37 Weeks and We Have a Date!

Whoa, would you look at that thing?  That belleh has a mind of it's own, I swear. So ginormous.

Um, anyway. 37 weeks.  Woo hoo!  I have a few appointment updates for you...

• When I last posted, I was about to go to my growth ultrasound at MFM for baby girl.  All is well with her, but she was estimated to be about 8.5 pounds at 36w4d.  That's considered "above the 99th percentile" for anyone that didn't automatically assume as much. Ahem.
• On Friday, I had my OB appointment with my regular doctor, who was surprised at how "small" the baby was. (She be cray.)  Seriously though, she just thought Baby IV was bigger than that at this point, and honestly?  My OB has guessed my kids birth weights every time, so I tend to believe her.  Which, of course, makes me even more nervous.
•  She laughed at my belly measurement (I didn't even ask what it was, but I was measuring 6 weeks ahead the week before, so...) 
• She then checked me for dilation.  6cm.  Yep.  Pretty typical for me, really. She didn't even mention my effacement, but I'm assuming it was 80% or more, considering I was 80% the week before.
• My OB and I talked everything over and she gave me 3 possible induction dates and left the choice up to me.  January 23rd, January 24th or January 27th.  I'll explain below.

Anyway,  ever since my severe bleeding issue after Carter's birth (see here and the cause here) my OB doesn't want me to go too far past 39 weeks.  (I also had pre-e with Carter and Brynn and a cervical mass with Reid, giving me "high risk" status with both Reid and Baby IV's pregnancies.)  I mentioned already that I'm 39 weeks on January 23rd and we were all set for a January 24th induction and then this happened.

So, at my appt on Friday, my OB told me that I could be induced with another OB at the practice on January 23rd (39w0d) or January 24th (39w1d) but if I wanted HER to do the induction, then I'd have to wait until January 27th (39w4d).  So while I was really hoping for a January 24th induction for several reasons (i.e. it's a Friday, it's convenient, Bob would have a full 2 weeks at home with me post delivery, we wouldn't have to worry about getting Carter to school, etc) none of those reasons even compare to having my own OB in charge of my induction/delivery.

Here's the thing... I really like my OB.  I trust her.  I trust her medical choices. I trust her delivery style. I trust her techniques.  She's delivered all 3 of my babies thus far. She didn't force me to go right to a c-section with Carter when he was measuring ahead and I wanted to try an induction first.  She handled my post-delivery drop in blood pressure (after having pre-e) and bleeding issues perfectly.  Brynn's delivery was problem-free (despite a short stint in the NICU because she came so fast.)  When Reid was sideways, she helped me push him out with no interventions and no tearing.

I mean... this woman is amazing.

So, obviously, I'm going to choose her over any date or convenience factor in the world.

While I'm very confident with my decision, I'm also a little nervous.  This baby is measuring even further ahead than any of my others at this point and, if I wait until January 27th to deliver, this will be the longest pregnancy for me.  Only by 4 days, but still.  The longest.  And, if I think about this baby girl being the same size as Brynn and Reid (9lbs 3oz at 39w0d) then it's really not a big deal for me.  She'll just be slightly larger than that.  Whatever.

But then, I think about her being the same size as Carter (ya know, since she's measuring bigger than he was at this point).  And I cringe.  Carter was 9lbs 5oz at 38w0d.  So this pregnancy would be approximately 12 days longer than that one.  Do you know how much more a baby can grow in 12 days? I don't even want to think about it.

Then again?

She could be a teensy, tiny little thing (and clearly, by that, I mean 8 pounds, something).  You just never know.  So I don't want to make any delivery decisions based on her possible size either.  We'll just see.

And also?

She could actually come on her own.  I mean those things happen during pregnancy.  Not with any of my pregnancies, of course, but who knows.  Maybe one of my kids won't actually have to be forced out.  Then deciding on an induction date won't even matter.  I could have any joe schmoe off the street delivering her at that point.  And at 6cm and 80%+, I'd say I'm well on my way.

But I'm also 99% sure I'll make it until January 27th.

2 more weeks, people!  TWO. MORE.

Pregnancy: 37 weeks  

Days until 1.27.14 induction:  14 days

Weight Gain: 34 pounds

Sleep: The acid reflux.  The achey belly.  These are not good for sleep.

  

Gender: It's a GIRL!  {Check out the reveal post.}

Name: Emerson Mae {Check out my original name post here and the reveal post here.}

Feeling: Crappy, but more ready now after this weekend! We got SO MUCH done and I've done just about everything except setting up the swing and installing the carseat (which is IN the car... it's just not installed yet.)

Health: BP has been pretty good, baby girl is passing all of her BPP's, I passed my 3 hour GTT.  Everything is good.  She's just big.  I'm just big.  But everything is good.

Movement: Homegirl be cray.

Belly: Measuring at least 6 weeks ahead. Maybe more.  When your OB just laughs at your belly measurement, it is not a good sign.

For reference, here are my side-by-side weekly belly pics with Reid and my first 20 weeks with Emmie Mae. 

Next Appointment: OB appointment and Biophysical Profile Ultrasound: Friday, January 17th at 38w1d.