Baby #4 Update

With this whole VBA2C thing on the table, my doctor decided an ultrasound at 37 weeks would help us decide which way to go.

Baby under 9 lbs. = good to try for VBAC
Baby over 9 lbs = C-section

My ultrasound was on Tuesday, the 12th.

The estimated weight of the baby at 37 weeks is 9 lbs. 9 oz. 

Babies gain about 1/2 lb. a week the last month. With three weeks to grow, she should gain 1.5 additional pounds. That puts her at 10 1/2 lbs. or so at birth if we wait.

Now the ultrasound can be off by 1/2 a lb. or so - big or small. But, chances are very high that she will be well over 9 lbs. by my due date of March 4th.

My doctor subtly recommended I schedule a section, but still gave me the option to wait it out and try for a VBAC.

The three factors that contribute most to rupture are:

1. Use of labor inducing drugs (I've had no less than 30 hours of pitocin with every labor - and I labored with all 3 - two of which ended in c-sections)
2. Babies over 9 lbs. (see above)
3. Going overdue (?)

Knowing my history and the likelihood that she'll be well over the 9 lbs., I chose to go the "medically safe" route and schedule a c-section.

Baby girl will be here February 26th.

I'm dreading the surgery and recovery. I'm nervous about hemorrhaging since I've already done that and the chance increases with each c-section.

But, I've recovered from 2 c-sections before and lived to tell the tale. I survived the hemorrhage even thought it was scary.

If I did rupture, and the baby didn't get oxygen for 10-15 minutes, we'd be looking at a lifetime of possible consequences including brain damage and other issues that last a lot longer than the recovery from surgery for me.

In other pregnancy news, it's been 3 weeks and I still have this nasty cough, sore throat, and stuffed head. My sleep has suffered a lot because I can't take anything that really helps to stop the cough and let me breathe. Stuffy head is pretty common with pregnancy, and I expect it will clear up as soon as I have this kid. The cough bothers me more, simply because the thought of having a bad cough, and recovering from abdominal surgery sounds like pure torture. I have just over a week to drop this cough, and I'm hoping for a miracle.

I've gone for two iron infusions. I go to the oncology unit and sit with the folks who get chemotherapy. I feel like a big jerk sitting there, looking full of life and healthy with this head full of hair, impatient because I have things to do back home, while these folks fight for their lives. They are all very upbeat, bantering back and forth with the nurses, spending hours upon hours of their lives in those dumb chairs hoping to beat the odds.

But, my energy level has improved. And, the threat of blood loss isn't quite so scary because I'll be pumped full of iron right before I go under the knife.

All in all, I'm still pretty comfortable. Don't get me wrong, my back gets tired. My hips are sore. I get winded sometimes - but I attribute that to the fact that I can't breathe through my nose anymore because of the dumb stuffiness rather than just the baby. My maternity shirts don't quite reach as far as they need to anymore either. But, I'm the least miserable I've ever been at this stage. I'm so grateful for that as I'm the busiest I've ever been, and getting least amount of rest, too. I'm not so miserable I want to die or anything and that is a real blessing.

And NO, we still don't have a name. I'm not feeling worried about it; she'll get one eventually.

Here's the view at 37 weeks: