englandbound ([info]englandbound) wrote,
@ 2008-10-22 20:40:00
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Baby update
No, she's not here yet, but I did have a midwife appointment yesterday. Everything still looks good. Her heart rate (130) was lower than it's been, but the midwife said that as long as it was over 110, everything was ok. She also said that the baby has become engaged in the pelvis and is currently 3/5ths engaged. Also, the Braxton's hics have become more frequent. This all leads me to believe that we are getting close. That being said, it could still be a couple weeks.

The due date is on Saturday. One week after that they will offer me a cervical (membrane) sweep, to see if that could get things going. They offer drug inductions at 12 days overdue. I'm really hoping to not have to be induced, but in reading (and after a comment from the midwife when hearing that I was induced) I'm discovering that women with long cycles (like me) tend to past their due date.

Mom arrived safely last Thursday. It's hard to believe that it's been a week already. We did go birdwatching on Sunday and she was able to see a few birds that were new to here. Unfortunately it was cloudy and a bit windy (not to mention autumn) so we didn't see as much as I had hoped. It would have been better in the spring, but things don't always go as planned. She has also been able to see a few new birds in our backyard, so hopefully by the time she leaves she will have seen enough to make her birding friends back home jealous.

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[info]janettecomments
2008-10-22 08:45 pm UTC (link)
Morgan was 9 days late. When I went in for my last appointment, more than a week late, they scheduled a time to induce me if she hadn't come by the end of the week. Apparently she didn't like that idea, though, because she decided to come out the next morning. Then, Keira was a couple days early. So I have no idea what to expect out of number 3. Hopefully you won't be so late that you'll have to get induced. I know the waiting at the end gets frustrating, and going 12 days or more over would suck.

On an unrelated note, I seem to know lots of people whose parents are into bird watching. It's kind of odd.

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[info]englandbound
2008-10-23 04:33 am UTC (link)
I've heard lots of stories like yours with Morgan where they threaten inducing and the baby comes before the scheduled inducing date. My mom tells me not to worry about being induced as it isn't that bad. When I was induced, she had a total of 1.5 hours of labor before I was born. That wouldn't be too bad, but I think I'd still prefer not to be induced. Time will tell.

My main complaint about waiting right now is that, since I have this symphisis pubis dysfunction and she has dropped into my pelvis, she is putting more pressure on that joint and it is hurting more. It's difficult to get comfortable sitting or laying down now. Otherwise, it's just us being impatient in wanting to meet her.

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[info]hepzibahpeikko
2008-10-22 09:22 pm UTC (link)
Glad all is going well so far, and here's hoping she doesn't arrive too terribly late! It must be good having your mother there -- my parents are birdwatchers too and said they saw some incredible birds while visiting the UK a few years back.

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[info]englandbound
2008-10-23 04:37 am UTC (link)
I am really enjoying having her here, but I'm afraid that she's getting bored. It has to be difficult for her to be a 'guest' (even though I want her to feel at home) for so long in a place where she cannot just get up and wander off. She's not willing to drive here. I'd like to take her sightseeing but I just cannot wander very far right now.

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[info]toothycat
2008-10-22 11:18 pm UTC (link)
Good to hear from you - I hope she's not too late. Good luck :)

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[info]englandbound
2008-10-23 04:38 am UTC (link)
Thanks. I do hope that the next time I update, I'll have the 'big announcement'.

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[info]gamboling_goat
2008-10-23 05:04 am UTC (link)
This is exciting!! Sounds like you're so close!!

Are all things with the heating now entirely fine?

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[info]englandbound
2008-10-23 03:05 pm UTC (link)
Thankfully yes, the heat is sorted. We are still getting the hang of where it should be set to get us the amount of heat we want, but it works well. It doesn't help that right now I tend to be much warmer than usual so poor Greg tends to be cold when I'm comfortable.

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[info]pogbody
2008-10-23 07:47 am UTC (link)
Waiting with baited breath! This is the deep breath before the plunge really isn't it!

Can't wait to meet her!

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[info]englandbound
2008-10-23 03:05 pm UTC (link)
me either! The waiting is starting to get to me.

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[info]sismith42
2008-10-23 08:21 pm UTC (link)
Why do they want to induce you so early?! From what I've read (Dr Miriam Stoppard's book, so possibly crap but not just crap on the internet, though the NHS magazine also says 42-43 weeks is still normal..), the due date can be off by as much as 2 weeks in EITHER direction, which means that mathmatically, baby isn't even late until 14 days after the "due date"...

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[info]englandbound
2008-10-24 10:53 am UTC (link)
From what I've heard/read (again, not necessarily something to be written in stone) is that after 40 weeks or so the placenta can become less efficient. Granted, the only way to know that is to do an ultrasound. I think that rather than doing ultrasounds on everyone who goes over 40 weeks (using that date to cover their butts) they just induce by 42. The baby is considered full term at 37 weeks, so being taken a couple weeks before she would have come on her own won't hurt her. I think basically the rule of thumb is that they won't let you go more than 2 weeks 'late' meaning they won't let you go more than 14 days past your due date.
I also wonder if there is an increase in complications the later the delivery goes simply due to the baby being that much bigger. When my mom had me, she was told that I was ready and all I was going to do was get bigger so they induced. As it was, I was almost 9lb. I can see how that would be a problem for many women. Back then they didn't do ultrasounds to determine age of the fetus, so they pretty much had to go on the woman's memory of when her last period was. She says I was probably induced no more than a week 'late'.

Frankly, since she's dropped (possibly a good sign that I won't go past 42 weeks anyway) and is now putting more pressure on my pelvis, with the symphysis pubis dysfunction that I have (and how much it's been hurting) and knowing that she will be ok, I'm becoming less and less against being induced.

The people I really don't understand are those who schedule a cesarean section for 'convenience'.

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[info]sismith42
2008-10-26 09:11 am UTC (link)
In your case with the hip-thing, I can totally see where it makes sense...

I'm with you on the elective c-section, though!

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