Sigh of Relief

I feel like I’ve made it! I know that I’m not exactly full term, but this week was a huge milestone for me. Evan was an emergency c-section at 33 weeks, so to make it through this week was a huge relief!  It’s almost as if I’ve been holding my breath for eight months without realizing it, and now I can breathe easy. To top it off, we had a great check up with Dr. Wesley Hodgson. My measurements are as they should be and he was not concerned about an early delivery. We were able to listen to baby girl’s heartbeat and I even gained a half a pound. We will have our next check up in two weeks with Dr. Lorraine Chun, another obstetrician in the Fauquier Health’s OB/GYN practice. This appointment is sort of a meet and greet, just in case Dr. Hodgson is unable to be at our birth. She’ll do the check up and answer any questions we have. After that appointment, we will begin our weekly visits until delivery.

One of the items Dr. Hodgson discussed with us this week was our birth plan. He wanted us to think about it so when we see him again in three weeks we can discuss our thoughts. Most importantly, since I have had a c-section previously, he wanted us to consider at what point we would want to opt for a c-section. In the event that I reach my due date and baby girl is happily hanging out with no intention of making her debut, he wants us to decide how long after my due date we would want to wait.

I’m more worried about this than Tom because I would so love to have a vaginal delivery. He’s leaving this one up to me, so my thoughts are to wait at least one week past my due date. Since that would be a Friday, I’m hopeful that Dr. Hodgson will allow me to wait through the weekend. I can picture us that weekend trying all the well-worn methods of bringing on labor -- massaging pressure points in the hand and foot, deep tissue massage, long walks/exercise, spicy food and pineapple. If all the myths that supposedly bring on labor fail, I’ll have a c-section that following Monday. (Because I have had a c-section already, being induced for labor isn’t a good option for me.) Fingers crossed that baby girl decides it’s time on her own!