Due Date Dilemma

As my due date draws nearer and nearer, the question always hovers, "When should we induce the baby?" I have been induced with all three of my kids. I have really big babies (think 9 lb. 11 oz. and 9 lb. 15 oz.). My last baby was induced two weeks early and still measured 10 lb. 1 oz. I happen to have an unfortunate family history of big babies- both mine and Dave's mom had babies that were over 11 pounds- and my mom had the added plus of always delivering a couple of weeks late. While I have done fine with deliveries so far, I have no desire to see if my body can handle an 11 pound baby or how large my babies would be if I went two weeks overdue. So inductions are a great option for me. It's also kind of nice to be able to plan ahead a little bit and know when you're going to have the baby.

My mom has planned to come out and help with the baby and has been waiting on pins and needles for me to settle on an induction date so she could book her tickets. Just as we got to the point of setting when I was going to be induced, another complication came up. My 91-year old grandpa (my mom's dad) got engaged last month and was set to be married over Thanksgiving in November. But he decided that he couldn't wait that long and so he moved up his wedding date to October 17th... the weekend before my due date. This made it decidedly more complicated because if I was induced a week early (as I planned to be) then my mom would need to be at the wedding at the exact same time that I would need her help. Then it turned out that my OB was going to be out of town for the weekend that we wanted to be induced, so I would have to have someone else deliver the baby. The odds were stacking against us.

After multiple conflicts doomed my preferred induction date, it was finally set for Oct. 16th, only a few days before my actual due date of Oct. 21st. You mean I can't just pick the exact dae when I want to have my baby and make sure it comes then? C'mon, where are the perks of being induced?