest news of the weekend is a story about a mamma pig and her 6 little piglets cutting loose and wandering 1/2 mile from home. Yup, they spent the morning in our front yard (thank God we put in a fence, otherwise they would have turned any bald spots in our lawn to mudpools). Our neighbor gerded them into her backyard nd quaratined them. Here are a few pics. I wish we had arranged for a pigroast tonight -- mamma could have provided for the whole block!