As I embark on day 6 past my due date, I wonder how much longer I will go until I meet my new baby. My first child was born at 40 weeks 1 day, but only after 23 hours of labor. I figured this time around I might have the baby early because they say your body now knows what to do, and this one was forecasted to be over 8 pounds. The second time around is supposed to be easier right?
When the due date passed, my husband and I started natural ways to induce. You name it, we more than likely tried it (except castor oil, bleh). And nothing. No dilation. No contractions. Baby was content with plenty of fluid and in no distress. So we waited. The days passed. Thankfully I kept working because it saved more than a week of FMLA time. It also kept my mind busy, and I felt fine. The baby kept kicking and rolling inside me, unwilling to initiate any evacuation plans.
Despite our lives going on, as usual, I was riding an emotional roller coaster that became increasingly intense. I was determined from the beginning to let nature take its course. As my due date passed, I still didn’t want to induce or even strip my membranes. I wanted to give nature and my body its chance to work. I felt unspoken pressure from my doctor to induce after 40 weeks because the baby was weighing more than average. She was fine letting me go another week (respecting my wishes of course), but the tape was already rolling in my head. I knew the medical risks of going beyond 40 and 41 weeks. But I also knew that a due date is merely an educated guess. It can be inaccurate by 1-2 weeks, give or
As my due date passed, I still didn’t want to induce or even strip my membranes. I wanted to give nature and my body its chance to work. I felt unspoken pressure from my doctor to induce after 40 weeks because the baby was weighing more than average. She was fine letting me go another week (respecting my wishes of course), but the tape was already rolling in my head. I knew the medical risks of going beyond 40 and 41 weeks. But I also knew that a due date is merely an educated guess. It can be inaccurate by 1-2 weeks, give or take because no one really knows when conception occurs.
Again, with this logic, I wanted to trust that my body would start labor when ready. But then my thinking would take a turn and I would be mad that my body wasn’t doing what it was meant to do. Why wasn’t it happening? Then I would hear stories from friends who delivered 6, 10 and 11 days past their due date and I would have hope that labor would come on its own, just a little late to the party.
I was actually able to enjoy the last lingering days as a family of three. I cherished the last time we would go for a walk, dance or nap together without sharing my mind and body with another child. We had a lot of good moments together, but we also had tense ones. It was hard waiting for the new baby. We loosened up on the routines with our daughter as we were constantly hoping labor would start any minute. We paid the price for this, as usual, because it was more difficult to get her back into the routine when we had moments of strength to enforce it.
So what happened?
I went in for my doctor appointment Day 6 overdue and the sono estimated my baby’s weight at 9lb 6oz. And I was only 2cm dilated. I really wanted labor to start on its own and have a vaginal delivery, but the chances of a C-section were quickly rising because of baby’s weight. My doctor was not working the next day and waiting 2 more days for her to return wasn’t going to help anything. After a lot of encouragement from my doctor and husband, we decided to induce right away. I cried A LOT because this was unexpected and I didn’t even have my bags with me.
Within a few hours, my doctor broke my water and Pitocin was started. I managed the contractions for about 2 hours and then started the epidural. I figured I should at least be comfortable if I was taking control of nature’s process. They cranked up the Pitocin (I was only dilated 4 cm) and I didn’t feel a thing. They rolled me on my side, propped up my leg, and I was suddenly dilated 10cm with baby pushing his way out. The doctor pulled up a mirror so I could watch the delivery and I was way more engaged in my labor than during my first vaginal. We all took guesses on the baby’s weight, all at the sono estimate and lower. As the baby came out we all gasped at his size, and through the epidural, I felt the ring of fire I had read about years ago. The baby was quickly delivered and placed on my chest and he immediately calmed down. When they finally took him, he weighed in at 10lb 5oz! We were all shocked, and I was so glad I had induced to avoid surgery.
I guess it’s true when they way every pregnancy is different, and it’s good to be flexible with your birth plan. The good part is that there are always options for reaching your goal of having a healthy baby, and in the end, it’s all worth it.
