baby boy Sweat @ 20w3d 12/9/15 |
let's move onto the whole "he" thing. it feels really weird knowing the gender of this baby. chris left the decision of knowing the sex or not to a coin toss the night before the appointment. i arranged for helena to be watched by a new mom friend so that chris and i could enjoy the whole big ultrasound and focus on our new baby. it was really nice to have it just be the "three" of us without chris being distracted by helena making sure she wasn't getting into anything she shouldn't be. chris told the ultrasound tech that we would be finding out the sex, and the first shot the tech did was dead center in-between the legs, and i knew it right away. all boy. the tech could tell i knew what it was but chris was looking at the monitor wondering what in the world we were looking at. so i clued him in that he was getting a son. he immediately cheered and i started crying. i don't know why, but i really thought i was having a girl. i totally pictured raising sisters. the day before i found out that my friend andrea was having a girl, and i thought the chances of us getting one of each right away was slim to none. i remember a conversation andrea and i had right after both of us found out we were pregnant. we went on a walk and she made a comment like "what if we both have girls, and grayson is the only boy?" i totally pictured telling andrea "well grayson is going to be the only boy." my first thought about having a boy is i have no idea what to do with a boy! i'm super excited and i'm thrilled to be having one of each! when i do feel him and get to see him at an ultrasound i feel that feeling of love and my heart growing to be fulfilled with this little boys love and the love and joy he is going to be bringing into my family.
next up is the care of this baby. there is only one OB medical office in Alamogordo. my plan for this birth has always been a VBAC. and the doctor that delivered Helena was on board with a VBAC. then we moved. at my first appointment they asked why i had a c-section and how i wanted to birth this baby. the doctor seemed on board with a VBAC, but advised me that they would not induce me. so immediately it was either go into labor by 42 weeks or end up with a c-section. the next time i went in i met with the one female doctor at this practice who is from bejing, china and as an extremely strong accent. her respond to my VBAC wishes?: you have time to change your mind. that's when the red flags were raised. At my next appointment the doctor gave me the consent form I would have to sign in order to attempt a VBAC at the one and only hospital in Alamogordo. It basically says they don't have the appropriate staff on hand 24/7 to ensure your safety for all things that could go wrong when going for a VBAC. ...after the fact I also realized that means that they don't have the resources to even support a normal laboring woman which is something I plan on asking about at my next appointment. I asked where the nearest hospital is that could support a VBAC birth, and the doctor advised El Paso, 90 minutes away.
This is completely foreign to me. I'm used to the world at my finger tips. Which I knew was a huge plus to living in Denver. Unlimited resources for almost anything, endless food options, all the shopping would ever need right outside my door, a direct flight to London if I wanted to get out of the country. Now I have one hospital, only a couple of chain restaurants to feed me, Wal-mart for my shopping needs, and flying...well that's out of the question, let alone going somewhere out of the country, unless of course I want to go Juarez, Mexico.
Like my pregnancy with Helena I'm at a crossroads in this pregnancy. Do I birth this baby here?, Chris and I have both decided and agreed that if I were to have this baby here, it would be via repeat C-section. Or do I start my search from scratch?: look at options in Las Cruces, El Paso, or even Albuquerque. When I first moved here it seems common that mom's birth their babies elsewhere. At the time I thought that was strange, because why would have your baby someplace different from where you live? The idea seemed crazy to me. But now I get it. The hospital doesn't even have a NICU. To my surprise Chris recommend I go to ABQ to have this baby, just because Helena and I could go to ABQ have a place to stay and lots of help. I don't know why, but I just really hate the idea of interrupting my families routine so I can attempt something that in the end may not even happen. And plus what does that even look like? When would Helena and I go up to ABQ? How does that work with the end of pregnancy? Obviously I have research and work to do, this is just the cloudiness in my head right now.
Aside from the whole VBAC thing lets talk about the care I'm receiving. At my first OB appointment at the end of September in Denver they drew blood and just like my first pregnancy my A1C (blood sugars) was just slightly elevated. So I predicted the same exact treatment for my blood sugars throughout this pregnancy. Well then we moved. I've mentioned my blood sugars at every single appointment. I started testing my blood sugars when I was around 16 weeks pregnant with Helena. I never took the glucose sugar test because they based my treatment off of my blood sugar results that I was getting 4 times a day. ...Granted the doctors didn't really start paying attention to my numbers until I was around 30 weeks. And of course, by the end of my pregnancy with Helena I was on insulin. This time around they haven't even mentioned testing my blood sugars, and instead they had my take the 3 hour glucose test the week of Thanksgiving, which I surprisingly passed with "flying colors" as told me by the nurse. She even told me to have that extra piece of pie during Thanksgiving dinner. And now I'll be doing another 3 hour glucose test the first week of February when I'll be 28 weeks. It's just weird to me that from the very beginning of my pregnancy with Helena I was categorized as "high risk" because of my elevated blood sugars, and so far in this pregnancy I'm considered "normal" because I passed a 3 hour glucose test when I was 18 weeks. I wish I could go get a second opinion without having to leave city limits.
All of these things are constantly on my mind. Over and over I'm asking myself: what to do? I'm not gonna lie I see appeal in just have another c-section here. Keep my family and routine intact, take the question about when this baby is going to come, and just schedule it. Part of me feels selfish for for this whole VBAC because I know it would interrupt my family and our routine, and of course I'm scared that I could do all of these and end up in another c-section, so then what would it all be for? Just to displace my family for no reason. I truly have no clue what to do.
They say every pregnancy is different, no kidding.
2 comments:
When Emily had Fin in Albuquerque I think my mom and family actually loved being able to see the new baby. Even though you'd be 'interrupting,' the miracle of life is something that people generally want to be a part of (in my experience)!
If it were me, I would try for the VBAC, because really you have nothing to lose. Your family routine will change dramatically after the baby comes anyway - scheduling birth won't change that. Helena will adjust, I promise! Just my two cents. So sorry. All that stress and worry. I feel like you got a crummy draw, since you had so many worries just before Helena was born.
Let's recall I also said "and if we both have boys Helena will be the only girl". lol selective hearing :)
VBAC is just fancy talk for giving birth! It's what you are made for. Go get the best care you can for your boy and give him his best start. Experience what you should have with Helena. Eat after delivery & boost your milk supply! Scheduling surgery always comes with its own special set of risks.
In the end you know what to do because you are the mommy! So trust your instincts!
Post a Comment