On Thursday, November 1st I had my 38 week check up. My doctor measured my stomach and was concerned that I was running out of room and worried that I wouldn't be able to deliver normally if I went too much longer. He did an ultrasound to predict Finley's weight and suggested that she might be close to 8 lbs. Enter freak out mode! My doctor suggested that I be induced the night of Tuesday, November 6th and Finley would be born on the 7th. My actual due date was November 13th. As a hormonal pregnant woman, I was on board. Or so I thought...
With my hospital orders in hand I called Josh to tell him the news. And from there it snowballed. Trips were planned, vacation requests were submitted and even flights were being rescheduled for everyone to be at the hospital for Finley's birth. Even though all of these of arrangements were being made, I still had this uneasy feeling in the back of my mind that I just couldn't shake. I tried to ignore it and tell myself I was just nervous about giving birth. But as each day passed this uneasy feeling I had just kept growing and I couldn't shake it. I knew what it was. It was my first mother's intuition... Finley was not ready to enter the world. I wasn't having contractions, I wasn't swollen or miserable or having any distress. I honestly just felt like I was not done with this pregnancy. I didn't know how to stop the snowball that was already in place. How do I tell my family members who have rearranged their lives that I have changed my mind over a gut feeling? Would they understand? Would they be mad? Answer...all of the above.
My mom was the one who finally convinced me that I had to go with my intuition. So once I said it out loud I knew I had to call Josh. He was at work and is usually hard to get ahold of, but since I was nine months pregnant he answered right away. Haha! He was a little confused at first but was fully supportive. Josh let the rest of his family know the new plans and especially let his dad know as he was the one who had rescheduled his flight for work. See why I was nervous? Flights were being changed! And then there was breaking the news to my dad. That didn't go so well. (Sorry dad, but it's part of the story and has to be told.) My dad got his panties in a wod because his perfect little calendar was changing and it just wasn't working out in his favor. But he got over it...eventually. After that I called my doctor's office and the hospital to cancel. The nurse at the hospital asked me if I already delivered. Nope, just decided to not have a baby! Once those calls were made I literally felt a weight lifted off of me and the anxiety went away. I knew I made the right decision for me...and Finley.
The following Thursday, November 8th I went in for my 39 week check up. My doctor was proud of me for following my instincts and canceling. He was supportive no matter what. We did decide together that I did not need to go past my due date, so if I didn't go into labor on my own before November 13th, that I would check in to the hospital that night for an induction. So from that point on I just rested and prepared myself for whatever might come! So we waited...and waited...and waited.
...and waited. Nothing. So on Tuesday, November 13th Josh and I spent the day waiting on the hospital to call and let us know our call time. I wanted to have one last meal that night since I knew once I got to the hospital I wouldn't be able to eat until after I gave birth. That was truly stressing me out! So Josh took me to Olive Garden for a big bowl of pasta! The dinner didn't turn out quite like we planned because while we were waiting on our food...I went into LABOR! Can you believe it?! I kept telling Josh I was fine because I wanted to eat my food. I didn't get more than a couple of bites in before we had to go because I couldn't sit still because of the contractions. I think we scared the waiter for sure. It was now a little after 7:00 and the hospital still hadn't called. So we decided to head back to the house and grab a few last minute things. While we were on our way home the hospital called and asked if we could be there at 8:30. We said YES!
Part two coming soon.
I'm leaving you with my 40 weeks pregnant belly shot AND a video Josh and I recorded before we left for the hospital.
Hey - it does not matter how long it takes to get a story up on the blog. The important part is that it is documented :) By the way - I still have a gift to send you!!
ReplyDeleteYay!! That's such a cute video!
ReplyDelete