Friday, October 8, 2010

34 Weeks

Well, it's official! If Heidi were born today, she would be considered a "late term preemie" which basically means they're not much different (statistically) from full term infants. She'd most likely have a little over a week, maybe two, in the NICU. If we can eek another week out of her, I may not have a NICU stay at all.

I'll confess, though, I'm losing motivation not to be naughty with bed rest rules. I know Heidi's safe from here on out and that's the most important thing. In addition to that--and not far behind in importance--my husband is in town only for this week and then will be gone for the following two weeks. If I stay lying down, will he miss the birth? Also, my mother-in-law leaves Monday. She's sacrificed an awful lot to be here and it would be a bummer if she had to leave without seeing little Heidi. Furthermore, my OB is on call this weekend so I'll have a doctor I trust more than the others to deliver me.

As if all that weren't enough, my OB says once women get to a 4, they pretty much all go into labor very soon. So she doubts I'll make it another full week, anyway. So if I stay disciplined, I might get a few more days max; but it's very unlikely I'll get to 35 weeks or beyond.

Lastly, I'd be off bed rest anyway if it weren't for the "poor growth" diagnosis which, frankly, I think is a bunch of B.S. First, those sono measurements are very unreliable the further along a baby gets; second, even if she were as small as they think she is, she'd only be following in her mother's footsteps; and third, if bed rest is the answer to poor growth, it obviously hasn't worked this far so what's a few more days going to profit me?

So those are the tempting reasons to get up. And because I know too much, the potential cons don't really bother me as much as they might bother most women. I'll have to pump a lot in the beginning, and I'll likely have to supplement breast feeding with higher-calorie formula for a couple months after Heidi comes home. And although most women don't want a NICU stay, I'd actually be a little bit bummed if after all this I didn't get to see all my old pals who work there (you have to be a current NICU parent to go back into the halls and say hi to them)! So weighing the pros and cons, it looks like this weekend is a much better time to have a baby than trying to wait another week.

I just have so many reasons to get up and do jumping jacks until my water breaks . . .

So far today, I haven't been naughty; but I'll confess it's REALLY tempting.


Natalie

6 comments:

Alyson said...

Congratulations! To you and Heidi! I've only ever been on the other side of the fence, going on 5-mile long walks trying to induce labor. But I'll confess, I don't see any downsides, I'd get out of bed too.

Anna said...

I wouldn't blame you in the least if you weren't so strict with your bed rest from here on out. I'd probably do the same. But, I do have a friend who had twins at 35 weeks, 5 and 6 lbs, who were in the NICU for five whole weeks just learning how to eat.

Knowing what's statistically likely at this point, though, I'd want to deliver soon just to have my husband there.

Now I'm really excited for you. :D

Unknown said...

Way to go! I don't leave many comments, but I do enjoy your updates. I'm glad everything is going so well.

Kate said...

I would shoot for Thursday, October 14th. That way Matt will still be in town. And it is our 4th wedding anniversary. We would be willing to share celebrations that day with Heidi.

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