By this point in my pregnancies with both boys, I was already holding a baby in my arms and no longer pregnant. With Shiphrah, I would be going into labor in a matter of hours. So, with my due date fast approaching (Friday), the anticipation is high.
Dr. Trabue suspects by the feel of my belly (thankfully he was kind enough not to say "by the number on the scale!") that Shiloh will be one of the larger babies that I've delivered. That, and that tends to be the trend with subsequent babies. So today, he brought up the subject of induction.
Given my previous birth histories (long labors) our goal is to have as quick a labor as possible. In looking at what we should do, there are risks on both sides. Letting nature take its course, as has been my typical approach, has resulted in very long labors. Larger babies have had even longer labors. In fact, it was by the grace of God (and a very laid back obstetrician, which was also by the grace of God) that Solomon was able to be delivered without a cesarean. (You might remember that after 40 hours of labor, I had to be transported to the hospital, given pitocin, and then he arrived 8 hours after that.)
Of course, there are always risks with inducing early, but as close as I am to my due date, it appears that the risk is greater if we wait. Shiloh getting bigger doesn't necessarily mean she'll be any healthier or any more ready for life outside of me, but it does increase the risk of a C-section for me.
If you know me, you know that this is way outside of my box. It's a completely new experience and one that makes me a tad nervous. David and I keep asking each other, "Are you sure you're okay with this?" The other option is that our doctor said we could have another ultrasound to insure that Shiloh isn't above the 70th percentile in size and he'd let us wait another week. If she didn't come by then, he would still want to induce.
Another benefit to inducing now is that I am guaranteed to have my doctor. If we decided to wait and I went into labor naturally over the weekend, we might get a C-section happy on-call doctor. With my history of long labors, that would not be a good thing!
So, while I know this happens all the time, it's new for me. One thing I've learned over the course of these past 4 pregnancies is that I am not in control, and that God is. If God chooses to make my doctor an instrument of His will, then I'm okay with that. Like I've said before, I'm along for the ride!
Wednesday is the big day. We are to arrive at the hospital at 7 am and get started. What an odd thing that is... We look forward to meeting Shiloh soon!
2 comments:
Yes, it is an odd feeling to know your going to go into the hospital at a certain time and have your baby. I've had that experience three out of four times...only with Jack did I go into spontaneous labor.
I will be praying that you have the fastest labor/delivery you've ever had and No C-Section!!
Thanks, Elizabeth! You have been such a great encouragement to me, and I can't thank you enough!
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