Labor and Delivery: Take 1

Well if you caught my short text-to-blogger posts below, the plan for induction did not happen today. We went in for our appointment on Thursday knowing that induction would most likely happen this weekend. At our appt., my OB recommended I get started that afternoon with some cervical treatment in the hospital since she was on-call that evening, and would be in today but not over the weekend. She encouraged us to go home, finish packing our bags, and go into the hospital at 3:30. We came home, finished up some things including work stuff, emptying out the fridge, washing the sheets, etc. I went to acupuncture at noon for some work on induction, and after I got up off the acupuncture table, I instantly felt he dropped lower into my pelvis and had a Braxton-Hicks contraction. We went for a final last lunch just the 2 of us at Chili's, then headed over to the hospital. By that time we had told all of our friends, grandma and grandpa Johnson had made preparations to start the trek up from Iowa, everything was laid out perfect.

When we got into our room, our nurse had told us that first they were going to start off with some labwork, and then Dr. G would decide on the plan. We were a bit confused by this, as it seemed we had made a definite plan earlier at our appt. When they checked my blood pressure, it was picture perfect and the best it had ever been. The nurse even checked it while I was sitting up and it still was great! All my labs also came back great with the exception of the protein in my urine which remained at +3 and had not changed since last week. We were all shocked, to say the least. Dr. G came into our room to talk to us about our options and we both really struggled with where we would go from there. She had discussed my situation with 2 other OBs in the practice, and they both said without-a-doubt that they would push to get me to 37 weeks (a week away). She knew I hadn't been feeling well all week and feels attached to my case since I'm her patient. We discussed what would happen if I did develop Eclampsia and then would need Magnesium Sulfate and most likely a caesarean section. I was scared knowing that I could get sick real fast and would not be healthy going into a delivery. Dr. G really listened to my concerns and fears, and we both had to face a difficult decision. Eventually we decided that it would be best to hold off another week so Soren could grow and be even more healthy than he was.

The plan is to go back to Labor and Delivery on Sunday for a few hours for repeat blood draws, monitoring, and also get a cervical gel treatment, then be sent home. On Tuesday I will go into the clinic to get my cervix checked to see if there's been any changes, and may go back over to Labor and Delivery for another cervical treatment. Then on Thursday I will go to my already-scheduled ultrasound and OB appt. at the clinic, then I will go to L&D Thursday afternoon to start induction.

In keepin' it real, I will say I was frustrated and saddened that I would not be delivering my little guy this weekend. I felt emotionally and mentally ready going into it, all arrangements had been made, I was ready. We were all ready. I cried several times that evening. We never expected that we would be sent home. When I woke up this morning (after a great night's sleep, might I add), I felt at peace with the decision. If I can wait 3 years to have this little miracle, I can certainly wait another week. We all know it's what is best for him, and that's most important. 6.more.days. I can do this.