39 weeks - It's GO TIME!

This is my last pregnancy post!

39 weeks!

We're checking into the hospital tonight! We're going to have a baby tomorrow! It's crazy how fast things are happening, and we're trying our best to keep up with all the changes.

Our ultrasound yesterday evening showed that Zoie's growth rate is still dropping off. She's now in the 10th and 2nd percentiles for her measurements, and her weight is estimated to be 5lb 12oz. Fortunately, she's still healthy, kicking a ton, and has a great heartbeat! There's plenty of amniotic fluid, good blood flow through the umbilical cord, but the placenta is degrading. We could see signs of the placenta aging and calcification on the ultrasound! At this point, we can care for Zoie better outside my womb than inside. Time to kick start labor and meet our daughter!

Since Zoie's growth has been dropping so quickly, we need to induce labor very soon. Tonight we're checking into the hospital around 8pm, I'll get Cervidil to help with dilation, and we'll hopefully sleep through the night (at least they have nice double beds!). By early morning, my body should be responding to the drug with stronger contractions, and I'll likely get some Pitocin to keep labor progressing.

We'll see how long I can hold out without getting an epidural (who knows what these contractions will feel like?), but if it's a long, painful, exhausting labor, I'm guessing I'll probably need one.

This is definitely not the way I imagined labor and birth going, but I'm so thankful that Zoie is still healthy and we're doing everything we can to keep her that way! Time to put aside our own desires and focus on what's best for Zoie.

At this point I've gotten over my shock, and I'm moving on to being excited (and nervous) about meeting our little girl! We're gonna have a BABY!!!

Wish us luck, maybe a little prayer, and stay tuned for NEWBORN PHOTOS soon!

Cheers,

Martha