On the Drip

It's ten minutes until 2pm, and the Pitocin has been increased four times now. It's at 18ml per hour, and has finally taken effect. (I really hope this means they'll stop increasing it now!) The contractions feel very close together, though I don't know how close. It seems like just a minute or two apart, and they're lasting somewhere around a minute.

They suck.

They've gone from feeling like low menstrual cramps to spreading out all over the place---lower hips, lower back, and spreading upward in the sharpest points. I had some ideas for how I would get through them, but unexpectedly ended up using a technique I learned from years of yoga classes. When they kick in, I just stop everything and find a focal point---a nicked spot on the TV bureau, a smudge on the floor, a little red square on the wheel of Snippet's crib. I focus in, and then let my eyes blur and tune out out for the duration. Unfortunately for Jake, I also need him to stop talking as any chitty-chat sound becomes suddenly the most irritating thing in the world. He catches on, though, as soon as I start staring off into space and drop out of the conversation.

I wonder how long this technique will get me through.
I hope to Gawd no one does another internal exam anytime soon. That was some kind of mean business.