Just for comparison's sake I've posted a picture of me now to contrast with the one at the start of the third trimester. You may have noticed that my tummy's slightly larger now. My 1-year-old nephew definitely noticed when I saw him this week as he excitedly jabbed his little finger into my belly and exclaimed, "Ball, ball!" In fact everything's larger now that I've started to retain fluids. Most pregnant women complain about swelling in their feet the most and while virtually all of my shoes are now to tight for comfort, the worst for me has been my hands. The swelling has extended to the joints in my fingers making even simple activities like turning a doorknob, unscrewing a lid, writing, and pumping up a blood pressure cuff painful. To some extent I have joint swelling and pain all over my body, but the hands are definitely the worst. Unfortunately my job requires almost constant use of my hands, but this is my last week before starting my maternity leave. I guess this should come as a relief as working definitely isn't easy at this point, but if I go past my due date I suspect I may be even more miserable just sitting around the house by myself with nothing to do but wait.
Up until now my doctor had thought there was a good chance I'd deliver early considering the size of the baby and the fact that his head started to drop several weeks ago, but I guess no one got the message to my cervix which hasn't been cooperative. If it had my doctor would have been willing to induce me over a week ago, an issue it seems that nearly everyone has a strong opinion about. I've heard horror stories about inductions that include painful labors and traumatic deliveries that can end in birth defects or C-Section. Then again I've heard mom's who opted out of induction tell about meconium in the lungs and babies that are too big which result in traumatic birth or C-Section. I guess the silver lining is that no matter what the outcome, I haven't really been given a choice so I can't really beat myself up over making the wrong decision. My only option at this point is to wait, and wait, and wait.
2 comments:
I will keep my fingers crossed that things start to cooperate soon! I can't wait to see him!
This is when parent's inspiration really comes in handy! You both will know when the time is right an what action to take to get this baby here safely. (because everyone will have a story, and each doctor will have a different opinion too!) Just for the record, I never have any progress until labor starts for me. And Matthew didn't drop at all until labor started. So you never know! We'll be thinking of you!
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