Long Update

This little guy is really, really comfortable inside his mama! He continues to move a lot, still appears to be very high, and I'm continuing to gain a pound a week. Supposedly these all change as delivery approaches. Hmmmm. The amniotic fluid volume is still fine and the nonstress tests look great. As much as I walk, take the stairs, talk to him, and just generally encourage him to make his way into the world, he's pretty happy where he's at!

We're positive about the dating, so an inaccurate due date definitely isn't a factor here. In fact, the very first ultrasound I had put the due date at May 16th. This matched what I'd reported as the date of conception exactly. A later ultrasound moved the due date to the 18th, but the earlier ones are most accurate for dating purposes. There's no doubt that we're days away from being officially "post-term".

So...we've officially scheduled induction for Friday morning! Unless he comes before then, it looks like his birthday will be May 29th or 30th (depending on how long the induction takes). Initially I was extremely disappointed that this would be how the birth would happen. I've had a perfectly healthy pregnancy and have had my heart set on delivering with minimal medical intervention. A large part of me still feels that there's a very good and perfectly okay reason that the baby isn't here yet. I'm not thrilled about forcing things into motion, or everything that goes along with that (continuous IV fluids and medication, continuous fetal heart rate monitoring, a greater likelihood of wanting an epidural, etc).

After a lot of tears, research, long talks with Justin, and multiple conversations with my doctor, I feel comfortable with the decision. There are risks associated with induction, but there are also risks with going beyond 42 weeks. My doctor, who I like and respect and completely trust, feels that the risks of waiting longer strongly outweigh the risks of inducing. He's very slow to intervene with any aspect of the birth process (I switched my care to him for that reason), so I respect his recommendation that this is a scenario where it is appropriate. He often reminds me that we've already waited a pretty generous amount of time. If I'd wanted it, an induction would have been an option a week ago.

So...we'll go into the hospital (Queens) at 8:00am on Friday morning. They'll check my cervix again and decide how to induce from there. As of today I'm 2cm dilated, soft, anterior, but not effaced. This might be too much information but I'm sharing because a lot of friends keeping up with this are nurses :) For the rest of you, it basically just means there will be an additional medication given if the cervix needs to "ripen" a little more before it will respond to pitocin-induced contractions.

And...this means my mom is going to be here for the birth! She and Marcus arrive tomorrow, which we planned months ago because we thought it would be enough time so that we'd have a few days at home with the baby before they arrived. She will get to tell him a few years from now about how he wanted to wait until Grandma was here :)

So, although it isn't how I pictured it happening, I am very excited to know when we'll be meeting our little man. I am obsessed with thinking about seeing him and holding him for the first time. And I know that once that happens, the details of the delivery are going to seem insignificant.

Thank you to everyone for the calls, emails, and texts over the last several days. I appreciate every one of them and please don't be offended that I haven't returned any of them! I have needed some time to sort through all of this and take a break from repeating over and over, "Still not here yet!" I know that we're all anxious for his arrival and I promise that we will call each of you individually as soon as he's here :)

Update

No baby yet! We're still waiting patiently. We had the second nonstress test and amniotic fluid index done tonight. Both still look good. The nonstress test measures changes in the baby's heart rate with movement. Appropriate fluctuations indicate that blood flow and oxygen (via the placenta) are adequate. The measurement of amniotic fluid is done by ultrasound (if fluid levels are low, the umbilical cord can be compressed and decrease blood flow to the fetus).

So....now we just continue waiting! They'll do the same tests again on Tuesday. They're routine once a pregnancy passes the due date. Sometimes the function of the placenta can deteriorate and/or the amniotic fluid can get low, so my doctor's just making sure neither of those are occurring.

He's suggesting inducing labor on Friday if I haven't delivered yet. An induction would be to decrease the risk of the baby aspirating meconium (that's the first stool, often present in post-term pregnancy). However, he knows I really want to avoid an induction. They carry their own set of risks for both the mom and baby. So we'll see. For now we're just keeping our fingers crossed that labor will begin spontaneously before then.

The best news I heard tonight was that I am having contractions! They could be measured while I was on the monitor. They're Braxton-Hicks contractions, which are kind of like warm-up contractions because they don't cause cervical dilation. I was shocked to see them on the strip because I haven't felt anything. Most women start feeling tightening several weeks to months before they deliver, but I've felt absolutely nothing. So I was really, really happy to see them. I was joking with the labor and delivery RN about how maybe I won't even notice the contractions of active labor. She just laughed and said, "we'll talk when you're at 8 centimeters!"

40 Weeks

These pictures were both taken yesterday but the second is a much better representation of how large I'm looking and feeling! I think I've grown faster these last three weeks than at any other time during the pregnancy. Just when we think my belly couldn't possibly get any bigger, it does. I can feel the size difference in the baby, too. I've always loved feeling him move, but it's becoming a lot more uncomfortable lately. When he's really active I have to change positions a lot and literally push him down away from my ribs!

He doesn't seem to be in any rush to make his grand appearance. There haven't been any signs that labor is going to begin anytime soon. Since I'm still feeling pretty good overall, that's been fine with me. I've enjoyed having time these last two weeks to sleep a lot, cook, read, swim, catch up with friends, and go to the beach. I know that he'll be here soon enough and that it's going to be years before I have the luxury of this much free time again!

At my appointment on Wednesday my doctor will do a non-stress test and measure the volume of amniotic fluid. These are routine and noninvasive procedures done after the due date to measure fetal well-being. It isn't unusual for a first baby to be born late, but if he doesn't arrive on his own by the middle of next week they will want to induce labor. That's something I'm really hoping to avoid.

The pictures below are from a shower that some of the women at work had for me last week. It was so, so sweet of them. I've been so impressed with how wonderful and supportive they've been when I've only worked there for seven months. The flowers are from Justin, who has been wonderful also :)