36 weeks and a birth day!

I'm 36/40 weeks pregnant this week! The 36th week is an important one- it's where weekly OB appointments begin and the baby is just one week shy of being considered " full term" . For most women, it marks the dramatic slowing of time to a drip's pace because they become uncomfortable , their belly like an anchor to the couch! This isn't the case for me. Though I am noticing myself being more moody and tiring more quickly, by and large ( yes, I just used that phrase to describe a pregnant me) I feel really good, not at all like my pregnancy could be over any time now.

So off to my weekly OB appointment we went , this time with extra anticipation. I knew that this day was the day we could officially schedule my repeat c-section- Mason's birth day. This , a repeat c-section, has been something I've struggled with over the course of my pregnancy. It's different, being on the scheduled side of a c-section. With Mackenzie, it wasn't a question. Things were going down hill and something had to be done. There was no time to think about whether I wanted a c-section. I NEEDED one. And even though I've gathered the opinions of several people whose experience and knowledge I trust, I couldn't quite get comfortable with CHOOSING to have surgery until just recently. What did it for me was this: having a great doctor who could sense my anxiety over this choice. Who could see that I would be fine with a repeat c-section if I knew that I wasn't " taking the 'easy' way out". After taking the time to listen to my family history of c-sections and then my own birth story with Mackenzie , she said she would support me 100% if I wanted to attempt a VBAC ( vaginal birth after cesarean). In her experience, there are two types of c-section moms. Those who have a c-section because of an issue with the baby- breech presentation, a baby in distress ( umbellical cord issues) or placental issues. These cases, while very serious, aren't likely to repeat themselves making for a great VBAC candidate. The rest of the women, the group I belong to, who have a c-section after extremely long labors, who's labors stall or fail to progress, suffer from what she likes to call " repeatable offenses". Remember Mackenzie and her 33 hour labor? Remember how, after all that time I only dilated to 7 cms? Dr. Appleton says in many cases like this, the bone structure of the mom or the size of the baby prohibits the baby's head from actually being able to put enough pressure on the cervix to dilate it. The contractions are working but something keeps the baby from getting to where it needs to go. Mackenzie was an 8 and a half pound baby. My mom had four c-sections because of her bone structure. This didn't look like a very good VBAC climate to me. So, armed with this information and a new sense of peace that I'd done my home work before making such a big choice, we set the date! April 25th, 2012

It's a little bit strange to PICK your child's birthday. It was an easy choice though. See, though I would have picked an even numbered birthday ( because my brain is random that way) , Dr. Appleton only does surgeries on Wednesdays and since they don't like c-section moms to go very far past their 39th week, the choice basically made itself. Wednesday, April 25th!

Aside from that, my blood pressure was a little bit high before the appointment and remained high even after and even still when Mike checked it that evening as well accompanied by a far amount of swelling in my legs and feet . I am under strict instruction to drink my weight in ounces of water ( that, by the way, is a LOT of water) and call the doctor ASAP if I develop concerning symptoms. I'm not overly worried about this since I spent nearly all of my last trimester with Mackenzie living this same story.

36 weeks have flown by and , just three weeks from today around THIS time, we'll be counting the fingers and toes of our brand new baby boy!

A cute side note: Poor Mackenzie really is having a hard time figuring out how this time line will go down. Each doctor's appointment, she's convinced, is THE appointment where she'll meet this brother of hers. Yesterday, as we were leaving for the doctor's office, she said " Mommy. After your c-section today, lets go to the park!" This , of course, followed by a discussion of how mommy will be sore for a few weeks after Mason comes and the park would be off limits for me. But even still, Daddy would be her park buddy until I could get back in the "swing" of things ( ha ha) . She assured me that the swings would still be there when I am feeling better.