Pregnancy Post: Week 39

Well folks, there it is--officially the LAST weekly pregnancy picture!

After much discussion at the doctor's appointment today, Justin, the doc, and myself decided to schedule an induction for Monday the 11th. So, if Lizzy doesn't make her grand appearance before then, we will be heading to the hospital at about 6am to begin the induction process. Now, I know that a lot of people have very strong feelings against inductions, and a lot of readers may not agree with our decision to induce. However, there are a lot of different reasons that have caused all three of us to believe that an induction is the best option. One of the main reasons is this:

For the past two weeks, the baby has been in a position that is pinching one of my nerves and also constricting my circulation. This means that I'm in a lot of pain, and also that I randomly feel like I'm about to black out--suddenly (little to no warning) I get complete tunnel vision, start shaking uncontrollably, and a fever/chills feeling. Then, I break out into a cold sweat. I can hardly see, and feel disoriented. And this always seems to happen when I'm say, in the shower, or driving. It's been happening more and more frequently (I had multiple episodes today), and there's absolutely nothing that I can do to stop or alleviate them--I just have to lay down and wait them out. And it's scary. Due to the decreased blood flow, I also usually have a migraine the rest of the day. The doctor confirmed today that the baby isn't likely going to change positions at this point, and since this situation is being caused by her positioning, the situation won't likely change until she's born. It's scary for me, and I know that my blood pressure and pulse shoot through the roof whenever it happens, which I'm sure isn't good for Lizard either.

Other concerns include the probability of actually being further along than my due date reflects, blood pressure that has been slowly creeping higher and higher, etc. The doctor has said that since I'm more than 3cm dilated, most of the way effaced, and contracting regularly, that my body is favorable for an induction, and that he's hopeful that after he breaks my water, I may not even need Pitocin. So yeah. Being induced may not be a popular decision, but it really is the one that J and I (and our doctor) are comfortable with here. To be honest, the whole situation is a little scary, crazy, and emotional! I'm still hoping that I go into labor on my own, but it's really surreal to know that if I don't, we will be heading to Labor and Delivery bright and early Monday morning!

In other news, my parents came over this evening bearing gifts--namely, a video camera! What an incredible gift! We didn't have one and my DSLR doesn't do video, so the camera was really, really exciting! Justin's already having a great time testing it all out.

Also, my oldest niece Payton (who is almost 5) informed me earlier this week that she really, really hoped that I have this baby before Sunday, because my shirts don't cover my belly anymore, and we do NOT wear shirts that show our belly to church. I got a pretty good laugh out of that one.