Before I head back to work, I thought it would be appropriate to reminisce on the event over 5 months ago that more or less "caused" me to be off work in the first place. I promise this will not be too-TMI. After all, you need to know what some of the words/phrases even mean in order to be grossed out by them and if you do, chances are you won't be. Without any further ado:
The Birth Story - Anticipation
Let's start on Thursday, February 24 - 4 days before my due date. Despite my doc's previous statement that we could go a week or more past due date without any worry, the tone of this appointment was a little less assuring. He had us come in for an ultrasound to see how baby was doing. Turns out, she was doing GREAT. As an early indication of Little Miss Piggy’s ability to gain weight, the ultrasound estimated her to be over 9 lbs. Meanwhile, my body wasn’t particularly giving any indication that it was ready to give birth any time soon. The doctor wanted me to come back in on Monday morning for another ultrasound and he went ahead and scheduled my check-in at the hospital for Tuesday afternoon.
The combination of those appointments made it virtually impossible for me to try to get any work done the next week. The workaholic in me was now in a full-out panic. I went back to work in freak-out mode and frantically sent out a series of emails. Fortunately, the lessons had already been planned, copies were already made and arrangements all made. But now, there’s an actual end date. I was in such a tizzy that I completely forgot my principal was coming that day to finish my annual evaluation! Good thing I work best under pressure!
So I said my goodbyes, finished packing up my personal belongings (including whatever food was left in my mini-fridge) and locked up my classroom for the last time. Walking away from my classroom with 1/3 of the year left was quite possibly the hardest thing I had to do at that point in my life. I told myself not to worry and spent the rest of the weekend doing all the “pre-baby” things I still had left on my list, including inviting friends over to watch the Oscars.
When I went in Monday, February 28, my due date, I delighted at getting to see all the ultrasound images again. However, I cringed when the technician revealed a new estimated weight – TEN POUNDS. Now I know full well that ultrasound estimates are just that, estimates. On average, they could be off by a pound or so. But even taking that into account, I knew 2 things – Baby Girl was BIG and she was growing by the minute. I also knew, confirmed by my doctor, that my body was not ready to give birth, even to a 2 lb baby. Nothing was happening.
The doctor explained to me my options: go 100% natural and risk shoulder dysplasia, a serious risk to baby; be induced Tuesday afternoon as scheduled and hope the body kicks in, but still risk shoulder dysplasia if it doesn’t; or schedule a C-section for either that day or the next morning and just be done with it. Honestly, the idea of a C-section really freaked me out, even though I knew of many successful ones and no unsuccessful ones. I decided to go forward with the original plan (inducement) and after one last bubble bath, I felt much better about my decision.
One way or the other, I was going to have a baby. She was going to be healthy. She was going to be beautiful. I was going to love her. That's all that mattered.
[Part Two] [Part Three]
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