October 19, 2009 - Samantha Lauren Has Arrived!

I had a planned c-section scheduled for Monday 10/19. My arrival time at the hospital was to be around 11:30am and the c-section was scheduled for 1:30pm. (I had a c-section with Joshua and had been debating VBAC for most of the pregnancy. Dear readers, you already know this. But then towards the end, I decided I was going to have the c-section unless "all the stars aligned" for the VBAC. Readers, am I boring you with what you already know? Basically in the end, I went through a long labor with Joshua, pushed for 4 hours and ended up with a c-section. I didn't really want to go through that again. Add in the small VBAC risks, and "voila" - repeat c-section).

I woke up at 7:00am on October 19th with the plan of taking a shower, running a quick errand, and then Keith was going to take us to the hospital at 11:30am. At 7:48am I had a contraction. 10 minutes later, I had another contraction, 10 minutes later, I had one again. They weren't super painful, just felt like a menstrual cramp, but I knew that they were real contractions. I finally called my OB at 10am, and he said to come to the hospital. Worse case scenario, they will move up my c-section time.

I arrived at the hospital around 10:45am, and the contractions had been varying between 5 - 10 minutes, and they still were at the same pain level. The L&D nurses hooked me up to the monitors and checked me out. I was 4-5 cm dilated and 90% effaced! Holy crap! I didn' expect that. I had mentioned to the nurses about a potential VBAC. They said that there is no more ideal VBAC situation than what I was in. I guess "the stars were aligned". Bring on the epidural! The nurses called my OB (who was thrilled by the way), and we went into the official L&D room to move forward with the VBAC.

I received the epidural, and the Anaesthesiologist said I should feel a pain level of a 1 or 2. At first, it was a 1 or 2, but shortly after, the pain turned into a 3 or 4. I could feel contractions not in my lower abdomen anymore, but now I felt them in my bottom. (Very strange and that hurt. If this is what delivery is like, maybe I should have gone through with the c-section). The Anaesthesiologist came back and reduced my pain level back to a 1 or 2. I then quickly dilated to 6 cm and then to 10cm. My water hadn't broken, and I asked the nurse about that. She said that she would be calling the doctor in to break my water. 2 minutes later, my water broke on its own. Then the pushing started which wasn't super terrible with the epidural in high gear. My doctor did have to give me an episiotomy, but I guess that is pretty common anyway. I pushed for a little less than 1 1/2 hours and then Samantha Lauren was born at 3:05pm.

Samantha Lauren born on October 19th at 3:05pm, weight was 6 lbs 10 oz, length was 19 3/4 inches.

To Be 39 Weeks Pregnant

I never thought I would get this far. I am 39 weeks and 2 days pregnant at this point. I really thought I was going to go sometime around 38 weeks as I did with my son. Yes, I know they say that each pregnancy is different, but I really thought that this baby would come early. The benefit of not going early is that I was able to attend my friends' wedding last night. It was a lot of fun and a lot of people were amazed that I was there and having the baby in 2 days. I kept having a lot of contractions at the wedding, but when I woke up this morning, they went away.

So, tomorrow is the big day. Our daughter is going to arrive via c-section. I went to see the OB on Thursday for my 39 week appointment. It was bittersweet that it was my last prenatal appointment. After the appointment was over, I scheduled my next appointment for November 2nd. My first postnantal appointment. At this appoinment, everything looked good. I have gained 25 lbs during the pregnancy, blood pressure looks good. Amazingly, I didn't really swell during this pregnancy. I am still able to wear my wedding rings (that almost never happens) and I can wear my regular shoes too. With Joshua, I was out of my rings by 25 weeks.

So, at this point, it is time to say goodbye to my pregnancy. Tomorrow, I will no longer be pregnant but have a new little daughter to love and adore. I can't wait to welcome her to the world. The pregnancy definitely went by fast. I can't believe it is all going to be over tomorrow. It seems so surreal and it has taken awhile for it to hit me. It has been a good pregnancy, and I have been very lucky.

I am kind of bummed that I didn't go into labor and get to VBAC. Yet, everyone has their own birth story. Going to the hospital on Monday October 19th and having a c-section with my second child is going to be mine!

To Be 38 Weeks Pregnant

10 days until D-Day (October 19)

I can't believe the day is almost here. It seemed so far away for so long, and now it can come any day. Really, the baby can come any day. Joshua arrived at 38 weeks, so I wake up every day wondering whether today is the day.

I am winding down with work and decided to take Tuesday off to try to get some "before the baby comes" errands done. It was great, because I had the whole day to myself and didn't have to drag a 2 year-old around to slow things down. I guess that I was running around so much that I didn't eat or drink enough. The next thing I know is that it is 4:30pm, and I realize that I haven't felt the baby move today. Not good. I called the doctor's office, and he wanted me to drink some orange juice, lie on my left side and see if that gets the baby moving. He said that if I didn't feel anything to go into labor and delivery. I did juice thing, and I didn't really feel much. So, I went to the hospital. They hooked me up to monitors to monitor fetal movement and monitor my contractions for about 3 hours. Everything looked good, so they sent me home.

I had my 38 week appointment today. Assuming I go on the 19th, I only have one more prenantal appointment left. I can't believe it! Basically, today everything was status quo. I am still 1 1/2 cm dilated and 0% effaced. Yet, that doesn' really give a good indicator as to when you will deliver as you can still go any time. I was 0 cm and 0% effaced with Joshua and then gave birth the next day. I am definitely having contractions now, and I can feel them. They are not regular, so I know it is not time yet. I am also having to pee more, but the baby has not dropped. I also feel the baby pushing at my cervix saying "let me out". Not too much longer now.

To Be 37 Weeks Pregnant

3 Weeks To Go . . . (16 days until D-Day, October 19th. Deliver y Day, C-Section Date)
I really think I am going to go before October 19th. I just have this feeling. Isn't mother's intuition usually right?

I actually thought she was coming sooner rather than later when I was having contractions on Thursday. The contractions seemed to be coming about 30 minute intervals but they weren't regular. I had cramping down in my pelvis since earlier in the week, but again not regular. So, no real labor at this point. I did get a pedicure last weekend, and I did get a haircut on Thursday, so I am ready for the baby to come. People at work predict that I will go earlier too. Joshua was born at 38 weeks, so who knows.

I had my 37 week appointment yesterday. Everything seems good. I am holding steady at 25 pounds gained, blood pressure looks good and baby seems to be good as well. I am also 1.5 cm dilated. (Baby coming?) I am o% effaced, though. It really doesn't mean anything at this point with how much you are dilated or effaced. (Unless, of course, you are 10 cm dilated). Women walk around for weeks like that. On the other hand, I was 0 cm dilated with Joshua when I went for my 38 week appointment. Then, I had him the next day. So, you never know.

To Be 36 Weeks Pregnant

4 Weeks to go ... or less



I should probably update that as I have a c-section planned for October 19th, and that is 3 weeks away not 4. My c-section is scheduled for 1:30pm, and I am supposed to fast for 8 hours before that. Therefore, I am supposed to fast all day until my c-section. How in the world am I going to manage that? I mentioned something to my OB, and he said, "how about I fast too until your surgery". Great, just what I need, a starving OB performing major abdominal surgery on me.



I am still anguishing over the VBAC vs planned c-section decision. You can probably tell as it has been a topic in my weekly posts over the past several weeks. I was so gung ho in the beginning, and then I started doing more research and now I am not so sure. The potential of a uterine ruptute, although small risk, is what is really leaning me toward a c-section. They say a successful VBAC is better than a planned c-section, and a planned c-section is better than a VBAC attempt that ends up as a c-section anyway. My thought at this point is that if I am still pregnant as of my scheduled c-section date of 10/19, then I will go through with the c-section on that date. If I go into labor before then, I will try to VBAC as long as I am progressing well and the baby is doing well through labor. I won't let them give me anything to promote labor such as Pitocin. They say that the drugs that induce or augment labor are harsher than normal contractions, so that can add to my risk of uterine rupture. I think that is a good plan. We shall see over the next few weeks what happens.



I had my 36 week appointment on Friday. In the early morning, I had an ultrasound. We actually had a 4D ultrasound, and it was really cool. I didn't think that we were going to have one as my OB office doesn't have the machine, but my OB office doesn't do ultrasounds on Fridays, and I wanted to have a Friday ultrasound so I didn't take off more time from work. Therefore, I got to see the 4D version. Definitely a cool experience. However, the coolness of it all was masked by the fact that I was feeling quite nauseaus, and lying on your back, feeling nauseaus with someone pushing something around your belly, not a good combination. Everything looked good and healthy with the ultrasound. The baby is measuring average, and they said she currently weighs 6 lbs 3 oz. I was shocked when they said that, because Joshua who was born at 38 weeks weighed 6 lbs 1 oz. I know that the ultrasound is only an estimate, though. At the ultrasound, I also found out that the baby turned and she is no longer breech. It is also less likely that she will turn back to breech, so that is good news.

My 36 week OB appointment was quick and easy. He gave me an internal exam, and I am still fully closed and not at all effaced. Last night I spent half the night awake and throwing up. I thought it was food poisoning, but the doctor said there was a stomach bug going around. Guess I caught that! I have been having really bad indigestion, I mean really bad. I feel like I have to burp all the time, and I have a bad acid feeling in my throat. It is awful. Once the baby drops, it should subside a bit or maybe I have to wait until the baby is out. Who knows. Yet, for now, the indigestion sucks and I didn't have it with Joshua.

To Be 35 Weeks Pregnant

5 Weeks to go ... or less

I am now down to weekly visits and had my 35 week appointment today. The appointment today was back to my regular doctor. It was a good appointment. I have been hovering around the same weight over the past few weeks, and the doctor said that is ok. I have gained about 23-24 pounds at this point. So, it is quite similar to the weight I gained with Joshua. I have to admit, I am a cute pregnant lady. :) At this appointment, the doctor said that he didn't feel the head up by my ribs, so it looks like she flipped again. Yeah, head down! Knowing that things keep changing, I asked my OB to schedule the C-section. The date is 10/19. (Ironically, my friend who is due a day after me also has a c-section scheduled for the same day and at the same hospital). My OB said that it is just tentative, and I can still VBAC if I want and if she is not breech. Next week, I have my 36 week appointment, and I will have an ultrasound to check her size and position.

The same day as my OB appointment, my son had his 2 year wellness check. When I told the pediatrician that I was looking to probably VBAC, she tried to discourage me from it. She just didn't feel it was as safe as having another c-section and she had seen some VBAC's go wrong which is a real danger to the mom and baby. I am still up in the air. I have a feeling that I will have another c-section, but we will see what happens when it gets closer. I think I am going to call my doctor and see if they have any recent literature. The internet information is only so good. Plus, it is not all accurate and current and a lot has changed over the past 10 years. My doctor is for the VBAC, yet he is smart about it. He is not going to let me go past my due date, he is not going to induce labor, and if she is breech, he is not going to do a version. So, we shall see how things play out.