Week 33, Day 1

The date has been set for our c-section. It will be August 5, 2009 at 9:30am. I will be 39 weeks and 1 day. I wanted to schedule as closely as I could to week 40. It is sort of neat to be able to put a date and time to it. Original due date is August 11 and Mr. Butterbean Sr. selected the 5th since I was born on the 5th. I was thinking along the same lines as well.

Since my last post, we attended a c-section birth class to help prepare us for what is to come. It was informative and Mr. Butterbean Sr. really got a lot of it. I can’t ask for much more. After we finished the class we viewed a live c-section birth video online. Another eye opener for Mr. Butterbean Sr. He called me at work several times through the video to say ‘this is serious’ or ‘this is deep’ or ‘Oh Lord’. Poor guy LOL!!! I told him I had seen a myomectomy video and so I sort of knew what to expect only thing is a baby comes out at the end instead of a big fibroid. Well when I sat down to watch it I was alarmed at the how huge the ladies uterus was. Good grief it was big, but what can one expect. The uterus is a friggin’ amazing muscle. It is normally the size of a fist and can stretch to the size of a watermelon. That is some powerful stuff! The video did help me and I think we will do fine, now that I know Mr. Butterbean Sr. has watched it and understands what is going to be happening. He said, all I know is to stay on the other side of the curtain and not look over there. LOL!!! He will be there to hold my hand and help me through this, so I am opting not to get a doula. Plus they only allow one person back so…

I am also writing up my birth plan. I gotta make sure I have stuff in writing so the doctor’s know what I expect. I don’t have time to leave it up to them to decide for me. For example, they say they strap your arms down during surgery. I say heck no! Who wants to be strapped down like Frankenstein? Not me. So I am requesting my arms be free. They say it is to prevent you from grabbing into the surgical area when you feel the pressure and tugging with them getting the baby out. I say ‘bullshyt, I’ve never noticed a laboring woman with her arms tied down’. But at any rate, we’ll see.

I am currently researching staples versus stitches or glue to close my incision and leaning heavily towards staples. It was a big surprise for me as well, but after my myomectomy scar healed so hideously, I think stapling will be a better option to reduce bumpiness and keloids. When they cut this ugly mess off I want it to heal more smoothly.

On a final note, I got to see my baby in action for the last time on u/s. They did some measuring to find she is about 4lbs 4oz, head down and ready to go. She has her mommie’s chubby cheeks and her daddy’s long legs (just as I predicted). I can’t wait to meet this little girl and am completely in love all over again.

Week 30, Day 1

My final consult is complete. Mr. Butterbean Sr. and I went to have a consultation with a well respected and experienced doctor named Dr. Jean Tchabo. He specializes in VBAC births and so I wanted to meet with him and to make my final decision on VBAAM. He looked at the operative report and the x-rays of my HSG to see the shape of my uterus. He then recommended that we go ahead and do a c-section. He said of course vaginal birth can be tried, but it is not wise. He told me to not feel as if I had failed and to go ahead and do this and preserve my uterus. He said that if my uterus was to rupture at the incision, then the baby would come popping out of the top and the placenta would be deprived. He then said that he thinks it is a miracle that they removed such a large fibroid from my fundus and were able to stitch me up while keeping my tubes open. He mentioned that if my uterus ruptured I would probably not be able to have more children. He asked how many we wanted and I said 3-4 and he said it is possible, he has done up to 7 c-sections on one woman so it is possible. Mr. Butterbean Sr. asked about healing time, which the doctor said 9 months to heal and then try again. I was pleased with that tidbit.

Then Mr. Butterbean Sr. asked his favorite question, which is how tall will the baby be since he is well over 6 feet and I am barely over 5. The doctor said the baby will be a big baby and he thinks she’ll be 8 lbs because he can tell I am running out of space and will begin to grow out instead of up. He said I am probably having difficulty breathing at times, lots of indigestion and unable to eat a lot. He was dead on in what he was saying because often I have to stand up or stretch to give Lil’ Butterbean the room she needs. Sometimes I think she is busting out. So he recommended I eat 8 small meals a day and was very happy with the 10 pound weight gain. Now I was thinking Lil’ Butterbean would top out at 6lbs at the most, so a number like 8lbs has me floored. I guess we will see.

He made me feel so relaxed and at ease. And answered all of Mr. Butterbean Sr.’s questions at length. Now I see why he came so highly recommended by midwives. We were both happy with our visit when we left and will move ahead with scheduling the c-section at 39 weeks.

As of now, I am still feeling a lot of action from Lil’ Butterbean. I truly do not have a lot of appetite, but have been trekking along eating my small snacks every 2 hours and enjoying my time in the nursery (still not complete). I also am finalizing my gift registries in preparation for a couple of baby showers. That should be fun.

To God be the glory for all he has done, is doing and will do.

Week 29, day 2

So I passed the glucose challenge with an 87. Anything under 135 is good. I guess the egg trick worked, so thanks to my blogger friend at Searching for Serenity for the tip. I had been told that you need to be fasting, but the instructions say you do not have to be fasting. I had a fried egg 1 hour prior to testing and came out on top. I also cut back on sweets that week too so I know that helped.

My thyroid testing is also good and within range. Thank goodness. Now that I have Hashimotos Syndrome we have to keep a close watch on it. I had a thyroid u/s last week and it was stable. I imagine the worst is over and I won’t have much more issue until I am pregnant again.

Speaking of being pregnant my sister’s good friend just announced she is 4 months along with triplets. She had miscarried a few years back and struggled to conceive after that. I am not sure if she did in vitro or not, but what does it matter. It is a miracle in and of itself and I congratulated her 3 times over! God is a miracle worker and every day that I wake up and feel my butterbean move, I realize his grace, mercy and power and that I have favor with him. Its spectacular.

Lil’ Butterbean continues to grow and grow. I visited my grammie this weekend and the family was in awe of the whole thing. I mean, they thought that I would not or did not want children and it is truly a blessing for them to see me great with child. Mr. Butterbean Sr. is as proud as a peacock and shows my belly off to everyone. His sister and family and parents came up over the past couple of weeks to visit as well. We have been busy but I have enjoyed it. Still have not wrapped up the nursery but its okay, I am going to spend the next couple of weeks doing that.

My excitement (and indigestion) is growing with each week. We are at week 29 and Lil’ Butterbean is kicking and moving around more and more each day. I still have issue with eating larger portions of food and getting sick, but I manage. Other than the frequent bathroom breaks (sometimes a river, sometimes a squirt) I have nothing much new to report. Everyday is a blessing and I am so in love with my little one and enjoying this pregnancy and gift from God.

Indigestion

Boy has indigestion been eating my esophagus up. I had episodes early on, but now its seems I have a full 5 alarm fire in my throat. It feels like the food is just sitting right in my chest waiting to come flying out. Then if I burp, it tastes like stomach acid. YUCK. This Sunday after Mother’s Day breakfast, Mr. Butterbean and I decided to take a 40 minute ride to our favorite flea market. My indigestion started acting up and I was feeling clammy. Low and behold I had to tell him to pull over to the side of the road because I felt I’d toss my cookies any minute. You guys have understand that Mr. Butterbean gets chocked up in these types of situations, so when he looked at me and saw I was very serious he started to panic and pulled over. I jumped out of the car and thank God that the burst of cool wind hit me and cooled my body temp down enough that I was able to hold I out. I just leaned on the side of the car for a minute or two, got myself together and we kept going. I got back into the car to smell something awful. Poor Mr. Butterbean Sr. had nervous gas. I immediately erupted into laughter which must have helped my low BP go shooting up. LOL!!! When we got to our destination and I got out of the car, I burped and there it happened. I knew it needed to come out. After that I was relieved and shopped around for some great bargains. It was not much longer before a second bout of indigestion piped up. I immediately ate some left over ice-cream to cool the situation in my throat and that worked.

One of my co-workers suggested cold milk. She is Indian I think and she said in her country that’s what they drink to calm the indigestion. She also said ‘Your baby will have lots of hair’. We shall see.

The Glucose Tolerance Test

I need some help on beating this glucose challenge test. A person like me is already borderline diabetic and I just don’t see how I am going to pass the first test. My co-worker who is 4 weeks ahead of me did hers last week, failed it and had to do the 3 hour one with blood draw. I don’t wanna hafta to dat! LOL!!! I told some of my co-workers that I will be cutting out as much sugar as I can in attempt to beat this test and they said ‘well that’s cheating’. I say whatever!!! How can one be expected to pass when you come in fasting and drink that sugary mess on an empty stomach. I am gagging just thinking about it.

As it stands we are mentally prepping ourselves for a planned c-section and opting for 8/5 to have it done, if that date is available. It seems weird to say I’ll be holding my Lil’ Butterbean on 8/5. This journey has been amazing so far and I know there are even better things coming our way. We have come from wishing on a star, hoping and praying to the realization that we are truly pregnant and going to be parents together for the first time. How cool is that?

I Need To Go Potty!

What is happening to my digestive system? Things have been moving along well, but its seems I have hit some type of road block recently. To be quite honest I am constipated and my dried prunes are not working!!!

It is so ironic. I just finished skimming through Jenny McCarthy’s book Belly Laughs. She has a chapter in there titled Passing Stonehenge in which she speaks to the being massively constipated. I laughed at that one as I’ve been good about drinking my fluids and munching on a prune to keep me regular. Well, now I’ve arrived at month 6.5 and I am having some issues. I woke up feeling disgusted because I wanted to go last night but could not. Then I decided this morning I would sit on the toilet until something happened and a little something did, but not enough to make me feel better. I have tons of fruit, mango, grapes, watermelon, strawberries and I am calling for action. I have drank apple juice and have 2 bottled waters that I am working on. By golly something has got to move and hopefully it will be my bowels!

VBAAM vs. C-section

It seems my plight is ending regarding seeking out second opinions regarding a Vaginal Birth After Abdominal Myomectomy (VBAAM). I have sent out five faxes to Obs and physicians in the area along with numerous emails to online doctors, midwives and doulas. Initially the OBs that I sent my letter and operative report too, gave me the same answer as my current OB office…no vaginal birth. So I figured that I better seek out the advice of some midwives since the OBs may have some contractual or liability issues that were standing in the way of them making an objective recommendation. I emailed a doula in my area who referred me to a physician that she said had allowed a woman in my situation with uterine scar at same fundal height to labor, however in the end she need a c-section. That physician and his partner stated that based on my operative report, they agreed that I should have a c-section. Still not convinced, I gleaned some information from the worthwile blog and found a wonderful midwife by the name of Elizabeth Stein who has written some articles on VBAC among other things. I sent her a fax with my information on yesterday and low and behold she called me this morning to discuss. She said ‘You may not like what I am about to say, but I recommend c-section based on what I have read in your operative report’. I told her that I really needed to hear it from a midwife instead of an OB because I know that midwives are more in tune with women’s needs and are more willing to do what OBs are not willing to because they are more concerned about liability issues etc. We chatted for about 5 minutes and she gave me some stories of VBAC births and the outcomes…one of which she spoke about a woman that labored but required c-section and they went in only to find the baby peaking back out at them through a hole in her uterus. That one sent me for a loop. All in all I trust her opinion more than anyone else, like I said I think it is because she is a midwife and I’ve read up on some articles she has written. I do still need to hear from two other doctors, one that a doula referred me to and the other is a mid-wife clinic in my area, but as of now I am focusing my energy more on planning a natural c-section and working with a doula to prepare for this event.

Either way I know I want a doula in the room to reassure both me and my hubbie of what is going on. After my myomectomy he was terrified seeing me laid up like that and he is still terrified. I need to get a handle on this so I can help comfort him and let him know that everything is going to be fine. I started researching this natural c-section birth and really like the idea of it. I also learned that I can have epidural anesthesia is I have a planned c-section instead of an emergency one. In epidural they will just numb the area that they’ll be cutting in so that I can’t feel it, but in general anesthesia I would be drugged up and unable to enjoy any part of the birth. I found a wonderful c-section plan at the ICAN site that had a wealth of information regarding the best way to plan a section. So, I am going to begin to focus my energy on this.

After reading those sites, I realize a c-section does not have to be as primitive looking as it once was. I imagined myself completely doped up on the table, Mr. Butterbean Sr. completely terrified as they cut me out and rip my baby out in a matter of seconds, then wisk her off to be checked, poked and prodded while I never get to hold her until I get back to my room and at that point I am too doped up to even hold her or remember anything that has happened. I don’t want that. But now I’ve learned that it does not have to be this way at all. I am still a bit skeptical about how I will care for my baby while trying to heal up, but in the end it may be my only option and I’ll just have to make do.

Having done all the research makes it much easier for me to accept rather than just being told what I have to do with my body. Now I feel it is truly my decision and I am making an informed one…that makes all the difference in the world.