Consider this scenario: You're huddled inside, comfortable, warm, cozy and constantly fed. Outside, it's cold and unpredictable, and you're unaware that there is a bunch of people, two in particular, who are ready to shepherd you through that dicey world.
Why would you want to leave that safe surround?
When you think of it that way, it makes sense why Bun is, shall we say, reluctant to make its exit -- or entrance, depending on how you look at it.
We've passed the due date -- that was Tuesday or Friday, the doc's not sure -- with no sign of imminent labor and delivery. Anni had an appointment Thursday, when we got good news and some surprising news.
Bun was active and kicking, with a heart rate of 140. The doc still is predicting a birth weight of 7 1/2 lbs to 8 1/2 lbs.
Anni was not dilated, though, and after an exam the doc said it seems she has a smaller-than-normal pelvic structure. Now, in most cases, that would be considered a good thing.
Think about it. Who really wants to hear: "You have a huge pelvis and our only concern is keeping that baby from sliding out without you realizing it."
The hiccup with a small pelvis, of course, is that it can be difficult for the baby to make it through the birth canal. (Think about pushing a golf ball through a garden house.)
The doc, who explained this very well, knowing it caught Anni completely off guard, said it is possible she will not be able to have a natural birth and that a C-section may be the best option.
That's not a done deal, however, as the doctor said he's been surprised before by women who have small pelvic bones but still pop a baby out the natural way.
So, here's where we're at. If Anni doesn't go into labor before Wednesday, we'll meet with the doctor. There likely are two scenarios at that point. One would be to induce labor, probably Wednesday evening or Thursday morning, and try for a vaginal delivery with the hope that the pelvic bones will give way. The other scenario would be to head in to the hospital planning for a C-section on Friday.
So as you can imagine, we've been doing more research than we expected to be doing at this point.
Anni has some concerns about inducing for a natural birth without knowing if that is possible, but a C-section certainly has its own pros and cons.
A lot to think about, but the bottom line still is this: Mom and baby appear perfectly healthy and even with the pelvic issue, the doctor still is not suggesting that Bun's delivery will have any unusually painful or dangerous complications.
So, we wait.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Today's the day. Maybe.
It's Feb. 24, Anni's due date.
Any sign of imminent labor and delivery? No, but that could change at any moment, or it could take several more days.
Are we ready? Well, as ready as we can be without actually being ready. Who's really ready for their first, anyway?
The other day we got an indication that it's a few days off. I put my hand on the belly and said, "Are you coming today?" Nothing.
"Are you coming on Monday?" Nothing.
"Are you coming on Tuesday?" Nothing.
"Are you coming on Wednesday?" Nothing.
"How about Thursday? Are you coming Thursday?" Kick-kick.
"Thursday? You're coming Thursday?" Kick.
I guess that's as good a sign as any.
Stay tuned...
Any sign of imminent labor and delivery? No, but that could change at any moment, or it could take several more days.
Are we ready? Well, as ready as we can be without actually being ready. Who's really ready for their first, anyway?
The other day we got an indication that it's a few days off. I put my hand on the belly and said, "Are you coming today?" Nothing.
"Are you coming on Monday?" Nothing.
"Are you coming on Tuesday?" Nothing.
"Are you coming on Wednesday?" Nothing.
"How about Thursday? Are you coming Thursday?" Kick-kick.
"Thursday? You're coming Thursday?" Kick.
I guess that's as good a sign as any.
Stay tuned...
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Do they make these for adults?
I have no idea what this is called, but Anni said I can put the baby in it while I'm ... washing dishes.
All I know is that it was easier to assemble with that bowl of ice cream in the background.
39 and 1
That's where we're at -- 39 weeks and 1 day.
It was back to the doctor this morning for a check-up -- possibly the last one.
Mama's doing fine -- blood pressure's normal, belly's at 40 cm. And her attitude? Just as you'd expect. At 8 a.m., she was crackin' jokes and making the nurse burst out laughing. She suggested they put posters on the ceiling above the exam table so women would have something to look at during exams. ("At least put up one of those posters with the kitten hanging from a tree limb and saying, 'Hang in there,'" she suggested.)
Anyway, Bun's doing just fine. At first, the doc had a hard time finding the heart beat, which got us both a little anxious, but then he found it and Bun gave me a little kick at the same time. That was reassuring. The heart rate was about 130.
Anni's next appointment is Thursday, but her due date is Tuesday.
"So I'll see you next week -- or maybe not," the doc said.
It was back to the doctor this morning for a check-up -- possibly the last one.
Mama's doing fine -- blood pressure's normal, belly's at 40 cm. And her attitude? Just as you'd expect. At 8 a.m., she was crackin' jokes and making the nurse burst out laughing. She suggested they put posters on the ceiling above the exam table so women would have something to look at during exams. ("At least put up one of those posters with the kitten hanging from a tree limb and saying, 'Hang in there,'" she suggested.)
Anyway, Bun's doing just fine. At first, the doc had a hard time finding the heart beat, which got us both a little anxious, but then he found it and Bun gave me a little kick at the same time. That was reassuring. The heart rate was about 130.
Anni's next appointment is Thursday, but her due date is Tuesday.
"So I'll see you next week -- or maybe not," the doc said.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
The final stretch -- and hiccups
We're in the window now.
They say to prepare for delivery anytime two weeks before to a week after the due date. In our case, the due date's Feb. 24, so we're well within that three week window.
And the hiccups came just in time. People have asked if Bun has had the hiccups. I think it did tonight, for the first time. Rhythmic, sudden bumps on the belly. Pretty funny, actually.
Anni's doing weekly check-ups now. She went to the doc the other day. In one week the belly went from 37 cm to 40 cm, which was quite a jump. I'm curious how much growth happens in the final days.
Bun's heart rate was 127, lower than it has been at previous visits but still normal.
My heart rate was racing the other day, however, when I opened the box containing the car seat/stroller and thought the contraption was going to require hours of tedious assembly. It wasn't too difficult, but I've got this extra bolt from the stroller...
So now we've got a car seat waiting for an occupant on the living room floor, a stack of diapers in the bedroom, a crib fitted with a new mattress pad, some nice bottles in the kitchen and my new toy, a digital SLR camera. That's all you need for a newborn, right?
Actually, Anni's been doing a good job stocking up on everything she thinks we'll need in those first few days at home. We'd be stuck with nothing but diapers, formula and wipes if I were heading up the procurement efforts.
They say to prepare for delivery anytime two weeks before to a week after the due date. In our case, the due date's Feb. 24, so we're well within that three week window.
And the hiccups came just in time. People have asked if Bun has had the hiccups. I think it did tonight, for the first time. Rhythmic, sudden bumps on the belly. Pretty funny, actually.
Anni's doing weekly check-ups now. She went to the doc the other day. In one week the belly went from 37 cm to 40 cm, which was quite a jump. I'm curious how much growth happens in the final days.
Bun's heart rate was 127, lower than it has been at previous visits but still normal.
My heart rate was racing the other day, however, when I opened the box containing the car seat/stroller and thought the contraption was going to require hours of tedious assembly. It wasn't too difficult, but I've got this extra bolt from the stroller...
So now we've got a car seat waiting for an occupant on the living room floor, a stack of diapers in the bedroom, a crib fitted with a new mattress pad, some nice bottles in the kitchen and my new toy, a digital SLR camera. That's all you need for a newborn, right?
Actually, Anni's been doing a good job stocking up on everything she thinks we'll need in those first few days at home. We'd be stuck with nothing but diapers, formula and wipes if I were heading up the procurement efforts.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
37 and 7
What's 37 weeks along and predicted to be a healthy 7 lbs 6 oz? That'd be Bun.
Anni had another check-up this morning. Everything's looking good, the doctor said.
Baby's heart rate was 137. Anni's belly is 37 cm.
Having any problems, the doctor asked.
"No," Anni said.
"It's really been kind of an unremarkable pregnancy," the doctor said.
Thankfully, it has.
So the doctor predicted that based on how the pregnancy has progressed, the size of Anni's belly at this stage and maybe a wee-bit of guessing, the baby will be born 7 lbs 6 oz.
Oh, and he said his hunch is that it's a boy.
I wondered whether that was based on anything.
"Nah, but I've got a 50-50 shot," he said.
Anni had another check-up this morning. Everything's looking good, the doctor said.
Baby's heart rate was 137. Anni's belly is 37 cm.
Having any problems, the doctor asked.
"No," Anni said.
"It's really been kind of an unremarkable pregnancy," the doctor said.
Thankfully, it has.
So the doctor predicted that based on how the pregnancy has progressed, the size of Anni's belly at this stage and maybe a wee-bit of guessing, the baby will be born 7 lbs 6 oz.
Oh, and he said his hunch is that it's a boy.
I wondered whether that was based on anything.
"Nah, but I've got a 50-50 shot," he said.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Delivered through duct work
I neglected to post about our recent birthing class experience. It definitely wasn't for lack of material.
People told us ahead of time that they had found the pre-birth class for first-time parents worthless, full of info they didn't ever use.
To my surprise, that wasn't our experience. For the reporter, lots of questions were answered over two days. Many were practical or logistical -- like "Where do we go at the hospital?" and "How much say do parents really have in what the doctor does?" -- but it's all useful. For the mother, much of her anxiety about labor and delivery was alleviated by learning more about it, asking questions and listening to our instructor.
Of course, it wasn't just a buttoned-up baby briefing. You can't go several hours with 14 strangers -- who have the same questions and concerns but different backgrounds -- and not walk away somewhat amused by the whole experience.
Some of us had not thought much about the actual process of labor -- that would be the guys. Others had. One woman said that when she goes into labor she would prefer to snuggle with "animals or loved ones." Yes, animals -- plural. (Nobody had the gall to tell her this is a hospital, not a kennel.)
Even for a "drive-thru" delivery class -- we could have taken a six-week course -- there was a lot of information to digest.
At times, there was too much information. One mom-to-be works on the hospital's NICU floor. She came to the class with knowledge of just about everything that can go wrong in birth -- and decided it was Show and Tell Day. We had to hear about each of those obscure and traumatic scenarios in medical acronym-laced outbursts. The instructor, to her credit and our appreciation, put those Tales of Delivery Horror in perspective, given that in most cases things go just fine.
What's a class without props? We had plenty. The instructor held up a pelvic skeleton as she talked about the baby's positioning, etc. Then, she dug out some duct work and shoved it into the pelvic skeleton to complete the rudimentary but effective visual of a birthing canal.
However, I'm sure someone left that class thinking the birthing canal looks just like the elbow joints attached to a furnace.
Another prop made me think of a question, but I did not ask the question in order to spare Anni the embarrassment of having to sit next to the guy who asked the "What's life mean?"-type of unanswerable question.
See, the instructor's uterus prop was a large sock-like, stitched tube. She discussed the actual reason behind the need to "push" the baby out, that the cervix basically needs to be forced open.
So my question was: In human reproduction, every body part has a role and usually carries out that role on its own -- except for the cervix. The cervix seems lazy. I wondered why, after thousands of years of evolution, the cervix has not learned to "push" itself when the time is right. Why isn't there a hormone that's triggered to carry out that task when there seems to be a hormone for every other step of child-rearing?
I left without an answer.
Maybe that's the kind of topic delved into during the six-week class.
People told us ahead of time that they had found the pre-birth class for first-time parents worthless, full of info they didn't ever use.
To my surprise, that wasn't our experience. For the reporter, lots of questions were answered over two days. Many were practical or logistical -- like "Where do we go at the hospital?" and "How much say do parents really have in what the doctor does?" -- but it's all useful. For the mother, much of her anxiety about labor and delivery was alleviated by learning more about it, asking questions and listening to our instructor.
Of course, it wasn't just a buttoned-up baby briefing. You can't go several hours with 14 strangers -- who have the same questions and concerns but different backgrounds -- and not walk away somewhat amused by the whole experience.
Some of us had not thought much about the actual process of labor -- that would be the guys. Others had. One woman said that when she goes into labor she would prefer to snuggle with "animals or loved ones." Yes, animals -- plural. (Nobody had the gall to tell her this is a hospital, not a kennel.)
Even for a "drive-thru" delivery class -- we could have taken a six-week course -- there was a lot of information to digest.
At times, there was too much information. One mom-to-be works on the hospital's NICU floor. She came to the class with knowledge of just about everything that can go wrong in birth -- and decided it was Show and Tell Day. We had to hear about each of those obscure and traumatic scenarios in medical acronym-laced outbursts. The instructor, to her credit and our appreciation, put those Tales of Delivery Horror in perspective, given that in most cases things go just fine.
What's a class without props? We had plenty. The instructor held up a pelvic skeleton as she talked about the baby's positioning, etc. Then, she dug out some duct work and shoved it into the pelvic skeleton to complete the rudimentary but effective visual of a birthing canal.
However, I'm sure someone left that class thinking the birthing canal looks just like the elbow joints attached to a furnace.
Another prop made me think of a question, but I did not ask the question in order to spare Anni the embarrassment of having to sit next to the guy who asked the "What's life mean?"-type of unanswerable question.
See, the instructor's uterus prop was a large sock-like, stitched tube. She discussed the actual reason behind the need to "push" the baby out, that the cervix basically needs to be forced open.
So my question was: In human reproduction, every body part has a role and usually carries out that role on its own -- except for the cervix. The cervix seems lazy. I wondered why, after thousands of years of evolution, the cervix has not learned to "push" itself when the time is right. Why isn't there a hormone that's triggered to carry out that task when there seems to be a hormone for every other step of child-rearing?
I left without an answer.
Maybe that's the kind of topic delved into during the six-week class.
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