Saturday, August 7, 2010

41 Weeks Pregnant Dilemma

I'm sitting in my bathroom at 4a.m. as I type this trying not to wake my sleeping hubby, mom and sisters in the apartment. I have a lot on my mind . . .

My mom and I saw my dr. yesterday, and we discussed what to do now that I'm 41 weeks pregnant. I feel like I have pressure to deliver this baby due to the family schedule, although my mom reassured me as I mentioned before that I should do what is best for me. To be honest I am disappointed not to have had the baby yet and even other women out and about are surprised when I tell them I'm a week past my due date. They think I'm only 8 months pregnant! Should I take that as a compliment?

Yesterday I noticed newborn babies everywhere - even my mom noticed this. It was as though I was being deliberately tortured. Of course it was in my mind, but seriously, these weren't ordinary babies; they were SUPER cute, chunky babies, just like the one I want to have. Remember my Baby Agbai prototype?:




So about this dilemma, I received major news this week that I'll publicly reveal the results of later this fall when the dust settles, but part of this news is that I have a major, life-changing presentation on August 26 that I am VERY excited about. I have less than three weeks to prepare for it and my postpartum recovery definitely plays a part in it.

As a result, my goal at this stage of my pregnancy is to reduce the odds that I will have a C-section. Prior to knowing about the presentation I didn't want to have a C-section anyway, but now, it's even more imperative that I don't have a C-section. I am very confident in body's ability to labor naturally and recover quickly based on experiences I've had in the past. I know pregnancy is different but I truly feel God has granted me peace in this area of my life. Already the fact that when I went in on Wednesday and my fetal monitoring and vitals came back fine let me know that things are continuing on the path that I prayed for. I know God will carry me the entire way.

But this still leaves me at the dilemma of pressure to bring forth baby before my family leaves for Ohio Sunday night (I guess I can officially say tomorrow night - UGHHH). The thing is, if I end up going into the hospital this a.m., which I 'm scheduled for, and I have a high enough Bishop score, I don't think I'd mind getting induced. Especially because by Tuesday, my dr. said we have to make an induction plan anyway. Based on how I'm not progressing I don't know how much change I can expect between today and Tuesday morning when I next see my dr. At that point if I have to induce it's no different than me inducing today, after the next round of fetal monitoring, which I'm scheduled for.

So here's what I'm going to do: take it one step at a time.

I'm going in at 8a.m. for the fetal monitoring without my hospital bag. If things are favorable, and I've progressed enough to have a high Bishop Score (I haven't had contractions overnight, but I did have my membranes swept again yesterday and experience subsequent bleeding which I didn't before), I will have a conversation with Uka about getting induced. There's the issue of using Cerdivil vs. Cytotec too. My hospital uses the latter which I've read is the worst of the two. From there I most likely will have Pitocin which can cause super hard contractions that lead to an epidural which can slow things down and lead to a C-section. Drugs are indeed a slippery slope, and if I'm trying to ultimately reduce the odds of a C-section especially knowing my presentation is coming up, this is where I get very nervous.

One other thing, my dr. checked the hospital schedule for attending dr.'s and while she's on duty now, another dr. is coming in today and then her sister on Sunday. She knows I'm against a C-section and assured me she and the other two dr.'s this weekend aren't knife happy, but the other dr. who attends, who might be there next week, is knife happy. UGHHHH.  My dr. had told me she was hoping I'd go in last night for induction so she could deliver the baby, but honestly I didn't feel right yet. Also, I know an induction isn't a quick process. It can take 10+ hours even.

Anyway, after seeing the dr. I went out and walked - A LOT! I went grocery shopping with Uka and my mom, went to the Hilton to meet fellow blogger Jenn from BabyMakinMachine at the BlogHer conference (btw, she's SO sweet and offered  helpful advice on my pregnancy dilemma), then I met my mom and sister across the street from the Hilton at the MoMa for Target Free Friday. I walked around there for an hour then we headed home. Hopefully, this has progressed me a bit . . .

So, again, I'm just going to take it one step at a time.

For now, I'm just focusing on the results of the fetal monitoring at 8a.m.


3 comments:

  1. everything will be ok sister! you're going to have a healthy strong baby girl :)

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  2. Quiana you are in my prayers and my thoughts!! I agree with Ariane everything will be okay! I'm sorry for this dilemma in your life right now. I'll keep hoping and praying with you that baby girl will arrive soon!!!!

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  3. I hope you are in the throes of spontaneous labor right now! :)

    Everything will work out OK. And I know you probably don't want to hear it, but a C-Section is not the worst thing in the world. I didn't want one and I wish it had gone differently (and I *will* VBAC next time), but it wasn't that bad. I was back on my feet in less than a week and totally off pain meds in 1.5 weeks. My good friend who delivered naturally and had a horrible 3rd degree tear - notsomuch! You just never know how these things will play out and in any scenario there can be very uncomfortable issues.

    If it comes to "the worst", just know that you will be OK.

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