Thursday, January 13, 2005
Oh, my aching back!!
I haven't had any back pain this whole pregnancy (hip pain is a totally different thing, though. ) until today. Baby started turning posterior in the past day or two from being in an optimal birthing position *sigh*, and today, I don't know -- but my back ACHES ... especially right above the top of the pelvic "girdle". I thought the other day that the baby had dropped some (Parker never dropped or engaged), but now I'm thinking it is just the baby's back pressing on my own. I've been side-lying with my belly forward, and doing hands and knees and pelvic rocking trying to relieve the pain and turn the baby, but my back is just aching. I made Jeff come home early to rub my back. There are no feelings of contractions as well, otherwise, I might think this was the starts of labor. Sigh.
I don't know what I want -- I guess just to complain. I go to see Jane tomorrow, and I really don't want to feel yucky or like I want this pregnancy to be over, because that will only lead to talks of doing things that could "speed up labor", but could also lead to c-section ... blech! I wasn't going to have her check my cervix, either, because I intellectually know that what your cervix is like at that moment doesn't really mean diddly squat (women can walk around dilated to 3 cm or even 4 cm for days or even weeks, and a woman without any cervical change can have a baby within 24 hours), but I'm now thinking I might, just with the hope that there is some progress.
The doula comes back tomorrow afternoon, and we haven't done all the things we needed to, partly because she wanted us to get a Bradley method book, but the library is out. Jeff is supposed to make "cheat sheets" for labor, but he hasn't and won't be at the meeting anyways. I've been doing pain management exercises with ice cubes, and apparently do pretty well, but if this back pain is gonna be there the whole time, even between contractions, I'm going to be an irritable bitch!!
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