Controversial

Ok, so this is going to be very controversial for some people, especially those who have had kids of their own. I'm sharing this so that my family will know, and also so that I can look back on my journey one day and remember this decision that Mr. Hunt and I made together.
So when we first got pregnant at my very first appointment, I mentioned to my doctor that Mr. Hunt and I were the here in Texas by ourselves with no family. We had just moved so we didn't have many friends either. Right away she mentioned that we could decide to do an induction after 39weeks if we wanted to try to plan for our family to be here when Jane is born. I thought that sounded good, but didn't really think anything else of it for a few months.
Now that the time has drawn a little closer, we have both had different feelings about different things. The first is the fact that we may be delivering this baby by ourselves....meaning just me and Mr. Hunt. We've heard from friends who just had babies that they loved having family there at the hospital and at home in the beginning. While they were in the hospital it was nice to have someone make food runs or even go home and get the house ready for baby if it wasn't already ready. Also, we would have someone there to go home and take care of the dogs. Once they got home it was obviously nice to have someone help to cook and clean, and even get up in the middle of the night the first few nights for company. So, thinking that we may be by ourselves is a little nerve wracking just because I feel like Mr. Hunt will feel overwhelmed with everything already, adding cooking, cleaning, shopping, and still working will be too much. I understand that all this will come with a new baby anyway, but it doesn't have to be that bad. Our family was already planning on coming once Jane arrived, but they would be there right away. They have all also offered to try to jump on a plane as soon as I knew I was in labor, but I would feel bad to have them drop everything right away and it doesn't really mean they would be there right away either.
So, the idea of being induced started to sound better and better to us for that reason alone. Until I thought about it and did more and more research on inducing itself. Obviously being induced means that you are being administered drugs to start your labor which means that your body and baby weren't necessarily ready to come. This can lead to complications during labor, mainly a longer labor and possibly a c-section if it begins to take too long. If you know me, you know that I don't do pain. Ive heard that the induction could possibly be more painful too bringing on contractions that weren't ready.
This is when I started to just think going into labor on my own would be a better idea. Hoping that would mean not as painful and possibly shorter time in labor. Obviously I know like everyone says....everyones experience is different so there is no way of really telling whats going to or not going to happen. Mr. Hunt and I went back and forth and back and forth many many times and talked to many people about the options.
Finally this at my 32 week appointment I brought up the option again and asked what were the cons of being induced. Here is what she said:

1. She cant induce me until 39 weeks unless there is a complication.
2. At 36 weeks when I start to go to the doctor once a week, I will start to be checked internally for dilation. If I am dialed even just a slight bit, being induced will be no different then if I went into labor on my own
3. If I hadn't dilated at all and started to be induced, there would be a 20% chance of getting a c-section at the end from taking too long

Then we looked at dates. I will be 39 weeks on Sunday the 23rd, but the hospital doesn't do inductions on the weekends. Obviously the next day, Monday, is Christmas Eve. Mr. Hunt and I decided that we didn't want to do anything on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. This leads us to December 26, 27, or 28 left. When the doctor saw this she said she would be very surprised if by 39 weeks and 3, 4 or 5 days I wasn't dilated at all. Her exact words were "I think this is a great idea."
So again, I went home and talked to Mr. Hunt about what she said and the dates that she gave us. These dates would be perfect for Mr. Hunt and his work schedule also, so its ideal. I also spoke to my mom about what she thought (originally she kept saying I should just wait until the baby wants to come on her own), and she agreed with me and agreed to get down here for those dates if this is what we decided. And yes, I know that we are being selfish to not want to have her on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. That doesn't mean that she won't decide to come on her own those days. We just didn't want to pick those days if we had a choice. We will already be celebrating Jesus's birth, River's birth, and running around to all the family on those days. If we have a choice, we wanted Jane's birthday to be somewhat special.

Long story short, if baby Jane doesn't make an appearance before December 28th, we are going to be induced then. We will have to go into the hospital on the night of the 27th and hopefully have her that next day.I officially scheduled it yesterday while at my 34 week appointment. It was so crazy to hear my doctor on the phone saying "I need to schedule an induction of labor please" and then say my name and all my information. I was comforted again with the fact that my doctor thought this was a good idea and was all for it and very excited for me. We are very aware that she could come at anytime between now and then and we wont have anyone here, but just having this as a back up plan makes me feel a little bit better. Whenever we talk about this, I always tell Mr. Hunt that God is probably laughing at us while we try to plan the birth of our baby. Its all on his time and whatever he wants will happen and we are very aware of that.
I feel 100% better knowing that she will be here by the 28th of December no matter what (or possibly the 29th..yikes) and I'm OK with her coming sooner too. I'm happy knowing that my family has a specific time that they are coming too no matter if she comes early or when we get induced.

On another note....Mr. Hunt is convinced that I will NOT make it to December 28th. I keep asking him why he thinks Ill have this baby early and he just says "he has a feeling." Just like he had a feeling last minute that Jane was a girl and was right....hmmmmmm. He wont let that idea out of his head, so we will see if he is right.

Again, I know this is controversial. Some couples are totally against inducing unless it is for an emergency. I understand that, but just like parenting, everyone is different. We've thought about it as a couple, and also talked to our doctor in depth and we feel like this is what we want to do. I support every mothers decision and I hope you will support mine too.

Love,
Jennifer