Sometimes I get fixated on an idea, and I can't get it out of my head. Today, it was about how to navigate baby #2 when the time comes, as I lay in bed in the dark in the early morning.
I was going over all the ways the medical community very slightly interfered with my first pregnancy, with its policies and procedures, by slightly undermining my own thoughts and opinions. So I'll write these things down in an effort to remember how to stand my ground going into baby #2.
I know the day I conceived, and I was expecting it when I took a pregnancy test a mere 3 weeks later. So when I went to my first ultrasound 3 months later, the 'dating' ultrasound, I was confident when I told them the conception date.
They looked at their measurements and informed me my date was wrong, based on measurements of the size of the baby. My calculations predicted a baby would arrive August 24th. Their calculations predicted a baby would arrive August 18. Only later would I realize just how important that date would become.
When August 18 came and went, then August 24th came and went, the excitement and anticipation started to turn into concern. I remembered this conversation at the ultrasound clinic and wanted to call them and tell them I told you so, but they probably wouldn't even remember. The midwife wasn't concerned about the safety of the baby so much as the interference of the medical community. Policy stated that after 10 days from the due date (their due date of Aug 18) they are mandated to seek medical advice, and medical advice is always induce. Induce labour.
in·duce
/inˈd(y)o͞os/Submit
verb
1.
succeed in persuading or influencing (someone) to do something.
"the pickets induced many workers to stay away"
synonyms: persuade, convince, prevail upon, get, make, prompt, move, inspire, influence, encourage, motivate; More
2.
bring about or give rise to.
"none of these measures induced a change of policy"
synonyms: bring about, cause, produce, effect, create, give rise to, generate, instigate, engender, occasion, set in motion, lead to, result in, trigger, whip up, stir up, kindle, arouse, rouse, foster, promote, encourage;
Induce labour on August 28th. But my due date was the 24th - so induction should not even be considered until Sept 3rd. She agreed that the date might be incorrect, and we got a few extra days out of it.
With increasing concern, I agreed to a back to back uterus sweep on August 30th and the 31st, which sped up the process and put me in labour. Whether or not the baby or my body was ready for this I will never know.
After 24 hours, my labour was not happening fast enough, and their concern increased as the babies heart rate was dipping, so I wound up being swayed into having a C Section.
Thankfully, our baby was healthy and a full 7 lbs 14 oz, fully cooked, and ready and willing to breastfeed, latching on right away and having no issues. I was so relieved, as that's often a side effect of C Section babies, not having the ability to breastfeed.
I could go on and on about the way it went down - but that's for another post that I may or may not have already written, I can't remember.
This is about due dates.
So this morning while I lay in bed, I imagined how the next baby would come. A C Section begets a C Section, I will be advised that the safest course of action is another C Section to avoid a potentially rupturing uterus in delivery and the safety of mom and baby being compromised.
But a scheduled C Section means a date. And a date is based on policies that want to prevent a C Section from occurring while a mom is in labour.
So the next baby will be delivered on a date that is predetermined by the medical community based on a number decided by the medical community. Traditionally, a week, sometimes two, before their due date. In my first babies case, that would mean potentially Aug 4th, which is almost a month before she actually came out. That's insane! Delivering a premature baby by choice seems crazy to me. My body knows how to do all the things to keep her growing and healthy, ensuring she comes out with the ability to suck so that she will be in great shape to feed.
I don't really know how to end this post beyond asking the question- how do I keep baby #2 inside me for as long as possible, beyond skipping medical appointments and hiding out in my house until we are ready? Will the policies take over again and leave me feeling undermined and out of control?
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