Fashionably Late

I heard that term today in regards to "overdue" babies, and I love it!  Apparently my babies like to be such. It sounds so much more positive than "late" or "overdue" which sound like something is wrong.  It's all about perspective.

I thought I would post a little update about what's been going on since going this far past your due date can keep everyone on pins and needles. Plus, it's one more thing to do to keep me busy. I like distractions at this point. Apologies in advance if this post is long and rambling, but I don't want to forget all of it after I'm bleary-eyed nursing a newborn around the clock.

So, backing up to my due date, 7/26/11, which seems forever ago now, I consented to my midwife (MW) doing a cervical check since we have an hour drive and it would be nice to know where we were starting from. Contrary to popular belief, dilation isn't really a good predictor of when you'll go into labor or even how fast it will be. As many moms know, you can walk around several cm dilated for weeks on end or be 0 cm and go into labor that night. But, we (Davey, MW, and I) agreed that with our distance from the hospital it wouldn't be a bad idea to check. I was 1-2 cm and 70% effaced.  Hooray for something!  I know I know, silly to be excited after what I just got done saying about dilation not being a good clue...blah blah blah, it still felt nice to know my body was doing something.  To celebrate the due date (okay, it was just a good excuse to go get some really awesome sushi), we went out to dinner and a movie while Lailey spent the night with Grammy and Grandaddy.


Since a little before my due date, I've been having Braxton-Hicks contractions (BH ctx) off and on, and they seem to increase a little every day.  I made it to my 41 week appointment (8/2/11) and decided it would be okay to get checked again.  While my BH ctx had increased, I set myself up to not be disappointed if I wasn't any more dilated.  Good thing, because it was the same = 1-2 cm.  I had to be honest with myself after that and admit that I was in fact disappointed, but Davey encouraged me and snapped me out of my pregnancy hormonal emotional-ness.  Thanks to grandparents again, we got another date night.

At that appointment, we discussed with Anjli, our MW, about being overdue and how long she would advise us to go.  She said as long as baby is doing fine she's fine with us waiting for as long as I want. Davey asked her how long any of her patients have gone before labor and she said 42 wks + 4 days. Since we are definitely not comfortable with an induction except for extreme medical reasons, I was so happy to hear this. She did set us up for our ultrasound for Thursday, 8/4/11, to have everything checked. I asked her what could show up on the test that would make her want to induce, and she said primarily low amniotic fluid.  Well, the more I thought about it that night I got anxious.  This was exactly what sent us into an induction with Lailey, and while everything turned out great, it was not what I wanted at all. I hated being on the monitors, not being able to move easily, having to drag a stupid IV pole with me to go to the bathroom all the time, having really intense back labor and only being a little dilated, not being able to eat or drink, pretty much everything. If you ever read my birth story, you will know my disdain for the IV pole. Anyway, I had to think and pray a lot about the possibility of low fluid and what we'd do if faced with that decision again.

This morning we went to the ultrasound (u/s) and monitoring. We were so thrilled to have baby pass with flying colors!  I told Davey that if I could do a backflip I totally would. This is exactly what we prayed for.  While I totally feel like baby is completely healthy since the kid is SOOOOO active, it's nice to have that confirmed. My main worry - low amniotic fluid - was not even a concern.  Not even close to borderline, which would be about 5-9 cm. (sidenote: I believe this is measured by measuring 4 pockets of fluid using u/s). We were at 22 cm, which is completely within the normal range. I did drink about a gallon of water in the previous 24 hours because that can keep the levels up, but with it being that good of a measurement, it's not even necessary. The OB said that he didn't even need to see us back.  Hooray! I like him, but that's exactly what I wanted to hear. No more tests to make me anxious. Other stats from the scan:

Baby's approximate size: 8 lbs, just like Lailey at this point, so unless I binge like crazy on donuts (a no-no from my doula :) we're not looking at a "huge" 9-10 pounder.

Head size - normal (no huge Akin head!)

Fluid - great at 22 cm.

Movement - active little booger

Heart rate - average of 144 bpm and goes up with activity which is what you want to see

Gender...haha, just kidding! Bazinga!

So now what do we do?  WAIT! My next appt. is next Monday morning (41 wks + 6 days), but I really think I'm going to go before then.  Statistics are on my side, and no one stayed pregnant forever. I won't sugarcoat it. Yes, I'm uncomfortable. It's hot, SUPER hot, and I don't even like to go outside to get the mail. Lifting Lailey is getting very difficult, and I think she's tired of hearing me apologize for not being able to do things with/for her. Davey has been such an amazing help, so he's saved me from myself a few times. I told him a month ago that he had to take over her bath time until after the baby comes. Just can't bend anymore. But whenever I start feeling frustrated about being SO pregnant, I just remind myself that it could be a lot worse. Until the last 6 weeks or so this pregnancy has been super easy.  I mean, boringly easy. In a good way of course. I've slept well, had no heartburn, very little back pain, very minor nausea in the beginning, excellent blood pressure, no ankle swelling until after my due date (which still amazes me with this heat) and no major problems in general. Baby's healthy, which makes me happy. There are many things to thank the Lord for. So we're just gonna keep on truckin'!

I know we'll have baby here before we know it and all this will be forgotten, so I have to blog about it now before I forget. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. They mean a lot!

We have decided that if I make it to my appointment Monday, then we are totally going to lunch at this restaurant in ATL famous for their legendary labor-inducing eggplant parmesan. I checked it out today and was totally intrigued.  Sounds like it would make a great story.