Jackson's Birth Story - 3 weeks later (Part I)

Tuesday since to me it is and I haven't yet gone to bed.)

With a diabetic pregnancy, there is always a risk of still birth. Because of this, I was monitored a little more closely than the average pregnant woman, including bi-weekly diabetes appointments through out the pregnancy, as well as more frequent OB appointments than average. I was even monitored more closely this go around than with Hailey's pregnancy.

At around 33 weeks (really the whole month of November actually) I began to notice a decrease of insulin required to keep my sugar levels under control. While through out the pregnancy, I was steadily needing more and more and more (upwards to 150-200 units/day, up from the 20-50 units/day pre-pregnancy), in November, I was actually needing less. Not quite as little as pre-pregnancy, but definitely less. I was really only taking insulin a breakfast time (or rather my first meal of the day, which sometimes was 12noon), and coasted through the rest of the day with fine sugar levels and zero further insulin.

I decided, upon suggestion of my endocrinologist, to go to L&D to get checked out.

(A note: I had also been having braxton hicks contractions since about 20 weeks, that became quite regular around 30 weeks. I was having them every 3-5 minutes, lasting 30-60 seconds, every single day from 10pm-1am or so. The further along I got in pregnancy, the more I would have them through out the day, not just in the late evening.)

Anyways, Jackson looked great on the NST monitor, but they decided to admit me and get me an ultrasound, I believe it was to check the placenta and get a BPP (biophysical profile) on Jackson. I'm not 100% sure why they needed to admit me though. Perhaps it was the only way to have an ultrasound on a Saturday? Not sure.

After the ultrasound, I was told my baby could have fetal hydrops, which I later Google'd and found to have an extremely high mortality rate.

Though they quickly (within 48 hrs) ruled that out, and determined the baby just had a lot of fat, not fluid, around his body, since that day, at 33w4d along, I was under the impression that I could be told, at any moment, to go to the hospital and deliver immediately.

I had hoped for a chance at a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), and still hoped to go into labor on my own, despite how unlikely that would be prior to 36/37 weeks. I never felt a "true" contraction with Hailey, not that I know of. And while I had BH contractions with Jackson, I knew they hadn't been productive or sending me into labor. I desperately wanted to feel what a "real" contraction felt like, even though I knew it would hurt. However, I never went into labor on my own, and I never had a chance at a VBAC, as my OB determined that I would deliver by C-section. And SOON.

Initially, I was told that I would likely deliver NO LATER THAN December 10th, it just depended on what the amniocentesis said about his lungs. There was still a chance of a later delivery if the lungs didn't look good, but at 34 weeks along, my OB said "we'd be lucky to make it two more weeks".

Since that appointment, I was monitored even more closely. I was given ultrasounds once a week, as well as NSTs three times a week (where a nurse came to my home, similar to when I had NSTs with Hailey for the last 9 days of my pregnancy with her). Everything looked great. Though Jackson was steadily (not exponentially!!!) gaining weight and estimated to be 8 lbs 5 oz at 34w6d (quite large!!!), he was doing incredibly well with these NSTs and ultrasounds. He passed his BPP "tests" within just minutes, and was moving well.

(Oh another note before I forget: I went to L&D three times before actually going to deliver the baby. 1. With my sister, the first night I noticed that I was having BH contractions every 3-4 minutes for about 90 minutes. Of course the second we got there, they stopped and nothing registered on the contraction monitor. 2. With my mom, when I was admitted for a night. And 3. By myself, when it took 40 minutes to feel the 6 movements I needed to count, when normally it would have taken about 5-10 minutes. I was a little nervous, especially since I had a snack to kick start his movements, but it didn't really do anything.)

Anyways, because Jackson was doing so well and the Diabetes typically makes the baby's lungs develop about 10 days behind "normal", the majority (3/4) of the perinatologists at the hospital where I had the ultrasounds done disagreed with having the amnio all together and wanted to push me to 37 weeks (December 21st), which is quite a bit later than the original December 10th date I was told.

I was quite upset and this disagreement between the doctors. Why was one telling me one thing and the other told be something totally different? And why was my OB just going with what they were saying, instead of choosing her own point of view in what would be best for me? Wasn't she supposed to be my advocate? Why couldn't she put her foot down and pick a date? I do understand that the perinatologists have more training, specifically in babies not just the OB side of things, so I know their opinion was important. But, boy oh boy, was that whole thing frustrating. (I had also asked my mom to turn down a work trip she'd been chosen for, Dec 6-10, because I "knew" / was told that I would deliver that week "for sure". I still feel terrible that she had to miss that trip; I know she really wanted to go on it.)

It was at the ultrasound I had on December 10th (35w3d) that the perinatologist decided it was finally time to deliver and that my OB would call me to schedule a c-section for the following week, around 36 weeks, with no amnio. (If we'd done an amnio at this point, it would've taken till the following week to get the results anyway, so why get it at all?, I was told.)

Someone from my OB's office called that afternoon, and my c-section was scheduled for 11 am on Tuesday, December 14th, 2010.

**Part II to come soon. I have to go feed the baby and then head to bed.**