40 week appointment

Grandma MA was here to watch the children so I could go to our appointment alone. B ended up meeting me there and coming home for the afternoon after the appointment which was nice as well.

Our appointment went well. I measured 40 cm on the dot and the baby's heartbeat was around 140 after being prodded as to it's location. During our internal exam, I asked to have my membranes stripped, since last week we declined, and told her that if she couldn't reach she had my permission to bring in someone with longer fingers. The only person she could think of was the vending machine guy so I am glad she could reach alright! She stretched us to 3 cm, told us we were still 50% effaced, and then did the membrane stripping. What a pleasant appointment.

Dr. S. asked if we wanted to schedule an induction, as the wait list is 5 days, and we declined. I am not so sure I can or want to handle pitocin as I have heard many horror stories as to the pain involved with those medical contractions. If I make it until our 41 week appointment next week, I will begin daily or every other day appointments with non-stress tests and ultrasounds to monitor the heartrate during contractions and the level of amniotic fluid. After 41 weeks, the placenta can begin to deteriorate causing problems for the fetus. Hopefully we will go on our own before then but it is better to be safe and induce if a problem does arise.