T-minus 10 days...

Once again, my post is a few days late. Thanks to the after-effects of the amnio, I found it difficult to sit and type for extended periods of time for a few days.

We had our amniocentisis on Monday, and the end result was that it was unsuccessful. The Specialist did a quick scan of our girl, and she still looks good, and weighs approximately 6lbs 4ozs! She gained 1/2 pound in 10 days! So at this rate, I'm figuring she'll be over 7lbs when she is born. I have an anterior placenta (on the front wall of the uterus), and the specialist does not like to go through the placenta to get to a pocket of fluid. So after a few minutes of searching, she found a very small pocket of fluid on my left side, that was located behind the baby's shoulder. She asked me if I still wanted to go through with the amnio and I said "Yes, I don't want to wonder later 'what if'. I would rather do it, and know".

So she had me roll over onto my right hip slightly, and they scrubbed down my tummy with a surgical antiseptic, and set up the sterile drapes around the site. During this process, I felt "bump" rearrange herself a little. The nurse then put the ultrasound back on my tummy to locate the pocket of fluid so the doctor could begin the procedure. The pocket went from very small, to VERY VERY small, and measured 1cm. When "bump" rearranged herself, she moved that shoulder of hers right into that pocket of fluid. The doctor pushed on her a little, and she opened up the pocket a little, and after we discussed it, she decided to go ahead and give it a try.

Now, the amnio this time didn't seem anywhere near as painful as it did last time. I could tell when she hit the uterine wall because I started to cramp a little. When she entered the uterus with the needle, she nicked the very edge of the placenta. When she entered the pocket of fluid, the baby just went crazy. Try to imagine laying perfectly still when you have a 6 pound baby FLAILING away in your stomach. The Doctor said she may have touched her with the needle, and reassured me that it didn't "injure" her, but likely just scared her. She said "Oh Marjorie, I'm sorry, but I don't think this is going to work", and withdrew the needle after trying to draw fluid and getting only blood. I was OK with it, at least we tried, and now we know that it really isn't possible. The doctor said that we were what she calls a "hard case". The baby is taking up a lot of room, the pockets of fluid are small, and any larger pockets are located behind the placenta. She said "I think we just need to set a date".

So after a little discussion, we have decided that March 26th will be induction day!! I have an appointment on the 25th with the Obstetrician in his office and, if needed, he may give me a gel or tablet to ripen my cervix overnight.

They monitored me for 2 hours in Labour and Delivery after the amnio to make sure I didn't have any bleeding or go into active labour. I had some contractions, but nothing progressed and they sent me home. I had some discomfort yesterday morning, and I've been having the occaisonal contraction, but I think they are just regular braxton hicks contractions. Who knows, maybe this one will come before her induction date!

So 10 days... 10 DAYS until I am induced! We installed the car seat today... it still seems so surreal that 2 weeks from now we'll have her here...