The end is so very near...

jcdorsey74

I have no idea why my siggy is off.  I am actually 36 weeks + 3 days.  At my 35 week appointment, my doctor said if I made it to 37 weeks, we could talk about inducing that week.  My BP has been on the high side, but so far no meds required.  I have GD and although I have done fairly well keeping my sugars down, at 35 weeks, he was measuring BIG!  My doctor wasn't too concerned.  Both the technician and my doctor said those tests are consistently a pound higher than what the babies actually weigh.  I personally am down 14 lbs overall, which I'm told is an indication that I have been keeping my sugars in check.  I am incredibly thankful that with my DS and this baby, I have never had to buy maternity clothes.  I'm still working and wearing these darn steel-toed boots!  While I don't have any noticeable swelling, my feet hurt at the end of the day.  For the last several weeks, even months, it hurts so bad to walk.  I normally don't take anything for pain and have been taking a couple of Tylenol just to get me through the day.  To top it all off, I have a head cold.  UGH!  Not cool...

So on Tuesday, March 24th, we will discuss induction...I am shooting for either that night or the next night.  If I go in Wednesday, March 25th, the odds are that I will have him Thursday, March 26th (I hope...), which means I will still be 40 years old.  If he comes on Friday, well...I guess he and I will share a birthday.  Also, I will have a BPP that morning to make certain he is breathing well.  At 35 weeks, they did a combined growth scan and BPP and he was already breathing, which is why my doctor is willing to discuss this.  I, personally, can't wait.

I have been mainly lurking this time around.  I will post my birth story, when the time arrives.  I'm actually excited that I have carried this baby longer than I did DS.  I had him at 35 weeks + 5 days due to my water breaking.  He was fine and went home with us 2 days later.  I have kept up with everyone and am continuing to wish you all happy and healthy pregnancies!

mattandlora

I am SO there with you right now. Not with the same pregnancy issues, but just being ready to go any day! My pregnancy issues have been hyperemesis gravidarum (which never really went away), horrible heartburn, and high blood pressure. I've been in maternity clothes since 6 weeks pregnant, but my belly didn't really pop until a few weeks ago. I also have a bad cold right now. And I've had TERRIBLE swelling when I had none last time.

I think the time is drawing near. My dogs have been really clingy the last few weeks, then today they started avoiding me altogether. I've lost 4lbs in 2 days (which is allegedly the body losing water weight right before labor). I had bad insomnia last night. I normally have to get up and pee a few times, but then fall right back asleep. Not last night. I was awake for several hours for no good reason. I was nesting all weekend, but that came to a screeching hault when this cold zapped my energy. I've felt "off" for the last 3 days - dizzy, nauseated, etc. I also had a migraine last night, even though I've had very few this pregnancy

As much as I want to be done with this pregnancy, my husband gets better paternity leave benefits if we can wait until April 1 when the new policy kicks in. But hey, if we can't wait until then, just get this baby out of me now.

jcdorsey74

Oooo...fingers crossed that you are close to delivery as well.  Although, I guess I should hope that you hold out til April 1st, so your husband's better paternity leave benefits kick in.  I sincerely hope all goes well with your labor and delivery.  Keep us posted!

mum2lanabelliz

Sending you lots of ELVs!!!

supersarah77

Thinking of you and wondering if you've had your baby yet!

jcdorsey74

No! UGH! My OB bamboozled me. She really wants me to go to 39 weeks. With the baby measuring so big at 35 weeks, I'm afraid I'll end up with a c section for certain now. However, I'm feeling strange twinges today that are not normal. I'm watching them closely to see if they turn into something more strong and consistent. Thank you for thinking of me!

cneiding

As someone who has had large babies, I will say don't worry too much about the baby's size.  I know you said your son was early and probably on the smaller side.  But many of us have very large babies without an issue at all.  My largest was 11 lbs even.  The rest of mine have been in the 9 lb ranges or 10 lb ranges.  THey never got stuck or anything. 

mattandlora

@jcdorsey74 - Waiting until 39 weeks is very commonplace now. I talked to my OB about it with this one and the last one. The national organizations are coming down pretty hard on OBs who induce before 39 weeks without a medical reason. When I did my pediatric training, 34 weeks and earlier was considered premature and went to the NICU. 35-36 weeks was considered late preterm and taken to the regular nursey (but often struggled a little more with feeding, blood sugars, jaundice, etc and were commonly hospitalized an extra day past mom). 37 weeks and beyond were called term and all treated the same. WELL...that changed since my training. Turns out not all term babies are equal. The 37-38 week babies still have more trouble than 39+ weeks, but not as much trouble as 36 weeks or less.

Now....34-36 weeks is considered late preterm. I think they all go to the term nursery but are watched closer, like before.

37-38 weeks is called 'early term' and watched more closely too.

39+ is called full term.

What this means for you and me is that we won't get induced until 39 weeks unless there is a medical reason, like pre-eclampsia.

superlowamh

@mattandlora - thank you so much for this explanation! it's super useful and informative!
I think I'll have another c-section this time and was wondering when it's most likely that it would happen

now i know :-)

mattandlora

Thanks @superlowamh. I think I'm going to make it a separate post since it comes across as helpful and not too Bill Nye.