Last night I had a nice strong contraction around 4:30 in the morning. I was pretty excited. Got myself back to sleep though, and no other contractions woke me up. I continue to wait.
I made myself sleep in this morning. I woke up feeling right with the world. Then I went to the doctor. I thought the cervical exam was optional at this point still, but I guess at 39 weeks they like to check progress anyway. Progress? Not for me. He has settled a little lower I guess, and all the stats (blood pressure, hearbeat, etc) are normal and good, but that's about it. Still just 70% effaced and now she says 1 1/2 cm dilated, but come on -- 1/2 a centimeter?? Well I guess her finger has a little room to move now. Anyway it's not BAD news, and even if things had progressed further it STILL wouldn't mean labor was imminent. So I remain a lady in waiting, and I am trying to convince myself to think of other things.
We did talk about induction. She says she often induces at 41 weeks!! That, I think, is pushing it, and I expressed how I would prefer to wait provided there are no signs that the placenta is failing. She seemed totally fine with that. I suppose they see some women who just want to get it over with. And though I am sort of one of those women, I still would rather do this as naturally as possible. So anyway, I guess it works like this... I am due next Wednesday. Thursday I have my 40 week doc appointment if necessary. At that appointment I will be hooked up to a fetal monitor for about 30 minutes to check contractions, I guess. I will also be checked for fluids. This is all to make sure that the pregnancy is still safe and ok. If there is reason for induction, they will begin by applying a prostaglandin to the cervix to encourage contractions and bring on labor. The next step is pitocin via IV in the hospital. She says pitocin doesn't do much if labor hasn't started, and the hard part is getting the labor to start. Scheduled C-sections really only happen if there is some clear reason the baby can't be born vaginally. Man I hope this little guy decides to do this on his own.
I left the doctor feeling kind of down and sad. It really isn't bad news, and it's still 6 days until the due date, "most" first babies are "late" it seems, so I have nothing to worry about. Right?
My doc is on call Sunday... maybe Sunday will be the day...
1 comment:
Hey, just wanted to give you some words of encouragement! Even if it doesn't seem like progress 1 1/2 cm is great for having not gone into labor yet.
I ended up being induced and was already 4 cm when they induced me. It made it go much faster. But, if I had it to do again, I would definitely try to have tests done to make sure the placenta was still functioning instead of just going for the induction. It makes it more difficult to do it sans drugs, especially during early labor.
Anyway, I think we'll be sending you some locally made baby stuff from Ohio! Email me your address when you get a chance.
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