39 Weeks

Only a few more days until my due date! Not that that means much to my babies. It seems that they like that date to come and go...and go some more. Anyways, as I have mentioned before, this time around I probably will not be able to go until I go into labor unless that happens in the next few days. Because of my history of large babies and shoulder dystocias, it has been recommended that I be induced sooner than later or consider a c/section. That is where my role as a nurse and mother becomes difficult. My doctor is very confident in my decision making abilities and wants me to decide what I feel most comfortable with. That is where the deja vu of Cannon's pregnancy kicks in. With him, I had an induction scheduled and I ended up canceling it last minute because it just didn't feel right. I didn't feel like my body was ready and I was worried he wasn't ready either. We had an induction scheduled for tomorrow and once again, I canceled it. For more reason than one. The biggest reason being my doctor is leaving town on the same date. I had somewhat accepted the induction so I was ready to go through with it if it worked for his schedule. I did still have some reservations though. One being my body not being ready. I would have been almost 2 weeks earlier than I was with Cannon and my cervix only 2-2.5 cm vs the 4 cm that it was with him. And the baby is still high at this time, which Cannon was not. Anyways, we had an ultrasound last week at 38+3 showing the baby's estimated fetal weight being 9#1oz and measuring approx 40+4. To be honest I was surprised they thought he was this big. I really don't feel like he is as big as Cannon was and that estimate is almost a lb over what Cannon was measuring at the same gestation. With that estimate is when we decided to schedule the induction. Scheduling it didn't seem to flow very well, and I had a feeling something was going to come up. I was right. I found out my doctor wouldn't be in town. I found this out on Monday when I had my 39 week appointment with him. He seemed more relaxed this time about needing to deliver right away and gave me the option to wait till I was more ready. He also offered a "second opinion" ultrasound to be done at a the hospital instead of the clinic by a different ultrasound tech. He told me to get it done if I wanted and make whatever decision I felt best about. So I headed to the hospital immediately and had the ultrasound done. This time, almost a week later, it showed he only weighs about 8#6 oz and only measured about a week ahead. She was very confused how they got such a different number on the ultrasound done a week before. She tried several different times to get different numbers and couldn't. She said she felt like she got good measurements and that he didn't look that big to her. I have always heard, but this confirmed, ultrasounds aren't very accurate for estimating a baby's weight. After watching how they do it twice in a week, it seems that you could stretch or shrink whatever you are measuring just a tad to get the numbers you are looking for. So, while it made me feel better that he doesn't appear to be quite the giant we were thinking, I am also trying to remember the accuracy of this as well. We did decide to schedule an induction for Monday instead. I will be 40 weeks + 2 days, my doctor is in town, one of my favorite nurses (who was there for Cannon's delivery) will be there, and my body already feels more ready. I am much more comfortable with this plan. At my 39 week appointment, I was dilated to 3 cm. He is still high and not engaged but at least there has been some progress. I am hoping for a little more before Monday as well. He still moves like crazy. My heartburn and nausea are still making me miserable and my lack of sleep simply sucks! I am pretty uncomfortable too. About every hour or so I am forced to flip onto my other side because of intense hip pain that wakes me up. These last weeks are not easy, but overall I feel like I am holding up pretty well. I am having quite a few contractions and some increased pressure, but nothing that seems to stick around long enough to think it's anything real. I keep telling Gary that I don't feel like I will make it till Monday, but he tells me that I have said that every time! I guess my kids have different agendas than I do. I am very nervous and scared for what is a head but I am excited to spend some time with my family this weekend. Because I thought I was going to be induced, I canceled my last two scheduled nights at work. So yeah! No more work. That is a relief although I was sleeping better when I was working at night and sleeping during the day:( I haven't taken any pictures yet, but will add those soon.

Well, 39 week pictures never happened but these were on our way to the hospital to meet our baby at 40 weeks and 2 days pregnant.