38 Weeks and We Have a Plan!

Sorry for being so crap at updating as of late! Life keeps getting in the way of very important blogging! You’ll be glad to know that I was discharged promptly after my night in hospital as the drugs brought my BP down nicely. I did manage to get some sleep in the few hours before discharge, so that was much appreciated. I learned my lesson – TAKE A SPARE PILLOW! The pancake that they call a pillow really doesn’t cut it!

So, after discharge I carried on with labetalol 100mg twice a day, which gave me HORRENDOUS headaches for the first few days, but I found that taking them with food and paracetamol really did the trick and although I do still have a headache, it doesn’t ever become severe any more. I’ve had to carry on with the twice weekly BP monitoring and CTG traces (I think they’re called “non stress tests” in the USA?) at the hospital. I had one on Monday, which went great except for Eden was a little bit quiet so they had me have some food.

You can see on the trace where I had food. That made me laugh…

My blood pressure was nice and normal that appointment, so they sent me off with instructions to come back on Thursday, which is today! I went up to the antenatal day unit bright and early and they did the usual trace and BP monitoring. All was fine. The last few days I’ve had some pretty epic back pain, so I wasn’t surprised to see that the monitor was showing “irregular tightenings”. The midwife told me that they’re not really cintractions as such at this point, but they are a good sign that my body is getting ready for labour. Eden is also very very low and still 3/5 engaged. Because of the BP medication, the midwife asked if anyone had spoken to me about induction. I said no, but did also point out that the consultant’s plan is to induce between 37 and 38 weeks and the midwife said it might be an idea to wait around and speak to a doctor.

So, that’s what I did. And BOY did I wait. The unit was busy today and the drs are often called away to the birth centre, so I wated about three hours in total. BUT I always say I would rather be the person waiting than be the person who is getting rushed through, so I easily occupied myself with my phone, Spotify and a book. After a little while I was called into the Dr’s office. He asked all of the usual questions – how are you feeling? Ok. Still have a headaches? Always. Baby moving ok? Yup she’s doing great. Then we got down to the meat of the visit. He explained that with BP meds artificially lowering my BP, he didn’t see any reason why we shouldn’t follow the plan of the consultant and induce labour ASAP.  Now that Eden is past full term, there’s very little risk in delivering soon and certainly the risk of delivering is lower than the risk of pre eclampsia, which obviously we all want to avoid.

The Dr asked how I felt about induction and I told him pretty positive. We had a chat about what exactly the process would involve and risks and what would happen if I declined induction and the risks of that. He gave me A LOT of information and really answered my (many) questions confidently and with ease. So, we decided that induction is the way forward. I called Amy and told her what the plan was whilst I waited for the Dr to come back with a date for us. Then he came back with the date, gave me my notes back and I was off! But when is it happening?

Soon! Soon is the answer to that question! I’m not going to say the exact date here on the blog, but it is before our due date. Eden will be home for Christmas all being well, which is absolutely crazy! It’s odd to actually have a date on which the process of meeting our daughter will start. The Dr did advise that induction can be a long process, so I’m expecting AT LEAST a couple of days going through the process, but I’m excited that the end is in sight. I’m definitely not feeling like “get this baby out of me” but I am excited to finally meet her, although part of me isn’t ready to share her quite yet!

I can’t wait for the next chapter in this crazy story. Hopefully everything will go well and the induction will be as stress free as possible. I intend to take any drugs that they will give me – no martyr behaviour here! But hopefully induction works and we’ll be holding her not too long after starting the process! We are thirty eight weeks tomorrow!

Oh, and we bought some Christmas outfits! Because she’ll be home for Christmas now! Girl has to have something to wear!