41 week appointment
Now here is where it all gets interesting, doesn’t it – at least in terms of the hospital model. I knew we were going to discuss plans today and schedule some testing and such. My appointment was at 2:45. It was a midwife I’d never seen before. She was very nice, but didn’t feel as warm and chatty as all the ones I know. She said the normal plan at 41 weeks is to go for a NST the same day, a NST and BPP (bio-physical profile ultrasound) half a week later, and then an induction at 42 weeks. I’m totally fine with the NST and BPP, but I am really not thrilled with walking in for an induction at 42 weeks just as a matter of course. I asked if I had to. Short answer: no, but highly recommended and she’s going to make the appointment anyways. I ended up also making an appointment with the midwives for next wednesday, and she scheduled an induction for thursday. I’m not saying I would absolutely refuse it, I just want to see how the testing goes and talk to one of the midwives first and decide then, not now.
Then the NST. *sigh* Well I had a bunch of NSTs when pregnant with Kate, but those were early morning pre-scheduled appointments. This was not. I really don’t know what was up with the whole thing, but I had to fill out paperwork and answer a million questions that they usually ask on hospital admittance (when did you last eat, what meds are you on, do you have any of the following diseases, and on and on). I was also asked to change into a hospital gown, which had me perplexed. (A later nurse seemed surprised to see me in a gown for a NST and said the nurse who took me in worked nights, where everyone does actually get into a gown, so that explained that.) I waited and then got hooked up to the belly monitors. It was supposed to be for 30 minutes, but over an hour later….
Then it took a while to wait for a midwife to come look at the strip. I liked this midwife a lot more than the one I had for my appointment, she actually chatted with me, acknowledged my prior loss and my desire to avoid an induction and epidural and such. She asked if I wanted my cervix checked (since at the appointment it hadn’t been brought up) and I said yes. I am approximately 1cm and 50% effaced – a definite change from last week. She looked at the heartrate strip and said it was almost perfect, all the things she wanted to see were there and normally she would just release me, but just because of my history and her wanting to be extra cautious with me she was going to send for an ultrasound to check my fluid levels. Just to be extra sure.
That meant more waiting. But finally someone came to do the ultrasound (on a very fuzzy machine) and we saw that there is indeed a lot of fluid around baby Ember. Her heart was beautiful, her position is great, and… she was sound asleep. (I could have told them that – she was active for the NST and then after me laying down for several hours she zonked out in there.) It took quite a while to get her awake enough to do some practice breathing. But finally she did rouse and she scored perfectly and I got to go home.
Well, after getting changed and waiting to sign papers before leaving. I finally left at 6:30. That’s nearly 4 hours for a quick appointment, NST, and ultrasound. I was quite hungry.
What I learned is that triage is not the place where people move quickly (unless there is an emergency, I assume, but I was certainly not an emergency). This makes me quite nervous for when I’m in labor. It’s also not really a nice comfortable place. You’re in a pod with other people in labor (or other complications), with a shared bathroom. When I contract I have to pee. How am I going to sit on monitors and run to the bathroom every contraction? With the back of my gown open, of course. I really hope I can get in and out quickly when I’m in labor. Laboring at home sounds like a much nicer plan. (Homebirth is sounding like a better and better option. And no, it’s not on the table for us.)
In any case it was a learning experience and I know what to expect a little better. They were all very nice, though. But there was such a feeling of due process there. That’s what wigged me out. I was written on the board, I was hooked up to machines, I was asked all the same questions as everyone else. It is not a place for humming and meditating and moving freely about the room, not at all. (My first labor, in a hospital L&D room, was very different. Well, it was very different for many reasons, but privacy and quiet was a pretty big one!)
In any case the end result is that Ember herself is doing fabulously in there and hopefully, hopefully, will be coming very soon. I would very much like it to be before Monday and another triage experience, but most certainly before next Wednesday and Thursday when I’m going to have to deal with some tough decisions. (Though, like a commenter said, at this point it would probably take very little to push me into labor, so by 42 weeks it probably wouldn’t be a horrible experience – no guarantees, though.) I just really want to go into labor, that’s all. Nice healthy, normal labor, on her own time, in her own way.
Edit: Also wanted to add that the midwife I saw in triage checked baby’s size and position (by feel). Baby’s head is super low and appears to be in good position – I believe she is LOT, for those of you who know what that means. Everyone around me says I’m still carrying high and need to drop, but she’s down. Because of how low her head is the midwife said she couldn’t get a great feel for her size, but she thinks around 7 lbs (like Kate was).
Sounds like a long day! Glad to hear everything looks great! Hope Ember will make a surprise entrance prior to next week, so you can avoid having to make decisions :)
First of all, I hope you get to hold Ember before haivng to make any such decision that you are trying to avoid.
Then, I wanted to tell you about my induction with my son George. I had gestational diabetes, a very mild case, and this time around I have it again, but honestly, it is practically absent. So absent that I am allowed to go over the due date a few days. I wasn’t allowed to the first time, so I was induced and George was born on GA 40w0d.
Now, I live in Germany, where everything seems to be different. Here they are urging you to go the natural way, the baby is placed on mother’s breast before getting cleaned up, the cord is cut after the pulsing stops, they are trying to work with you towards using less medication, but they are really listening to your requests. In a word, the perfect place to give birth the natural way.
Now, everyone reacts differently to drugs. The first dose I got did nothing for me, and I had contractions throughout the pregnancy, controlled by Mg. the second started the labour and it took 5 hours to have my son in my arms. I stayed in the pool (lucky) and when I finally remembered about epidural, it was too late, and the midwife advised me against, since I was already 7 after 2 1/2 hours. I think I might have had something like ibuprofen or something when they stitched me for a 2nd degree tear, can’t remember precisely, but they told me that they could have given me a sugar cube and I would have been just as happy. It really did not matter at that point, I was too exhausted to make any difference. Although a lot of details escape me, I remember the most important parts, and that is good. My husband supplied the rest of the story. :-)
I reckon in the US is quite different. But just for the record, I wanted to tell you my induction story, so that you know that it can be alright and have a wonderful experience even if you have to be induced. I went in with zero expectations, and what I experienced was the best moment in my life.
I hope you get to have the labour you want and that Ember decides to come soon.
Best of luck!
Mina
I think the 1cm and 50% effacement is a really good thing. Since you have had two labors before….you may very well move very quickly from this point on. Your day sounded exhausting…but it is good to know Ember is doing just fine in there. I will send some labor vibes your way and hopefully you will have her in your arms before any big decisions need to be made.
kd
I was induced at 41 weeks 5 days, and I was nervous about escalating interventions as well. My OB said she felt extremely confident that breaking my water was all it would take to get me going, and she was right. No other intervention needed. Hopefully if you get to that point and make that choice, it will be similar for you.
My friend had her son at 43 weeks and all went well…she was told by midwife that late babies are more advanced and it seemed true of her son…he walked, talked and did everything early. He is now an amazing, healthy (and precocious) 7 year old! My sister was induced 10 days past her due date and delivered naturally and I was induced at 37 weeks with my 1st which resulted in a c-section (which upset me greatly) and then had a scheduled section with my twins at 37 weeks (the doctors were in no way interested in letting me have a v-bac with twins). Wishing you all the best! Seems like Ember will come when she feels ready. Hang in there!
Also wanted to say that the doctors in the USA seem really overzealous about medical interventions…they practically twisted my arm to induce with my son and put fear in me that something “bad” could happen to him If I did not deliver (even though everything was fine during the millions of ultrasounds, non stress tests etc…..), they said he was getting too big (was 9 lbs at 37 week delivery) and needed to come out. I regretted letting them induce, which did not even work and resulted in a c-section. I was elated to have my healthy baby, but was really traumatized by the whole ordeal of medical interventions….my mom delivered 5 very big babies and my sister had 2 all naturally. Trust your instincts..I think you will have an easy delivery when the time is right…especially since this is not your first . Good luck!
Hi there….getting very excited about baby Ember.
I just wanted to share my experience with you.
I was induced at 39 weeks and 2 days. I had a cerclage, was on bedrest, and on a blood thinner for almost my entire pregnancy. For many reasons, induction was the best choice for us. I was however 3 cm and almost 100 percent effaced at induction. My induction went so smoothly and I had a very controlled and wonderful labor and birth. I know that inductions can be scary and i wouldn’t opt for unless necessary but i wanted to share my good experience with you. i hope Ember decides she wants to meet her mama soon.
I really appreciate everyone sharing their stories! And you are right, induction at 42 weeks probably would mean my body would go into labor with just a nudge anyways.
I’m glad you had a good appointment, even if they did keep you for a crazy long time. That birthing unit sounds like a nightmare!!! I was very glad my aunt had her own room while she was in labor… I think I spent more time in her bed than she did, she was walking like a mad women trying to speed up her dilation (didn’t work).
I hope lil Ember decides to make her appearance this weekend and that you can avoid the induction! I want a natural childbirth, so I 100% understand wanting to avoid being induced!
Come out come out Ember! We are all waiting for you!