c-section

On Wednesday, Elliot and I met with one of the OBs connected to the midwifery practice we are using. I have been quite upset about this whole c-section possibility, so I thought going to meet with the OB would somehow put me at ease. I think it was a great decision! The OB we met with was so nice, and relatively young (late 30s/early 40s). He came into the room with a laptop, so Elliot liked him immediately. We explained our situation, and he reviewed my test results. He agreed that all the medicines we have been using are exactly right, and he talked about my options. Immediately, he seemed to agree that he thought I could (and should) continue to 36 weeks. He said that unless the baby was in actual danger, he would not encourage doing a c-section at 34 weeks. That was a HUGE relief to me. We also talked about the different pain medications, and he said that there has been no proven harm to babies if you limit the heavier pain meds to either no more than 1 week of continued use, or you can do 2-3 weeks of occasional/sporadic use. So, if the pain worsens after 33/34 weeks, there are several pain management options I can use.

He is fairly certain that when I stop the Terbutaline at 36 weeks, the contractions will come back. At a minimum, Terbutaline can cause a “rebound” effect with the contractions after keeping them suppressed for so long. He felt that if the contractions continued more than 2-3 days without me progressing into full labor (or if they became quite painful), he would not let me continue on that way any longer. They would start bringing me in regularly once the contractions begin to monitor me – check the fetal stress levels, see if the contractions are productive, etc. If after 2-3 days the contractions do not turn into full labor or do not subside and disappear, he would hope to induce at that point (assuming that my cervix appears to be “receptive” to induction). There are several different ways they could induce, and they will not make that decision until after they see what my body is doing. If they cannot induce labor and the contractions continue, a c-section would be necessary. We talked about anesthesia options, and he agreed that he could work with the anesthesiologist to identify a short-acting inhaled anesthesia that would knock me out sufficiently to get the spinal/epidural in, and then allow me to be lucid for the birth of the baby. That was a huge relief to me! So, hopefully a c-section will be unnecessary, but I feel better knowing that 1) I will not have to walk around contracting and in pain for weeks and 2) If I have to have a c-section, we can find a way to do it so I can see the birth of my son!

I have actually been feeling really good most of this week. I’ve been vigilant about taking my medicines on time and not letting it stretch beyond 6 hours. Unfortunately, right after I commented about what a great week I was having and started to hope that Frank was shrinking or disappearing, or that I could hold him at bay with just a bit of Tylenol, today I am definitely starting to hurt more (although I am able to do another course of Indocin any time I want). We have another midwife appointment next week, and another ultrasound, and we will see where we go from there! Four more weeks left until we stop the medications.

In other news, we attended our first hypnobirthing class last night! I really hope this helps me, and I am excited to explore ways to relax and try to embrace this whole process in a confident and stress-free manner. We are in the class with our friends Ken and Erica, so it should be a wonderful experience. We were taught 2 breathing techniques, and we have to listen to this deep relaxation CD everyday to practice the self-relaxation techniques. Now, if I could just keep Elliot from snoring loudly during the relaxation exercises . . . .

And best of all . . . it looks like we are finally moving! We started packing up the house, and we are going to start making our first runs with boxes this weekend. I think I will probably schedule the “big” move either next weekend or that following week. The carpet was installed last night, and the floors are being finalized today along with the touch-up painting. They still have to replace the one kitchen cabinet (it should be in Monday) and fix up the tile backsplash, install a light and accessories in the powder room, install the baby’s vanity (which should be in today) and install the shower panel (which should be in Tuesday) and finish tiling the master bathroom by the shower panel. That means by this weekend all the big stuff will be finished, and by Wednesday of next week, all the “little things” should be done. Also, our living room couch arrived, so that is being delivered on November 11! It is finally coming together. I am supposed to have a friend from out of town coming to stay with us the weekend of November 14, so it looks like we will be sleeping at the house by then!

I’m a person who likes to make checklists . . . I don’t always do the things on my checklists, but I am constantly making them. I make a checklist when I pack, when I go shopping, when I am running errands. I keep checklists for work activities, and calls I need to make and appointments I need to schedule. I keep checklists of gifts I want to buy for people, and cake ideas I have. I make checklists for working through problems, or dealing with our contractor, and pretty much for anything that I can track or analyze with a list.

So . . . ever since our ultrasound appointment last week, I’ve been making lists of all the things we need to do before this baby comes, such as:

Buy a glider
Finish registering (and pick a bedding set!)
Arrange for a pediatrician
Meet with the OB to discuss birth options in case a midwife delivery is not an option
Schedule day care tour
Get contractor to finish renovations
Finish packing and prepare to move
Pack bag for hospital
Get information for pain management doctors, just in case
Buy a “coming home” outfit for the baby
Get car seats and get them installed
Pick up bassinet (or pack ‘n play) to have something for the baby to sleep in
Buy gift for my niece Stephanie’s bat mitzvah

As you can imagine, many of these items have sublists . . . I have started a list of items I need to pack in the hospital bag, and a list of things that still need to be done on our home renovations, and a list for packing to move, etc.

Well, I am happy to report that today I accomplished several things on my lists! We called and arranged for a pediatrician for the baby (we selected Bethesda Pediatrics). We are planning to call and schedule a tour of the office, but we did speak to Dr. Korengold on the phone, and at a minimum, we are all set there. We have an appointment scheduled this week to meet with the OB (and I hope that is the only time I have to see the OB!). We are going to go over the “what if” scenarios . . . what if I have to have a c-section, how can we deal with my needle phobia and anesthesia? What if I start contracting at 36 weeks, but do not progress into labor – what are my options there if the midwives won’t induce that early? (Can you tell I have a list of questions for the OB, too?)

On Friday, we did finish registering (main registry is at Great Beginnings, but we also opened smaller registries at Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us) and we ordered the glider for the baby’s bedroom. We have to arrange a time to pick up the bassinet and the car seats from Stephanie & Greg, but hopefully as of this weekend, we will have a house to put the things in! Now – if only we could actually agree on a bedding set . . . . but I digress.

I just really hope that whenever this baby comes, I can have a vaginal birth. I know lots of people think c-sections are no big deal, and if I have to do that, I will. I’m just so awful with needles that I’m fairly certain they will have to completely knock me out if I have a c-section, and I’ll completely miss his birth, and I just don’t want that. . . . it isn’t on my list.

OB Appt & Moving!

Checklists