Week 36 – A fingertip and 7/17

Got back from our week 36 appointment. GBS test and anemia came back negative, so that’s good. I’ve felt some growing pressure in my pelvis since last Thursday, and more frequently my belly is just rock hard, so this appointment featured an internal exam. Whee. Actually, it wasn’t bad at all — certainly more tolerable than the one I got in L&D during the hospital stay in May. THAT was uncomfortable. Anyhow, the doctor reports I’m “a fingertip dilated” and that the hard belly is Braxton-Hicks contractions (false contractions).

We spoke about induction again (this was the the doctor I saw on Thursday — so, this was our second appointment) and she said they want to find a balance of timing where I can deliver while still in good shape (BP held steady with a reading of 130/80) but as close to the actual due date as possible. She explained that because of the hypertension during pregnancy, they would feel much better with scheduling a date to induce after reaching week 37 (considered full term) than waiting until Ivy is ready, when my BP may climb into more dangerous territory. Preventive maintenance, so to speak. I can’t say I disagree with that approach.

So, I asked what all it entailed, after expressing my concern over what my sister Jill went through (she was induced, but didn’t dilate beyond 3cm, and wound up with a c-section). The doctor explained that depending on the condition of my cervix at the time, they may first administer some medications to “ripen” it (make it thin out and open up) and once that’s far enough along, they’d administer pitocin, to start labor/contractions. I think what Jill missed out on was the cervical ripening medications, since a closed-up cervix is what doomed her to the c-section.

I asked when we could talk about scheduling, because I want to make sure I can get stuff squared away at work (some critical timing is coming up on a late-summer audit) and make sure there’s enough time for the cord blood folks to send me the kit for collection (we are donating to CryoBanks, International, and they need a week to get the collection kit to me, but won’t send it more than 2 weeks in advance).

The doctor said we’ll go with the Level II Ultrasound next Monday, then the regular appointment next Tuesday, and “probably a couple days after that.” So… we are looking at possibly inducing on July 17th! 🙂 I ran into my normal doctor on the way out (he was busy with a delivery at the scheduled appointment time, which is why I saw the other doctor) and relayed this information to him, and handed him my file. He said “we’ll see how the appointment goes on Tuesday.” He’s a bit more familiar with me and this pregnancy, so I’ll give his opinion a bit more weight than the other doctor’s.

At any rate, tentative date is now July 17th 🙂 I can at least tell work now, and get a few things started at a more “known” timeframe. Yay!! We could very well be down to our last weekend as non-parents!!