36 weeks - Induction date set.
Wow - am I really this far along? And nothing bad has happened yet? I try to stay positive but I know a small peice of me has been scared shitless this whole time - waiting for another miscarriage or something bad to happen. Yet here I am - just 2 weeks away from holding my little guy.
I had my 36 week appointment and NST test on Monday. I'm doing fine, baby is doing fine. My blood pressure is 110/72, Babies HR ranged from 128 to 163 or so. He did have a few quiet moments ... I think it took nearly the hour to get the 6 'peaks' in his heart rate readout - the last 4 came within 20 mins of each other. Doc also did an internal exam ... I'm not quite a finger tip dialated and I think I had 2 braxton hicks ctx on the weekend - yay! I weighed 243 or so clothed at the docs office (not so yay but my overall weight gain for this pregnancy is on the low side so I'm not going to worry about it the least bit!). I've had very little swelling so far, a bit of 'indentation' with my socks at the end of the day if I've been on my feet all day, but even that's nothing too major.
Good news - I'm GBS negative!
Not so good news - I'm a little peeved with the doc though. He was really pushing the induction today. Wanted me to come in Christmas eve (he's on call that day)! Even after I said - my best friend is flying in on the 27th to be with me. He still was trying to get me to agree to come in on the 25th. I put on a female pout and said - I really want her to be there doc, it's important to me. Can we at least wait to start the cervadil until the 27th? (I would have preferred starting on the 28th more).
He agreed but then 'explained' that he was just worried with me being insulin dependant, he didn't want to let the baby stay in too long as the risk of still birth goes up in cases like mine. (was that an explanation or a 'scare tactic'???). I said that I knew that from my own research and that I wasn't being flippant about it, I just wanted to give my body as much room as I could to go on it's own. I also know that health wise I've been doing just fine, the babie's been doing just fine. HE was measuring ahead but at the last ultrasound he was in the 60th percentile for weight/size. So we're no longer skyrocketing ahead. I know there are risks to letting me go to the full 40 weeks, and that 37-38 weeks is full term, I also know there are risks to pushing my body into labor before it's ready too.
He is also insisting on breaking my waters, which I would have preferred that happened on it's own (maybe it still will?? - maybe I should buy a lotto ticket too lol).
I pushed back with that and said - can we at least wait until it's very clear that I'm in active labor. I don't want to you to break my waters until I'm well dialated and have been having consistent contractions (In other words I don't want him to break my water JUST to bring on contractions... I'd rather try picotin first ya know?). I just have this fear that if he breaks my waters and my body isn't ready that I'll have been pushed into facing a c-section I expressed my concern about the risk of c-section if my body wasn't ready. He agreed that it wouldn't happen until it was clear I was in active labor, that he wanted me to have a vaginal birth too.
I still feel like I'm walking a fine line between wanting a natural a birth as possible, and recognizing that I am a high risk patient and I need to take all of that into consideration too. I know there are major risks here, I'm not like other women who have no medical issues and are then needlessly forced into a 'medicalized' birth, there are some good reasons for intervention here. However that said, I feel like if things are going well and we're keeping a close eye on the baby - do we really NEED to push that induction?
I have half a mind to tell him to just screw it - I'll come in when I'm ready... but then what IF something happened to my little guy? I'd never forgive myself.
Here are my latest belly pics - wait for the gif animation to scroll thru:
