the birth plan

another baby update. one of the final pre-birth updates, which is kind of exciting! we saw Dr. Wu on thursday, as well as having another NST and ultrasound. we discovered that my blood pressure is only high when i'm in perinatology (shocking!!), so Dr. Wu thinks I have white coat hypertension and just wants me to keep monitoring my blood pressure at home, but isn't too concerned about it. the ultrasound showed us that the baby is growing well (they estimate that he weighs 4lbs 14oz, he has a full head of hair, and a GIANT head!) and his intestines look "fine", so there is no need to induce earlier than we have been planning, which is wonderful. the plan is what we've been expecting since we found out about the gastroschisis. i'll be induced at 36 weeks to prevent any other issues from arising (a lot of times the hole can start to try to heal itself and pinch off the bowel that is outside... which is bad because then you lose bowel, and that's just one of the many issues that can happen as you get closer to full term, in addition to a higher risk of fetal death).

the plan: on monday the 17th i'll go to labor & delivery in SF for an amnio to test lung maturity. the results of that will dictate what occurs during the next few days. plan A: if the lungs are mature then i will come back to L&D on the 18th to be induced. plan B: if the lungs aren't mature i'll be given a round of steroid shots to jump start the lungs. the first shot will be given on the 17th, the second one given in santa rosa on the 18th, and then i'll be induced on the 19th.

the induction: the process isn't as simple as going on pitocin (a synthetic form of oxytocin, the hormone that contracts your uterus) and having the baby a few hours later. since the birth is taking place a month before it should my cervix is "unfavorable" (a horrible term that basically means my cervix is not ready yet). starting pitocin would give me contractions but it won't dilate my cervix, and that would be pointless, so we have to dilate my cervix first. the way Dr. Wu is going to do that is by giving me a synthetic prostaglandin (prostaglandins are produced by the body and help to soften and dilate the cervix), such as cervidil or prepidil, to start the dilation process. Dr. Wu told me that he won't start pitocin until i am 3cm dilated. he also said that it could take up to a few days to get me to 3cm. and yes, i'll be in the hospital the whole time. once i'm 3cm, we will start the pitocin (i'm going to ask to be started on a low dose of pitocin since it'll make the contractions come on hard and strong) and depending on how i'm progressing Dr. Wu might decide to break my water (which can speed up labor). that's the plan. we're not sure exactly which day i'll start the induction process yet, and we don't know how long it'll take, but isn't that the way it's supposed to be? we'd all be waiting and wondering if i was going to term, so why should this be any different? brianna said that other day that she didn't want to be hanging out at the hospital for "10 hours" and i was like, well that's labor! i'm hoping for 10 hours! that'd be fast. it takes a long time to get a baby out, and we have to be patient. our little boy has a lot to deal with when he is born, so he can take all the time he needs.