37 Weeks: Not Yet

I'm there!  I'm officially considered full term, which means that my little girl could choose to make her arrival any day now.  However, I'm not holding my breath because most of the women in my family tend to go over their due date.  But it means that I've reached a huge hurdle as a high-risk type 1 diabetic by making it to full term.  Every week from here on out is a victory lap.  

I had my official 37-week appointment yesterday, too.  I was really excited about the first part of my appointment because it began with an ultrasound to see how my girl is doing.  Her heartrate was steadily beating along in the 130s--slower than what she has been so it means she is running out of room to do her aerobics.  Her fluid levels and placenta were still great, so there's no worry about placenta abruption, something that's usually a concern with diabetic pregnancies.  She is also head down and face in, the perfectly engaged position for a normal labor.  I'm happy about that, but part of me is still wishing that whole stork idea will pan out.  

However, her size was something took us all by surprise.  She is perfectly proportioned but measuring about 2 weeks ahead and weighing an estimated 8 lbs 10 oz.  I was a little shocked by that number, and so was my doctor.  He told us that if she got to 9 lbs or more that he would offer us the option for an induction.  At closer to 10 lbs, he would recommend an induction (and I would probably agree).  Trey and I were both 9 lb babies when we were born, so I'm not exactly expecting a peanut-sized baby.  But I don't want her to get too big, especially if it's my fault.  My doctor was quick to mention the correlation between diabetes and big babies, but I'm skeptical to think that's 100% the cause.  I'm also aware that ultrasounds can be off in measurements the further along the baby gets. 

After my ultrasound, I had my standard appointment stuff:  urine sample, weight, and blood pressure.  My sample and weight came back fine, but my blood pressure was elevated at 140/90.  For the past month or so, I've had readings come back in the 120s/70s.  Since my urine sample came back with nothing in it, no one was concerned.  But my doctor said if it was still elevated at my next appointment in a week that we would look at inducing earlier than 39 weeks.  I also found out that I am Strep B positive, so I have to be put on antibiotics before I'm induced or as soon as I go into labor.  These were the less than positive things that happened at my appointment.  

I made my appointment for exactly a week later when I'll be 38 weeks.  I really don't want to have to make the decision to induce next week if her size comes back close to 9 lbs.  I worry that my body isn't ready to go into labor, and I don't want to force my body to do something it's not ready to do.  I'm hoping my rogue blood pressure spike will settle itself enough to not force my doctor to send me to the maternity center right away.  Our goal has always been to get to 39 weeks, so I would only be 1 week away from that goal and my baby girl is perfectly healthy enough to handle labor.  But I want to finish this thing on a positive note and not feel like my body is giving out at the last lap.  

Frankly, I'm just not ready.  I know plenty of people have babies before their due date and they come out just fine.  But I want to give my girl as much time as she wants before she makes her arrival.  I know that might sound weird for a 37-week pregnant woman to say, but I'm not screaming, "Just get her out of me!"  I'm uncomfortable, sure, but I want to do what's best for her.  I keep telling myself, "Just one more week. Just one more week."  This whole journey for me has been done with that mentality, so I just need to get to next week and say it again.