We’re down to single digit days before we welcome our newest member to the family.  For those that have been through this, I’m experiencing the usual. I’m uncomfortable, exhausted and sore most of the day and night. I have heartburn that won’t quit and have recently gotten my nausea back, but with a vengeance. Getting dressed is near impossible without a struggle and there isn’t really any position that I can be in that doesn’t result in some sort of ache or pain after several minutes. The bitching aside, overall I do feel good. Those things I’ve become accustomed to and can easily ignore in order to continue on with my day. This pregnancy has gone by smoothly and without any complications and that’s all anyone can really hope for. I can deal with varicose veins, pants that don’t fit and being out of breath 90% of the time in exchange for a happy and healthy baby.

Child rearing is a tricky thing. It’s a subject that everyone seems to have a lot of opinions about, whether or not they have children of their own. Especially when it comes to your choices surrounding the birth and that first year of life for your little one. Seems silly to me. Each to their own is my standing. You want to go all natural and she roar that kid out, more power to you! Water birth? Awesome. Scheduled C-section with all the drugs they offer? I get it. Whether you want every detail planned out or you want to let nature take its course and you follow the lead of that little human making their way into the world, I can respect that. That being said, I do get asked a lot of questions once anyone hears me say “induced.” So I’ll take the time to address the subject if not for the only reason of educating someone who is curious about the process and reasons why. ( I’m obviously not a doctor but the following is based on information from my own doctor, two previous pregnancies and also.. Google.)  After 36 weeks you are no longer producing amniotic fluid and are in fact slowly losing it. At 37 weeks, “early term”, your baby will continue to put on weight and grow. You can deliver at this point and developmentally they are on track and your odds are extremely high you’ll have a great delivery and a healthy baby to take home. 39 weeks is always the GOAL and if you make it past 40 weeks and your due date, you know that casserole is all sorts of cooked and ready.

I had both Reid and Hayden earlier than my due date. Both came 6 days early, naturally (no need for C-section). With Hayden, my water broke on its own and with Reid, I was induced at 39 weeks. I had many early signs of labor with him and we had reached the point that he was simply needing a little push to set things off. My water was broken at the hospital and I was fortunate that my body did everything else it needed to do to naturally deliver a healthy baby boy less than 24 hours later.

We all know that babies have their own agenda and aren’t going to follow a plan. Having an elective induction date with Reid made things on our end much simpler because we were able to have planned child care for Hayden and knew that Andy would be home from work and we wouldn’t be scrambling to get him on a flight to make it home. So when my doctor asked me for this pregnancy about a planned induction opposed to waiting it out, I had no hesitations. We now have 2 kids to make arrangements for, Andy has limited time off of work and we’ll actually have out-of-state family staying with us when I reach my due date so it would wonderful to have him and be back home before they leave. Could this guy show up early? You betcha. At this point could my water break in the middle of the night or tomorrow afternoon contractions start and I have to be admitted? Totally. So many things could happen and it would be just fine. BUT if not, on the 25th, Andy and I will head to the hospital at 6 am where my doctor will again break my water and we hopefully have another successful and uncomplicated birth. If we make it until then, it will actually be the closest to my actual due date that I’ve been with any of my children. My current due date is the 28th, yet I’ve measured ahead this entire pregnancy.  

Every pregnant woman has their own level of comfort with this process. Some do everything in their power to get labor started. Others are fine with following the course of the baby and can manage many days past their due date. My PERSONAL belief is that I see no real advantage waiting it out as long as possible. His living arrangement has passed its peak by the due date and while he is still getting nutrients and growing, he has maxed out his living space and with each passing day that he grows bigger inside, the likelihood rises that I will have a harder delivery. If my doctor were to tell me that nothing was happening (no dilation, no soft cervix, no contractions happening or the baby hasn’t dropped), I’m perfectly comfortable giving this baby the time he needs. So far all of the above has happened and it’s a waiting game at this point. All players are in position for go time. Time to upgrade him to a place with more square footage and a place with a view. It is 100% my choice deciding on a planned induction date instead of just waiting it out to a due date or longer.  It absolutely makes life easier for my family and I and I’m perfectly okay with that. Do I want to have my husband home for the birth? Yes. Would it be easier to wake up and have the other kids sleeping soundly and not have them be dragged to the hospital with us? Yes. Do I want to deliver with my actual doctor and not whoever is on call (we found out not long ago she had several dates this month she would be unavailable)? Yes. Those are all things that pertain to me. They reduce my stress level and anxiety. And that’s okay. People can have opinions and thoughts on that and it won’t change my situation one bit. I am very much at peace with my body and what it’s preparing for. I don’t feel as though I’m rushing any of the process and I’m listening to the cues my body is sending me. I’m not pushing myself and am in fact not doing anything in particular to try to induce labor myself. I have had an incredible journey with this guy so far and I have no doubt or concerns that we won’t finish it out strong.

We are very eager to meet this guy and embrace however he decides he wants to make his grand entrance. Now we simply wait…

– I share this story not only for myself but for those who, myself included, enjoy reading the experiences of other people. I don’t wish to influence others by my decisions. Only to share with you a piece of our life. Bringing a child into this world is a personal and private choice. A choice not awarded to all and I’m humbled and proud that I have been blessed with this opportunity three times. I’m grateful to all of you that have shared in my stories along with me. –