Pushing for an induction

(34.5 weeks pregnant)

I am much more nervous about giving birth this time around than I was with Abbie’s birth.  The size of this baby alone, is enough to make me nervous, but there are more factors than just his size.

But just for kicks and giggles, let’s talk about his size first.  I am hoping and praying with all my might that the u/s’s are off and he’s not actually 3 weeks ahead of schedule, but I really don’t think they’re that far off, for a few reasons.  Abbie was 9lbs 9.2oz at birth, and boys tend to be bigger than girls at birth.  Big babies run in Mark’s family and since Mark and I are both tall, our odds of having another big baby are pretty high.  I have a ton of stretch marks from my pregnancy with Abbie, except already, at 35 weeks, they’re getting bigger.  Not wider, but they’re getting higher on my belly than they were before.  Hopefully that means that I’m just carrying him higher, but I don’t know.  And this little guy moves a LOT.  Like almost non-stop, to the point where he’s bouncing around in there so much it actually wakes me up at night.  The NST’s they’re making me do are a complete joke.  His heart rate is supposed to go up at least two times in 20 mins while I’m hooked up to the monitors, and I think the least amount of times his HR has gone up during one of our sessions has been four times.  If he’s, by chance, actually being still, all I have to do is poke him and he squirms.  I’m not sure if I feel him so much because he’s so big and just doesn’t have much room to move or he’s even more active than Abbie was.  Either way, it’s scary.

“Shoulder dystocia” keeps being brought up because of his size.  This is a huge fear of mine – that he’s going to get stuck.  I would love to give birth vaginally, but it scares me to think about what could happen if he does get stuck.  I’d like to think my body can handle giving birth to a 10+lb baby, but that’s a BIG baby.

I’m also worried about the possibility of having to give birth in an Italian hospital due to space not being available at the base hospital.  Since they’ve labeled my pregnancy a “complicated pregnancy”, I really don’t want to have to go through a complicated birth in a foreign hospital and having to deal with the way they do things and the language barrier.  If things are going to go wrong during the birth, I want to know exactly what’s going on and not have to rely on a translator to relay info to me.  Plus if I end up needing a c-section, they don’t allow dads to be in the room and they immediately take the baby away from you for a few hours and don’t let either of us see him.  (From what I’ve heard anyway.)  I’ve also decided I do want an epidural in case there are complications.  I’d rather not have to go through a bunch of maneuvers and stuff while I can fully feel everything if he does get stuck.  And if I give birth in an Italian hospital, there’s no guarantee that you’ll get an epi, even if you ask for it.  It basically depends on if someone is around to give one or not, and if they’re not, they won’t call an anesthesiologist in to do one unless they deem it necessary.  I’ve also heard people say that they didn’t let the baby stay in their rooms with them while they were recovering.  They kept the babies in the nursery.  So pretty much having to give birth in the Italian hospital terrifies me… like REALLY terrifies me, and I’m not going to know if I have to go there until I go into labor and call base to see if they have room for me there.

Lastly, if I do go in to labor on my own, I’m worried about what we’re going to do with Abbie last minute.  I’ve asked a few friends if they’d be willing to watch her for us, but one of them works full-time, so that really limits when she’s available and one of them works part-time and lives 45 mins away, so if we’re in a rush, I’m not really sure what we’re going to do.  Another one has said that she’d help, but I really don’t know her schedule or if she’s willing to stay at our house.  I think it’s going to be a matter of us scrambling last minute to get Abbie and all her junk and her car seat to someone else’s house on our way to the hospital, which really isn’t the ideal situation at all, but it’s either that or Mark stays with her and I go by myself.

So basically, I want them to induce me.  If they could induce me between 38 and 39 weeks, that would be ideal.  I would like to experience going in to labor on my own, but there’s so much at stake here.  If they induced me, he wouldn’t be as big as he would if he came on his own, they would induce me on base, so I could give birth there, and we could set up care for Abbie in advance.  It would pretty much solve all of my problems, with the exception of him getting stuck, but again, he’d be smaller than he would if I carried him full term, so that would help.  However, they said that they wouldn’t induce me unless he’s measuring over 10lbs or I have blood pressure issues.  (Which, by the way, at all my NST’s, my blood pressure has been 100% normal…)

I’ve pretty much lived at the clinic since Mark got back.  Two weeks ago I was there Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri.  Last week I was there Mon, Tues and Weds.  This week I’m there Mon, Thurs and Fri.  Next week I’m there Mon, Tues and Thurs.  It ridiculous.  Between NST’s, fluid checks, growth scans, OB appts, and classes, I might as well just move there.  My 36 weeks appointment is next Thursday and I’m going to talk to them about inducing me then, to see if they will.  I’ll let you know how it turns out.  Wish me luck!