31w4d. DH has been in the habit of watching Brendan outside the hospital in a little picnic area while I go in to my OB appts. We thought it might help keep my blood pressure down if I wasn’t chasing after him, carrying him and generally being annoyed at his shenanigans while waiting for my appts to begin. After that one high bp scare, we really don’t care to risk my tenuous VBAC situation by having more bp issues and it seems to be working. My blood pressure seems to be hovering at 120s-130s/70s. I’m very happy about that. I told him I was going to want him to start coming back with me so I could have backup when “The Talk” happened but that I didn’t think it’d happen this early on yet. So once again I went to my appt alone. Of course, it happened. And I was alone to deal with it.
The c-section vs. VBAC talk has been something I have dreaded for awhile now. I did (but didn’t) want to know exactly where I stood but now that it is over I am very relieved to be past it. Not happy about it, but relieved- like the way you are after a hard test despite whether you think you did well or not. I was in a pretty calm state of mind and was able to respond with flat “okays” to her dire warnings of “I may not be able to get the baby out fast enough if something goes wrong” and other such statements instead of losing it. When pregnant I definitely tend to “lose it” easily so I was a bit proud of myself.
So… her 5% chance of uterine rupture has gone down to 3-4%. She seems less unhappy with my decision and more resigned to it. She will not interfere in my going into labor in any way- including using a foley catheter or breaking my waters. In fact, she told me no one she knows of does the foley catheter technique and they only talked about it in medical school once. She definitely thinks of it as a hokey practice though she didn’t say so. I was a bit stunned that she won’t even break my waters but perhaps if I was 4 cm and 100% at 41 weeks she’d change her mind. NOT what I wanted to hear.
She also flatly stated that I will be continuously monitored in the hospital and if *anything* looks funny I will have to have a c-section immediately. Apparently there has been some research lately that early declerations of the baby’s heartbeat can indicate that a uterine rupture is more likely. She will take no chance. Guess who will not be stepping foot into the hospital until she feels a big ole noggin protruding. Only slightly exaggerating here. My resolve to labor at home is pretty firm right now.
Bascially if my labor is not textbook I am doomed. I have to go into labor on my own by just over 41 weeks and the baby must tolerate it well. That’s a lot of dang pressure to put on me!!! :/
I have the VBAC form to fill out. It basically states the pros and cons of attempting a VBAC. I have no problem signing it. My “OB history at a glance” card now states “desires VBAC”. 😀 According to it I have only gained 9 pounds. Heh. Not. Got praise for it though. I really have gained 16 pounds. No protein in my urine this time and I now measure exactly on target at 32 cm. That may be my saving grace to not getting a late ultrasound. I flatly told her I didn’t care to have u/s size measurements done this time. She understood even if she didn’t quite agree with me. I still may be asked to but she does know how I won’t be swayed by dire weight predictions this time around.
Like I said, relieved but not happy.
As for Little Gym- he joined in a mad 10 minute circle run around the room of about 10 kids all his age (his favorite game to start at McDonald’s) before his class started and then trooped into the gym when the rest did, not even looking back!
DH and I sat with dropped jaws watching him through the windows for the first half hour of class. He sometimes participated, sometimes did his own thing but he happily stayed in there without us. Toward the 3/4 over mark he started being a bit ornery and played in the water fountain despite being asked repeatedly to join the group. Finally, after he wet the entire front of his shirt, DH went in and made him leave it alone. He played for a bit longer but had had enough about 5 minutes before the class officailly ended.
We’re thrilled. Really. He wasn’t the only kid to join in or not as he pleased and he definitely liked the way way this older class is run much better than the other. He had a fantastic time and in the car stated, “I love gym!” It was great.