The "Plan"

This week I am 36 weeks gestation a.k.a 9 months!!!! HOLY COW, we made it :)    After having a 25 weeker, this kind of feels like the longest pregnancy ever; and it is accompanied by all the glorious uncomfortable, restless, peeing every 2 hours kinda nights!  .. As my mom said, "Be careful what you wish for!!"

Our most recent ultrasound for baby's measurements showed she is now weighing in at around 8 pounds.  Just 3 weeks ago she was estimated at 6.. so her growth pattern is very strong.  This is a tad bit concerning, seeing that we have 4 weeks to go!  They think she will end up around or over 10 pounds!!!  Because of this information, my Dr. has strongly recommended we opt for a C-section.

There are pro's and con's to this decision.  Overall, it is safer for baby (and me) to get the C-section.  This is because a)  My first baby was under 2 lbs, he didn't exactly pave the way for his MUCH bigger sister and there are risks or tearing, etc. b) Since it took awhile for the gestational diabetes to get in-line with medications, Delaney was exposed to high sugars at times and has obviously packed on the weight.  It is very common for gestational diabetic babies to carry their weight more in the shoulder area and they look like football players. The Dr.'s main concern is shoulder dystocia for the baby, meaning the baby would be at risk of breaking arm/collar bones, cause nerve damage, or worst case death from compression of the umbilical cord in the birth canal.  

So, knowing all of this, the decision is an easy one... C-section it is!

The only real "con" besides the longer recovery time and soreness, and being al drugged up, which I also did not want.. is missing out on the magical moment you see in movies when the baby comes out and is immediately thrown onto your chest and is such a wonderful experience..blah, blah...

That was the one thing I was really looking forward to, but it seems that is something that just cannot happen for me.  I have to remind myself, "who cares?!, I get to hold her for the rest of her life!!"  And besides, after waiting 10 hours to meet Collin, and waiting 5 DAYS to hold Collin.  I am okay with waiting an hour or whatever this time!  I just want her to get here safely, and we can go from there!

Unless nature decides to take a different course and start labor early, Delaney's expected arrival date is November 16th!

Big Girl!

Today was the first appointment of my new regiment.  Every tuesday I will get an ultrasound to measure Delaney.  Followed by a 30 minute non-stress test to make sure her heart rate is normal and watch for contractions.  Finally I meet with the doctor to get my blood pressure, weight etc and go over the week's blood sugar numbers.   Every friday is another NST and my delalutin shot.

So today's ultrasound was great.. I brought my Mom and we got to see lots of details of the big girl!  The ultrasound technician estimated she now weighs about 6lbs 1 oz. HOLY MOLY!  And with 7 weeks to go!!  I guess there is no happy medium for me.. My first was less than 2lbs..and she'll probably be 10!   My dosage of gly-buride (for the diabetes) was upped to 2x's a day. This should help keep my sugars in check.  Since she is already getting big, and with the diabetes it is important to keep the sugars at normal levels so that she wont gain too much weight.  It could cause complications for delivery (such as having to get a c-section) or it could cause her to be hypo-glycemic at birth.

I'm actually hoping that with these check ups every week they will let me deliver a little early.. Hoping for a nice birthday present :)  We will see, it would be cool.

So, here's a picture from the ultrasound of her facing forward, not a terribly clear picture.. but you can see she has fat cheeks already :)