Whoa Baby!

This morning I had my monthly visit at the Perinatal Clinic.  This was supposed to be my last scan of Owen's kidneys and growth that would help them to determine how much longer we could wait out a natural delivery and at what point we would just induce.  I had been told that they may actually schedule an induction first thing next week and that this appointment would help them decide if it was necessary.   We met earlier this month with Owen's Urologist and found out that he will most likely have his surgery sometime within his first month of life.  They are nearly positive he has a UPJ which is just an obstruction in one of his Ureters leading from his kidney to his bladder.  He will have a couple tests to confirm this and then they will schedule the procedure.  It should be a simple surgery where they just remove the block and insert a temporary stent that will be removed 6 weeks later.  After leaving there, we really feel like the scariest part of the surgery will just be having our newborn put under anesthesia, but other than that it seems to be a "simple" procedure.  So things are going well on that end.  Today they were still able to see some tissue around the kidney which is very good since it's so severely dilated.  We wont know until some testing after surgery just how much kidney function he has lost, but the Doctor reminded us that even partial function is still good since he should have full function on the left side.

So that was all pretty much stuff I knew already.  But I did get some news that really threw me for a loop and brought on all sorts of emotional pregnant lady emotions!!  The first thing that caught me off guard is that by ultrasound (which could be off....possibly) Owen weighed in today at 10lbs 4oz.  Yep. That would be TEN. POUNDS.  So that alone was enough to scare the heck out of me and just about bring me to tears.  The Perinatologist is concerned that I may indeed have Gestational Diabetes that was undiagnosed and therefore untreated this entire time.  I had failed my first test, but passed the second one so they stopped looking into it.  This could be what has caused him to not only get so big, but apparently his growth literally spiked and he put on a bunch of weight very quickly.

So where does that put me now?? Well, the plan they have for now is that I will go in on Monday for a glucose test.  I'll have to fast starting at midnight the night before and will have my blood drawn at 8:45am when I get there.  Then I will eat breakfast, wait an hour, and then have my blood drawn at the one hour mark.  They just want to see how my body is responding to the sugar I guess.  I'm not really sure what will happen after that.  The Perinatologist has passed this on to my OB who I haven't talked with yet (except the nurse that scheduled my glucose test).  They did tell me today at the Perinatal Clinic that there was a much higher chance now that I could need a Csection because of his size, but also that either way they would recommend induction by/at 39 weeks.  They said I'm in the grey area where as of today they wont insist I have a C section, but if he gets much bigger I won have a choice.  So we may be having a baby next week sometime.  Hopefully.

I'm feeling a little more at ease as the day goes on, but this morning was rough for me.  Some people will understand this and some wont, but I was just totally overwhelmed with all these wrenches being thrown into the "birth plan" I had in my head.  I really would prefer a natural birth vs a C Section.  Ella and Noah's births were both very different, but they were also both so wonderful and special.  After having Noah without an epidural and seeing how much easier my recovery and time was with him, I was really looking forward to duplicating that with Owen.  Even though it's hard and I dread it in some ways, I was actually looking forward to when Owen makes his arrival.  It's the most difficult but yet rewarding moment and I just started feeling like I was going to be cheated of that by being forced into a csection. Especially just going by ultrasound for his weight which could be off.  Do not get me wrong:  I know some of my closest friends have had C Sections and swear by it!  I'm not trying to say that it isn't as fulfilling of a birth or anything.  It's just something that's important to me.

So for now, "my plan" (which you know how well that ever works out), is to still try for a natural delivery (except for the induction meds) and see if I can still deliver without C-section.  I'm a nervous wreck, but I have to try because I will be so upset if I don't and the measurements were somehow off. I've heard of plenty of moms delivering babies that big before without problems.  So we'll see how it goes!!

For now, you can join me in specifically praying that Owen will come on his own sometime soon so that I don't have to be induced and also pray that I am able to have a normal delivery without having to have a C Section.  I feel like I have just "gone with the flow" the whole time through all of these ups and downs.  We've just tried to take them in stride and trust whatever God's plan is.  I have to admit though, I'm getting tired and I'm ready to just have my baby here safe and sound.  This morning kind of felt like enough's enough.  We are so ready to welcome this chubby little guy into our family!  2 weeks or less either way is what I have to keep telling myself.  But it's hard when I already feel so huge and uncomfortable!

Here are some pictures from today.  He's obviously really smooshed so they are harder to make out than the others.  He has his hands by his face and in his mouth every time I have an ultrasound and today they were really in the way so thats whats all over by his mouth and chin.  He was sucking on his fingers the whole time.  Sweet baby!