Possibly our 2nd to Last Photo Update

Here I am at a whopping 38 weeks (Mmmm....Whopping...sounds like Whoppers...makes me think of a Whopper milkshake my Mom makes....YUM....may have to whip out the Blender tonight!). It kills me how far OUT Logan is....I think it was 34 weeks or something I was looking pretty round, now it looks like I have a rocket ship inside me bursting to get out via my belly button! Hopefully that is NOT the case!



I say that this may be our 2nd to last photo update because at our 1:30 OB appointment today we are supposed to figure out the game plan for getting Mr. Logan out and into the real world! Jason and I both have a feeling that the doctor will want to induce me either next week or the following week. If she does it next week, then we'll take one final photo this weekend (or better yet, just before we head to the hospital) and then all photos after that will be with the Baby (And no more profile shots of me in a sports bra for awhile- that's for sure!).

The purpose of today's appointment is to get a look at Logan and to find out the following as best we can:
1. What position he's in. At 34 weeks, the doctor did an ultrasound and figured out that Logan was transverse in the womb (Sideways)- which is not a good place to be! She said he was more head down than anything, but definitely wasn't in the necessary birthing position. She had mentioned at that time that she may be able to manually turn him...but at last weeks appointment, as she gaged the size of my tummy, she said she would NOT be comfortable turning him herself. The procedure to turn the baby is pretty common, but can be dangerous. I think her concern plays in to how big he is, and what little room he must have inside- a huge risk of doing a manual turn is rupturing the placenta- which isn't good for anyone involved! So, if he's not turned by today, we're going to talk to our doc about doing some acupuncture to get him headed in the right direction. Our OB's office has a licensed acupuncturist on site, so I'm sure she could help us out.

2. Get a more accurate measurement of what Logan weighs right now. At 34 weeks, all of the measurements she took put him right around 7lbs 6oz...with 6 weeks to go! Given that during the last 4 weeks a baby gains about a 1/2lb per week, that would put him just too large to even fathom! Which would be her main reason for wanting to induce and get him out early. No need to let him sit and cook even longer (Even though I'm sure he's QUITE comfortable in there!) when a natural delivery (meaning not inducing) would only lead to complications in the delivery room. Inducing at this point would just help increase our chances for a vaginal birth, if we let him get much bigger, then a C-Section will most likely be inevitable. And while that may be the case regardless, Jas and I have agreed that we'd like to ATTEMPT at delivering vaginally if at all possible. So only time will tell...

It's kind of funny how far I've come in my thinking of what I want out of this birth...it's always been my goal to have a SAFE delivery of Logan- no question. But I've just gone in so many directions about how I want to GET to that safe delivery it makes me laugh. Initially, I was all about an epidural, hadn't ever really given a natural birth much thought. I figured I would have a vaginal birth, with drugs like "everyone" does. Then, out of the blue I started thinking I wanted to do a natural birth- no drugs, just me and a cup of strength! And now, that we know more about Logan and his size and me and my size, I'm back at square one- just get that baby out of me safely, healthily and I don't care what that means- Drugs, no drugs, C-Section- whatever.

It's frustrating to me to hear so many people discuss C-Sections in a negative light. I don't understand how people in this country don't trust their doctors- and yet will still GO to a doctor to have their child. If someone is so against, and non-trusting o the medical community, especially when it comes to child birth, why not just head out to the forest, pop a squat and get that baby out Old School style? If your going to entrust yourself with a hospital, a nursing staff and a licensed doctor then you may as well trust them 100%. People have spouted off statistics to me from day one about how my doctor will push me to have a C-section because it makes THEIR life so much easier. While I agree that the US has a very high percentage of C-Sections, I don't know that many people making the argument against C-Sections really think about where that high number comes from:

1. The US is a very medically advanced country, so of course, when compared to Namibia we're going to have a higher number of C-sections performed.
2. The US has more multiple births than most countries, due in large part to the IVF that goes on in this country. It is VERY rare for a mother carrying multiples to deliver vaginally. In order to get all of the babies out safely, a C-Section is a lot of times the only option.
3. I read recently that 90% of scheduled C-Sections are requested by the Patient- not the doctor who has a 3:30 Tee Time, but the MOTHER. For some women, it's just more convenient and more suitable to their lifestyle to 1. have a c-section and 2. have one scheduled. No fault or crime in that.
4. The US is a VERY legally charged country. You can sue someone for looking at you in the wrong way and causing you emotional distress. Because of that, Doctors in this country are far less inclined to just "let things play out" when there is a possible cause for concern with either the Mother or the baby- or both. If given the choice between the two (let the mother attempt to delivery vaginally or perform a C-Section and almost guarantee a safe outcome), the doctor is going to take the safer of the 2. Again, no fault or crime in that.
5. I also read recently that babies in the recent past have been delivered at larger weights- why? Well, probably not for the reason you would think. In the last 10 years or so, women have STOPPED SMOKING while pregnant, they've also been eating more healthy since we have more research on what a developing fetus needs to thrive. So those 2 factors alone have given us more plump and more healthy babies which usually also means BIGGER babies.

I think this country just needs to "Simmer Down". It's great that we're a free country and have the right to our opinions and all that, but sometimes I think we get a little out of hand and just start blaming, bashing and taking for granted all that we have.

I think Jason put it best while in the middle of one of our birthing classes:
Jas: "Have humans in general gotten a lot BIGGER over the years? Like, are babies now a lot bigger than they were 100 years ago?"

Me: "I'm sure we've grown a little, but I don't think drastically, why?"

Jas: "Well, if we have so many C-Sections because babies aren't fitting through the canal as much, I'm just wondering how they got around that 100 years ago"

Me: "umm...well...in that situation, 25, 50, 100 years ago...either the Mom or the Baby would not make it."

Jas: "Oooh."

Of course, I would love to have this baby vaginally- for me, that goes without saying, but I am not about to jeopardize the health of my baby or myself just to "prove a point". If I can do it (And let's face it, I've got hips...I've been told FOREVER that I have great hips for birthing, it would be nice to put them to good use!), I will do it, but I'm not going to be bullheaded (for once) about this- I'm going to put my faith in God, my trust in the Doctor's and nurses that are at the hospital to know what is best for me and Logan and I hope at the end of the day I can look at my Son and be happy with the outcome that got him in my arms :)