Today I had my fourth appointment at ABC and decided to prepare a little beforehand. Lately I have been reading a lot more about what I am getting into, and came up with several questions that needed to be answered before I actually went into labor. First off, I asked her about what to do/who to call when I decided it was time to come in. Then I asked her about what tests I will have to take the remainder of my pregnancy. Apparently the only things I have left are a gestational diabetes screen and iron test at my next appointment in one month, and then at 36 weeks they do the test for group B strep. I had heard horror stories from various sources about the GD test being a huge liter of nasty sugar goop and having to fast all day. Apparently all I have to do is not eat after midnight, drink this little bottle of orange glucose water at 8 am, and go in for the test at 9am. Not too shabby! I also asked her how far over my due date they would allow me to go without having to intervene, since going over seems to be a pattern in my family. She said that 41 weeks and 5 days is the longest I can go over before they send me to be induced by their OBGYN in the hospital. I REALLY hope that does not happen to me, because the type of induction they do is just the normal Pitocin route, which results in abnormally painful contractions. Seeing as how I am not superwoman, I doubt my ability to refuse an epidural when I am contorting in pain and made to lay still in a hospital bed while hooked up to monitors and being poked and prodded by nurses. My natural birth would be out the window! EEP! One good thing to note is that at 36 weeks they will give me raspberry leaf caplets and evening primrose oil caplets to begin getting things ready. The former is taken orally and leads to light contracting of the uterus to hopefully get the cascade of events started, and the latter is inserted daily into the area around the cervix. It apparently disintegrates and gets the cervix "prepared" better for dilation and such. Sounds graphic, I know, but I am excited there is something proactive I can do to help ensure NO INDUCTION is needed! If I go over 41 weeks and 5 days they feel that my placenta has a high risk of being compromised and that is no bueno for Augie. I also asked them how long I would be allowed to labor at the birth center, and they said that as long as neither of us went into distress we could go as long as needed. Finally, I asked how long after until we go home, and that is between 2 and 6 hours. WOO HOO! I love that I won't have to spend unneeded time in a nasty hospital bed.
Current Stats:
How far along: 23 weeks
Weight gain: 9lbs Woot Woot! Right on track.
Cravings: Fresh fruit and carbs.
Sleep: I dream a LOT about Forrest now. I thought my dreams would be about babies!?!
Moods: A little but not too bad. Probably because Forrest has curbed the grumpy lately for me : )
Stretch Marks: not yet...
What I Miss: Sleeping more than 4 hours without peeing.
Milestones: The kicks have gotten quite strong and I can SEE them!
Looking Forward To: Hugging my little baby bear!
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