Doctor Appointment Today - 35.5 Weeks

I had another appointment today with my OB. I'm going once a week now. She checked my cervix and found that I'm dilated 1cm and my cervix is starting to soften and thin out. She was surprised that my cervix was already dilating and ripening. She could feel Elam's rear end and she could tell he was putting a lot of pressure on my uterus.

Because I'm dilated 1cm already and my cervix is starting to thin, she thinks I will be a good candidate for labor induction. She suggests inducing me right around my due date (unless I go into labor on my own before then) and trying for a normal delivery, even if Elam is still breech. She suspects that he will still be breech because he's not very active and my amniotic fluid is low. But she doesn't think it will be too traumatic for him. Her main concern is that his head would get stuck in my cervix as he's being delivered. There are things they can do to help his head get through, but it can be risky. She thinks it would be good to avoid a c-section because my uterus will probably still be so small that they have to do a classical incision, which would mean that I have to have c-sections in the future. But a c-section would be less risky for Elam. She's still willing to do whatever we decide, and she's very understanding that I don't want to have any regrets. She's going to talk to the high-risk OBs to see what they suggest. It's very difficult-- there's no obvious right answer.

Elam's heartbeat is still healthy. I've gained a total of 18 pounds so far! The doctor is very impressed that I've still managed to gain a decent amount of weight given Elam's condition. Everything else is still looking good so far. The doctor said that she still expects Elam to make it to full term.

I can't believe I've only got four and a half more weeks to go until my due date! It's almost time to meet our little boy! Very exciting! Please continue to pray that Elam would be healed of his triploidy and all his birth defects. The hole in his heart is large enough that it may cause heart failure. And please pray that Elam will move into a head-down position and that Ben and I can make the right decisions regarding his birth and his care afterwards. I'm trying a few things that may help coax Elam to move into a better position. Hopefully it will work!

Ben and I both are feeling more and more anxious as we get closer to my due date. This whole experience has been very wearing on our emotions. It's been hard, knowing that every day for the last 4 months could be "the day". God has given us a lot of peace and patience, but it's still hard and we sometimes feel like we're running out of emotional energy. So please pray also for our emotional/mental well-being as we're nearing the end of my pregnancy. Thank you!