PICS/UPDATE POST 22: 43 weeks tomorrow, need to decide....

[TinyBabyBean]

I have had some people tell me my dates are off so maybe someone here can help me because I have decided that if the baby is not born by tomorrow I am going to see a doctor. After a completely unassisted pregnancy in which I DID NOT EVEN EVER TAKE A PREGNANCY TEST!

Here is what I know regarding this pregnancy:

Pretty sure I had my last period around Jan. 15th. I actually thought it was a little before that but wanted to err on the side of later. Was expecting a period before and into valentines day.

My cycles are pretty short with 26 days from time period starts till next one comes.

Was still breastfeeding my toddler.

I know for certain I did not have a period in the month of Feb. and know for sure I did have one in the month of Jan.

I am still pregnant, that I know!

Fundus is measuring 45-46.

Still feeling movement but they have become much more faint and less often compared to a few weeks ago.


Now for my birthing history:

I have birthed 5 children naturally, 3 were UC.

Never gone past my due date, a few were actually before due date.

A typical birth pattern for me, with slight variations such as length of birthing time etc, is contractions become regular, begin to have loose bowel movements, lose mucous plug throughout this time, baby born within next 12 or so hours. Water releases as baby is being born.

But, this time:

Have had much stop and start labor. Thought it would start many days. Due to signs I usually have when my birthing is about to begin. Including loose bowels, mucous plug loss bits at a time, and even a tiny bit of blood streaked plug last week. All of these signs have started, come and gone, since the first week of October. I know the difference between braxton hicks and real "push the baby down, stretch the cervix open" contractions. I have had some very real contractions.


So, I am very concerned. I believe my body knows how to birth a baby. That is why I am concerned. I think that something must be wrong for my body not to have progressed and gone ahead with this birthing. Now, my fears are starting to be maybe the baby can't come out vaginally, or something else physical holding up me or the baby. Mentally and emotionally I am very ready for my baby at this point.

[LavenderMae]

I would try to set aside the fear and really listen to your gut (inner voice). That panicky feeling is fear not intuition and it can be hard to know what's real and what's not. I have issues with anxiety and so for me it can be hard to know when I really need to do something and when I am just being fearful.

I guess really I'm no help.

Wanted to add I had a lot of start and stop labor with my last. I would have real contractions starting in the middle of the night then they would stop before I got up in the morning. This went on for weeks. I was actually afraid I would have my baby too early. My baby was posterior and I'm pretty sure all that was trying to turn him. He wasn't able to turn though but prehaps was able to get into a better position even being posterior. When I did go into full blown labor he was born in under 30 minutes so all that stop and start was doing something.

[kittywitty]

Is there anyway it's possible that you got pg in feb/march and have twins? I know that seems crazy, but it could be possible. I never got my period when I got pg with ds and bf dd at the same time.

[AugustineM]

I have not UC'd (yet), but it sounds to me like maybe baby is trying to get into a more favorable birthing position.

But, listen to your instinct. If you are worried, do what feels right.

[flapjack]

I have to say, I'd try a home induction tonight before seeking medical attention in your shoes, but then I suffer from advanced hospital-phobia and one of mine was 24 days over.(We had wobbly dates then, too.) Are you sure on the baby's presentation? Is there any possibility he's breech? Your fundal height seems pretty high, even for a mom of many.
The pattern of stop-start labour sounds, at a guess, like something's holding him back: either he isn't vertex, some other part of his body is presenting in front of his head/face or brow presentation OR the cord is looped. An ultrasound will confirm breech, in which case you may decide you're safest at home, and an internal, esp. if you're dilating, will help confirm the presenting part. Cord position is one of those things you're only going to know in retrospect, but a spell of foetal monitoring should let you know if there's any pressure on the cord that could pose a problem.
OK, I'm talking myself out of it here. I think you are obviously really, really close and it's only going to take a small intervention to push you into active labour: but I also think that your gut instinct is telling you that there's a reason for the holdup, and that maybe asking for help and information is the right thing for you. Tough call, isn't it?

[rmzbm]

I agree, listen to your gut. FWIW, with DS2 I went to 43.5 weeks & he was fine, no signs of post maturity or anything, would have gone longer, he was taken by c/s. Also remember - if you'll be 43 weeks tomorrow you're only 6 days overdue.

[momma4fun]

Sound like you've got a nice fat squishy baby in there!

If you've made up your mind to see a doctor tomorrow, then be at peace with that. Have an alcoholic drink tonight, try to meditate and pray a bit, and perhaps you'll find some answers in your dreams!

[cottonwood]

Well, those dates look right to me, if you can count on those numbers being accurate. There's nothing about all that that is inherently abnormal, but I can understand, given your history, why you'd be concerned. I'm sorry you're having to deal with this.

If you're going to go in tomorrow anyway... is there anyone who could take the other kids overnight? Minimize distractions. Also, try squatting with orgasm.

[bobandjess99]

Well..esp[ecially with BFing a dc, you don't know actually when you ovulated, right? So you know that 43 weeks is like..the MOST pregnant you could be.....if you ovulated even 1 week later than "average", you're only 42, if your O was thrown off by a more dramatic amount (3-4 weeks) you might not even be term yet.....Do you have any other indicators to help with dating, or did you just not care to track them? (quickening, morning sickness onset/duration, fundus popping out/at belly button, etc?)

[Intertwined]

I agree that if you feel that inner "urge" to check it out then do it and don't have regrets. If it's fear then try to work through it. But if it's that quiet inner voice....LISTEN. I just read the most amazing birth story where natural birth Mama decided on a c-section and when the doctor cut her abdomen the uterus literally exploded in front of her. Talk about listening to your intuition! I was just amazed at how strong you would have to be to listen to "have a c-section". It really renewed my faith in Mother's Inner Knowledge.

I hope all is well and babe comes today.

[mrskennedy]

I'd let baby be. But that's JMO. If that voice everyone keeps talking about told me to see a dr. I would. But anything other than the voice, I'd ignore and would just sit with babe and ask him/her what the heck was up.

[Ruthla]

I know I've completely skipped menstrual cycles. While you think you conceived around Feb 1, you may have actually "skipped" that cycle, and not conceived until March 1st (or anywhere in between.) You may only be 39 weeks pg, with a large baby or more than one.

If you go in for an u/s you may discover that a c/s is truly indicated (say if baby is transverse) and you'll schedule the surgury and know you did the right thing going in. But it's also possible that the u/s will show that everything is fine, but the dr's may pressure you into un-needed interventions while you're there, or give you a hard time about "not having prenatal care" up to this point. It's not a decision to make lightly.

You need to listen to your guy- try to put aside that panicky feeling and really listen. Is your gut saying "something isn't quite right, I need some help" or is it saying "I'm scared and impatient"?

[SublimeBirthGirl]

Go with your gut. Probably the dates are off or something. But maybe there's a place you can go to get an ultrasound? that might clear everything up. It is true that they may try to pressure you, but you don't have to do what they say. You can buy time and leave and never go back if you want to. I have no idea if I'd go in or not, it would just depend on how I felt. A 43 week pregnancy in and of itself doesn't make me nervous but if I'd had all due date or early babies before I'd be more likely to wonder what the heck was going on.

[cravenab00]

to me, it sounds as if it is a positioning issue with baby. I know this from experience. Last time with babe #4, i had constant start and stop labor. Not getting ready type labor. I would feel baby move into position, labor would START, i mean REAL labor, and then in a couple hours, i could feel baby move, and it would come to a screeching halt.
this happened more times than i could count.
it finally hit me that it was indeed a position issue, even though in my 3 previous pregnancies, it was never an issue.
the more babies you have, the tone in the uterus is less.
i would start some positioning excercises, try crawling around on hands and knees, etc... do some visualization of baby being in perfect position for birth.
spinning babies website has excellent resources. Also try some homeopathy.

i know how frustrating that can be

[MsBlack]

I agree that there is very little certainty on the dates issue.

But the things that get my attention here are these:

movement described not only as far less often, but 'faint' compared to a few weeks ago--often at this stage (late pregnancy), babies will have less movement generally. They might go to a pattern of being fairly quiet except for a couple of periods a day--I hear pretty often 'at bedtime and first thing in the morning'. BUT, those movements are described as still being quite vigorous....if I heard a mama tell me that baby moves were both less often, and never or seldom vigorous, I would view that as concerning.

2nd thing is your own feeling that you should get medical assistance/checkup. Well, that is really the first! Most important....

At that fundal height, your baby could simply be riding very high still. I've seen this happen in women who've had a few babies already--they simply don't drop until hard labor hits, but then babies drop just fine and come right out. But your fundal height could also indicate a higher-than-normal amt of amniotic fluid, which *could be* (not necessarily) a sign of issues w/baby. Are you able to feel your baby pretty clearly through your abdomen, or is it pretty difficult to get a sense of parts? At this stage, even tho I know I always found it hard to do really good/accurate palpation on myself, it wasn't that hard to feel the baby's shape/parts generally. If it is pretty hard to feel baby, that is another possible sign of excessive amniotic fluid. Hi fluid level by itself never concerns me, btw. However...combination of signs would.

Is it possible for you to see a homebirth mw for one consult? I know I would be willing my self to see a woman like you--just for a single assessment and consult, no strings attached. If so, this might be a first step to take. Get palpated, listen well to baby...discuss findings, possible reasons for things, options.

all the best with this. Just keep listening, act on what you feel/hear from inside.

[wifeandmom]

This:

Originally Posted by TinyBabyBean

I have birthed 5 children naturally, 3 were UC.

And this:

So, I am very concerned. I believe my body knows how to birth a baby. That is why I am concerned. I think that something must be wrong for my body not to have progressed and gone ahead with this birthing.

would be why I'd say seek another opinion.

It's just an opinion. Take someone with you for support to decrease the chance of being bullied into unnecessary intervention.

But if something goes wrong at this point, after you've very clearly stated that something isn't quite right, I don't know how you'd live with yourself if you ignored your instincts on this one.

It could easily be that your dates are a bit off, baby will come on his/her own in the next few days, and all will be well. But ignoring your instincts is always a very bad idea IMO.

[2bluefish]

Well, tomorrow the homebirth midwife I've been seeing for prenatals for the past month is taking me to see a doctor for an u/s - a biophysical profile. She said in all the years that she has done this at 42 weeks - only once was there real concern and they took the woman to the hospital for an induction - the rest they just sent the women home to wait some more. I'm not thrilled about doing it, but hoping the information I get will help me get family off my back who are now starting to bug us about "what we are going to do". My fear would be that they would see something that concerned and want me to transport. I don't want to go to the hospital - after my previous birth experience, it just feels way too risky. But I'm trying to keep perspective that it is just a fear, and there's really no reason to expect trouble. So I can report to you tomorrow night if I don't have the baby before then what it was like. Good luck to you!

[HarperRose]

Originally Posted by TinyBabyBean

So, I am very concerned. I believe my body knows how to birth a baby. That is why I am concerned. I think that something must be wrong for my body not to have progressed and gone ahead with this birthing. Now, my fears are starting to be maybe the baby can't come out vaginally, or something else physical holding up me or the baby. Mentally and emotionally I am very ready for my baby at this point.

I was feeling the SAME WAY right before Thomas was born. I wanted to BE DONE already and yet was fearful that something was wrong. He was ok. I had a very short, very intense labor when it was finally Birth Day. He was born so quickly I never felt the Ring of Fire and was shocked that there was a baby head actually OUT, not just feeling the top of his head , and when he came out the rest of the way I realized we had a short cord and mec stained water. I think the meconium happened literally as he was coming out. But that short cord made me think that maybe he just needed to get into the right position so it wouldn't be a problem.

I don't know if that gives you any comfort at all, but I get what you're going through. Here's hoping today's the day!

[echospiritwarrior]

I'm glad you are listening to your intuition. go to the doctor if that's what feel right, like you said you know how to do this.

and this has been said before, but I'm going to suspect you're very very very close to holding your little one, you have a big baby and your dates are off.

I was nursing when I conceived this last time and I was due late August by LMP... midwives encouraged an US for 'dating' (they suspected delayed ovulation) and the US gave me the edd of early October when I just KNEW was wrong. I was measuring all over the place- mostly HUGE... I ended up having a nearly 10 pound baby AFTER the US edd after what felt like I past my due date a month ago.

[LavenderMae]

How you doing today?