Just got back from the latest doctor’s appointment. We’re on weekly appointments now. We have another one scheduled for Wednesday as a ‘tentative’ in case baby decides to put in an appearance before then, even though he’s not technically due until 4/23.

Current state of affairs is that we are barely dilated (1cm) but 50% effaced, and baby is at -2 station, which means his head is coming down into the birth canal. My weight is back up to 244, and belly is measuring 43 cm.

We’ve been talking to her at length about birth plan and what will happen at the hospital, and everything that we were concerned about she has been able to assuage. She says it’s fine for us to wait a little to cut the cord to ensure that baby will have enough oxygen, that she doesn’t automatically do an episiotomy, but will allow natural tearing and only cut if baby gets stuck.
I’m allowed to breastfeed right away, and if I’m not able to take care of him right away they’ll let Danny be with him. We can have rooming with the baby and Danny’s allowed to stay with me the whole time. She won’t let students in to watch, and things like that. So, that was a big comfort.

We haven’t had any more late night runs to the hospital but we did come close. Yesterday my contractions were down to 4 1/2 minutes apart, and Danny came home from work early to bring me to the hospital, but by the time he got back here they were up to 6-10 minutes apart and while he was changing they stopped altogether. I jokingly told my stomach that I wasn’t going to believe him any more unless my water breaks, because he’s cried wolf far too much.

But the doctors is pleased with our progress and sees no reason to be concerned. As it stands though I think they are, as we are, hopeful for an early delivery, but we’ll believe it only when it happens. I know people who have been stuck for several weeks overdue partially effaced and dilated, and wound up having to be induced.

The concept of “station” denotes the degree of engagement of the fetal head as it navigates the maternal pelvis. Station is the relationship of the presentng part to an imaginary line drawn between the ischial spines of the pelvis. The ischial spines are two bony prominences that demarcate the middle of the pelvis.

Although we assess station during the last weeks of prenatal care (or in the case of preterm labor), its most frequent application is in labor. Progress in labor is assessed by means of several parameters, namely cervical consistency (soft to firm), cervical effacement (shortening), cervical position (posterior, anterior, or mid), cervical dilatation (0 to 10 cm) and station (-4 which is just coming into the pelvis to +4 station which is on the perineum or ready to be born). When the top of the fetal head (or other presenting part as in a breech presentation), arrives at the level of the ischial spines, the baby is said to be at 0 station or “engaged.”

Primigravidas (women having their first baby) typically engage before labor and may enter labor at -1, 0 or even +1 station.