36 Weeks, 2 Days

Only 5 days until James is considered to be a full term baby-woohoo!

It has been a crazy week so far. On Monday I went in for our growth scan ultrasound. It was great to see James! He is still breech. He is kind of at an angle-not sideways, but not completely head up. My fluid levels are higher (still). They estimate his weight (based on his size and measurements of his head, belly, bones, etc.) to be 7 pounds, 10 ounces. Already! Of course, he feels like he weighs 25 pounds to me. His belly was measuring like that of a 40 weeker, so they wanted to test me for gestational diabetes again (I have been checked twice so far, and my blood sugar levels were on the low side but good) based on his size and the excess fluid. I took the glucose test Tuesday morning. They have a 1-hour version (the version I took earlier in pregnancy, most recently at 27 weeks) but it has a higher false positive rate, so they had me do the 3 hour test. Ugh. It is no fun! The test came back with my numbers very low, and they wanted me to take it again. I was so upset because they said the lab had messed up, but then the doctor called and spoke to the lab tech who ran the test and they did run the test correctly. My body just processes sugar "very well," which is interesting. They said to make sure to eat frequently. Ok, I can do that. :)

The maternal and fetal assessment doctor (not my OB, but one of the doctors that oversees the growth scans and nonstress tests) said the likelihood of needing a c-section is higher because of James's size, his position, and my higher fluid levels. That frustrated me, but then I remembered...the ultimate goal is to have a happy and healthy baby. If he needs to be born via c-section, then that is what we will do!

I had another OB appointment today. The game plan is to have the External Cephalic Version (ECV) procedure done next Tuesday, where a doctor in labor and delivery will try to move James head-down by pressing on my belly. It only has a 50% success rate, but my OB, Matt, and I agree that we want to try this so we know we did everything we could to try and get him head-down to avoid a c-section. The rate is higher for women who have had more than one pregnancy, but having the extra fluid can actually be beneficial in this case-it may allow them to manipulate him a bit more. Some doctors will use an epidural depending on how they like to do the procedure. Some women say it's very painful, and others say it's mildly uncomfortable. So...yeah...I'll take whatever pain medicine they offer. ;) They do a nonstress test before beginning the procedure to make sure James isn't in distress, and to confirm that he is still head-up. If the ECV is successful, they will schedule my induction to take place around May 7 (when I will be 39 weeks). If the ECV is not successful and they are unable to get him to turn head-down, they will schedule a c-section to take place around May 7. This is assuming, of course, that I don't go into labor beforehand. If he is breech, they will have to do a c-section (so, we will have a c-section if he is born before Tuesday, or if the ECV isn't successful and he doesn't move head-down on his own). The good news is that it seems unlikely for them to do a c-section just because of James's size-he'd have to be over 10 pounds for them to do that.

I had painful contractions twice yesterday, one set in the afternoon and one in the evening. They were not labor contractions (they went away after about an hour and a half) but nothing helped, like walking, lying down, or drinking lots of water, so they were much more intense than the Braxton Hicks contractions I have had up to this point. They did not check to see if I was dilated or effaced today, but will check that at my next OB appointment. They usually don't check until 37 weeks or so, at least at this hospital.

Fruit time! According to baby websites, James is 4.2-6 pounds. The 7 pound, 10 oz (or 7.625 pounds) from the ultrasound is just an estimate, but is usually accurate within 10% or so, which puts him between 6.9 and 8.4 pounds. He's a big boy! So he is bigger than these fruits, but hey, just for fun...