4th Pregnancy

8 weeks 2 days into my 4th pregnancy. 3rd pregnancy was the same as the first.

My tummy is showing like I'm 5 months pregnant. Sudden hunger pangs every 3 hours. And I weigh more than 70kgs!!! Heaviest ever in my life! Late afternoon till night is the time I feel nauseous. Eat frequent smaller portions work to deal with it. However have had quite a few fastfood binges...burgerking and MacDonalds. Have been enjoying all sorts of yummy food in Singapore, lovely!

It's lovely that I'm spending 30 days of my first trimester in Singapore visiting family and friends. That means no cooking, no dishes, no housework and no grocery shopping!! I'll be in my 11th week when I get back and I'm looking forward to seeing the midwife for the first time for this pregnancy.

The First Stage of Labor

http://www.amazingpregnancy.com/pregnancy-articles/95.html

By the time you get to the end of the first stage of labor, you will be at 10 centimeters and ready to push your baby into this world. The first stage of labor is broken up into three different sections: Early Labor, Active Labor and Transitional Labor.

Early Labor

Early labor is defined as the time period in which the cervix takes to dilate between 0 and 4 centimeters. This usually occurs in a time frame of between 4 to 24 hours but can extend over a longer period of time.

The contractions that you feel during this time are mild or moderate and last between 30 to 45 seconds and may be regular or irregular and between 5 to 20 minutes apart.

Tips for Early Labor:

Rest as much as possible.

• Stay away from meats, dairy or high fat foods.
  
• Foods that are good for you include:
  
  • Teas
    
  • Fruit Juice
    
  • Eggs
    
  • Toast and Butter
    
  • Cooked Fruits

Signs of Early Labor:

Backache

• Menstrual like cramps
  
• Indigestion
  
• Diarrhea
  
• Warm Sensation of Abdomen
  
• Bloody Show

Coping with Early Labor:

• Warm bath
  
• Heating pad for backache
  
• Do NOT take aspirin as it increases chances of complications with bleeding.
  
• Relaxation exercises
  
• Keeping busy with light activities
  
• Sleep if it is night time
  
• Activities to take your mind off of the labor like TV, games or reading.

How to Time a Contraction

What you will need: A watch with a second hand Pad of paper Writing instrument Time between the contractions is measured from the beginning of one contraction to the beginning of the next contraction. Length of contraction is timed from the time you feel the contraction starting until the time you feel it finish.

Active Labor

You are in active labor while you cervix is dilating from 4 to 8 centimeters. This stage of labor usually lasts from between 2 to 3 1/2 hours.
Your contractions during this stage of labor will be between 3 and 4 minutes apart and be 40 to 60 seconds in length.
When your contractions are about 5 minutes apart for an hour, this is usually when you call your health care provider.

Indications of Active Labor:

Increased back pain

• Leg pains
  
• More bloody show
  
• Anxiety

As contraction become more difficult to deal with, you will probably become less aware of your surroundings and retreat with in yourself to deal with the contractions. You will probably end up talking less during this stage.

As labor progresses, your membranes may rupture and with this there is usually a gush of fluid. After the membranes break, your contractions will usually speed up and increase in intensity after this point.

Tips for Active Labor:

• Slow breathing helps you through contractions.
  
• Focus on positive images or relaxing music
  
• Showering or bathing, changing positions, massage and hot and cold compresses can help relieve discomfort.
  
• Walking, standing and sitting upright will help labor to progress.
  
• Relaxing during and between contractions helps to save energy and helps the cervix dilate.
  
• Being very anxious or tense may slow down the progress of your labor.

Transitional Labor

You are technically in transitional labor while your cervix dilates from 8 to 10 centimeters. Your contractions will be VERY strong at the point and will be 60 to 90 seconds long and will be 2 to 3 minutes apart.

Signs of Transitional Labor:

Feel strong pressure in your back and against the perineum from the baby's head

• Bloody vaginal show will increase
  
• You may feel:
  
  • Leg cramps
    
  • Nausea
    
  • Exhaustion
    
  • An overwhelming urge to push

Hang in there! Your baby is almost here!

38 weeks and bloody show started

Have been feeling cramps the last 2 days.

Today is 38 weeks and 5 days.

Woke up at 7am and felt something between my legs. When checked it out, it appeared to be "Bloody show". That got my husband really excited. I'm not ready yet as my midwife is a away till next Monday, I'm hoping baby will wait till then. I also have some more work to finish up today and a baby shower to attend tomorrow night.

morning sickness and B6

I experienced morning sickness all day last Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

As I’m sitting typing, I can feel it coming again. I can’t do much except lying on bed or on the couch all day and rest. Movements seem to bring on the sickness faster.

According to research, taking vitamin B6 does help to ease morning sickness. I sip some organic raw milk when it hits and it seems to ease the churning for a short. The best way to not get morning sickness I found is to stay in bed and not move too much!  

 

Pregnancy and heightened sense of smell

These days, I can't the smell of dinner after dinner.

Last night, Matt cooked liver for dinner. I usually have no problem with the smell of liver. That night, I kept smelling liver in my sleep, and I even dreamt about liver. I felt so sick in my sleep. Then I woke up from the sleep. I could smell cooked liver from dinner - it was coming from Matt's jersey. I had to open the bedroom windows in the middle of a cold winter for fresh air and put his jersey out of the room. My stomach was churning big time. I felt totoally nauseous. It only settled down after I had a cup of warm water.

I can't stand the thoughts of food as it tends to trigger a sense of smell which makes me sick.

The body is funny at the moment. I'm 6 weeks pregnant.

Present Diet

My daily diet consists of tiger’s milk if I can be bothered to make it in the morning. Otherwise, I’ll have a cup of raw milk yogurt. I also try to include bone broth in my diet daily, either in rice porridge or soup. We have organ meats, especially liver at least once a week. We also include lamb’s kidney and chicken hearts in our diet. I take cod liver oil daily and folic acid supplement as instructed by the mid-wife. I’m in two minds about taking supplements but I suppose the risk is too high in the event of insufficient folic acid in my diet. I also drink Kombucha, and take lacto fermented food.

Discomfort and concerns

The tummy was rather sore last night. I did a rather big one this morning. Since, my tummy hasn’t felt too bad. At the moment, I prefer soupy food to solid food. Also, there was a slight spotting this morning - just a trace of blood. I’ve given up being concerned with traces of spotting as it’s out of my control. Besides, if the pregnancy isn’t successful I would rather the body picks up the signal sooner than later. It’s less traumatic for me, anyway.