Extra Fluid & Stretch Marks

Another thing that I knew nothing about until it happened was hydramnios. I was eating decently during my second pregnancy because I knew how hard it is to lose the baby weight. I gained within the recommended FDA guidelines yet looked like I was going to give birth to twins. The stretch marks attacked my stomach with a vengeance. WTH?!  My first pregnancy got my boobs, and now I was to not escape without them on my stomach? Ugh. During my last ultrasound, they discovered my amniotic fluid was measuring quite high for unknown reasons. Apparently this stretched my stomach because there was a very comfortable baby in there lounging in a large pool instead of a hot tub. This is also why labor didn’t start early for me after losing mucus plug almost a month prior. The baby’s head simply couldn’t engage my cervix because she was too buoyant. So when they broke my water in the hospital, they had to break it in “stages”.  It felt like someone dumped a gallon pitcher of warm water all over me and it was to the point where it was back flowing over my hips. Then the nurse would change all the pads underneath me and on the sides of me and we’d do it again. It was still gushing out so much that they starting holding towels between my legs to absorb some overflow. It literally took them 15 minutes to break my water. My poor doctor sat on the edge of the bed with her head averted to avoid getting splashed. When they were done I looked like I was only 6 months pregnant. I laugh because I had put a single hospital/doggy type pad under my bed sheets in case my water broke during sleep. I know now that it would have required an entirely new mattress had that happened. Happily they say that only 15% of women experience their water breaking prior to active labor/getting to the hospital.