Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Here comes baby!

Tomorrow is my due date. And, tomorrow I am having a baby.
It went something like this. At my last Dr. appointment, last Friday, my doc asked me if I wanted to schedule an induction. Well, I was still a week from my due date and I've always been against that kind of thing, so my reaction was a big no, we'll wait for her to come on her own.
But people, I am so tired of being pregnant! So the little seed she planted started to take root. Then yesterday Aaron was talking about how it sure would be nice if the baby came this weekend so that one of the days he'd be off work coincided with Labor day. Then he half jokingly said something like, "Maybe you should call your doctor and see if you can get induced on Friday." Yeah, haha. But....really?
Remember that little seed? Aaron's comment was enough to water it and fertilize it a plenty. We talked about it more. It sure would be convenient, right? It would give my mom enough time to drive the 6-7 hours down here to watch Morgan. Oh, and since we live an hour and a half from the hospital, it will save me from worrying about getting there in time.
So I made the hasty decision, called the Dr. office, left a message, and waited for the return call. I expected to talk it over with my OB, weigh the pros and cons, and find a time that would work for all involved.
Then I got the call back. It was a nurse telling me to call Labor and Delivery at 6:00 A.M. on Thursday to see what time they wanted me to go in for induction. And that was it. I was set to have my baby in two days.
That's when I started to have second thoughts. There are some cons to getting induced. Harder, more frequent contractions, they could possibly be so strong that they put the baby in distress. Some say that babies born with the aid of pitocin aren't so good at nursing. Sometimes an emergency c-section is needed. Now my hasty choice, based on convenience, seemed rather selfish.
And yet, I haven't reversed it. Mom's all set to come down today. Thinking that I'll have a baby tomorrow is very appealing. (Not to mention terrifying!) Morgan was 11 days late and I do NOT want to do that again.
So, have any of you readers had a pitocin induced labor and a natural one, (I don't mean pain killers) with very different outcomes? Any experiences?

6 comments:

SouthfieldFam said...

I haven't personally been induced, but out here I SWEAR everyone I know gets induced the day they are 39 weeks! One of my best friends LOVES being induced! She can plan everything out, she shows up early and has a baby by lunch! Good luck! Can't wait to hear that she is here safe and sound!

Smullin Family said...

I have been induced with Pitocin, but ended up with an epidural after about 8 hours of labor. Baby came about 3 hours after the epidural, but not w/o a threat of a c-section because of "sporatic contractions" that they thought weren't doing the job. When they finally checked I was a 10 and pushing was fast and easy.

Baby nursed just fine and was VERY alert right after birth (even though I had, had an epidural).

She was 10 days overdue, so even though the labor felt long and intense, I was glad I had done it. Couldn't stand the thought of being pregnant any longer.

Good luck! Have a happy baby tomorrow!

happyme said...

I was induced with Lauren and it was perfectly fine. I was freaked out that it would be more painful cause of all the stories. I didn't notice a difference. I had the usual dose of painkiller towards the end (I still consider that natural) and 4-5 hours after being induced she came. Nursed fine immediately after.
So good luck! I am so excited for you and can't wait for pictures.

Mormon Surrogate: I'm not the mom I'm just the stork said...

I've had a few babies... 2 of mine were induced- no problems. One of my surrogate babies was induced through stripping of the membranes and other more natural methods with no problems.

If you trust your doctor and your body, go for it!

Good luck!

Martha said...

I was induced with all three of my boys, because they were all pretty big, and the due date had arrived or passed. The pitocin didn't make the contractions come too fast or hard for me. I had epidurals with all three (but with my third, the epidural didn't really work It was weird, it numbed my legs, especially on one side, but I still felt the pain of the contractions, and the urge to push, and the crowning).
My first had a bit of trouble nursing, but that was because he was jaundiced. When the jaundice cleared up, he was just fine. The other two nursed fine.
Good luck tomorrow!

Candice said...

I've done both. The pitocin contractions were very hard to endure and I eventually got a shot of something. Baby was fine. c-section was never mentioned. Nursing went great.

Alisha mentioned "sporadic contractions" leading to talk of c-section. Obviously her sporadic ones were doing just fine. My last delivery didn't involve pitocin but it did involve 2 days of very sporadic contractions. VERY! Even up until push time nothing was regular or close. But they did the job. C-section was never mentioned. A lot of non-essential c-sections seem to depend on Dr.'s preferences so just make sure your preferences are known.

So excited for you. Isn't it great knowing that the bump in your belly will soon be in your arms? Let the snuggles begin!!!! Yeah!!!!!!