D day is on schedule, but my baby hasn’t dropped yet.
According to
What to Expect When You're Expecting: 4th Edition
, “Dropping”, also called “lightening”, occurs when the fetus descends into the pelvic cavity. Lightening is the sign that the presenting part, usually the head, is engaged in the upper portion of the bony pelvis. In the first pregnancy, this lightening generally takes place two to four weeks before delivery. In women who have had children previously, it rarely occurs until they go into labor. But as with almost every aspects of pregnancy, exceptions to the rules are the rule.
I don’t feel any pressure on the pelvic or the bladder, or the pelvic joints. My belly is still pretty high, though my appetite is pretty good and I go to bathroom pretty frequently because I drink a lot of fluids everyday. And Monday’s doctor appointment confirmed that my baby is still “floating” free.
I really don’t want to end up with a C-section. So how can I help my baby to drop?
As usual, the first thing I did was to go to Yahoo Answers and posted my question there. I also looked for similar questions asked by members before.
The answers were varied.
Some mother suggested trying a few simple yoga poses. On all fours with hands under shoulders, inhale and tilt the pelvis under, rounding the back into an arc, exhale and arch the back. Keep the neck and shoulders relaxed. She also suggested trying pelvic tilts. Stand with feet wide apart. Bend knees slightly and roll you butt under and then back. Do this back and forth rocking motion.
Some mother thought lying on the left side with a pillow between knees when sleeping. She said this helps relaxing more, puts the baby away from the inferior vena cava, and takes the stress of muscles and ligaments.
One mother’s answer was to try rubbing the belly from the top down apply slight pressure. While another mother warned that there was nothing that you can do. Only nature will do it for you.
One mother said that her first 2 dropped about 10 minutes after she started pushing once she was completely dilated and effaced. She said she wouldn’t try pushing on or messing with anything as it could cause problems with the placenta.
Several women mentioned lots of walking would help the baby drop. This was so far the most common answer.
I probably will try some of their suggestions to see whether they will help. Dear readers, if you have any idea to help baby drop, please leave your comments here.
This week’s routine checkout was really an adventure!
My blood pressure was running a historical high: 160/95 and 140/85. The doctor immediately ordered a preeclampsia checkout (see PIH? Oh, no!!) at the Delivery and Maternity Center of the hospital. I really didn’t expect that: Grandma and I planned to go shopping after the doctor visit!
I was brought in a deliver room and ordered to lie down on the deliver bed. A nurse came in and put on three monitors on me: one was to check my blood pressure every 15 minutes, one was to check baby’s heart beating, and the third one was to check contractions if I had.
I looked around the room and suddenly found out this was the show room weeks ago when I had the birth education class. At that time I was quite impressed by the facility installed in this room. It looked like a 3-star hotel room, with private bathroom, good view windows, TV, VCR, spacious closet, rocking chair and a sink.
And I had a taste of the luxury and convenience of my future delivery, although not for a good reason.
The doctor ordered me to be monitored for two hours. During the two hours, my blood pressure fluctuated but didn’t jump to dangerous number any more. So he called the nurse and let me go home.
But he asked me to call him without any delay if I notice spots or wavy lines in my vision; I have increased swelling, especially the face; I experience severe pain in the upper part of the abdomen, especially on the right side; I experience a severe headache; I experience contractions that increase in intensity or frequency and are regular; my bag of waters breaks or I am leaking fluid; and I have bright-red vaginal bleeding.
He also asked me to limit my activities and drink 8-10 glasses of fluids every day.
So here I am. Still don’t finish Riding emotional roller-coaster yet. Hopefully I will have a safe, healthy and happy landing!
Since the doctor warned me Gaining too much weight, I have been always wondering how much is my baby’s weight.
I was afraid the baby had grown too huge. So I talked to her: “Hi, baby, mommy hope you will not become a super-size baby. Around 7 pounds will be ideal for you. ” But at the same time, I still follow the guidelines of Healthy Eating and Special Concerns, eat frequently, and pay great attention to give my baby a balanced diet. The only thing I did differently was cutting down the consumption of carbohydrate and my weight gaining was slowing down dramatically (see Gaining too much weight).
During one routine checkout, I asked the doctor about the fetal size. She measured my tummy by palpation and estimated the baby was around 6 and 1/2 pounds.
So small?! I was quite surprised, since my tummy seemed to show bigger than other mothers’.
The doctor ordered an ultrasound to double check.
And she was right on the money! Yesterday’s ultrasound result showed the baby was exactly 6 pounds and 8 ounces.
I was quite relieved to hear the result. Meanwhile I was also wondering where those weight went? Obviously I gained the weight on myself. It means I will need a good workout in the future…
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