We had another ultrasound this morning, and they did a weight measurement again. They measured him at 10 lb, 14 oz. !!! The fluid level had gone down a bit, and his thigh bone measured at about 39 weeks, but he's still measuring pretty large. Whether he actually comes out weighing that much or not, I guess we'll see.
The OB/GYN who consulted with us at our ultrasound said that when babies get this big, they normally offer (note: not suggest, just offer) a c-section if the parents want it. She said that there is a 10% chance in babies this size of shoulder dystocia (the head is born but the shoulders get stuck). Of babies whose shoulders get stuck, 10% of those (so about 2% of babies this size) have permanent nerve damage. We aren't really worried about being in this 2%, especially since we've heard so many stories of babies who didn't end up as large as their ultrasounds said they'd be. I appreciate their caution, though.
After that appointment, we headed to the birth center where we met with one of the midwives. She was very helpful in talking through our options with us while at the same time allowing us to make most of these decisions. We were all in agreement that, at this point, it's time to get things moving, so we opted to try to get labor started by the end of the week (i.e. inducing labor). There are lots of different options for doing this: out-of-hospital things like acupuncture and herbs, or in-hospital procedures like breaking my water, stripping the membranes, or using Pitocin. She did an internal exam to try to figure out how ready my body might be for labor, and I was already dilated 4 cm - i.e. my cervix is "very ripe." Long story short, with as much fluid as I have, my uterus might actually be less capable of contracting effectively enough to really get labor going, so we want to try to let some of it out. There is, however, a heightened risk of the umbilical cord slipping out below the baby's head if my water was to break (very bad), so we're going with a modified version called "needling the membranes." They will poke needle-sized holes in my water bag to let some of the fluid out slowly, thus allowing the baby's head to drop down into place without the cord slipping out first. This will be a very controlled process with lots of close observation, which we felt was the safest and best option for our situation. After this is done, we will play the waiting game for a few hours and hope that my labor will start in earnest now that the uterus has a bit more room to work. If nothing happens, then we will talk about using Pitocin to move things along.
Inducing labor. Going into this pregnancy, this was probably one of the last things that I wanted to do (or even talk about), but I can honestly say I am glad, relieved, and even excited for this decision. Inducing labor with these midwives will look significantly different than it did with Kayligrace. They have told me that even if they have to put me on Pitocin, I will still be able to be up and moving around, and there is a good chance that they'd take me back off of it once labor got going. They are also much more willing to wait longer for labor to progress if my body needs more time. Pretty much, as long as I'm making progress, they don't mind waiting. Yay! What a relief! If my body needs a kick-start to get going, I'm fine with that, especially if I know that I can labor at my own pace once I've started.
So, the end result of the day. Thursday at 8 am I will be at UNC hospital beginning the process that will end in me meeting my precious little boy, and I CANNOT WAIT! What a gift. What a privilege. What a blessing. Thank you, Lord, for this amazing opportunity of joining You in bringing another life into this world, and thank you for the tremendous gift of caring for your child. May he grow to know, love, and serve You as his Savior and King, and may we bless and honor You in how we parent him.
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