38 (almost 39) weeks

Picture of me at 38 weeks on Saturday.

On Friday, I had an ultrasound to check baby's well being and fluid index. It was lower for the first time since they started tracking it at Christmas. Thirty two. Last time it was 34, and the time before that, at Christmas, it was 27. The baby is healthy as a horse with 8 for 8 of vital signs, including practice breathing.

I also had another visit with Lindsay on Friday, who said she didn't think this would be the week to go into labor (and she was right, because I made it through to the next appointment). She didn't do a cervical check or even a fundal measurement. We discussed different positions for pushing and which ones would slow down the probably fast descent and decrease the chance of tearing.

Today, I went back in, and requested a cervical check out of curiosity. The dilation and effacement were pretty much the same (2 and 60% instead of 2 and 50%), but she was quick to point out that those meant nothing about predicting the onset of labor. She said because I was almost 39 weeks, that there was a good chance I could go into labor any day now, mostly because it's near my due date and Hailey was born at 39.5 weeks and Ansley at 40.5 weeks.

Lindsay's big concern was that the baby was still not consistently engaged. I was at a -1 station last time she checked, and now I'm at a -3, with a pocket of fluid in front of the face (which is at least pointing the right direction; anterior or towards my back). She knows very well that it might have been at a -1 or even 0 just yesterday because the baby isn't sticking in position.

While this is not uncommon in subsequent pregnancies, it poses a bigger risk for babies floating in extra fluid. If I am not in active labor when my water breaks, the lack of contractions may mean there is not enough pressure to get the baby's head to "cork" up the cervix right away, and the cord might slip in and get pinched or fall out. This is a small risk with every pregnancy, my extra fluid just increases the risk slightly. So she told us to call right away if the membranes rupture before labor begins. Then they can help us assess fetal movement and position to rule out emergency situations.

Of course, the easiest thing would be to have contractions and be well into labor before the water breaks, so the contractions funnel the head in the right direction in a timely manner. So we're going to do what we can to bring about that scenario.

I have another ultrasound on Monday to recheck the fluid levels. Lindsay did say if I could get back down to a normal fluid index of 25 or less, then her worries would go away. But if I can't, they want to look into induction after the due date, as natural as possible of course, starting out with just breaking the water and see if labor kicks in. My current Bishop's score is only 4, so I hope if it comes to induction that my score is higher by the time they decide it's time to do it (scores of 4 or less tend to fail with induction, 5 to 8 needs cervical softener before trying to induce, and 9 to 13 is likely to succeed).

I am taking hope from the fact that my fundal measurement hasn't changed in over two weeks. (I think the last time she checked it was 38, so I'm guessing that's what it is now) Perhaps that means my fluid is going down steadily, and that I can be officially declared low risk again with this next sonogram.



3-d picture of baby's facial profile from Friday's sonogram (sorry it's sideways).