Still NO baby!

No Baby today, just got the call that I can eat today and do it all again tomorrow! SO DISAPPOINTED! They want me to go in for another NST tonight so hopefully babe is doing good and his heartbeat is strong!

On the bright side, last night D's parents came down to celebrate his birthday a few weeks late this year b/c of their holidays etc. They took us out for dinner and bought D (and me) a new computer. YEAH! Our laptop is like 5 years old and totally obsolete. SO EXCITED! We will finally be able to store all those pics I plan on taking of the new babe, WHEN HE FINALLY COMES!

No more faith in the medical system!

Over the past two weeks I have been told 3 times that this time I am not going home with a baby...No baby yet and still no plan. Yesterday I was told that they baby is looking like it is almost 10 lbs...WOW 10 lbs. So although they are no longer concerned about the amniotic fluid they are concerned about the baby making it through my small pelvis without getting stuck which can cause major problems so it was decided that I would be having a c-section. That is fine with me as long as baby comes out HEALTHY! My regular obstretician told me that monday would be the day but he would be on holidays and so he contacted one of the other obstreticians that work out of Peace Arch Hospital and I had an appointment this morning to meet her and I guess have an "assessment".

When I saw her this morning I was told that b/c I am not an emergency c-section that I am not "scheduled" for monday and I may get in monday, OR tuesday, OR wednesday etc...depending on IF someone who is scheduled goes into labour and ends up having and emergency c-section and than and only than I can have their spot. OR the other option, I can go into labor and have an emergency c-section myself. So once again I let the Dr. get my hopes up and than was told "NO". The surgeon/Obstretician also informed me that I will be a "difficult" c-section due to the fact that I am overweight and that she would like to have two surgeons in the OR. Just what I needed to hear to ease my mind...Because I am so not anxious enough already. I was also told that starting monday I pretty much have to fast for a surgery everyday until each day I get a phone call to either come in or that I can start eating again! Sounds like that is really well thought out! I HATE DR'S!!!

I got into the car to drive home and burst into tears. Did I just choose the wrong hospital. Should I have gone with a bigger hospital with more opportunity to do c-sections/inducements. And possibly can deal with "difficult" pregnancies? I really wanted to go to Peace Arch b/c my Aunt is there BUT in hind site this decision may not have been right for me/us afterall. IF I decide to do this again I think I may have to rethink my hospital situation. NOT to mention that my maternity clinic Dr is also on holidays so the 2 Dr's I have seen for the last 9 months are both away and I have been completely abandoned! The medical system SUCKS!

No baby Yet!

So Yesterday Duane and I spent the day at Peace Arch Hospital having a NST and an OCT. We were there for a total of 9 hours and 20 minutes and left with no definitive plan besides being told to go for an ultrasound again on Thursday and that the baby is very happy in my tummy! During the OCT I was barely able to feel the contractions that they had produced to test our babies strength, is this a sign of things to come? I was told to come straight to the hospital IF my water breaks or if I begin to feel regular contractions. The Dr we had had a good sense of humor and although D and I were both tired and frustrated at the end we had some good laughs with him. He actually told us he hopes that I go into labor this weekend b/c he is on call and he would like to be there. I really like my regular mat Dr as well I am hoping i go into labor myself this weekend as well for 3 reasons a)my Obstetrician Dr Jackson is on call b) I know I like the regular DR on call and c)I WANT THIS BABY OUT! We also had a fantastic nurse so the day wasn't a complete bust. I hadn't eaten in nearly 24 hours (as they were quite convinced at the beginning of the morning that the tests would result in a c-section and therefor wanted me to fast for the possible surgery) and so all I could do when we got home was stuff my face and crawl into bed. We were also given some technical terms which the nurse told me meant the following, my cervix has softened to 1/2 of where it needs to be and I am still 1 cm dialated. Since the cervix has started to soften this gives them hope that labor may happen sooner rather than later. I also lost my mucus plug (do not read on if you are faint of heart), which basically means I lost a big giant glob of snot that plugs something up there...this could be a sign of pending labor. Some women go into labor 24 hours after this happens other 2 weeks. I am still feeling slight contractions (I think brought on by the ocytocin, but as during the test I am barely feeling them and can't really tell if they are strong, regular and am maybe thinking sometimes it is just our little babe moving around in there). So we are still in limbo. Last tuesday I was convinced it would be Wednesday, Yesterday I was convinced that we were not leaving the hospital without our new baby and now I am convinced that this little one is NEVER coming out.

Update

Yesterday I went to B.C. Women's hospital for an ultrasound to determine if the Peace Arch technicians were correct in determining that my amniotic fluid was indeed low. And IT WAS! Baby Brolund is also thriving VERY well, the placenta is still working well and Baby B is getting great nutrition. The Dr. at Women's was incredible, he was informative and knowledgeable and very caring and reassuring. If it wasn't so difficult to get into Women's I would try to deliver there next time. The facility is definitely up to date and state of the art.

SO today I am going in for a NST (Non stress test) and a OCT (Oxytocin Challenge test) at 10:00 am. The Non stress test is a normal test and I have had 2 before. They basically just monitor the babies heartbeat and his movements as well as my blood pressure etc to make sure baby is doing okay in there. The OCT is done during the NST (I think, I had to look it up online) and I am given oxytocin to induce labor to see if the babies heart rate changes and if he could handle labor if I was to be induced. This I guess it for the Dr to determine whether I should be induced or go in for a c-section. And I am SO happy because my obstetrician is the one on call this weekend so I won't be subjected a) to a Dr I don't know and b) to another jerk!

That is the most recent news. The baby should be here either way some time this weekend, so the next time I blog I should be a MOMMY! Yeah!

Frustration!

Yesterday morning I went for an ultrasound appointment at around 11:30, I had a NST (Non Stress Test) booked at the mat ward for 3:00 and a mat clinic check up at 3:40 so I decided to go home eat some lunch and relax a little before I headed back to the hospital for these appointments. The tech at the ultrasound clinic told me that everything looked normal and that the baby was an estimated weight of 8lbs 10ozs.

At the non stress test it was noted that I had a considerable weight gain over the last week (considering I have only been gaining NOTHING) but everything else looked normal. I than proceeded to go to my regular appointment with my maternity clinic Dr. and had to wait an hour for her and her medical student to make there way to me. Dr. Stevenson than proceeded to tell me that it looked like the baby should make an appearance tonight or tomorrow am (today) as my amniotic fluid was measuring low and at 37 weeks and 3 days the baby is considered full term and fully developed. She wanted to induce me. Duane was at work and my nerves were shot. She measured my cervix (1.5 cm dilated) and sat me in a room at the maternity ward where I waited to see an Obstetrician for 5 hours ALONE!!! The Obstetrician decided that she didn't trust the techs at the ultrasound clinic and that my fluid may not be low after all. Despite the risks she wants to get me in to see the ultrasound "specialist" at either Surrey Memorial, Royal Columbian or Womens today to determine whether my fluid is actually low or not and determine a more accurate weight of the baby so she can get a plan of action together. The frustrating part...I feel that if my fluid is low she is placing my baby at risk and there was an ultrasound machine in the room I was in, couldn't she have just checked it out herself? So now we are waiting to hear from the maternity clinic this morning about an appointment with the ultrasound "specialist" and I was told that there would be a plan in action by Friday (here's to hoping sooner). Apparently my cervix isn't "ripe" and my pelvis is small (she discovered this by ramming her whole arm up my vagina...and exclaiming "oops I made you bleed") so she is a little apprehensive about inducing me but also has reservations about a scheduled c-section. There are also reservations about me waiting full term...SO I guess there are reservations/apprehensions about me having a baby at all. Dear God, what have I got myself into?

I am frustrated that I had to wait 6 hours in the hospital to be told go home! I am frustrated that I now get to play the waiting game at home for appointments and a possible induction (or c-section, or nothing). I am frustated with the Obstretritian b/c I am not sure if I agree with her decision, I am frustrated that MY obstretitian wasn't the one who made the final call, as I have a relationship with him and would have been more apt to trust his decision compared to some woman I have never met and "oops made me bleed". If my baby is in danger I want him out and in our arms NOW I do not want to wait to see if he may be okay b/c what if he isn't than what? I guess all we can do is wait!

28 days and counting & a little update

The official count down to "due date" has begun...28 days and counting. It looks like we may be induced early (my fingers are crossed actually). I have another appointment tomorrow but I think that they are waiting for my scheduled ultra sound on July 15th to see how big the baby is measuring before making a final decision. At least I know that they won't let me go past my due date as the baby has been measuring large in all the previous ultra sounds, so I am guessing that I will either be induced early or have a scheduled c-section on August 3rd. This does not upset me at all as I LOVE structure and a scheduled c-section would provide me a definate time and date. So I am actually quite happy about this. SO although the official count down is 28 days...Baby Brolund could be here in less then 2 weeks. AND I CANNOT WAIT. Duane has mentioned several times that he can't wait for "Devon" to get here and I think we are both excited to meet our son!

My last day at work was on friday. I know I will be back in a year but it was sad leaving anyway. I spend so much time with Melissa, Amber-Jane & Kevin everyday that they feel like family to me and I am going to miss seeing them everyday. Not to mention that I have never really had nothing too do, since I was 15 I have worked, gone to school or both and now I can't figure out what to do with myself. LOL I am sure that this will all change when "Devon" arrives and I have trouble finding time to shower and do laundry. My boss had a nice pizza lunch for me and everyone signed a card and they gave Duane & I a $400 gift card to Toys R Us. On Sunday Duane & I had fun (or at least I had fun) buying some of this things to finish off the nursery. We got a diaper genie, bedding, a new diaper bag, An Angel care baby monitor (I really wanted this) and a whole bunch of other things. We are pretty much all set now and ready for "Devon" to come whenever he is willing (or the Dr's say he is).

Today I went to the unemployment office to get my Maternity/Paternity Leave claim started, dropped some hand me downs I won't use off at Value Village, returned a movie and cleaned our apartment...I left the floors for tomorrow but after that I may have to find a hobby.

A few weekends ago my girlfriends Amanda and Chrissy threw me an amazing baby shower. I got so many gifts and feel so blessed that I have such amazing people in my life. The most exciting this is that both my girls are pregnant along with my other friend Kim! I am so happy for all 3 of them! And I am happy that are children will all be around the same ages and hope that they will grow up to be friends.

Also a HUGE congrats to my oldest and dearest girlfriend Lindsay and her guy Justin (and big sister Olyviah) on the birth of their newest Jace Doherty! What a Cutie. I am so thrilled that our sons are going to be so close in age and I hope and pray that they can develop a strong bond similar to the one that Lindsay and I have developed over the years. BUT maybe without all the trouble we got ourselves into.

Duane is working afternoons, and I miss him terribly at night. He is my best friend and life is really just more fun and enjoyable when he is with me. I feel so fortunate that I got to marry not only my best friend but the love of my life. And I know that I married a man who has integrity and who is going to be an exceptional father. I cannot wait to see him hold his son for the first time and see the love in his eyes. I love you Duane! Thank you for being a fantastic husband and best friend and thank you even more for the father I know you are going to be.