OB Follow-UP: 31.5 Weeks

Well, I made it to the doc all by myself today. Yea! I think I'm boycotting from Kevin attending anymore appointments unless absolutely necessary, as he has had to take off so much work due to this pregnancy so far and..well, he has a mean boss who doesn't have one care as to what we are going through. Slightly surprising as she's a woman herself--but not married and with no kids. But she's a real meanie, I tell ya. I'll be soo happy for Kevin when he can move out from under working for her. Lord, I know he's counting down the days. Hopefully one of the jobs he has recently interviewed for will pan out!

Anyhoo,  the appointment went well. My cervix is still stable. When you have a history of surgery on your cervix there is usually two common complications: your cervix weakens and becomes incompetent or scar tissue develops and it doesn't dilate properly during delivery sometimes making a c-section necessary.  Kevin and I were joking today about how funny ( not) it would be if after all this worry with my cervix being too weak and giving out, if when it comes down to it the thing is iron-clad and won't even dilate when it needs to. But no way to know, so def not going to lose sleep over that possibility. Just thankful it's still holdin' in the Bean.

So this means my cervix hanging in and hasn't substantially weakened or shortened since I was initially admitted to the hospital for preterm labor and bed rest about 6 weeks ago. And in this 6 weeks my body, uterus and cervix have been through a lot, so it's kinda surprising actually that it hasn't shortened further, but, hey, I'm not complaining. This is an answered prayer! Today my cervix measured 2.44cm.

The baby's HR was 145--totally within where the baby likes to stay.  The baby was still head down, right on my cervix, with the spine up against my right side, so he/she was laying on their side facing my left side. They also did a biophysical profile on the baby today. The baby had four tests to pass. For some reason I can't remember two of them, but the other two were that he/she needed to show 'tone' by using their motor skills/muscles by flexing their hand, arching their back or something of the sort and they also needed to show they are practicing their breathing by showing movement and elevation in their chest and more specifically diaphragm.

The baby was initially sleeping when this little 'test' began and was reluctant to participate, but after some poking and prodding with the sono handle, the Bean woke up and obliged. Luckily so, because if he/she wouldn't have they said they would have made me stay their hooked up to the abdominal baby monitor for 30 minutes then they would have reattempted the test. But baby passed and all looked well. My amniotic fluid was also measuring perfectly. I weighed 122# today, which is think is pretty right on from my last appointment 5 days ago. Glad there was no more weight loss. Hoping with some regular eating this week the scale will tip up on next visit. My OB also told me to try to hold on taking the Ambien every night and that after I deliver she will set me up with the general surgeon I saw in the hospital to discuss having my gall bladder removed. I certainly don't want to mess with this nasty little thing should we ever consider more babies in the future. She also ran a lot of blood work on me today to make sure all is well internally in conjunction with doing another FFN. So I'll get results in about 2 days.

Exciting news: I treated myself to a very needed pedicure on the way home from the doc. Hoping I don't pay heavily for the little bit of activity I indulged in today. It sure was nice to be out for an extra 45 minutes or so and to have pretty toes. I've felt so homely and run down lately, it was a lovely treat!

I also got all confirmed on our maternity photos that are scheduled to take place on February 17th. We are totally condensing what we originally had planned, so no more "bedroom"/sexy photos on the agenda, as my body looks horrible. I am pale white, I am way skinny, and I have lost a lot of muscle mass, so not exactly the robust, curvy pregnancy look I was going for. Maybe next time around. We are also just going to do a 'short and sweet' session outdoors instead of a long photo saga. We're def going for the candid look, not the staged poses. I can't wait to see how they turn out! Excited!

I've also been brain storming about 'thank you' ideas for all of those helping make my baby shower a reality. I sure do love brain storming about personal gifts for people. Very fun. Baby shower March 3rd!

One last thing, which is very exciting, Kevin and I signed up for an all-weekend marriage seminar at our church that starts in about two weeks.  We're really looking forward to it. I've been on the look out for an affordable marriage seminar for a while now, so glad our church is hosting one! They are usually very expensive and spending $500 on one of these is just out of the question. I think given what we are going through it's very important to renew our marriage spirit. And also given the fact that we will be bringing a brand new person into our marriage dynamic in less than 8 weeks, I think it's a great time to reconnect.

I wasn't excited to come home after my appointment to dog vomit on the floor, but all in all, it has been a good morning and afternoon. Glad I was able to feel like I'm a real person again by getting out and 'looking and acting normal'. Sure hoping for a great great, pain-free evening! Ready to be on an up-swing as we have a big month this month with lots on the agenda.