C-Section It Is!

Well I had my regular OB appointment yesterday.  I'm doing well, gained a couple pounds, still had relatively high blood pressure, but still not a huge concern.  So we discussed with him our options as far as delivery goes and we considered three big things.

1.  My delivery history - I had trouble delivering Abby, she was stuck after the head was delivered but fortunately the Dr. was able to sort of twist her out safely.  This could happen again as it could be a problem with the anatomy of my bones and not just that she was a bigger baby (8lbs 8ozs).  

2.  This baby's position and condition - With him being breech already and with the extended belly, it just wasn't something we all felt would be a good idea to risk.

3.   Scheduling - In normal circumstances, I hate scheduling the births of babies.  I so wanted our baby to come "naturally" when he was ready, but because of the circumstances we're in, scheduling makes the most sense.  We have to have a whole team of people ready to go and it'll be much easier if we can have them ready ahead of time.  Now granted, I could go into labor early and if that's the case, we will have to scramble, but everything will be fine (the Dr. reassured me!).  At the hospital I deliver at we have to have a neonatologist ready to insert an NG tube immediately, then we have to have the transport people ready and then the doctors and nurses at Children's will have to ready for his arrival.  So that's a lot of people to organize (and it's so nice that they do all the scheduling for you!).

So with all of those things to consider, a c-section was the best option.  Now I know I have been really "down" on c-sections, and it's not so much that I hate the procedure itself, but I just have a few things that really bother me about it, especially for this birth.  First of all, I worry about all the extra complications that can occur with a birth of this type.  I mean it's surgery, there are a lot more risks and complications and plus I'll need a lot more meds, which I try in general to avoid.  

Second, and this is by far the most important to me, with the c-section I'll have a much longer recovery time at my hospital while my son is away undergoing his own surgery and recovery without me.  That just tears me up.  I've only had to do this surgery thing one time with my kids so far and that was Abby's tonsils and I would've never for a second not been there from the beginning to the end, holding her and comforting her.  And at this point, it'll most likely be at least a day after his surgery that I'll be able to be with him and I hate that.  I hate thinking about sitting in my hospital room for like two days at least without my baby. 

Now, please don't misunderstand.  I'm completely grateful for the medical interventions that we have available to us, even if I may not "want" to use them.  I realize that if my baby had been born like 100 years ago or something, he probably would've died.  So even saying that I'm grateful, seems like an understatement.  I'm more than grateful.  But I just hate that it has come down to this.  That I have to use these helps.  

But I also know this is all in God's hands.  He has so graciously bestowed on us some awesome doctors and a local hospital that is tops for taking care of babies.  He worked all that out for us without our knowing it and we could not be more thankful.  We were in the perfect place when Abby was born, with a doctor he could deliver her with all the problems safely and now we're in the perfect place for this baby to be born.  And it's all because of Him.  He always works it out for the best of those who believe.  And He certainly is in this case.  I know that even if I'm not with the baby, He will be and his Daddy will be and that does comfort me.  Our baby will not be alone.

So anyway, the details are:  Tuesday September 29th at 1:00pm is the scheduled day and time of arrival for our new son!  Noah and Abby were both born on Tuesday in the 1:00 pm hour, so as long as our surgery is on time, we'll have a third baby born on a Tuesday in the 1:00 pm hour!!  I love stuff like that, so that excites me!!  Noah was born on Tuesday January 18th, at 1:09pm, and Abby was born on Tuesday September 24th at 1:16pm.  

So that's the news for this week.  I have appointments every week now until delivery.  Plus next week I'm having another ultrasound to check on the baby and make sure the cyst isn't growing too much, too quickly.  So it's 4 weeks from today!  Or 28 days, however you like to think of it!!  Not long!  I need to relax some and try to keep my blood pressure down, but of course I feel like "I have so much to do!"  but I'll spread it all out over the 4 weeks and get it done.  I'm excited to meet him and reveal his name!!