Bed rest is no fun!

I have decided that an update would be a good thing about now. I am hopeful that soon the bed rest will end and I will have more important things to blog about. Namely a baby!

For those who don't know, I was put on bed rest on September 9th for having low fluids (amniotic). I was told with lots of rest (doing nothing) and drinking extra water (gallons upon gallons) that we may see improvement. Of course there was a lot of scary talk of what could happen if I didn't get things up. I did not want a preemie, I was 31 weeks at the time, and knew that I had to behave myself.

So for the past 6 weeks I have spent much of my life on the couch dreaming of fun things like cleaning and laundry. (I really do enjoy cleaning and it's driving me crazy that I can't do anything!) My little girl has had WAY TOO MUCH tv during this time which makes me feel guilty. Not necessarily due to watching tv but because I haven't been able to interact with her how I normally would.

For the past 2 weeks my fluids have stayed in the normal range. This simply means that bed rest is working. My doctor scheduled an induction date for November 2nd which I have mixed feelings.

I had Olivia at 41 weeks. People have commented in the past, why didn't your doctor start you? The reason was simple, because I asked not to. There was an absolute end date that if I hadn't had her they would start me no matter what and I was being watched closely. I wanted to know what it felt like to go naturally into labor, how my body would respond and know that this was the time my baby was supposed to come. I look back now and I would do it all over again. Although I would probably get to the hospital a little sooner. Once I got there I was complete and ready to go.

With this pregnancy I was told that they would not let me go over, too dangerous with low fluids, and I would be lucky to make my due date of November 6th. When I was given the induction date of November 2nd one of my responses (in my head) was that is only 4 days early. I am so done being pregnant, please take me now! Another thought was that perhaps I will have the baby on my own before that. I like that thought! I know it's better for the baby to stay as long as possible, but I am still fearful of some of those scary things I was told about back in September.

I run the risk of having to have a Cesarean, which is worse (in my book) than being induced. But the worse thing is that my odds of having a stillborn are slightly higher than normal. Can I tell you that this terrifies me! That would be the absolute worse thing that could happen. To plan and prepare only to come home empty-handed! With that in mind, I'm hoping to have this baby soon.

At my last NST (Non-Stress Test) Appointment, which I go in for twice a week on top of my regular weekly prenatal appointments, my fluids had dropped from a normal 12 to a low 7, the lowest I have been. I was warned that this could happen. My doctor said at 37 weeks they tend to see a drop in fluid. It means the placenta is starting to shut down. If I get too much lower, they will take me sooner.

So today, Tuesday, I am heading in for another NST. I have mixed thoughts. A part of me hopes that the levels are low and they will induce me this week, the other part wants the levels to be up and for me to have this baby on my own. We will see!