Today was a special day. Not only was it doctor appointment day, but my Mom came into town last night to stay with us for a while to help out while I'm on bed rest, so she got to join in on the appointment fun today! It was a nice treat.
So it looks like good news today all the way around! I'm feeling awesome after such an encouraging appointment today. Thank you, Lord, for answering my prayer and providing us with a sense of stability for the coming week.
Sonogram Report:
Baby's estimated weight: 2 pounds and 9 ounces. This is a five ounce gain in a little less than two weeks.
The baby was head down again resting right on that lovely cervix. I also got to find out what has been pushing into my right rib cage today--the baby's butt. The baby is head down, with its body slanted over to my right, so its butt is in my right rib cage, and the legs are free floating on the left side of my abdomen.
We did get some 3D pics of the baby's sweet face today, although they were a little fuzzy. The baby had its hands up at his/her face, so we couldn't get a clear shot of the entire face, only the nose and mouth--which are PREFECTLY GORGEOUS, btw. I LOOOVE getting the 3D images! We seriously have a baby with gorgeous features!
My placenta is nice and high and out of the way of the cervical opening--yea--no placenta previa--and looks perfectly normal and healthy.
There was NO FUNNELING today or dilation like they found last week. I think the sono tech just didn't wait long enough after my uterine contraction last week and it caused the appearance of funneling. The other option: it got better this week. Either way, great news.
My weight today: 126#!! Awesome! This is up two pounds from what I weighed the day I was put in the hospital and up one pound from my weight a week ago. I think the Boosts are working! So glad to not be losing weight and actually gaining!
And for the biggie--my cervical length: 2.7 cm! Granted there was a tiny issue with having to use a temp. sono tech today, but she did seem knowledgeable about everything and things went smoothly with both the vaginal and abdominal sonogram, so I feel that she gave us a consistent measurement. Last week it was 2.54. I don't want to get too ahead of my self and say my cervix is getting "better", as the cervix is ever changing, but at least it's stable. Excellent news!
The baby is measuring exactly on track at 28 w 5d. He/she always seems to measure right on track--no less and never too much more. Awesome news. Glad to know the baby is still growing normally despite a little slow down in my weight gain.
The baby's heart rate was 131 beats per minute today--the lowest it has ever been.
I think my Mom may have been my good luck charm. I need to bring her every week!
As for the visit with the doc:
We talked about some of my chest pains, rapid heart rate, and shortness of breath from the Procardia. She does not feel like it's a true allergic reaction or that it is putting me in any danger. Although she is a little concerned that it may be lowering my blood pressure too low after taking it. So I get to start taking my resting HR before and after taking it and report back to her. But if my symptoms stay mild, then her plan is to keep me on Procardia until 36 weeks.
I have made up my mind that I want to start taking vaginal progesterone to see if it helps my preterm labor--if for nothing else, my own peace of mind. So she obliged and gave me a script to start taking Prometrium 200 mg once a day. She prefers Crinone, but I don't, plus, Crinone is far more costly than Prometrium, and since we're paying out of pocket, I stuck with the $120 script vs. the $500 script. I'll start tonight.
And still no sex until 32-34 weeks. ARG! I even asked if we could use a condom since semen causes contractions and be really gentle...and I promised not to orgasm, which also causes contractions. It would just be a great way to maintain our intimacy with one another. ( Body massages only work for so long.) It was a clear cut--no. Geez...there are only so many things one can do to maintain intimacy for weeks and weeks. This was a lovely conversation to be had with my mother sitting next to me, by the way. It was actually my mother who chimed in to say, " Well, yall just need to get creative!" Nice, Mom.
I also inquired about the likelihood of my OB delivering our baby. She said she delivers her own patients about 75-80% of the time. There are six docs in the practice and they rotate being on call on the weekends, so if we go into labor over a weekend we have a 1 in 6 chance of getting my OB. Don't love that, but I understand they have to have a normal life with family time too. I feel really confident everyone in the practice is super great and well qualified, that's not my concern. My question was how it works with specific birthing requests I have that I've already discussed with my OB--will all the doctors in the practice honor all of my requests? She said just bring a birth plan and make sure it gets passed on to my L/D nurse and any of the docs in the practice will honor anything I've discussed with my OB. Good news, again!
The plan is to see her again next week and keep on keepin' on with the same routine.
All around we got fantastic news today! Feeling really blessed and like I just dropped 100 pounds from my shoulders. I know, I know, I shouldn't carry this burden anyway, it's really too big for my suitcase. It's really God's luggage to carry, not mine.
I'm so so thankful for all of the blessings we received today. :)
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