The End Is Near

Less then a week till my due date. Wow! It's hard to believe that I've managed to get through a pregnancy. It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be....but then again, I haven't gone through labor yet.

The last few weeks have been crazy! First off Kita has been ill. We thought she had a digestive track blockage. Well we got things "moving" in her and she still wasn't right. Last weekend things got worse. My girl who always greets visitors with a bark wouldn't even lift up her head to look at anyone. No playing. No waggles. No eating. Just sleeping. After thinking of all of the horrible things that could be wrong with her and crying a whole day, Monday finally arrived! As soon as I could I took Kita to the vet. We talked about what could be wrong and all of them were not good news. The doctor decided to do a complete workup on her. I agreed and left with instructions to come back for Kita in an hour. I managed to waste time hanging out at Panera, sipping hot chocolate. That had to be the longest hour ever!!

I got back to the vet's an hour after I left. The put me in the consultation room were the doctor, thankfully, did not leave me waiting for long. After a sigh he told me that the blood work showed that Kita was diabetic!! I could have kissed that man! LOL! My reaction of "that's it!" was greeted with a laugh by the doctor. Yes, it sounds crazy that I'm happy my dog is diabetic. You have to understand that this is something we can control. We honestly thought she was going to have cancer or something else we wouldn't be able to do anything about. After talking about her blood work numbers we talked about treatment - Two insulin shots a day. No problem! Thank goodness I took that diabetes class back in the summer. Giving the shots to Kita is VERY similar to giving a shot to a person.

So with Kita feeling better (within an hour of her first insulin shot she was outside chasing squirrels again) it was time to concentrate on me.

On Monday before I took Kita to the vet I went for my last ultrasound. Brielle is doing great! She's still in the 50ish percentile for size, my placenta is holding up and the umbilical cord is doing it's job!

On Tuesday I went to my regular doctor (Dr. K). They took my blood pressure and it was a little high. The nurse then hooked me up for my weekly non-stress test (NST). After the required 20 minutes Dr. K came in. We talked about how the NST looked fine. Then I asked if she had the ultrasound report. She hadn't seen it yet. So she flip through my chart. Then she stops and looks at me with a sad expression. Then the word I never thought I would hear came out of her mouth: "We have to induce you". I was shocked, scared and disappointed.

My first question - Why? The high risk doctor doesn't want me to go over 39 weeks (yesterday). After telling her I don't want to be induced she agrees to check my progress. There was no real change in a couple of weeks. So we talk more about an induction. Dr. K is torn on what to do. So we come to an agreement. I'll do a 24 hour urine collection to check for preeclampsia. The doctor's office will schedule the induction for Monday (go in Sunday night). I have to come back on Friday (today) for another blood pressure check and to see how I'm feeling.

So on Tuesday night, Wednesday and Thursday I did everything I could think of to induce labor. I woke up this morning feeling like Bri was sitting a little lower. I went and had my hair trimmed and then headed to my doctor's appointment. My blood pressure was still a little high. After consulting with a doctor in the office the nurse agreed to ask Dr. K to put off the induction for me. While I was talking to her about other things (namely Kita and her dogs) the nurse asks me "how long have you had those contractions?" Come to find out she could see my abdomen contracting! She was the second person in 24 hours to tell me they could see the contractions. So things are moving along.

This afternoon I received a call that Dr. K was not changing her mind about inducing me. So I have to head to the hospital Sunday night and will get the full on induction Monday morning. I'm hoping that the contractions I've had along with the feeling that Bri is sitting lower and the cramping is signs that I'll go into labor on my own. My dad is SOOO hoping I have her on his birthday....tomorrow! We'll see though.

I'm pretty sad that I may not have the birth experience I wanted. I'm trying to move things along and I've even thought of excuses to not go in on Sunday. After talking with Ben though I think I just need to make peace with the induction. I'm working on it but I flip back and forth on being o.k. and being sad. I guess that's to be expected. Just about everyone else around me is excited. I'm getting on the bandwagon slowly but surely. The fact remains that I'll get to see and hold my daughter sometime on Monday at the latest!! How awesome is that?!?!!

So I may not have another post until after Bri's arrival. I will be sure to post pictures of her here as soon as I can. Yes I know I still owe everyone pictures of the nursery. It's still not done though! Bri will be "bunking" in our room for a week or so. As soon as I can I'll get those pictures up too.

I'll take any and all labor vibes and wishes I can get! I'll admit I'm greedy and want to do this my way! LOL!