We are up in Malta for the weekend so CK can get some hunting in before the season ends and we can visit family before travel becomes a bit more of a "challenge". Reese and I are still battling colds which is more annoying than anything else but at least I am home battling a runny nose and cough in my sweatpants and not on an airplane :) Apparently my immune system had no problem keeping me healthy through 8 months of airplanes, the daily challenge of working in a hospital and traveling but as soon as I get home and relax...bam, the body relaxes a bit too much and the result is a 2+ week illness. Oh well.
On the new baby front, we've seen my doctor in Helena twice now and he has consulted on my case with the high risk specialist in Great Falls. We really trust my doctor in Helena and feel like he provides us with a lot of good information but allows us to ultimately make the decisions, which is nice. Anyway, after talking with him our current plan is to deliver the baby in Helena, ideally via
VBAC. Although the hospital does not officially "do VBACs", we have the option to refuse a C-section (basically sign a form that says we don't want the c-section and understand we are going against medical advice). In my research over the last few months, I knew that this was an option, but not necessarily a good one if the doctor didn't support it. My OB, however, supports going this route, especially when compared with the alternative of traveling 90 miles to Great Falls while in labor with nothing really in between here and there to help if something were to go wrong. He has also discussed this with the other OBs in town (all 4 of them) and they are all supportive. It also helps that my OB is the medical staff chief at the hospital, so he clearly has some pull with administration.
So the plan is to go into labor naturally, stay at home as long as possible, show up in labor, refuse a c-section and have a baby. Of course, that was the plan last time, too and we know how that turned out. So if we end up with another c-section it won't be the end of the world but I would really like to give the VBAC a fair try. Things currently in our favor: my amniotic fluid levels are looking great, the non-stress tests and biophysical profiles I've had all look great so far, my OB is supportive of my choice and since I didn't go into labor last time at all I have no reason to think I shouldn't be able to deliver this baby normally. Things that could make this a bit more complicated: my OB could be out of town when I go into labor (he plans to be out of town both for Thanksgiving and on my actual due date) and we definitely feel more comfortable with him than another doctor, the baby is currently measuring in the 94th percentile and clearly a big baby might be a bit harder to deliver and I'm on Lovenox which makes things a bit more complicated/risky so the doctors likely won't be thrilled with me going too far past my due date. So we'll see.
We are also 3 weeks away and still don't have names picked out. Hmmm...sounds familiar. We are accepting any and all suggestions.
Asher has super long fingers and toes/feet. Perhaps a career in basketball is in his future?
Wide awake and just hanging out
Reese seems to be taking the addition of her brother in stride. It helps to have lots of cousins around to play with (and Aunts and Grandmas don't hurt either). I am feeling pretty good. Sore and sleep deprived but otherwise not bad at all. CK and I are learning the art of dividing and conquering. Currently I think I have the more consistently demanding half but his half tends to require chasing down a bit more often so we're probably about even :)
Reese showing off the back of her bunny costume while playing with Lindsey
