Around the time that I got pregnant with Brighton I was really starting to have some major problems with my hips. I scheduled an appointment with an orthopedist, and by the time my appointment rolled around, I had just found out two days prior that I was pregnant! Good thing too, because otherwise I would have been in a back room getting x-rays taken of my pelvis! eep! So thankful we found out super early (a big thanks goes out to our prophetic little oldest daughter, but that's another post for another time). The only thing the doctors could guess without seeing any x-rays was that I had mild hip dysplasia which had never been diagnosed, and that I would need to be careful not to dislocate my hips while preggo and then come back after the baby was born and get x-rays, MRIs, etc.
Well, I went and did just that. I woke up one morning midway through being pregnant with my hip partially dislocated again. I thanked God my belly wasn't too big to lay face first on my chiropractor's table yet, and called to make an appointment. At which point I found out that he was in California for the next week. So I panicked a little, and then hobbled around for the next full week with a partially dislocated hip. Once the chiro was back, he was able to mostly fix it, but not completely. So I continued to hobble around. By that point, I was beginning to get quite concerned about the possibility of birth hurting my hips.
I went round and round, back and forth, with just scheduling another c-section to ward off that risk, or continuing on with my VBAC birth plan. I finally decided that fear was not going to be my master, and that pending some ultrasound results, I would go for the VBAC.
When I hit 37 weeks (with quite a bit of anxiety and thankfulness since Lorien was a preemie), I had a dream that Brighton was already over 7 lbs. And I just felt like I was SURE that was true. A few days later, I had an ultrasound and the ultrasound tech guesstimated Brighton to be about 6 lbs. with a huge head, just over 2 weeks growth size bigger than her body. I also have a shallow birth canal, and there was a smidgen of concern about how big of a head I could birth. So I started to get nervous. And WAY more uncomfortable than I ever got near to with my first pregnancy. So I had a serious talk with my doctor about baby options. He told me that the size of her head could become a concern in the next couple of weeks if she didn't come on her own and suggested the idea of putting a c-section on the books, and delivering that way if she didn't decide to come on her own before then. But I told him I just could not do that. No c-section for me. Finally, we had some good communication, and we established that I would rather be induced than have a c-section, and that frankly, the sooner the better because it would increase my chances of having a successful VBAC. He agreed to allow me to deliver at 38 weeks (especially because of my hip problem) as long as I saw a specialist first to get an amniocentesis to determine her lungs were mature. Normally, big huge scary needles would have deterred me from even considering this, but I just knew in my heart that this was the right way for me.
Brian came with me to the specialist appointment, and yet again, I got all jellied up for an ultrasound so that the specialist could see where a safe spot would be to insert the needle into my belly without poking Brighton with it. It was super cold in the room, and technician who was doing the initial look around wasn't seeming very pleasant. She did the scan, and I laid there watching her type up her data on the computer beside us. I kept seeing her type "Sub-optimal" next to every single category. I will never forget the surge of emotion that came over me at that moment. "What do you mean? Sub-optimal?!" No one had said anything to me prior to this about anything being less than perfect with the health of my baby. She snarked at me that delivering any baby before 39 weeks meant that their conditions were sub-optimal. Like she knew my file and why I was there looking to deliver early. When you're that pregnant, and also concerned about other health issues, it can be hard not to be easily offended, and sometimes hard to even be nice. So I opted for the good ole "when you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" method and didn't open my mouth again. Thankfully, neither did she.
Then, we waited for so long that I was getting so cold I started to consider wiping the jelly off my belly and covering back up. But finally, the doctor arrived and said he needed to take a look for himself at a few things before we went on with the procedure. The jelly had gone so cold he ended up having to start over anyway, and within a few minutes he told us that I wasn't going to need an amniocentesis after all. I was so confused, and also relieved, but quickly followed by scared. WHY NOT?! He began to show me how they measure the amniotic fluid levels for a baby, and explaining that the level was getting too low. Not an emergency today or anything, but also low enough that regardless of whether Brighton's lungs were ready or not, she would need to come out soon or the low fluid levels would begin to effect her kidney function.
So, I left the specialists office, and went across the hall back to my own doctor's office for an appointment with him about the follow up of our results. He walked into our room, and asked, "So, what were the results of the amnio?" And looked quite confused when I told him that I didn't have one, but that we were recommended to go ahead with the birth the following day. He took a look at my chart, and agreed. I really just love my doctor, and am so thankful for him. He shoots it straight, is quite funny, and also cares very deeply about each patient as an individual. I knew it meant a lot to him to help me achieve a VBAC this time, and he articulated exactly what I had been thinking ever since the amnio had been called off, "It is a good thing you were insisting on delivering earlier. We wouldn't have done another ultrasound, and wouldn't have ever have caught this." He also mentioned that Brighton was weighing in at 7 lbs by this point.
I left that Wednesday morning, May 23rd, with a check in time for the hospital the following day at 2pm. And I can't tell you how excited I was that I was going to get to meet my baby! Just absolutely, giddy! And also, overwhelmingly thankful that God had led me once again with how to approach the health and delivery of my baby girls. I knew that this was going to be quite different than the all natural/no pain meds approach I had used with Lorien, and also, hopefully, have a very different end result with no emergency c-section. God was proving himself so faithful, and the labor hadn't even started yet.
To be continued. :)
