Baby Stuff - I'm starting to freak out

    • Gold Top Dog

    Baby Stuff - I'm starting to freak out

    Yesterday was the 1st of my weekly appointments at the doctor.  So he did the "check to see how you are doing" exam and tells me that I am 1 cm dialated, 90% effaced and at Stage -1.

    The dialated part I expected and doesn't worry me but the effaced stuff freaks me out.  He basically said that he can't guarantee that I will go early, but says that chances are I will.  So here I sit 5 weeks before my due date and nothing is ready.  I made a list last night of everything I had to do at home, and now I am starting on the one for work.  There is no way this baby can come early.  I have way too much stuff to do!

    Ahhhh!  Can I change my mind now?
    • Gold Top Dog
    Take a deep breathe in. Breath out. Breathe in. Breathe out. It will all be okay. Nothing has to be completely done by the time the baby is born. Remember, all the baby really needs is food, diapers and wipes, clothes and a place to sleep.

    Also, even though you are dilating, you can still not have him/her until after your due date. I was dilated to 5, with my second son, 2 weeks before my due date. I was induced 10 days after my due date.

    Still breathing in and out? Just stay calm and make a plan of organization. Do a few things a day and everything will be fine. (())'s.

    --Sara
    • Gold Top Dog
    Hold your horses there little peanut! The world's not quite ready for you yet! [:)]

    Don't worry, Lisa. Everything will be a-ok.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I know, but I still can't believe it.  I have had an uneventful pregnancy so far, so it's not like I am in a hurry or anything.  DH is starting to panic too. 
     
    He did ask if there was any chance that I would go into labor during the NFL draft on Saturday?  It's his favorite day of the year [:D]
    • Gold Top Dog
    Believe me, early is better (as long as it's not too early)...early baby means smaller head!!!  [sm=proud.gif]
    • Gold Top Dog
    ORIGINAL: mrstjohnson
    He did ask if there was any chance that I would go into labor during the NFL draft on Saturday?  It's his favorite day of the year [:D]


    [sm=rotfl.gif] Be careful, if that happens he might want to name it after a football player!
    • Gold Top Dog
    I was worried before Isaac was born, too. I was sooo unprepared. I didn't even have a crib! What I learned afterwards, though, is that babies really don't need much. They need to eat, get changed, be kept warm and clean, and be snuggled. That's all! Feeding them is easy, you just need boobs (or bottles if you're bottle feeding), diapers... those are easy, warm and clean, that's easy, too! Snuggling comes naturally.

    In case you're wondering how little baby Isaac slept, he shared me bed for the first few months and DH slept on the couch [:D].

    Seriously, don't worry if you don't have everything perfect! Your baby won't be judgmental.
    • Gold Top Dog
    OK - DH finished the crib while I was at work today so I feel better about that.  I guess I just have it in my mind that it isn't supposed to happen until the end of May.  I wanted to be able to plant all of my flowers before hand, wash all of the rugs, thoroughly clean all of the floors, etc. etc. 
     
    I talked to my mom on vacation and she calmed me down.
     
    Thanks for all of the thoughts and support.  Watch, now I will be weeks late since I made such a fuss.
    • Gold Top Dog
    My oldest was a week and a half early, no biggie, but my second was three weeks. Remember, you'll be in the hospital for a few days, so DH can get a lot done then. Mine was running to Babies-R-Us almost every day to get something! Just stock up on diapers and onseis and swaddling blankets because that's what you'll go through the most at first. Oh, yea, get that swing together too, it's a must for the newborns! Don't worry about the mobiles and toys and things for a few weeks, they won't really pay any attention to that for awhile.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Everything will work itself out.  I had pretty much everything that I needed when Maddy was born.  My mom bought her this nice crib but would Madison sleep in it, No.  The first few weeks, she slept on my tummy, while I slept on the couch!  After that, she got one of those wind-up swings and that's the ONLY way we could get her to sleep!  When it stopped moving, she screamed!  I would definately recommend getting a battary operated swing! We broke down and bought one!  They work wonders!  Maddy would only sleep in that swing!  She didn't sleep in her crib until she was 5 or 6 months old and too big for the swing!  Don't get too worried about having everything.  Babies don't need many material objects when they are first born!
    • Silver
    I wouldn't worry too much.  With my first, I was dialted 1 cm in the beginning of Dec. (I wasn't due until February), I was dialted to 2 cms by the middle of December.  When it was all said and done she was 5 days late.  My second was 5 days early and my last was born on her due date. With my second I was begging for things to move along faster.  Its just your body getting ready.   First babies take time, and lots of it.  You probably have a good bit more than you think, and when your doctor said early he may mean a week or so.  Most people especially with 2nd and 3rd babies are beginning to dialte and eface weeks and weeks before the baby actually makes his grand entrance.  Efacing also generally happens before dialtion, the thinner the cervix is the wider it can open, so you need to be efaced before you can fully dialte anyway.  Besides, it is not paining you know horribly so it is less "work" to have to worry about later.  And, on top of it, when your son or daughter is older and griping about their own pregnancy you can put an interesting spin on yours and tell them it was nothing compared to the 5 week labor you endured with their birth, they don't have to know that some of it happened without your knowledge.
    • Moderators
    • Gold Top Dog
    Honey, my co-worker found out she was pregnant January 1st, and when she had her ultrasound on Jan 7th, they told her the due date was Feb 20th.  Talk about not prepared.  (and, yes, we have plenty of excuses/answers as to why she didn't figure it out sooner) 
     
    But, the point remains she had the baby 49days after she found out she was pregnant at all.  You can do it.  You'll be fine.  There will always be something more to buy, do, exchange, remember, etc... both before and after the baby arrives.
    Good luck!!!!