Taking the Doc's Advice

So, I had my last doctor's appointment yesterday. The doctor did advise me to go ahead with the c-section in light of several things:

1. The baby is not positioning herself for delivery. Her head is not in the pelvis.
2. I am not even remotely dialated.
3. The Doc thinks she is a pretty big baby

In light of this, she feels that I would probably end up with a section either way so rather than waiting, and just letting the baby get bigger and bigger. We are going ahead with the c-section on Monday. I am okay with it and my Doctor was very supportive and encouraging about repeat c-sections. She said she has one patient with 10 kids that had 10 c-sections. That's a little extreme for me, but at least I know that it is possible to have more than 3.

Now that the decisions been made. I am totally pysched about Monday! I cannot wait to meet my daugther! I am so anxious to see what she looks like, how much hair she has, how much she weighs, etc.

After my doctor's appointment yesterday, I went and got some much needed pampering. I got a manicure and pedicure and got my hair cut. It was so nice. Mom's usually have little time or money to do something for themselves. But I think it's important every once in a while to take care of ourselves.

I am also really excited about our MC fellowship night. We are getting together Saturday night for a game night. We'll be playing games and grilling hamburgers. I am really enjoying getting to know Lane & Sean in our MC. There son David and Caleb are only 6 days apart in age and they love to spend time together.

I feel so blessed about how much New City Church has been a blessing to me and my family. It has, in all honesty, changed my life. I think about the changes we've made this year and the people we've met. We are truly bleassed. I hope next year I can be more of a blessing to others. With the pregnancy and everything, I feel that I have been very self-consumed. I hope to spend next year giving more and taking less.

So, Sarah Kate will be born around 8:30 AM on Monday! I can't believe its almost here! I am so excited. Please continue your prayers for a happy, healthy baby and a safe delivery.

Changing My Mind

So, I have changed my mind. About a pretty big deal. I have been planning throughout this pregnancy to go with the repeat c-section. But over the past few weeks I have been having second thoughts.

I had to have an emergency section with Caleb due to an umblical rupture that caused me to hemorage and Caleb's heartrate to drop fast. It was the most tramatic experience of my life. I was completely unprepared for a c-section and truly felt robbed. If I am being honest with myself, I would have to say I really had major postpartum depression afterwards because I was so unhappy with what happened and it in turn with the c-section recovery made nursing Caleb incredibly difficult.

When I found out Sarah-Kate was on her way, I decided on the repeat section mainly becuase of the uncertainty of what would happen and being able to schedule her delivery. But as it has gotten closer, I keep thinking about what happened with Caleb and how badly I wanted a natural birth. So I started researching...

Attempting a VBAC is typically not chosen becuase there is a risk of uterine rupture, which at its worst can result in infant and maternal fatality. The chance of this happening to someone with my type of incision is actually less than 1%, but it is still a risk.

However in reasearching the risks for a VBAC, I have also been studying the risks of a repeat section:
1. Maternal death rate while low, is higher than that of a VBAC
2.There are often many complications associated with c-sections which include risks of anesthesia with surgery, there are risks of operative injury, infection, postpartum pain, effects on subsequent fertility, and of psychological morbidity.
3. C-sections limit the number of subsequent pregnancies. Due to the scarring of the uterus, most doctor's recommend no more than 3 c-sections.
4. To the baby there is a risk of respiratory distress and injury from the knife during the operation.
A lot of doctor's perfer C-sections though because of malpractice fears.

So this gave me alot to think about. This Thursday I was truly distraught as I mulled over this in my mind. I had a doctor's appointment that day and unfornately my regular doctor was called out to an emergency, so I couldn't talk to her about it. So that night before I went to bed and after reading countless articles on line, I decided to pray about my decision and get some sleep.

When I woke up on Friday, I had a peace about the decision. I realized there there were risks either way, so I should instead look at the positives:

With a VBAC:
1. I would be able to experience a natural birth like I have always wanted.
2. There are less complications with breast feeding associated with natural delivery
3. The excitment of not knowing when it will happen.
4. less likly to cause limitations on future pregancies (Brooks and I would really like 4 kids)

With a C-section:
1. Convienece: me and all of my family would be able to plan around the delivery time.
2. My pregancy discomforts would be over in 2 weeks.

The positives to the VBAC seem to far outwiegh those of the repeat c-section. So I have decided to attempt the VBAC, as long as my doctor allows it. I know I may end up with a c-section anyway (Doctor's will not allow you to labor as long without progress with a VBAC due to the risks to the previous incision) at least I will know I tried.

Ultimately the most important thing is a healthy baby.

So this means.....who knows when Sarah-Kate will debut!

Please be in prayer for me and the baby for a safe, healthy delivery for mommy and baby.

Family Fun

Wow have things been busy around here! I am only three weeks away from Sarah-Kate's arrival now and I am getting really excited! We have everything I think we need to have and now we are just waiting on her to make her debut. In the meantime we have been trying to have some good ole family fun with the last fews days of being a family of three. So over the last few weeks, here's what we've been up to:

A Day Out With Thomas:

Caleb has gone crazy for Thomas the Tank Engine ever since his nephew Ethan gave him some of his old DVDs. Now, Caleb can't get enough of Thomas. So, one day when I was on the website I heard about the Day Out With Thomas that comes to Cordelle once a year and we decided to go. Caleb's Granma and Poppy joined us too and we had a great time! Caleb had a lot of fun riding on the train, going through the Hay maze, and seeing all the neat Thomas stuff. Here are some pictures of our day of fun!

S'Mores:

With Fall comes cooler wetaher and this is absolutely my favorite time of year! We mark the first cool night by having a fire outside in the Chiminea and making smores! Caleb loved it! We circled our chairs around the fire and cozzied up with a blanket and roasted marshmellows. Lizzie & Buddy (the dogs) liked smores too, Caleb realized. Some he found it was more fun to feed them than to eat them. It was some great family together time.

MC Buddies:

Recently, Brooks and I began hosting an MC- Missional Community at our house. We are really enjoying sharing this time with others and we have had the pleasure of really getting to Know Lane & Shaun McCulley. They have a little boy, David, who is acutually only 6 days younger than Caleb. Caleb and David are having so much fun playing together and getting to one another. Caleb calls him "Dabid" and they have such a good time playing together that they usually ended completly exhausted before the night is over. It is such a blessing to have this new opputunity in our lives and it is really good to open up and trust new people.

Halloween:

This year we had lots of Halloween fun! Brooks and I went and visited Caleb's school for his class Halloween party. I have never seen kids get so much sugar in all my life! Caleb was the last one to finish eating and kept eating long after the others were through. Later Caleb came up to the Union-recorder for the costume contest and his first taste of trick or treating. He has a new found love for grabing candy out of a bowl and devouring as much as possible. I think kids are just born with this natural instinct.
Later that night, we had a halloween party at my Mom & Dad's. It was so great to hang out with my sisters and enoy food and fun. Caleb went Trick or Treating to each door of the house and it was so hilarious how he would just come inside and starting grabbing candy out of the bowl and before the night was over he would even say "Trick Treat".
Here are some pics:

While I am getting really excited about Sarah-Kate debut, it does remind me how fast time has flown by with Caleb. I can not believe he'll be 2 in January. I just wish some times I could slow time down a little bit. It seems like it's just rushing away...all the more reason to take more pictures, plan more family fun, and enjoy every minute of life.