I Give Up

The reality that I could be induced a week from today has sunk in. Leave it to me to be in the 30% who stripping the membranes didn't work for. :( (I had until 11 am today for it to "kick in.") Not only that, but this past Saturday was two weeks after I lost my mucus plug. . .something like 90% of women go into labor within two weeks of losing it. So, I am in the 10% for that!

On Saturday, for the first time in three weeks I did leak amniotic fluid (the fourth time total in my pregnancy), had major cervix pain, pelvic pressure, the original type of cramps (pinching) when I walked, and had my bloody show (25 hrs after I had my membranes stripped) which is even more disgusting than the mucous plug - I had to throw away my underwear - I actually threw up! (Yes, I have officially passed the amount of times I threw up while pregnant with Logan, despite this pregnancy being nowhere near as nauseous. I've thrown up 3 other times since I last mentioned it here, simply based on having a sensitive gross factor. It will be nice to be normal again soon!) I researched the bloody show and saw that for like 99% of women, it is a sign that labor will occur within 12-72 hrs (i.e. which meant starting midnight Sunday morning and by noon tomorrow/this Tuesday) but, considering I was not in the average statistics for the other things, I am not getting my hopes up.

I even combined most of the other things again (walking, red raspberry leaf tea, etc.) over the weekend just in case they had a better chance of working WITH getting my membranes stripped. But the only thing that's 100% is an actual induction.

So, I'm bummed because getting induced will probably prevent me from being active during labor, which has been something that I've really wanted to do ever since I had Logan when I could only lay in bed (despite his labor being natural) -- because that might be the key to avoiding shoulder dystocia this time.

Also, even though babies generally only gain a half a pound a week (so, like in my post Progress, my induction date would put her at exactly the same weight as Logan a week from now based on her ultrasound), there's still the chance that the ultrasound estimated smaller than she really was or that she's gained faster than "average," and my original fear of her being 9 lbs next week is possible, which would also cause me to be more likely to have the shoulder dystocia again.

Not to mention, all of the other reasons why I wanted to avoid pitocin (Cramp Free This Weekend) The only positive with July 18th is that it's an entire week-and-three days from my last appt where I was almost 5 cm dilated, so I should be dilated even more which means it should go fast.

I will have my membranes stripped again at my appt. this coming Friday -- it is not uncommon for women to have it done more than once if it fails the first time, as a second is often more successful. (I still totally recommend it.) With Friday being a full moon, that is my last hope! :p (Also, that's when I plan to do the final two things on the list of natural inducers.)

It's too bad it didn't happen this past weekend because that would have been the most convenient since Logan was gone Mon eve to 3 pm on Sunday, and Joe & I had the weekend to ourselves. Plus, last week I stored up on sleep & rest and got my energy up. Now with Logan not going to preschool anymore I could potentially be a zombie by the time the baby is born :( (Especially since despite sleeping in until 9 am at both grandparents' houses, he woke up bright eyed at 6 am this morning.) Oh, and last week I woke up to a bunch of stretch marks on my inner thighs! I had blogged before that with Logan I just had one on my stomach and that was it, but this time I had two appear on my stomach. Well now I have these, too, despite not even gaining any weight last week or this week. Yet another downside to being pregnant longer!

Joe arrived home around 8 pm Thurs eve; earlier that day I'd met Brooke for lunch at The Summer Kitchen Cafe (a restaurant that has the best tuna melt sandwiches in the world which I will miss once I move to Des Moines). I spent the rest of the afternoon shopping.

On Friday Joe's boss didn't have any work for him so he got another free pay day (which has been the case every Fri since he started). We both agree that this new job has been better for our marriage as, despite us living a part four days a week, we have seen each other more and spent more time together than when he lived here!!! Joe's kept in touch with his old co-workers and they've all continued working overtime since he left, some of them staying til 1:30 am and still going in on the weekends -- so, he made the right choice.

That afternoon the first of our two realtor possibilities came over to prepare us for putting our house up for sale. The second came over Saturday morning. We liked them both and they seemed equal as far as what they would do, so we had no idea which one we were going to choose, but ended up deciding on the first because she was just as good & experienced, but $1200 cheaper. Our plan is to have our house go on the market on Monday, August 8th if I go into labor this week or Monday, August 15 if I am induced on July 18th. Because, Joe's going to take the first two weeks off of work after I have the baby, and then the following week his mom will come help, followed by my mom the next week (or vice versa), and by then our POD should be packed, paint touched up, and then Joe, Logan, the baby, and I will stay at my dad's house until our house is done being built. I am annoyed because they said it could possibly be October 1st now! UGH! I feel so misled, we never would have agreed to build if we'd heard that originally. There's a big difference between Sept 1st and Oct 1st when you have a newborn and a three year old. Somehow we will survive. . .

Friday evening Joe & I went out to another Omaha-only restaurant, Margarita's, for some yummy Mexican food (giving the spicy thing a try again).

On Saturday, Joe went to a party with his friends that he went to last year where they watch 9 innings of baseball and see who can eat 9 hot dogs and have 9 drinks. Both years that Joe has participated he's had 3 hot dogs and 3 7-Ups. This year 5 of the guys did the 9 & 9 and the one who finished first received a trophy, LOL. (The husband of the woman who is due the same day as me was there and he said she's hardly dilated at all.)

We were going to get tickets to go see The Music Man that night but totally forgot until it was too late.

On Sunday, yesterday (the start of my 38th week), it was great to see my little Logan again after six days! That was one good thing about not going into labor over the weekend -- I was able to see him for the first time in a week without shocking him with a new baby! He kept giving me lots of hugs and kisses and telling me how much he loves me and missed me. :-) He had a fun time with Joe's mom and then my mom & stepdad. Every July in my parents' town (Ankeny) there is a weekend celebration called Summerfest, so they took Logan to the parade.

By the way, Joe noticed that Logan has inherited a trait of his from when he was a toddler! Apparently Joe used to make certain "mmm" sounds when he was eating food that he liked. . .well Logan does that, too! Kinda crazy that something like that is genetic!

Anyway, Joe decided to stay the night and head to work in Iowa this morning rather than leave on Sunday eve just in case my water broke in the middle of the night. (Obviously it didn't.) He's coming home this Wed eve rather than Thurs so as to work from home both Thursday & Friday, so I just have to get through tonight and tomorrow night by myself (2 nights) and today, tomorrow, and Wednesday (3 days). Of course this is the week when suddenly the majority of my contacts to take me to the hospital and/or watch Logan are out of town!

One thing IS certain -- it is definitely Logan & my last week by ourselves and my final week of pregnancy, eek!

On the bright side, I should be proud of my body because I think that's why I'm going later than I did with Logan. My body was better prepared this time so I've been able to be pretty active with this pregnancy without much complaint. . .As I've blogged before, if it wasn't for the shoulder dystocia I'd just wait until she wanted to come out even if it was a week or two late! I said to Joe the other day, "Poor girl already gets a taste of what it's like to have a sibling. Because of your brother's delivery YOU have to be induced!" But then Joe had a good point and said "Maybe because of your brother we are making things easier for you/saving you!"

She really does seem like she is perfectly content inside me. She's been in this tight little ball for the past month so she takes up very little space which is nice for me. (Unlike Logan who I swear kept trying to spread out. . .something he still does when he sleeps and probably why he never cared to be swaddled. . .this girl may be different!)

Also, my former doctor may have been right -- her theory for me going into labor last time (water breaking 25 days early) was that because of Logan's posterior position, he forced the water to break. I may not have gone into labor when I did had he been in the correct position (which, this baby has been so far). (Speaking of my old doctor, at least I can know there's no way I wouldn't be having a c-section had I stayed with her -- maybe she would have been willing to let me go vaginal at my 36 week ultrasound, but probably not even a week after that!)

When I think about my two pregnancies side-by-side they really are examples of how even though I'm the same person, no two are alike.

Pregnancy #1: I went into it thinking I was going to have zero morning sickness because I happened to only talk to people who didn't have it and said they felt better than ever. Reality: I had it horribly and never felt worse in my life.

Pregnancy #2: I went into it prepared to be on my death bed again based on last time. Reality: While I still had one month of nausea, it was not as bad - I was able to continue to live my life.

Pregnancy #1: Many sleepless nights, aches and pains, gained weight quickly, felt my body was incredibly unhealthy, had to do a lot of sitting and laying around.

Pregnancy #2: While I wasn't ache-and-pain free, I didn't have nearly as many sleepless nights, gained less weight at a slower pace, was able to stay active and feel pretty good the majority of the time.

Pregnancy #1: I only had one day of thinking that I might go into labor early and was desperate to go as soon as was healthy, but I didn't do anything to try and naturally induce. Ended up going 3 weeks early with no signs that week other than one small blood clot in the toilet that I assumed was my mucous plug.

Pregnancy #2: Started having signs in my 6th month that I could go early. Have now made it a week farther than my first pregnancy despite trying to naturally induce, with 4 days of no-doubt-about-it losing of the mucous plug as well as the bloody show. Would be fine going late if not for fear of her being able to fit through my pelvis.

Next, I'll see whether my deliveries will be similar or different. . .!

P.S. I deleted my facebook account but will re-activate it once we are moved into our new place.