Ok, so doctors are confusing. Especially when you're dealing with two different practices at the same time. Here's a recap of what was supposed to happen: last Wednesday, I was supposed to have an OB appointment where I would schedule my induction for 38 weeks, which is January 4th. Well, I had the appointment, but all they would do is tentatively schedule induction. Evidently that's all they could do until they checked my 'induce-ability' today. So for a week now I've been hearing different things about what will or will not happen on Friday and hoping that I would get some more solid answers at my OB appointment today. This is why I've been withholding the update - there wasn't really anything to update on! But now there is, so . . .
They checked my cervix today and found it to be 'not favorable' for induction. The doctor literally compared it to a cement wall. If they sent me in and started pushing drugs, it would be like beating my baby's head against a cement wall. No joke, that's the analogy she used. Comforting, right? So then there was a gel thing that they had talked to me last week about doing. To spare you the graphic details (because there are some non-moms that read this, including my baby sister!), they insert a gel that can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days to soften up your cervix so that it's ready to go. Apparently, that's not fast enough for my case. They decided to skip that step, which is fine with me because they put it in and then send you home to see what happens!
Instead, they are doing what they called a 'balloon catheter', which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. You can google it for more details, but the short version is that I will go in and be admitted while they insert a [tiny] balloon and then inflate it to crank my cervix open. Same result as the gel, but much faster time frame. Here's the kicker: they decided to do this tomorrow afternoon. Andy will come home from work early and take me to the hospital around 4:00. I'll get admitted and we'll be there until we come home with a baby! They'll put the balloon in tomorrow night and then I'll sleep with it in. In the morning, I should be several centimeters dilated and ready for the drugs that will get labor started. The goal is to have her born sometime on Friday!
So, now we just have to figure out how to be all ready to go by tomorrow at 3. Hmm. I need to finish laundry and do a whole bunch of dishes, including making sure baby items are sterilized and ready to go. We need to finish packing the hospital bags and figure out what to take with us to entertain us tomorrow evening. I still have to go to my last specialist appointment tomorrow morning, just to make sure of everything. Then there's projects for the nursery that we were working on that are not going to get done in time, but it would be good to make as much progress on as possible. The list goes on and on and on. In one way, it's nice to have a plan, but in another it makes for a whole lot more work that you're aware needs to be done!
Anyway, that's the update. Tomorrow's the day we get the show on the road. We should have internet access in the hospital, so maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to give you another update tomorrow and let you know how things are going! Wish us luck!
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