NOTE : For the regular advice on Week 35, I suppose there are hundreds of other websites to tell you how it
goes. This blog serves to supplement those sites, my personal favourites
being What To Expect, Baby Centre UK and Parents.
Do take note, however that I am not a professional physician, I
practise law for a living and the only thing I know about incompetent
cervix is through my own experience as a mother of 2 and a 29 week old
baking in the oven! :) The purpose of this blog then is just to simply
share the joys and heartaches, the blessings and curses, the sadness and
happiness and the disappointments and the pleasant surprises of our
journey as a mom with an incompetent cervix.
If you have not packed your hospital bag, now is REALLY the time to do so. After all, you are scheduled to have your cerclage removed only in 2 weeks' time and really, 2 weeks isn't a lot of time! Do bring it along with you when you have your cerclage removed, as you'd never know. But then again, if your home is nearby the hospital, then of course it's not a worry.
Ok, so what do you need in your hospital bag? If you are planning for a C-section, you will probably need to stay in the hospital up to 4 days after your baby is born, if not, perhaps give and take a day or 2. In any case, the essentials are :
For yourself :
1) Maternity pads (the bleeding is usually heavier than normal periods, so an overnight pad with wings and at least 28-34cm in length would be great)
2) About 2-3 pairs of warm socks (perhaps a pair which you wouldn't mind throwing away after labour - yup, use that pair for the messy delivery).
3) Disposable panties (really, you won't want to end up washing panties throughout your hospital stay, or a load of dirty panties to wash once you get home - you have a baby to look after after this, remember?)
4) 2-3 maternity bras (no underwires please, it will be rather painful once the milk comes in within 2-3 days after birth)
5) Toiletries and make up - lotsa vaginal wash, but then again, some hospitals provide 'cleaning services' the first few days. You will have a lot of visitors, and with Facebook pictures flying all over, and if you are a vainpot like me, you will want to look really nice in those pictures. I even brought my contact lenses along :)
6) Snacks - or you can just ask hubby to get them from the hospital
7) Cameras, video cameras (or the very handy smartphone which has everything - complete with a monopod for a selfie with baby) charger - ok you get it, the electronic gadgets
8) If you are like me, you would bring the journal too - I keep a journal each for my 2 boys, and intend to keep one for No.3 too, handwritten, to document the pains and aches and of course JOYS of the entire childbirth process... till they are about 2 to 3 years old. The waiting period during labour is a good time to start writing.
9) Going home clothes (ok you will not magically be back to your pre-pregnancy weight, so bring something sensible... like those clothes you were wearing when you were about 5 months pregnant)
10) Bath towels, slippers, breast pads, (no need for breastpump yet as the hospitals usually provide and you wouldn't be pumping so soon yet anyway) and anything else you think you may need to kill boredom - books? Well, your smartphone has everything!
11) Of course, documents - but get hubby to worry about this.
12) Oh ya, bring a long lots of energy, excitement and patience!
For the baby (ok, not all in the hospital bag, but some in your car):
1) 4 pairs of mittens/booties, rompers, diapers, hats, nappy rash cream - ok you get it.
2) Pacifier, baby bottles (frankly, if you a
re a staunch breast feeding believer like me, you won't need these stuff until a month or 2 after baby is born. Your breast is enough for now, both for pacifying and feeding purposes)
3) Car seat!!! (Some countries, like mine, do not make it compulsory. But please... there ARE reasons why some countries make it compulsory. So please, go get an approved one. This will be your best investment, yes, even a better investment than the expensive crib you installed in your extensively renovated nursery!)
4) Receiving blankets, blankets, anything else you can think of to keep the little one warm. Again, if you live in a hot tropical country like I do, there is really no need to go overboard (we are not facing winter are we? The cold is from your room aircond and car aircond! So before baby breaks into heat rash, please have mercy on the little one)
Ok, that's just the hospital bag. Have you actually prepared your birth plan yet? After the cerclage is removed (usually a transvaginal cerclage - please read Week 34 here) you will usually be allowed to go home after a few hours if you do not go into labour. You may intend to have a natural birth, and usually this is possible if your cervix dilates normally upon removal of stitch. However, it is quite common for women with a TVC to have a condition called cervical dystocia which is usually a side effect of the cerclage, where the cervix is unable to dilate and/or efface. With both my boys, I had to be induced with Pitocin, and even slightly longer labours, I was fully dilated and was able to deliver both babies naturally. With No.3 right now, my doctor did warn me that there are a lot of scar tissues and I may not be able to dilate this time around even with induction, but well... we'll see! A healthy baby is a healthy baby, natural or C-section!
So what other interventions may there be other than a possible induction? They always tell you that God will not give you more pain than you can handle, but then again Pitocin isn't exactly what God gave you right? From experience, I can tell you that no matter how high your pain threshold is, with induction, the pain may be more than you can handle. If that is the case, please do not hesitate to call for an epidural. If you are in too much distress from the pain, it is not good for the baby, and may cause fetal distress, or your blood pressure may shoot up, so yes be prepared to do that. Also, the possibility of forceps or vacuum - keep all that in mind. Both my babies were vacuumed. And of course don't forget the possible episiotomy too.
Whatever it is, take it as it comes - after all, we have been through so much up till now!
NOTE : For the regular advice on Week 31, I suppose there are hundreds of other websites to tell you how it
goes. This blog serves to supplement those sites, my personal favourites
being What To Expect, Baby Centre UK and Parents.
Do take note, however that I am not a professional physician, I
practise law for a living and the only thing I know about incompetent
cervix is through my own experience as a mother of 2 and a 24 week old
baking in the oven! :) The purpose of this blog then is just to simply
share the joys and heartaches, the blessings and curses, the sadness and
happiness and the disappointments and the pleasant surprises of our
journey as a mom with an incompetent cervix.
We are almost there. 31 weeks is an achievement for IC mommies like us. But of course we still want a fullterm baby, as we know what complications may come with a preemie (Read more about a premature baby in Week 30). During these final weeks, we may start to have even more discharge, and there is more and more on our cervix as the little one puts on weight.
Finally perhaps we can start thinking about 'normal' stuff like prenatal classes, our birth plan, and maybe even names for the baby! Well, prenatal classes may not be possible if you are still on strict bedrest or even house arrest, but you can always read up or watch youtube videos to prepare yourself better. As for birth plan, well... can you believe that we can actually plan for our birth after months of worrying about going into premature labour! Ok, technically speaking we are still not fullterm yet, but at least we can see the light now and we can even decide things like : Epidural or no epidural? C-section or natural birth? Yes, if you have a transvaginal cerclage (TVC) you can have a natural birth after the stitch is removed. But with a TAC you will need to go through a C-section, usually on the same incision line as when you placed the TAC (read here for more info on the cerclage). One of the side effects of the TVC is that your cervix may not dilate as quickly as it should - in some cases it may not dilate at all (cervical dystocia). In such cases, you may need to be induced, but if it still doesn't work, you may need to mentally prepare yourself for a C-section after all. But we will discuss this further in the weeks to come.
On the emotional side, the bedrest should really be taking its toll now. After all, if you had been on strict bedrest since your cerclage was placed, (with a TAC you may not need to be on bedrest at all), you may be missing your mobility now. No matter how much you used to hate driving, you may actually miss it! You may even miss work, and your colleagues, even your nasty bosses and clients. If you are like me and you have 2 pregnancies through Christmas, you can only stare at all those pictures of malls with beautiful Christmas decorations and the night lights of the streets in the spirit of Christmas posted by your friends on Facebook. You will long to hit those malls with your credit cards (ok perhaps its a blessing after all, this bedrest thing). I mean, what better excuse than Christmas to shop? But then again, 1 or 2 missed Christmases to hold a darling baby in your arms... I wouldn't trade anything for that.
Fret not, really, 6 more weeks before you ditch the stitch. 6 weeks compared to the last 16 weeks or so which you have endured is nothing. If this is your 1st baby, remember that once the baby is born, you no longer have this luxury of just bumming around with the TV on and the tab on your tummy and dozens of historical romance novels at your bedside. No more luxury sleeping at any time of the day. And the reason you will look dishevelled is not because you are home and there is no need to dress up/make up for anyone, but it will be because you don't have time to and your baby is spitting up on you every hour!
Yes, start thinking about baby names. Make a list of names and its meanings and share with hubby when he gets home from work. Get your older children involved in choosing the name of their sibling. Also, you can start making a list of what to bring to the hospital during your stitch removal. Some women go into labour immediately after, some will carry to due date and even after. I had my 1st one about 10 days after the stitch was removed, and No.2 came by on his due date, about 3 weeks after the stitch removal. Go online and do some shopping for your nursery and baby's clothes, toiletries, feeding equipment etc... You may also want to consider - co-sleeping or baby in his/her own room? I co-sleep with both my children until No.1 turns 5 then he gets his own room. Easier if you breastfeed - they will somehow just learn to find their source of nutrition and you actually don't lose as much sleep!
You should be able to really start enjoying your pregnancy from now on. Yes, the risk is still there - but take comfort in the fact that your baby is past viability, and we deserve some peace of mind after such a long journey behind us. Look out for signs of preterm labour, but try not to obsess about it anymore. Your Braxton Hicks contractions may be more frequent now, but these are only practice contractions so don't worry. It shouldn't jeopardize your cerclage. If it bothers you a lot or if you are bleeding/spotting, you may want to check with your doctor. For me, a change of position or a hot shower usually helps.
You know, women in normal pregnancies are usually told to enjoy their pregnancies during their 2nd trimester, and that would be their 'honeymoon' period, as they are not big and clumsy yet. For us, well, we settle for 2nd best. This should be our 'honeymoon' period, since theirs happened during our most crucial weeks - when baby wasn't viable yet and when the cerclage may fail. Yes we may be as big as a whale by now, but we are strong mommies aren't we? We have survived through all those ordeal, of course we should be able to take on the weight gain and enjoy the pregnancy anyway!
Let's start counting down!
