For those of you who don't know of the situation at the end of my pregnancy with Jordan, I thought I would explain it.
When I was 34 weeks along in my pregnancy, I asked my Dr., Melinda Johnson, if I was small for how far along I was because people were constantly telling me I didn't look that big. I had noticed that in all of my pregnancies, I didn't really look pregnant until I was almost 7 months. (I have a boob theory, but I won't go into detail here - ask me if you want to know it.) Anyway, she said I was measuring slightly small but nothing to be concerned about, but just to make sure, she ordered an ultrasound at my 36 week appt. to check if everything was okay.
At my ultrasound they found that everything looked good with Jordan and she was measuring approximately 5 lbs 5 oz indicating that with normal growth she would be about a 7 lb baby. They did however, notice that my amniotic fluid levels were slightly low and I needed to work on increasing that. I was put on partial bedrest and told to take it easy and keep my feet up as much as possible and to drink lots of water. I almost laughed!! I had an extremely busy 2 year-old at home and couldn't imagine how I would possibly be allowed to sit and rest during the day. Well, I tried as much as I could to keep my feet up and drink lots of water but it was the last few weeks of school for Mak and there was lots going on. Not to mention, Conner's busy lifestyle and preparing for baby #3.
The following week (37) they did another ultrasound. This one showed that my fluids increased and were now at the minimum level of what she considered "acceptable." She encouraged me to continue to do what I was doing, but even more so because if my numbers weren't up, she was going to induce me. She explained that the low fluid levels were likely to cause extra pressure on the baby and that it could complicate things during delivery.
Then at week 38, my fluid levels were down and she was talking like she was going to send me to be induced. I begged her not to! Derrick was at work in Zeeland and Mak had just finished 6th grade the day before and he was at Michigan Adventure's for the day with his choir and it was going to be nearly impossible to get him home. She agreed as long as I did nothing except lay in bed and drink water for the next 4 days! She also ordered a non-stress test to make sure Jordan seemed to be doing okay with the low fluid levels. Once we woke her up (she slept for the first 20 minutes of the test), everything looked great with her. I went home and layed in bed and drank approx. 100 oz water every day! I also peed about every 30 minutes!
On Tuesday, June 12th, I went back in for my appt. but this time I brought Derrick because I was scared to be there alone. I was exactly 39 weeks and had followed her instructions for 4 days. They first performed a non-stress test which again showed nothing of concern - once they woke her up again! I then went in for my ultrasound. We were in the room waiting to see her when Dr. Johnson came in and the first words out of her mouth were "You're having a baby today!!" I was not expecting that! She showed us that based on the ultrasound, the cord was no longer working properly - it basically was sloshing back and forth but there was nothing getting to Jordan anymore. The weight check was also a concern. Since the ultrasound at 36 weeks, she had only gained 3 oz! So the prediction for a 7 lb baby wasn't correct - Jordan was measuring at only 5 lbs 8 oz! She was very concerned and wanted to get us over to Labor and Delivery and get me and the baby hooked up to machines to monitor us asap. It had been about a 1/2 hour since I had peed and I needed to go again but she didn't even want to wait a few minutes because she was so concerned - however, she did let me go once I explained that I had been peeing every 1/2 hr because of the huge amount of water I was drinking.
This was extremely scary for us! All of a sudden we were put into a situation where things weren't okay. We didn't know what to expect and we didn't know if things were going to be okay. I started doubting if I should have waited for the weekend or let her induce me last week when she wanted to. Had I not pushed her to wait, would everything have been okay with Jordan. I just wanted to do whatever they asked to ensure I had a healthy baby delivered. This was the first time that I felt the fear of something not being right. Although my fluid levels had been low, she wasn't overly concerned. She said it was controllable. Now, she was urgently pushing me to deliver this baby as soon as possible. I was scared!!!
After going to the bathroom, I was rushed over to Labor and Delivery where I was hooked up to machines and the induction process began!
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