Third times a charm?

I promise this blog isn’t going to turn into only talking about this pregnancy for the next month, but right now, it’s a subject very near and dear to my heart.  Bear with me and I promise that eventually I’ll start blogging about the cool stuff like traveling.  I don’t see me being in a “travel-worthy” state anytime in the near future though… Just saying.

I pretty much feel like, in the month I’ve been being seen here in Italy, my pregnancy has fallen apart.  The clinic here seems to be very “doom and gloom” and they don’t have a positive outlook on anything.  I feel like they’re just looking for problems and grasping at straws to come up with things, and it’s making it really hard to feel comfortable with giving birth here.  I honestly feel like the OB clinic here is scared about something, and they’re doing everything for their own best interest, instead of mine.

I had an NST appointment on Monday.  Again, everything is fine.  My bp was like 130/78 (aka: not hypertensive) and baby boy was fine.  So then a new doctor, that I’ve never seen, comes in to do my fluid check (which again, was fine).  He no sooner gets the ultrasound wand up to my belly and gets an image on the screen and asks, “Have you had a growth scan lately?”  I laughed and said, yeah, I know, he’s huge.  He kind of backtracks a little bit and then starts laying it all out….  He said that he wants me to do the 3 hr glucose test for a second time since one of my four numbers was close to the cut off and one was under.  So I failed one of the four tests, and here, they only allow you to fail one.  He told me their numbers are pretty conservative, and I passed the 3hr, but he wants me to do it again, just to make sure.  I asked him about inducing me before 39 weeks (as in 38w4d), and he said that they don’t consider size to be a reason to induce.  And then in the next breath, he said, but if the baby is measuring over 9.5lbs, that would be a reason to do a c-section.  …. um, what?  So you’re telling me you won’t induce me before 39 weeks due to his size because that’s not a “medical reason”, but yet you find his size to be reason enough to do a major surgery and not even let me try to labor naturally first?  Give me a freakin break.  Every time I start asking questions, they pretty much say ACOG (American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynocology) recommends it and that’s always their blanket statement.  I feel like they’re putting me between a rock and a hard place and it’s either their way or no way and they’re not going to let me have any say in the birth of my own child.

I got home and called my OB I went to in the States, just to ask about their cut off for the 1 hr glucose test, that I passed by 1 point.  She basically said that that’s the standard their lab came up with and that’s the number that they go by and it’s worked fine for them.  She also told me that in their practice you can have two numbers in the 3 hr glucose test over the limit and still pass it.

Tuesday I had another growth scan ultrasound.  (I was 35w5d.)  Baby boy was measuring 38w3d and weighed 7lb14oz… and I still have 4 weeks to go.  So I’m pretty sure he’s going to be a big boy.  Honestly, he just feels bigger to me.  I don’t ever remember feeling this big with Abbie, not even at the very end, let alone with a month to go.  That kind of scares me quite a bit, but I’ve given birth to one big baby, so I think I’ll be able to get another one out.

I have yet another appointment tomorrow, so we’ll see what they say about his size and what they want me to do.  I’ve talked to Mark’s squadron commander’s wife about it and she’s said that if his commander needs to get involved in the whole situation, he will, but that’s about the last thing I want to do.  I don’t want to piss everyone at the clinic off and make them feel like I’m going over their head, but at the same time, I don’t want them to push me into doing something I don’t want to do either (aka: a c-section), unless it’s absolutely medically necessary.  I would much rather have them induce me a few days early than just automatically schedule me for a c-section.  Wish me luck!