waiting

It seems like I've spent a lot of time waiting over the last year. Waiting for the right church to call Brian. Waiting find out if I've gotten a job. Waiting for the strike to be over and some of the tension to die down at work. Waiting for the health insurance to kick in. Waiting for that "magic" 36 week mark to come so I can worry less about my daughter being premature. And of course, waiting for Shirley to come. (Much like I conceptualize Jesus' eventual return, I believe Shirley will come when she "feels like it.")

While I was waiting for bedrest to be over, my amaryllis bloomed. Isn't it pretty? I love the way their petals get that iridescent sheen to them, and I'm glad I managed to capture it on film.

I started the Arisaig cardigan in May with some beautiful laceweight yarn Brian bought me for my birthday. After I woke up one afternoon in August and realized that by the time I got it done, it wouldn't fit around my pregnant belly, I lost interest in it. So I put the sweater-in-progress (who am I kidding? The 3/4 of the back I had knitted) into storage.

(I just love the contrast between the openness of the lace and the ribbing. And this is with it un-blocked!)

Last month, I realized that by the time I got it done, either it would fit me or I'd only have to wait a month or two until it did fit, making it a fantastic project to do on bedrest. Now all I have left to do is finish the last sleeve before I block it and add a button band.

I woke up Tuesday at 0400 with contractions every 3 minutes. They didn't hurt really bad, but not only did they not change after my scheduled dose of anti-contraction meds, but I've never had contractions that frequently before. So I called the doc on call, and they said to get my butt to labor and delivery triage once more.

Where we wasted most of the morning waiting to see if the contractions were going to "do anything" to my cervix, meaning that it was really "real labor" this time. And of course, the answer was no. So we went home again with instructions to drink lots of fluids and follow up with my obstetrician Wednesday.

The doc took me off the anti-contraction drugs and told me "if the baby doesn't come by then, I'll see you next Wednesday." Then she went through the usual speech about if the contractions come so far apart for one hour, it was time to go to the hospital.

I pointed out that this line of thinking had caused me to fruitlessly loiter in L&D the previous day, and if it was all the same to her, I'd prefer to postpone the run to the hospital until the contractions were severe enough that they interfered with my ability to talk, walk, breathe, or otherwise function. (If I'm going to be having contractions no matter what, I'd just as soon make myself comfortable at home rather than be strapped to a monitor in a very uncomfortable hospital bed. When a nice hot shower and some pretty yarn don't do a darn thing to make me feel better, then it's time to call the doc and come on in.)

And after reviewing some other reasons for an immediate trip to the hospital, she agreed that this was reasonable.

And today? I've been having contractions every 5 minutes since about 1900 last night. They're gradually getting more intense, but it's a really slow process. At this rate, they won't meet my criteria for driving to the hospital until after Saturday's baby shower! It's a bit ironic that after waiting all month to be allowed off bedrest, now I'm waiting for "real labor" to happen.