Friday, March 07, 2008

Zip. Zilch. Zero.

Nada.

Nothing.

That's right. It's March 6, 2008. The day I've been counting down to for the past 9 months, and I've got nothin' but a huge stomach and heartburn. It's almost midnight so there really is no chance that this baby will come on time.

At my appointment on Wednesday I was dilated to a whopping 1, and not even fully effaced. So despite the 2 hour walks I've been dragging my husband and kids on every day, I'm not even close to delivering. My OB says that if I make next Wednesday's appointment we'll talk about inducing, which will put me more than a week overdue. I have mixed feelings about this.

On the pro side of waiting it out, I know that the baby can't stay in here forever (right?), a few more nights of sleeping in more than 3 hour stretches (if I'm lucky) won't hurt, and that my labor is likely to be smoother if I let nature, and this baby, take its course. Also, inducing is more hazardous with a VBAC, and is more likely to end in another c-section than waiting it out. One totally irrelevant plus is that Cleo will be able to go to a classmates birthday party this weekend if the baby isn't born yet.

On the con side, I'm just really, really uncomfortable. I may be sleeping in slightly longer stretches than what a newborn allows for, but I'm not sleeping well. It' takes me 5 minutes just to roll over and find a new less-painful position to rest in once my body in. And I'm still up all the time peeing, with heartburn, trying to rub my overtaxed and aching joints, etc.. Also, JL is officially on paternity leave and while his work is very generous with their leave for new fathers (they offers 6 weeks paid paternity leave, but he really isn't able to take it all thanks to various factors), so the clock is ticking. Additionally, we plan to fly my in-laws in as soon as we hit the hospital and their schedules are much more flexible in the next few days than they will be by the end of next week, though I know they'll make it either way.

My OB did re-offer the option of having a scheduled c-section, but I immediately ruled this out. My recovery from having Cleo via c-section was really, really awful. I couldn't walk upright for weeks and weeks, was in constant terrible pain (thanks to drug allergies that severely limited what I could take), and still have pain from the incision. I can't imagine trying to recover from this type of surgery while caring for our two girls and a demanding newborn.

There is one bit of irony in all this. Our doula and the friends that are planning on watching the girls for us when it's hospital time are all planning to be out of town either the whole weekend or all day Saturday and will be a minimum of 4 hours drive away. If Murphy's Law holds true, I'll deliver right when the help we've been planning on for months is the least available.

5 comments:

Sarah said...

Oh Amy, I so feel your pain! Literally!!

I'm trying for a VBAC too, and the waiting is so hard. I'm not dilated at all, only 50-60% effaced. Granted, I have two weeks left before my due date, but if I'm not at least 2-3 cm dilated at my appointment the day before my due date they will schedule the cesarean. Ack!!!

So, I am sending you some MAJOR *labor vibes* and praying this baby comes on his own, and SOON!!!

Melanie said...

I think you left out the whole "running into people" part. You know, the "oh, you still haven't had that baby yet?" conversation you get to have over and over again. Then they try to tell you what to do, you act happy and not totally angry about STILL being pregnant, and repeat with every friend/person/stranger you see!

You know I'll be checking five times a day for the announcement! Good luck and you know I feel your pain!!

Jill P. said...

Amy,

I'm sending labor vibes your way. I'll be checking back to see if they work. I hope your VBAC is a success. I sure hope your doula can be there.

Jill

Tamee said...

This is sooo exciting though. I imagine the girls are loving big belly and waiting? Can't wait to hear when he does make his arrival. We love ya.

Navy Blue Cardigan said...

Just and update here--It's Saturday afternoon, and still no signs of this baby coming soon. We're headed out for another marathon walk, so maybe something will kick in?

Amy