Saturday, October 14, 2006

Baby Update

I had a long day at the Dr.s yesterday.

First, we had our ultrasound. An ultrasound at this stage isn't nearly as exciting as the earlier ones - you can only see one part at a time, so we didn't get any pictures.

While we were waiting for the tech to be ready we amused ourselves by watching my belly wiggle and move on it's own. Hana was getting all comfyfor her nap. Apparently the scan was scheduled at a very inconvenient time for her. She takes after her parents - when she wants to sleep nothing can stop her. During the scan the tech needed to be able to see 3 movements in order to give her the ok. She jiggled my belly and poked at me and got me to change position and everything, but Hana didn't mind, she just kept right on sleeping.

What the tech did figure out was that she is still breech. Somehow she managed to get her feet up from under her and into the picke position, which is why I've been feeling more movement in the middle of my belly, but she didn't flip. She tricked us. The tech also said she's about 5.8 lbs right now - nice healthy size, not too big.

So after the scan I had to go for a non stress test to make sure that she was still active and such. It didn't bother me too much, I knew she'd be waking up soon (it was getting close to my usual nap time which is when the baby usually wakes up....). Ben was a little concerned at first because she wasn't moving when the tech tried to wake her, but we saw the heartbeat so we knew everything was fine. Apparently I've just woken her up enough times that she's learned to ignore it :P

During the non stress test I got to relax in a big laxy boy chair. Not too bad at all if you ask me. Ben and I sat and chatted and I pushed a button every time I felt the baby move, they also had me hooked up to a machine the measured her heart rate and any contractions I might have had (none during the test). After about 10 mintues she woke up and was moving around a lot.

While we were doing the test a Dr. came in and told us the options we had because Hana's breech. She basically said that having an ECV has about a 50% success rate, can be very uncomfortable, and can put the baby in distress which calls for an immediate emergency section. She said if we chose that it would have to be done very soon. I had already reseached it and came to the conclusion that the stress wasn't worth the risk, and hearing her explination confirmed it for me. We decided to not try the ECV and just got with a scheduled section.

Not that I'm a big fan of having a section, I'd just rather have a planned one than an emergency one.

So then we had my appointment with my OB. It was lots of fun, I had my GBS swabs done....yay....
It was a Dr. I hadn't seen before, and she was very nice, but not very gentle lol. We talked about my decision to have a section. She said the baby probably could be turned with no problem, but Ben and I both don't want to risk it.

So, they're going to schedule me for a section somewhere around Nov. 4 (they do it a week before the EDD, but I think they have my date off by a week, so Nov. 4 is my real EDD anyway...). I told the Dr. babies in my family tend to come early so she gave me a copy of my history, just in case. She also said I was measuring at 39 weeks, so I'll be suprised if I make it to November.

So, Hana Rae Perry will be entering the world no later than Nov. 4. In the meantime she could still turn - they'll be checking every week and will check before my section just in case. I have to be very observant of contractions etc. because they don't want me going into labour - if I do they have to stop it or do an emergency section.

I'm still processing the whole thing. Even tho I knew a section was always a possibility (either because of position or size) I was still hoping for a vaginal birth. On the other hand, I don't have to worry about tearing or going over due anymore ;). I don't like the idea of surgery but it is nice to know that I could still deliver vaginally for my next one.

So in a nutshell, I learned my baby is sneeky and likes to sleep, and she'll be born by the 4th, not such a bad day at all :) .

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wowo, what an appointment. I can't wait until she is born! Sounds like she is pretty comfy though! Yay, your going to be a mommy!

Anonymous said...

November 4th sounds like a wonderful day!!!!! Babies can do crazy things, huh? I admire your positive attitude about the whole c-section possibility. I would totally be a mess (much to my shame). But you....you are like the warrior princess ;) My prayers are with you and your upcoming delivery...I can't believe you're going to be a mommy soon...you will LOVE it!!!!!!! And for what it's worth, from knowing you at BBC, I think you'll make a great mom (and of course Ben will make a great dad:))

Mommy of Four said...

I posted on here yesterday, but apparently it got sent into the abyss. All I said was this: did your doctor give you any exrercises to help turn Hana around? My friend's midwife gave her some to do, and it turned her baby at the last minute! I would encourage you to ask your doctor if she didn't give you any, or I can have my friend send me an email of the exercises and I can forward them to you...let me know!

I would hate for you to have to have a c-section if you really don't have to! If you have a section, you will never be allowed to be induced in the future (should you need to be), and you are at a much higher risk of infection, and Hana having breathing problems. Note: this is a higher RISK, not a for sure thing...just not something I'd jump to if you might be able to safely do something about it!

Kelly said...

AW! I love her name. My friend Heather just had a baby named Ashlynn Rae...similar.