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Thursday, May 14, 2009

Induction day - maybe...

Well, this is day 8.  It has been a rough week.  Andrew, my parents, his parents, our family and friends, and I have been anxiously waiting for this child to come out!  

Schedules have been messed up... thumbs have been twiddled (on my part!)... lives have been put on hold... tears have been cried (again, on my part)... and now we have arrived to the day of induction - or have we?

We are scheduled to go in tonight at 9pm, "check in to the hotel" =)  Then I will be given a drug to help dilate my cervix, we will sleep, and then in the morning we will take the necessary drugs to help the contractions and labor move along.  

That was the plan, but now we are having second thoughts.  Last night Andrew and I went online and did some research on the common medical methods of induction.  Our main concern is that I will be given pitocin (a commonly used drug that is a synthetic version of the hormone oxytocin, which is naturally released from the woman's body to get labor going).  All women have different experiences with this drug, but I have read that pitocin can cause contractions that are more painful than natural contractions, which can lead to the baby getting less oxygen, and in turn the baby becomes stressed.  If the baby becomes too stressed, this can ultimately lead to an emergency c-section.  I do not want to have a c-section.  I know it seems to be a common practice these days, but Andrew and I are planning on having as many children as Our Lord will give us.  I don't want this labor and delivery to complicate any future labor and deliveries.  I have also been hoping to do this birth naturally, and if the contractions are more painful because of pitocin, then I will more likely request pain relief.

Yesterday I went to the doctor's office and they did a "non-stress test."  This involved me sitting in a really big, comfy chair.  The baby's heart rate was monitored and my contractions (if any) were monitored.  I also had this button to press whenever Baby moved.  The whole goal was to make sure Baby's heart rate was responding to his own movements and my contractions.  As it turns out I did have one contraction while I was hooked up to this machine!  I would not have know it was a contraction without having the machine's numbers going crazy.  It was not painful and so I was very shocked to know that that was a contraction.   I have been feeling stuff like that off and on for a while now, but I never knew they were contractions.

Last night, I think I had more contractions.  I tried to sleep as much as I could, so I think I slept through most of them... but I did incorporate them in my dreams.  So it is possible that my contractions are progressing; however, they are not really getting noticeably rhythmic in any way.

So we are thinking now that if we could wait a little while longer, as long as the baby and I are still safe and healthy, it would be better.  Especially if I am starting to have contractions and they are progressing.  I have a call into our doctor and I will talk about all of this with him.  I really trust him, so his advice will help greatly in our decision process.    

I am totally ready to hold my son, but I also know that being patient will help lower the stress in this situation.

Thank you for all your prayers!  I am currently compiling a list of prayer intentions that I can offer as a focal point for each contraction.  If you have anything for me to pray for, please let me know!

5 comments:

  1. Oh, Lindsey. Hang in there. And do what you think is right-- these days the best thing you can do for your family when you're at the doctor is be a VERY vocal advocate for what you think is best, for yourself and your children.

    We love you and we're praying for you!

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  2. I think that's a good idea Lindsey. You should talk to Carrie about Pitocin though, she didn't seem to have too bad a time with it. She did everything naturally as well. My 11 hours on Pitocin were non drugged as well, so I'm sure you'd be fine (especially with your previous back breaking experiences). I would have also rather done everything naturally if I could, but they broke my water when they gave me the pitocin, so there was no turning back. :) Give me a call if you want to chat. Clare and I are just hanging out anyways.

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  3. Well, if it's possible (doctor's appointments, scheduling, etc.), you can try to wait a little longer for everything to occur naturally. Just be careful not to wait longer than two weeks, since after this everything supposedly starts to deteriorate and the environment becomes worse and worse for the baby.

    The small contractions that you didn't seem to feel (much?) are probably your uterus exercising a bit (if I remember correctly :) ). It could be a good sign, but I don't know enough to know if that could mean that everything will happen within the next week. Just do what you think is best and leave the rest in God's hands. :)

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  4. Well you're certainly a lot more patient than me, but I totally get where your coming from. You want the baby, and all future babies, to be safe. It's so wonderful to see young women open to having lots of kids. I've been keeping the three of you in my prayers and will continue to do so. As for prayer intentions, I'm trying to get as many people as possible to pray for my husband, and us finding each other SOON, so that I too can be barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen. It sounds lovely to me =)

    Good luck with the baby!

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  5. What a hard call to make. I do have a very disheartening story though about a dear friend of mine who waited to long to have her baby. The placenta shuts down slowly after 40 weeks and she lost her baby at 41 1/2 weeks. I hate to tell you that but I know it has helped make my decisions and think it might help you too. My prayers are with you and Andrew.

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