Doctor's Visit at 2:30 p.m.

April 15th, 2010
40 weeks, 4 days

Weight: 129.8 lbs
Blood Pressure: 110/70
Dilated: 2 cm
Effaced: 50%
Station: -1

I had a doctor's visit scheduled with Dr. Dodder this afternoon. She was on call, but fortunately, she wasn't running behind. I originally had an appointment scheduled with Dr. Bodner for Tuesday, but I called and rescheduled for Thursday just so I could see Dr. Dodder.

She said at this point in a pregnancy, they will induce at any point. She also mentioned that they'd prefer I not go a week past my due date, but she acted as if she remembered that I wanted to go about this all naturally. So she said that in order for them to not induce for delivery on Sunday, she wanted me to have a non-stress test and ultrasound done. The ultrasound technician is scheduled to be in the office tomorrow, so she wanted me to schedule an appointment with her for Friday.

Dr. Dodder said that studies have shown that going more than a week past the due date may cause more harm to the baby such as a greater chance of the cord being wrapped around the baby's neck. She did mention that as long as my amniotic fluid levels checked out alright tomorrow, then she was fine with me waiting until next week to induce. She recommended I schedule an appointment for Monday to make sure everything checked out alright. She said if I still had not had the baby by Monday, they would schedule an induction for Tuesday night to deliver the baby on Wednesday.

She recommended I go ahead and have the non-stress test today because tomorrow would probably be more busy. So, after meeting with Dr. Dodder, our nurse, Donna, hooked me up to the non-stress machine. There were two metal connectors that she attached to my belly. She said that one would monitor contractions and the other would monitor the baby's heart rate. As I felt movement, I was instructed to push a button on a hand-held trigger she handed me.

The baby barely moved at all, maybe 5 times the entire 20-30 minutes that I was attached to the machine. The nurse asked when I had eaten last to make sure the baby had plenty of food to keep it active. I had just eaten around 1:30 p.m., but apparently this little booger likes to sleep during the day which has been very typical with this child. He/she normally starts kicking me around 10:00 p.m.

Since the baby wasn't very active, and that wasn't the response they were hoping for, the nurse brought me some crackers and a jolly rancher. She had originally given me an ice cold cup of water because the ice water is supposed to make them more active too.

She also used a buzzer to wake the baby up. She said she didn't like to do that because they didn't like it very much. When she mentioned using the buzzer, she said, "You are having a girl, right?" I told her we didn't know, but I meant to ask her what that had to do with the buzzer.

Whenever she buzzed my belly near the baby's head, the baby's heartbeat would climb. And, during the non-stress test, I had 2-3 contractions. For every contraction, the baby's heartbeat would also climb. It went from the typical 133-137 range up to 167-170. Poor thing! I guess that shows just how traumatic their birth is for them too.

During all of this, Annabelle was getting fussy and hubby was getting nervous. I sent him to the car with her to get her some apple juice and snacks because she was complaining that she was thirsty. I could tell his patience was growing thin with Annabelle, but I know he was just concerned about the baby and didn't want to leave at that point when the nurse was acting concerned. I guess once again I wasn't getting nervous. Stupidity? I don't know. I guess I just wasn't concerned because I know the baby is typically more active at night.

Finally, Dr. Dodder got the results she wanted. They wanted to see a peak in the heart rate whenever the baby moved. And, finally, Beebo decided to cooperate.

So, right now, we have an ultrasound scheduled for 11:30 a.m. tomorrow (Friday).

And, it is officially 12:10 a.m. on April 16th, 2010, so we have bypassed the first major deadline. Now if Beebo could only hold off until Sunday, April 18th! That would be perfect!

P.S. As for the station of the baby, Dr. Dodder said that the baby's head is really low. She anticipates I'll deliver before the weekend is over. She said that a station of "0" is active labor, and at a station of "3," the baby is crowning. So, apparently, I am very close to active labor.