It is becoming more real. Pat will be here within the next 50 days. 50....five...zero... and that is if I go full term, which none of my doctors think I will.
The last week has us sitting pretty good. We worked our rear ends off, and really if Pat arrived tonight we would be okay. But is there more on the list? Of course.
Today marks 6 years since Jacob and I wed in the church. This is the anniversary we celebrate. To be completely honest I completely forgot about the anniversary, with everything else we had going on. If you know Jacob and I we really do little to celebrate anything, so me forgetting wasn't the end of the world. I was reminded of the date on Friday. So after Jacob and I reassured each other that we really, truly, for realsies didn't do anything for the anniversary, we decided there was no reason to stress about it now. This weekend marked something else too. It is our first weekend that it has been just us, and we have been together since I went on summer break. Due to trips up North, the Army (for three weekends) and my parents visiting we haven't had a single weekend together this summer. So it was something nice to look forward to.
Yesterday was spent in Childbirth class from 9-5. We actually learned a lot more than we thought we would. It was a lot to take in, as we discussed everything from the baby growing, to pre labor, labor (and everything that includes), after labor, and then just a bit about post postpartum. Of course most of the day was spent on pre-labor, and labor itself. I did learn a lot about exactly what is taking place during the labor process, and then of course we learned how to survive labor. Jacob and I did have a hard time keeping straight faces as the instructor showed us videos of women/men using the techniques we were being taught. Then of course when the instructor took the "toys" and all of the couples got to try out the techniques ourselves, we let out some giggles. But I do know what we learned will come in handy. When the question "Who is going to be using some kind of medicine for pain management" was asked, and I was the only one NOT raising her hand. I felt a little awkward, but didn't go into details. If the black and blue marks on my arm, from needle pricks, didn't clue everyone in that I am a little different then they don't need to know.
I feel ready for labor, which scares me a little. I feel like I should be scared of that part. But to me I am a competitive athlete. As I have said before I do everything to 100% and labor isn't going to be any different. Is it going to hurt? Yes. But here is how I am thinking about this part: It will be like a marathon, but might be as long as a full Ironman.
When I ran my full marathon, we started out nice and strong, and felt great. That is the first part of labor. Contractions come, water breaks, but I can still talk, and move around easily. This is the biggest/longest part of labor. Then when we get to contractions around 5 minutes apart, the pain will start to get stronger. That is about mile 13.5. At that point, you are over half way, but a long way from the end. The pain gets more intense, and mentally it starts wearing on you. You are still "running" but your legs are heavier, and it is getting harder to keep up the pace. Then it is the shortest but the most painful part of labor. For me this was around mile 21 -23. These few miles were the most painful. My hips were killing, my legs felt like they couldn't move, mentally I wanted to shut down. But it only lasted a few miles. A short amount of time in the grand scheme of a marathon. This is the hardest but shortest part of labor. My baby doc told me when I get to the point I think that I can't do it for another second, that is the time it is time to push. Or the last part of labor. The pushing. This is also a short amount of time, but it has a huge prize at the end. When you hit mile 23 in a marathon, you realize you can make it. It is only 3 more miles, and you push it through to the end. And at the end there is a huge prize....baby Pat!
So going to this class didn't freak me out. It just helped me get my mind in the right place. I know I can do it.
Now just to get the everything else in perfect order.....
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