Friday, August 07, 2009

Week 39 tummy

What I realized this week was that I now throw the word "cervix" around like it's nothing.

"So my cervix. . ."

I mean, I'm not all, "So that cloud formation reminds me of my cervix."

But women at the office who have given birth started asking about the state of my cervix several weeks ago. The first time it happened, I kind of twitched. But you know how rapidly you get used to things?

So I'll pass them in the hall and they'll be all, "What did the OB say? Dilated yet?"

Yah. So my cervix? It has not budged.

The full moon? Did nothing.

I saw my friend Laura a few days ago and she said something like, "I'm really sorry to tell you this, but you just don't look haggard enough to be having your baby yet."

Today, though, don't you think I look haggard enough? I think so.

On Wednesday I had a good talk with my OB about the non-budginess of my cervix, the size of my belly, and an exit strategy for the kid.

Some of you are going to think I'm crazy, but here's what we came to: I've postponed the induction date a week.

Because, here's the thing. He said he'd do whatever I want past my due date. But the fact is that if your body isn't ready, well, it isn't ready for some reason.

We discussed the balance between rushing your body/the kid, and letting him get too big.

It turns out that even though I think my husband is a giant and my belly it is the size of Burkina Faso, in the scheme of baby-house sizes, is not actually shockingly huge.

(On an inappropriate and off-topic side bar, one has to assume that my inability to accurately judge size probably endeared me to more than a few men in my dating career.)

Anyway.

He doesn't think the kid is a Baby of Unusual Size.

And what it comes down to is this.

Much as I want to be un-preg, giving him more of a chance to arrive on his own makes me a lot more mentally and emotionally comfortable.

You don't know how you or your baby will react to induction. I've waited this many years to have a baby in the first place, and spent this many weeks trying to provide a healthy, safe environment for him along the way.

What's another potential week in the scheme?

Which is not to say that at some point next week I won't have thrown rationality entirely out the window and find myself sobbing on the floor and blaming Nick entirely for this.

But at the moment, haggard enough or no, this seems like the best way to go.

And anyway, who doesn't love a little caprice in a pregnant wife?

(Laughs like the madwoman in the attic.)

22 comments:

  1. I would agree with this logic, you've just made him such a nice little baby house that's he all, "wait, I like it here, I think I'm going to just chill for a bit, DON'T RUSH ME MOM."

    And then he pokes you in the pancreas. Hard.

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  2. I'm still calling the 16th, so he can share his birthday with me and Madonna...

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  3. Okay so yes, you look a little haggard. HOWEVER, you also look fabulous. No really. Your face doesn't look pregnant at all (that sounds weird but you know what I mean, right? So many pregnant ladies have pregnant-fatty-fat-fat faces and what I'm saying is that you don't.) So. Have a great weekend! I hope your cervix smartens up so you don't have to make any difficult decisions.

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  4. It's a great idea as difficult as it must be! My SIL insisted on being induced on her due date. No dilation, she didn't care. yeah. C section.

    You're going to hate me, but I had teh opposite problem. I was walking around for weeks 5 cm. My doc induced me because in her words she didn't "want the baby to fall out on the floor!" (Don't worry, I still labored for 8 hours (and pushed for 3 of those) so you don't have to hate me too much!)

    Have a good weekend! Come on, BOY!

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  5. It's a great idea as difficult as it must be! My SIL insisted on being induced on her due date. No dilation, she didn't care. yeah. C section.

    You're going to hate me, but I had teh opposite problem. I was walking around for weeks 5 cm. My doc induced me because in her words she didn't "want the baby to fall out on the floor!" (Don't worry, I still labored for 8 hours (and pushed for 3 of those) so you don't have to hate me too much!)

    Have a good weekend! Come on, BOY!

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  6. You look beautiful! Wait until your baby has it's little feet on your bladder constantly, and you have to pee every two minutes! LOL Then you will know your little one will be ready to come into the world! I just recently found your blog and I love it! I am reading all of your earlier blogs. Good luck to you, your baby and your husband! Janey from Texas

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  8. George's bday is on the 10th. Think of all the double celebrations we could have, if you'd just hang on until Monday!

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  9. you will do fine, and cutie pie will be here before you know it.

    with my first baby, i went to the hospital too soon, and the doctor was *pressuring* me to induce. after a couple of hours, i left the hospital "against doctor's orders" to labor at home. on the way back to the hospital that evening in a cab (remember, my husband is blind, so neither of us was up to driving - ha!), our cab driver got pulled over on Georgia Avenue for driving recklessly. turns out he didn't have a permit to drive the cab, and he might have been under the influence. so much for my quiet return to the hospital! naturally the cops called the rescue squad, exactly what i didn't want. but hey - that bundle of joy who was born that night is about the enter his senior year of college - so all's well that ends well!

    just keep moving, and nature will take its course.

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  10. Rindy - I need to look up the location of the pancreas. Maybe that's where he's been poking me. I just recently learned that your liver is a lot bigger than I expected.

    Megan - Oh, 16th is far! Although closer than the 21st, that's for sure. And he'd still be a Leo.

    Hillary - It's true - my face is only slightly puffy but I don't think you can tell unless you're looking. I credit this with not eating a lot of salt, but who the hell knows.

    You have a great weekend too!

    cla517 - That is the thing I am really trying to avoid if I can help it. There are some people to whom this is less of a big deal than others, but I am not one of them.

    And wow! Fall out on the floor made me laugh, but that is a little crazy, isn't it?

    Thanks for the encouragement!

    Janice - Thank you! I'm so glad you like it and thanks for the good wishes!

    As for the bladder - something is poking it all the time. I suppose I assumed it was his head or arms, but really, who knows? I haven't gotten to the every two minutes point yet, though. Ugh!

    freckledk - Oh, George! I have a childhood friend who is also on the 10th.

    LJ - That is one wild birth story. I'm sure it was the last thing on earth you wanted, but the drama of it all is pretty exciting. And your grown up bundle of joy does have this amazing story of how he arrived.

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  11. I hope you meant to make me think of this... because you did.

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  12. *hugs* You look tired, but still pretty damn good considering. He'll come soon enough, and things will go well. I can't wait to see the little guy. :-)

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  13. I agree with you. I mean, we (as a society) never used to induce labor just because the due date passed. Why do we now? Maybe your boy just needs a little more time to roost??

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  14. Thank you for this - "...my inability to accurately judge size probably endeared me to more than a few men in my dating career." It made me LOL.

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  15. Ha! I love it, A Princess Bride reference.

    Lisa: "O.B., what about the B.O.U.S.'s?"

    O.B.: "Babies Of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist."

    And labor begins.

    The boy's lucky to have a mommy with such a great sense of humor. Wait till his friends read the archives of Lemon Gloria in high school. A barrel of laughs.

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  16. LiLu - Absolutely!!! I just hope he's cuter than that, no matter his size.

    VVK - Thank you! I can't wait for him to meet Uncle Vik!

    Jules - We are impatient and we can control it, and we like the certainty of a date, I think. I will tell you that I am very, very tempted to induce the minute my due date passes. But I just don't think it's the healthiest approach for him or me.

    Lisa - I'm glad you liked it. I didn't know if anyone would notice. :)

    FoggyDew - Dude, that's exactly the conversation I want to have! And then I want random flames shooting up!

    As for the archives, they should be long gone before he could find them and be mortified by me.

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  17. oh man, you look so over it in that picture.
    but i agree with the Doc, all along you've looked nothing like any full term girl i know... you're just so teeny tiny in the belly region!
    i get the pushing it back a week, do whatever you think is best for both of you! (even though you do have a whole blog world of increasingly more eager people waiting to see your little creation!)
    * here's to hoping he decides to come out of his own free will before induction arrives! *

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  18. Ooooh look at that belly! Soon. Maybe not soon enough, but soon.

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  19. I agree with your birthing logic. And I'm sorry, but the look on your face in this picture is great! "Get this kid the f*ck out of me NOW!"

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  20. Both my mom and MIL had 5 kids, one of each of their 5, (the first babies) were 10 month pregnancies. They knew since thier husbands went away, dad with the military, my FIL, (I swear this is true) with a circus/carnival. I had one baby, and not surprisingly, a 10 monther. I knew because my husband, a musician, and was on tour, and had just been in Mtl where we lived, for 1 week.

    I can well relate to the look on your face in that pic. Oy. I lived near a park. I used to look out the window and watch people engaging in all kinds of physical activities, having so much fun. "And here I am, on my own, havin' none."

    But anyway, one encouraging thing I can say: I guess it was sort of like giving birth to a 1 month old baby, in that his systems were well developed, so he was easier to take care of than what I observed with some of my friend's babies; no colic, skin/diaper rashes, throwing up, that kind of thing. So at least that extra preggie time sort of paid off after delivery.

    Bless you, hon.

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  21. Aww..I really don't think you look haggard. The squeaky clean face makes you look young, and the look on your face could just as easily be directed at Nick. "Hurry up with the picture, I have to pee again" was my first thought.

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