Preggo Update!

Today I am 38 weeks and 2 days, and I had an exam scheduled with my dr. to see if it would be at all possible to induce before he takes off on his Alaskan ice fishing vacation on the 4th. By this point, I was really hoping to have already had to go in for labor anyhow, but things have been holding out in the "pretty damn miserable" stage for days now. I have been having some pretty intense contractions/braxton hicks for the last couple of days, so I was really hoping to hear some good news about the exam.


Once he started the exam, I could tell from the look on his face that whatever the news was, it wasn't going to be anything like the "Hey! You're 4 cm dialated and ready to go!!" news I had dreamed about. On top of which, it was kind of painful as I've been pretty swollen in the girly parts region. He finishes the exam, sighs, and then says, "You have a few wierd things going on, so I'm going to let you get dressed first, and then we'll talk." Gee... that sounds promising!


Apparently, aside from my cervix being no where near ready for labor (very high and barely 1 cm dialated), he could not feel any part of the baby whatsoever. She was not head down, or anywhere near the cervix area, and he couldn't determine her position. The ultrasound they did at 32 weeks had shown she was breech and that the placenta was low lying, though there was no previa. His concern was that the placenta may have moved lower, though he couldn't feel that either, and that the baby was still either breech, or transverse (the position she was in for all the other ultrasounds up until the 32 weeks one). At this point he pretty much told me that my chances of delivering vaginally were basically nill, but he was sending me over for another ultrasound just to be sure.


The ultrasound tech couldn't even find the placenta. She had to call in the doctor and have him show her. The baby is a wierd position. Her head is way up, almost in my rib cage on the right side. Her feet are up and even with her head on the left side, with her butt pointing straight down in the middle. So she's in this little "U" shape. The placenta isn't lower than her or blocking the cervix, it's far over the left exactly even with the baby.


I was then sent back to Dr. B's office where he presented me with 3 equally craptacular options.


Option 1: I could wait in hopes that she would decide to turn at the last minute, before labor, though hopefully not until after he returned from his trip in two weeks. The risks here would be that she would not turn and I could go into labor with a doctor who had no previous knowledge of the earlier complications we've had with this pregnancy. Also, if she didn't turn, I'd end up having to have a c-section in the end.


Option 2: We could try an external version to try and turn her. However, if he turned her, we would then need to induce labor rather than waiting for natural labor because waiting could mean she would simply re-posistion herself in the original or an even worse posistion for delivery. Of course, she could also turn durning the labor. On top of which, the condition my cervix is currently in, inducing labor would be nearly impossible and could cause even more complications and would probably end in a c-section.


Option 3: I could just go ahead an opt for the c-section. Of course, the risks here are all of the normal risks associated with c-sections.


I knew there was no way I was waiting. I would drive myself crazy with worry and in the end could end up waiting around stressing for nothing and have to have a c-section anyway. I was not interested in the version at all. From what I hear they are pretty painful and honestly, I felt like it would be a complete waste of time considering he would then have to induce and we had already determined that induction would be unlikely. So I opted to just go ahead and do the c-section. I honestly feel like this was going to be the end result no matter what I chose, so I figured we might as well go ahead and get it over with so I could stop stressing about it all. So my c-section is scheduled for 7:30 am tomorrow.


At least she is full term and not having to be taken early. Part of me is really relieved that it's almost all over and that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The other part of me is really stressed and worried. I've never had any kind of surgery before, so I'm naturally nervous. I know doctors do these sorts of things every day, but I don't.


So, anyway, wish me luck!! Tomorrow I go to have a baby!!

Happy Birthday!

One year ago, today, our little viking was born! It's hard to believe he's a year old already! I'm not sure if being pregnant through most of this time has made it seem to pass faster than usual, or if time is just speeding up on me anyway. Either way, the last year seems to have flown by, and I feel like somehow I missed out on Calvin being a baby. Of course, in a lot of ways, he is still very much a baby. He still has all of that beautiful baby chub going on. But he is also walking all over the place now and beginning to communicate better and sometimes when I catch an eyeful of him acting all toddler-ish, I feel a little twinge of sadness.


Happy 1st Birthday Calvin! You are growing up too fast.

A couple of Book Reviews:

So, to pass the time away, how about a couple of book reviews? First up:

I'm a really big Terry Pratchett/Discworld fan, but even if you aren't, this is still a really awesome book. The sheer amount of information concerning myths, legends, folklore, their origins, etc. from our own world, that is in this book is baffling. I'm talking everything from the origins of English football to Santa Clause. If you like interesting factoids, you would probably really enjoy this book. I did. I more or less just piddled through it for about a month, and every time I would pick it up to read a chapter I'd find out something really interesting that I never knew before.

Next up is:

If we were scaling on a 1-5 basis, I'd have to give this book somewhere around 3.5-4. I really liked the IDEA behind the story. It's obviously a different version of the classic Alice in Wonderland but also so much more than that. This is supposedly the TRUE story of the real "Alyss" and the book Alice in Wonderland is actually somewhat of an insult to her "real life" story. Anyway. It has a kind of steam-punky vibe to it, which I enjoyed. The only thing I didn't like about it was that it seemed VERY rushed through. The author had all these really great ideas and concepts and I felt like he should have spent more time on them than he did. I didn't feel like there was ENOUGH story. It's the first book in a trilogy and I'm having a hard time getting into the second one. I kind of feel like he should of concentrated on fleshing out the first book more before trying to develop the series. You can almost feel him rushing through the writing to get to the next part. Meanwhile, he's leaving behind all of these really interesting tidbits that I wish he would tell his readers more about. So it was a good book, but it could have been GREAT. And that kind of sucks. *sighs*

Anyway. I'm still pregnant.

In other news, Calvin turns 1 year old tomorrow!! I can hardly believe it. Already. 1 whole year. *sniffles*

Pomplamoose

Somebody on Offsprung posted a link to this band and now I can't get enough. They have amazing original stuff and awesome covers. This is a cover of "Beat it" by Michael Jackson. Of course, I suppose it's all a matter of taste. This is the style of music I tend towards. Her voice is perfect for me to sing along with. Plus, she and the guy, Jack are really goofy and cute, which is just a bonus for me. Just thought I'd pass it along in case anybody actually shares my taste in music!

Off

I have not felt "right" for the last couple of days. I don't know how to explain it, other than that:

"I just don't feel right."

"Something feels wierd."

"Something is OFF."

Some of it might have to do with the fact that I haven't gotten a decent night's rest in the last 3 nights. However, it's kind of a "chicken or the egg" situation in that I'm not sleeping well because I feel wierd and can't get comfortable, and also, I feel a little off from not sleeping well.

Last night I rolled around in bed for a good two hours unable to find a way to fall asleep comfortably. I had even taken a benadryl ANOTHER hour before lying down in hopes that I'd lay down while it started to work and zonk out regardless. Didn't. Happen. I don't know what time it was when I finally fell asleep, but I was up by 2 am and unable to fall back asleep. So I just rolled around and huffed until it was time to get up with the kids.

I can't focus or concentrate. I sit. I stand up. I walk around. I sit. I lay down. I get up. I flip through channels. I try to read blogs. I try to comment. I lose track of my thoughts and just start rambling on. I get up. I walk around. Etc.


I've also been whining about it to Tim and my friends the last couple of days too. I'm very flustered and well.....just.......I don't feel right. *sigh* So I thought I'd complain to you guys too.