With only five days until my official due date, we are all getting very excited for the arrival of our daughter/sister, as we realize each day brings us one day closer to our union. We have really enjoyed our doctor and his philosophy about pregnancy as he doesn't get too stressed out about much and treats it as a normal, natural part of life. He generally doesn't consider induction until the completion of week 41, which is the same as the doctor we had in Dubai. At my 39 week check-up on Friday, I could see some wheels were turning in his head and he was acting a little bit different than normal. After he measured my uterus, which has expanding beyond my previous pregnancies, and checked for effacement/dilation, he took a look at me and said..."I think we have a large baby on our hands that is very comfortable in there, what do you think?" I had to agree that this is my biggest and most rounded belly of the three pregnancies. He then said that we needed to get a ballpark estimate of the size of the fetus to determine if an earlier induction than 41 weeks would be necessary and ordered an ultrasound for the following day. Saturday morning we went in and the ultrasound tech made measurements of every part of the baby. Everything was measuring 39/40 weeks, except the abdomen, which was measuring quite large. At the end of the measurements the computer puts out an estimated fetal weight, which was...drum roll please....9 pounds 12 ounces. I would be lying if I didn't say it took my breath away for a few seconds as a surge of fear of what labor and delivery could hold rushed over my body. The technician was pretty surprised and said that maybe the abdomen measurement threw things off a bit and reassured us that ultrasounds can have a one pound margin of error. We will just concentrate on the hope that it is off by being on the high side instead of the low. ;-)
Later that afternoon we had our last birthing refresher course with a fabulous doula that we found in Menomonee Falls. After talking with her, a good (well, best as one can at this point) night sleep, and an uplifting church service, I can say that I am replacing that initial fear with a spirit of determination and confidence that I can do this and trust God will be there with us each step of the way. I am also trying not to focus on the size of the baby, but rather all the good news that came from the ultrasound. The placenta is still healthy, there is still adequate amniotic fluid, and best of all, she is in the best position for delivery with her spine on my left front. I can feel her feet kicking me from behind my right rib, just about all the way up under my bra strap. Her rounded shoulder blades are resting on my left hip bone, it really feels like there is no barrier between her and my hip. Without fail when I lay down to go to bed at night she gets the hiccups and sends a little rhymic vibration through that hip, which I find very reassuring because it lets me know that she is still in the optimal position. We continue to pray for her to stay there as I really don't want to repeat Soren's back labor.
My doctor is out of town this Monday and Tuesday. He said he would call me on Wednesday after he gets a chance to review the ultrasound measurements. But from our conversation on Friday, I am pretty sure he will want to induce me ASAP. So the baby will be here soon!
