my 37 week appt...this babe is gonna be BIG

So I went for my 37 week appt today and still have not done anything! Not a CM...not even thinning. My doctor thought she could feel the babe's head but just to be sure she wasn't breech, and to make sure that wasn't the cause of my nonprogression, we did a sonogram. The baby is measuring over the 90th percentile at 8lbs 6oz, and 3 full weeks left till her due date. Of course that could be a lb'ish off in EITHER direction. The doc thinks maybe she is too big to drop down enough to cause anything to happen...so its looking like I am probably going to have a repeat section...and that will be on either the 30th or the 31st. Still 2 weeks away. Even if the sonogram was off a lb, and she is only bout 7lbs 6oz...in two week she will probably be 8lbs 6oz...and if it wasn't off, or it was off, and she is really already 9lbs...GEESH. I'm anxious to see how big she will be.

 

As a mom of "big babies" I hate to see that be the reason for a c/s, but whatever you decide, I can't wait to hear the news of her arrival! That's so exciting!!! For what it's worth, I never dilated or effaced until I was in labor with all three of my pregnancies and delivered all vaginally. My last was even completely unmedicated. When they were ready, my body knew just what to do.

 

Her being big isn't the reason for me having a csection if I have to...I haven't scheduled it yet. It is just that if I haven't done anything by then, then I will be having one on the 30th or the 31st. She won't induce my labor. My dr said if I start dilating and want to try, then I can. I'm still holding out that it might be a possibility, but I'm not sure what my body will do since I had the twins by emergency section cause of blood pressure. I've never made it far enough to know.

 

You do have big babies! I just looked at your siggy. My girls were 7lbs 4oz and 6lbs 4oz at 35w 6d...so thats pretty close to your twins weights...if that pattern holds...hmmm.

 

Ditto here... I have friends who have been told they will have a 10lb baby only to pop out a 7.5 lb baby... that's a HUGE discrepancy! Also, for vbac stats there is no significant change in 'odds of successful vbac' until you get well over 10lbs. I didn't calculate what your gestation will be on the 31st...but to give vbac a fair shake you really have to be willing to go past your due date. A doctor who is unwilling to allow you to go past your due date for no real medical reason (baby in clear distres, mother having problems with bp, etc.) is not really pro-vbac at all. They'd rather avoid dealing with vbac and know full well that half of women will not go into labor until after their due date. I'm not saying all this to make you feel bad or anything, sounds like you might have mixed feelings about vbac...which is totally natural... I'm just saying this because it's better for you to evaluate the situation with your eyes wide open...understanding that many, many doctors will say they are pro-vbac when really they would rather not deal with vbac at all. It's jut important that you know because it's your body and your risk either way.

Hope you have a successful, happy delivery no matter which way it turns out.

 

My doctor said 13 lbs was pretty much the cut off for a vbac. Good luck. I hope you progress naturally. For me it happened right on my due date. remember that due dates are just guidelines... good luck! I had 7.5 lb twins and knew that evan was a big baby. I was hoping for an 8 pounter, expecting a 9 and got a 10!! No one ever told me how much he weighed inside me. I knew at that stage though there is a huge variance. Good luck with the remainder of your pregnancy. Enjoy every little baby kick...

 

I never said my doctor was pro vbac or anti vbac. If I pressed the issue, she would be willing to let me go over my due date and see what my body does. She simply laid out my options for me, stating that if I wasn't progressing at week 39, I could have a repeat csection, which is probably what I will opt to do. In the end its my decision. I hate the pro and anti debate....I don't like feeling a sense of judgment against myself or my doctor for planning for another csection. I didn't start out my pregnancy totally intent on a vbac...just wanted to take it step by step and see how it went...and still am. My doc's view on it is not that she is anti vbac...she just wants me to understand my options, and also know that a large baby and a first time labor (considering I never labored with the twins) may not turn out the way I want it too, and I have options. She was very clear in explaining them to me and making me feel good about whatever decision I make, which was nice. Anyhoo...I'm not trying to sound like a jerk...I know how type comes out sometimes....and I started not to even reply, but I don't like feeling like I have something to feel bad about, if I opt to have a csection...and I love my doctor.

 

I totally understand where you are coming from. I think what some of us were trying to get across is that not progressing prior to labor really has no indication on how labor will go. I have had two vaginal deliveries and I was 0cm and only partially effaced prior to labor starting in both of them. In fact, for my vbac I was 0cm for the first 24 hours of labor. But once I hit 5cm it only took an hour to get to 10cm and pushing. So reaching 39 weeks and being 0cm would be totally normal in my case, and not a sign at all over labor. In fact it is a good thing that you are willing to have a c/s because if this is your self-appointed cut-off you probably will have a c/s. I think it's a good thing that you are open to this option if you feel strongly about this week as a cut-off if you are not progressing at all. And I think it's your body, so you certainly should have the right to choose either way! I think the point some of us were trying to make is just that many women believe their doctors when they spout off nonsense about it being risky to go past 40 weeks with vbac...or that having a 9lb baby is going to increase your odds for rupture...those are outright lies. not that your doctor told you that...but some doctors or women are under the impression that this is true...so they get scared and go for the c/s when they really wanted a vbac.

I'm not arguing that every woman should want a vbac. What I'm arguing is that doctors should be honest about the stats and then let the woman decide for herself rather than using scare tactics. Yeah, a vaginal birth could go bad. My aunt had an 8lb baby for her first vaginal delivery and needed reconstructive surgery afterwards to put her organs back in her body. So she opted for c/s on her second baby and recovered much faster. My friend had her 3rd repeat c/s this summer and almost died because of a blood clot in her lung... So either option has it's risks. You have to be comfortable and feel good about the choice you make. Each option has it's success story, and it's horror story. But I think it's important that we have the facts for the true risks on both vbac and c/s because it will help us evaluate our choice better.

I think we all hope that no matter which option you wind up with you have a very healthy, happy delivery and recover quickly!!!

 

Thanks, Susanna! I'm glad you posted again, b/c that cleared up for me what you were saying. Yeah...my doc DEFINITELY didn't use any scare tactics. I'd hate to have a doctor that would. The only thing my doctor has said in relation to uterine rupture, is she doesn't feel comfortable inducing my labor from 0cm...she did say if I were already progressing, then we could discuss induction to move it along. In any case...I'm ready to have this baby!

 

Either way Im sure you will be fine! The little peanut I just delivered was in the 90Th percentile at my 28 week scan. we never checked again- well I finally delivered her, unmedicated at 41w1d and she was 90% EXACTLY at 8#13oz.

My twins were small for 37 weekers. You just never know Hang in there though and keep baking!!!

 

Just remember if you are going to decide for the c/s shoot for the 30th/31st and NOT the 1st or 2nd. I mean if you are pretty certain that the c/s is the way you might be headed, might as well get the tax write off for this year cause you get the full child tax credit even for a kid born in the last minutes of 2009 and diddle squat until the next year for the one born a few minutes into the next year. Definitely not saying to push a c/s for a tax write off, but if you get the choice of the 31st or the 1st, go for the 31st.

 

Ha, ha. I know...and its crossed my mind. My doctor said the 30th or 31st. We planned for this baby, and 3 months later my hubby got laid off. He has been since August, so any little help we could get would be huge. I'd never ASK for a 2009 baby for a tax deduction, but it will be very helpful.

 

And your doctor is dead on with that advice. Induction is a bad idea statistically in any pregnancy (a full 50% of inductions wind up a c/s...so what's the point??!!) But for vbac it's especially a bad idea. Any doctor with any amount of wisdom will not induce vbac patients who are 0cm... that's what happened in the 90s when so many vbac patients (5-8%) wound up with ruptures. They were inducing 0cm dilated patients with a drug called cytotec...a stomach ulcer drug of all things... Anyway all of this led to the current atmosphere we have in the medical community where doctors are terrified of vbac patients. No one sues over a c/s...but they will sue over ruptures and badly gone births. I never dilate prior to labor...so I spent my first 24 hours in my vbac labor at 0cm...and a very nice resident kept sending me home from the hospital because he knew that if they admitted me I wouldn't get my vbac. 1. They couldn't induce...2. some doctor would get ansy over my contractions going so long with no progress. It was a challenging labor because it was vbac and to keep risk down it's better to avoid 'helping' the labor along...and she was sunny-side up so it took longer for her to get in the right position to push on my cervex.

LOL about the tax right off... that's a definite benefit!