Friday, November 03, 2006

Latest baby news

I realized that I haven't talked about my last Dr. apt yet so this will be a combination of last appointment and this one. OK, so last appointment I weighed in at 194 .... so not quite at 200lbs yet. I am 1cm dilated, which is no big deal, pregnant women walk around like that for a month or more. It just means that my body is getting ready which I know is true because I've been really crampy at night. I'm strep-b negative which is nice, no need for antibiotics when I go into labor. So last appointment went just like they usually do, nice and easy. Now my appointment today was a little more interesting. I weighed in at 197lb ... getting closer. Blood pressure looks good. The doctor walked and I said, so a lot of my friends and family don't think I'm going to make my due date, care to weigh in on the subject. Also, about how big do you think the baby is at this point. He jokingly says 12lbs (luckily I realized he was joking so I could laugh instead of choke). Then he said as for the other question I was just going to talk to you about that. Apparently I've been measuring ahead of schedule this whole time. It didn't even occur to me to ask before, I just assumed I was on schedule because the doctors just kept telling me everything looked good. So, yes he is a big baby. My doctor wants to do an ultrasound next Thursday to try to determine how big he might be (I know there is a huge margin of error with these things) and then he wants to discuss what to do from there. He also mentioned he is definitely not going to let me go a week past my due date. So now I'm left with a dilemma. The word induction actually scares me more then c-section, however I'd really like to avoid one of those if I can. I've also heard so many stories of women being induced because the doctor thought the baby was too big and they come out a normal size. I'm trying to figure out what to do at this point. I want the baby to be able to decide when he's ready to come out. Well, I guess I will just have to wait and see what the whole picture is next Thursday and then I can make decisions. Maybe the utlrasound will look fine and I won't have to say anything, but if the baby does look to big .... I have some things to figure out. I'll keep you posted.

4 comments:

The Cisneros Family said...

Well, if you'd like my advice here it is. I was both induced and had a c-section so I can offer good advice on both. The only experience I didn't have was being induced and following through with a vaginal delivery. The induction made my contractions harder (so they told me) but I didn't have anything to compare them too anyway. I think it's all painful and when they came to me with the epideral, I jumped on the chance and then slept. And it does seem easier to have a vaginal birth but in my opinion C-sections aren't so bad themselves. I would have 100 more if I could. I am actually looknig forward to the next delivery of my baby, however that may be. P.S.- We are planning another one... Anyway bottom line, just remember that all this worrying you're doing now will be but a faint memory after it's all said and done- So don't worry too much, everything will work out how it should and be just fine~ I get goosebumps hearing that you're so close....keep us posted!
~Tiffani

Anonymous said...

I had a c-section with Mary, so that's the only experience I have. I can tell you that it really wasn't too bad. The recovery in the hospital and later at home was difficult, but not terrible.

The major issue that I can see you having with a c-section is that you will not get that immediate bonding time with the baby immediately after birth, which I know is so important to you. If the baby is healthy you will probably get to cradle the baby in one arm for a few moments, and then they'll hand him to Dan to look after while you're recovering. Mary was very sick when she was first born so she was rushed off to the nursery, but even if she had been healthy I would not have been allowed to hold her for the first hour I was recovering. I was numb and sleepy anyway.

But also consider that if you are induced and have a vaginal delivery with a very difficult labor, you'll likely be exhausted afterward and may not be in any condition to hold or nurse the baby immediately anyway.

The bottom line is: listen to your doctor, and ultimately do whatever you and Dan feel is best to ensure a safe delivery for both you and the baby. Sorry for making this so long. I hope it helps!

The Cisneros Family said...

I just wanted to comment on Kristen's comment if I may about the part where you won't see your baby if you have a c-section right in the very beginning. Well, that was the case with Jacob but with Kylie they actually brought her to me while they were wheeling me away from the operating table. I said, "Not yet, I need to wash my hands!" So with Jacob it was a big surprise that they did not let me see him for 2 hours, I actually hated it. Steph, ask your hospital what they're policies are and go from there. I know for sure that if there are no complications you have the Right to have your baby for the first hour. You can even request that they don't put in those gooey eye drops or give him shots until after the first hour so that your baby can see you clearly and be happy (without the shots) for the first moments together. But you have to tell the hospital staff that up front and many times so they know you mean business. Same goes for telling them you don't want your baby to have a formula bottle (unless of course absolutely necessary- Kylie had 1 bottle in the hospital because she her temp was so low and they thought it would make it better- and it did.). Anyway, like I said before, everything will be fine and worrying about it is so so very normal and nothing we can say will make it any better. You just have to wait til Thursday and go from there~ as you know! I got so excited today when I saw you have only 16 days left!!! I'm going to feel so left out when you have the baby and I don't know for a few days.....:)
I hope where on the call list- 361-758-6444. ~Tiffani

Kelly said...

Hey Steph -

Just to throw some more info at you... They were wrong about Lily's weight by an entire pound!! And I was induced, and parts of it were miserable and I would do it differently now. But, I got a healthy baby in the end and that's all that matters. My thoughts are that an induction, while scary and NOT what I planned for, was much preferable to a c-section. I know some people do have really good c-section experiences, but the women I know say differently! I wouldn't choose that route personally unless I had to :)

Listen to your doctors, but also listen to your gut. And remember that we as women focus an awful lot of our energy on the event of giving birth, but no matter what, one way or another, that boy is coming out!! And ultimately, we don't get much say in how that happens...

Good luck, keep us posted and know that we're thinking of you guys!
~Kelly