*Update*

Very briefly as we're having a quiet night together at home.... We're being induced tomorrow. The Non-Stress Test was all good, but when I had the ultrasound, it showed the amniotic fluid was a bit low (moderately low). So, after a consult with the on-call OB, it was left to us whether we wanted to go ahead with induction tomorrow, or wait until Friday.

We chose tomorrow.

For a few reasons.

• He's ready. He's 41 weeks in there!
• We don't want to take a chance that we're doing him any harm at all by leaving him alone in there for 3 more days. Might be only three days, but still.... (with this going on, it's better he comes out than stays in)
• Waiting until Friday to induce would mean constant bed rest for me and also back and forth to the hospital for monitoring (so I guess not constant bed rest!)
• My stress about the above point would, in our opinion, be worse on him.
• It is, simply, time.

Cervix is still not dilated. I think it might have been but when we were in the Assessment area, there was a woman in labour and it friggin' freaked me out so much that my cervix immediately closed!!! :)

The induction will start with a pill called Cervidol. It apparently softens the cervix. It's also on a string, so if things move along too fast, it can be removed. The OB called it, wait for it now.... "soap on a rope". I thought that was hilarious.

Anyway, they'll insert that, watch me for an hour or so, and if nothing, send me home for a while. Then I'll go back 6 hours later for another one. If that one doesn't take I think the oxytocin starts. OR, if I'm finally dilated a bit they'll break the water or do the membrane sweep. I'm not a candidate for oxytocin at this point because the cervix isn't ripe enough for it.

Or something.

Can't remember it all right now, nor the exact order of things, just that it's all starting tomorrow!

As upsetting as it may be that labour is being induced, it also means that my son is that much closer to being safely in my arms. As a friend once said when talking about bringing children into this world, "It doesn't matter HOW they get here... just that they do."

Exactly.

I may post in the morning, or when we come home/IF we come home to wait for the Cervidol to kick in, but who knows how the next day or so will go.

Best bet is to stay tuned via twitter!


One week overdue.

Off to hospital in a few minutes for ultrasound and monitoring... to make sure all is well with him in there. Hopefully my OB will be there and we can chat about the tentative induction on Friday - what the procedures are, what they'll start with (ie: membrane sweep if I'm dilated at all? Prostaglandin gel? Oxytocin?), how it all works.

If all is well with everything today; if placenta looks good, fluid looks good, heart is beating at whatever rate is normal at this point, all that good stuff.... then we'll be sent home with a date and time for induction IF it doesn't start on it's own.

And on my side... if that's the case, I'm meeting up with Dr. Tanya again this week, and I've been chatting with a bodyworker to look into Bowen Therapy and if it can help induce labour naturally. I'm still fighting the good fight to have things happen naturally! (Hmmmm, I used the word "fighting"... perhaps I should change the languaging!)

Having bizarre dreams still. But it's good: they're showing me places I still have to work on before baby comes. For example? Two nights ago I dreamt that a woman wouldn't give me by son back. She was holding him and when I went to get him, she turned away with him in her arms and did not want to give him to me.

Not good. I woke up completely panicked and mad and really upset. And remained that way for a few hours until I got a bit of advice via Twitter.

And then last night I dreamt that I was fighting a female vampire. Woke up thismorning wondering who is sucking the energy out of me. Who's the energetic vampire in my life?

Good news?

I won the battle.

So I know I'm on solid ground with myself.

By the way, I've set up Twitter on my cell phone so I can text in updates along the way. If you want to follow along with the labour and delivery (well, I dare say I won't be texting during delivery!), you can follow me on Twitter, or check this blog often and look on the right sidebar to the Twitter update box.

All for now, time to hit the road!

S.

Had my weekly doctor's appointment this afternoon. Went over our birth preferences with her; she said the list looked pretty good. We aren't asking for crazy stuff, just general preferences. First on the list is Safety First, and second is Help my husband in his efforts to help me. So that pretty much set the "low-maintenance" tone. I also said "please" and "we'd prefer" and "if possible", etc, throughout and ended it with a big thank you and that we are totally open to suggestions and coaching from the nurses and staff involved.

The Group B Strep swab came back negative, so no antibiotics for me. Dr. Monaghan (Dr. Rhone is back for my appt. next week) felt around my belly and said he's pretty average size and if he was born now she figures he'd be between 6 - 7 lbs. So that made me relax a bit! We talked about epidurals - I want to make sure I can do three things:

1. change my mind if I don't want one after all
2. still walk around and feel enough to know when to push (when it feels natural to)
3. up the dose if I choose!!!!!

It's a Yes to all three (although various dosage affects people differently), so I can let that one go now. I was so stuck on that, almost panicky actually. It's funny, some of the small things that drive you batty.

We've decided that we're going to pay for the Preferred Accomodations while we're there too. It's $150.00 but SO worth it. And it's covered by medical so we'll get that money back anyway. It eases my mind for a few reasons:

1. same room for labor, delivery and remainder of stay
2. same staff throughout stay. If there are 10 people that have to poke around my va-jay-jay for a few days, I'd rather it be the same 10 people, ya know?
3. so calm! Calm, easy, gentle energy up there in that wing.
4. bigger rooms. Donald and I would like everyone that wants to visit to come to the hospital instead of our home afterwards. These rooms are a great size, so there's lots of room for our huge family in there. We'd rather have our little guy at home, in his new home, getting to know us and not necessarily being passed around to alot of people in his first few weeks here. And we're private people (even though I'm broadcasting to the world!) and would prefer it to be just us three for a few weeks. Doesn't mean we don't love our friends and family, just means we're putting our own family first.

I weigh 153 (up 3 lbs from last week and 30 lbs gained overall). I think it's hilarious that I weight that much, but it's great that I didn't gain a crazy amount.

He's dropped much lower now. I'm not as short of breath as I've been throughout. AND the heartburn has eased up a bit. YAY! But wanna know something weird? I can feel his head way down there. And when he changes position or just moves or whatever he's doing in there, I can feel it. Way. Down. There. I can physically feel his head move.

F-R-E-A-K-Y.

But delightful.

The cats know something is up -that the time is getting nearer. They're BOTH sleeping with me at night now. And when I say, "with me", I mean, "on me". Chicken sleeps up on my arm/shoulder with her little face next to my ear and paw on my cheek, and Ling Ling sleeps between my legs and 1/2 on my belly/pelvis. She can't quite reach the top of the belly, unless I'm on my side totally and then she's on the belly with Chicken on the shoulder. It's the strangest thing. Anyone have pet & pregnancy stories to share? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear!

Welcome to Lisa, the newest follower. Lisa, you MUST blog about your dogs, you have the BEST! And you're such a great foster mom to the little ones (and big) you bring into your home. Even just a photo blog with your comments for the world to see and share in! Thanks for following!

That's it for tonight!

S.

Something shifted last night and I woke up feeling odd, feeling off in a way. Just not the same. I don't know if he's moved down a bit and that's all it is or what's going on, but I just felt off. I was very hot and a bit crampy and even a tad dizzy for a few minutes. And so heavy. I physically felt heavy. Heavy belly. And really, really tight belly.

Could be emotions, I mean it's been a busy and emotional couple of days, but it was just so odd to me.

A few things I've noticed over the past few days is that he's on my bladder ALOT! I'm using the washroom ALOT. Like, waking up in the middle of the night a few times. And that hasn't really happened yet. And he's getting even MORE active in there! I thought he's be totally quieted down by now, but boy he's active still! I love it, I love feeling him roll around, it just shocks me in a way that it's still going on! Mom says he'll probably quiet down as he gets closer to making his appearance - so that's something for me to watch for. It's getting to that point for me now... I'm paying attention to everything that's happening with my body for signs of "It's time".

I'm currently reading Hypnobirthing by Marie F. Mongan. And you know something? It's, to me, written in a threatening manner almost. As though doctors are "out to get you" and just want to intervene to get it over with so they can get out of there. I'm only on page 121, but that's how it's striking me right now. 1st edition was written in 1992, 3rd in 2005. She's obviously had bad experiences with hospitals. There's a checklist of questions to ask the hospital should you choose to give birth in a hospital, and it's almost like "I dare you to find a hospital that has any of these attributes".

But you know what?

BC Women's has all of them. I'm just so happy with my choice for a hospital birth, especially at a baby-friendly facility. And so incredibly happy with my OB. She's open to my questions and suggestions and, so far, the experience that I would like for me and my baby.

Now, what I am enjoying about the book is how she communicates the connection you have with your yet-to-be-born baby. The communication you already enjoy with your child. And the connection you can have with your baby through the whole birth experience. And of course I'm looking forward to learning more about the whole hypnobirthing technique(s).

All for now. Here's a 35-week belly shot.

This is exactly why I do not do outdoor sports in Vancouver.

That, and I'm 7.5 months pregnant and can hardly make it from one end of the mall to the other anymore.

But really, I thought being stuck on a ride at Disneyland during the earthquake was bad (think I was 12 weeks along at the time). But no, this takes the cake. Big fear realized. No gondolas for Stephi for the foreseeable future.

I'll still take the little guy to Whistler though. And I'm sure when he's old enough he'll be a fantastic après-skier (just like his mom)! Or there's always tobogganing down Whistler Creekside in the middle of the night!

Alot on the go lately - went to the Infant Care class on Sunday at BC Women's. Hilarious facilitator. RN in labour and delivery, and mother of six (triplets, twins and a single one!). I was waiting with baited breath to learn how to change a diaper (isn't that pathetic? 38 years old and had to take a class....) and I finally asked to be shown. Well, 1/2 the class came rushing over to watch, so I didn't feel as awkward anymore! 10:1 I'll still need youtube when I actually have to do it on my own. First time mom's - I'm sure I'm not the only one that's scared I'll do something wrong and tear off his belly button or something....

I'm sleeping now that my husband is in another room (still sad about that, but I've got to get sleep!), but I wake up at the sound of a pin dropping, so my sleep is interrupted. Like last night when I finally got to sleep around 12:30am, only to wake up at 3am to my neighbours FREAKING LOUD MUFFLER. Then was up until 7am. Argh. But hey, I'm sure there will be nights like that when the little guy comes, so there you go.

I'm having really sharp pains in my lower pelvic area every day. Only lasts for a few seconds and a span of about 5 minutes in total, but they do cause me to pause and take a breath. Asking my doctor on Monday what it may be. I thought Braxton Hicks were more "crampy" than sharp pains, but I'll find out next week.

Hospital bag almost ready to go. Just looking for a robe and slippers to wear over the hospital gown while I'm labouring. I want to look nice for myself and feel like a girl. Want something pretty for myself! But I can't find anything. All the robes are big and fleece or terry. Too big. I look like a house! I'll still look, might have to spend more money than I want, but it's my little treat for myself. IF, I can find something.

And I'm 34 weeks today! Must get the husband to take a pic tonight and I'll post along with the 34-week update AND along with the breaking news that I've been nominated for a 2008 Medical Weblog Award! More on that later tonight. For now, this pregnant chick has GOT to find something to eat!

S.

Went to "Prenatal in a Day" at BC Women's yesterday.

It was fantastic! I was very impressed with how they are everything I thought they wouldn't be. They are so for the mom and baby. My fears were put aside. Fears of the "coldness" of it all. Fears they would treat the birth of my little guy more as a procedure and not a, well, a birth experience. The experience that it is. The experience of joining the world. The experience of me bringing a being into this world. They are so focused on making sure you have the experience you desire. Make no mistake, the health of the baby is first and foremost. Yet they are there for you too.

Me and him are delivering and doing all the work. They're in the room to make sure it happens without incident. And to catch him when he comes out.

I was really happy to hear their philosophy.

I was also really happy to have the husbands and support persons included in the session. Not just that they were there, but they were part of the "curriculum" and there was alot of how important they are to the birth and the labouring (don't like that they call it labour "pains" because that word brings up such fear so Donald and I are going to make up our own word. Read somewhere about using the word "surge" instead, so might go that route.). I think it really opened Donald's eyes that he's actually part of this, not just there because I want him to be or because I need him to be. I want him to have the experience he wants as well. That probably won't be venturing too far below the waist. Nor cutting the cord. It will be as it will be for him, but trust me...he's not waiting out in the hallway until it's over! There's more discussion due on this one. I think it opened his eyes a bit as to just how important he is to it all. We'll see.

The other gals that were there and due around my time were much smaller. So now I'm freaked out, thinking I have a huge baby growing inside me. Going to ask my doctor tomorrow at the check up about this.

(Anyone know if you can tell how big a baby is before he's born? Need another ultrasound I suppose?)

Next week is Infant Care Class. This will get into the nitty gritty of the care after delivery (just a small example is how to change a diaper... thank god!) and apparently lots of talk on vaccines. Don't know what else, will find out on Sunday!

All for now. Me and my big-ass baby have actual work to do....

BC Women's Hospital is officially "baby-friendly"!

Here's a brief synapsis of the World Health Organization's initiative for Baby Friendly designation.

I'm thrilled!

I had relaxed a bit after the last doctor's appointment and chatting with my OB about what I want and don't want for my baby at birth/following birth. She was right there with me. She didn't fight me on anything I wanted. It was a non-issue. She was supportive. And here I was panicking for months because other women had told me that hospitals are difficult to deal with and they/the nurses/the doctors might fight me when it comes to ie: eye ointment, breastfeeding, etc etc, but not at all! And now, knowing that BC Women's is officially designated as Baby-Friendly, I can completely relax in knowing I'll be supported in breastfeeding (among other things) during my stay at the hospital.

Phew.