32 weeks and nearing the end....

I had my 32 week OB appt and ultrasound this morning, and as usual, baby looked perfect :) She is measuring around 3 lbs 14 oz and heart rate was 136. Grow baby grow!!!

And now for the ongoing saga: I've been contracting - allot - this past week, and the doctor said he's worried. And while he didn't mandate bed rest, I had to swear and promise to lay around and take it easy. (good thing I'm not hosting Thanksgiving this year!) Anyway, he said that we are still just waiting to see what happens, but he won't be surprised if I start to spot or bleed before 35 weeks rolls around, based on the fact that the blood vessels are still interlaced over & around my cervix. And he also said he won't be surprised if we meet this little girl before Christmas day! (on Cmas day I'll be 37w) So, while we can't make any definite plans right now, or schedule the c-section, we are anticipating her to be here very soon. Obviously the longer I can keep her baking, the better. But he's not going to wait around for 38-40w either. We'll be doing an u/s at every visit to check for placental "grading" and once we get to 3 and the doctor has confidence that she is mature enough, we'll be heading into the OR and giving her a birthday! On the other hand, if I start bleeding, he'll take her sooner than later depending on the degree of emergency. If they can control the bleeding, I'll likely be in the hospital for a bit, but that's just a wait & see situation too.

I'm excited and nervous and worried and happy all at the same time....its a weird mixture of emotions. But most importantly, I know that God has this all planned out and that HIS timing is perfect, and obviously not the same as ours :)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

We Made it to 30 Weeks!

Had my 30 week appointment today :) Baby B looked great on the ultrasound, strong heartbeat at 138, and measuring about 4 days smaller than my date (but with really long legs). My placenta hasn't moved or changed, so the doctor solidified that we will, in all likelihood, be bringing her into the world by c-section. The hope is that I continue to have no complications, bleeding or spotting, and that I can keep her baking for another 6-8 weeks, but at this point, its just a day at time. Complication free means we'll schedule the section when she appears to be mature and ready to meet her mommy, daddy & big sister! But he said he won't allow me to go into labor on my own, if we can help it, as it will pose a greater risk of emergency.

I had my 3rd PIO shot and the 1st of 2 steroid shots today. My 2nd steroid shot will be tomorrow, and I will continue with the weekly PIO until delivery. My next OB check & u/s is scheduled for Thanksgiving week!

Now, if you'll excuse me while I go sit on a heating pad :)

28 week update

Well, more of the same today, with the exception that I got a shot in the booty!

We weren't actually on the schedule for an u/s, so we saw the OB first. Dr. R said that since I'm still truckin' along without any issues, he wanted to postpone the steroid shots until 30w, which would put us closer to our delivery mark. He said that Angie, the u/s tech, told him that it looked like the placenta was trying to move, based on our last scan, so he's hopeful that it will and we can get another 10 weeks or so. But he didn't really say much else, which leads me to believe we are still trekking toward an c-section unless there is a change between now & 35 weeks.

But anyway, after he left, we went to the u/s room and got to watch Baby B for a few minutes. She looked perfectly healthy at 2 pounds 10 ounces, heartrate was 130 (was 137 on the doppler), and measurements were perfect. She didn't seem to want us messing with her tho - her arm and hand were across her face the entire time, so no good pictures this go around. Of course, the placenta is still where we last left it - moved off of the cervix, but the blood vessles are still right on the edge, and therefore too close to comfortably proceed with a vaginal delivery....but I'm holding out hope for better news the next time!

After the u/s, I went back to the room and took the 1st of 5 weekly progesterone shots. I was really worried about it as I'm still so messed up from PIO during the 1st trimester. Oh, and the fact that Dr. R said it would be better and less painful to use the larger gauge needle (18 in stead of 22). He just said that pushing the oil through the smaller needle makes it take longer and hurts more, but I just didn't believe that would be the case. I've been stabbed by the 18 gauge before, and it was very VERY unpleasant! However, I will have to apologize to him at my next visit - I didn't even feel the shot! I am going to insist that this nurse (who happens to be a student) give me all of my injections moving forward....I was sure to tell her what a great job she did :)

And that, my friends, is our 28w update in a nutshell :) Nothing exciting, but boring (for a change) is good :)

28w belly shot!

27 weeks & counting!

Well, I just received a package with my new progesterone oil in it (hydroxyprogesterone in castor oil) :( Doctor wants me to start weekly injections to keep my uterus relaxed and to try to prevent early labor signs. I will also be getting back to back steroid injections over a 24 hour period next Tues & Weds to expedite baby's lung maturity. *sigh* I'm really dreading the shots....I have been having major issues in my butt/hips since my last round of the PIO, which had me crying with every shot those last 2-3 weeks. Pretty sure I have permanent nerve/muscle damage after 3 rounds of 12w daily shots. As of last week, I had a weird flare-up in that area on my right side - was hot & red & inflamed, and it lasted for about 4 days and hurt like he--! Oh well....its all for a good cause, and while I'm not looking forward to it, I will survive and know it will all be worth it to get this little girl here healthy!!!

On the upside (and I hesitate to say anything so as not to jinx myself), its been a relatively quiet week for me so far :) I have been to the doctor weekly since week 17, whether it was a scheduled appt or for some weird "issue" I was having at the time. I'm praying that this week remains calm. I am experiencing a few Braxton-Hicks, almost daily now, but nothing to write home about. Thankfully no swelling or other issues! And I'm fairly certain the placenta is still where it was - baby seems to be really high up under my ribs. U/S showed her up high last week since the placenta is occupying the lower part of my uterus :( But, since she's not sitting on my bladder, I'm only having to get up once or twice a night to pee :)

And I've been horribly neglectful about getting my weekly belly shots, so I promise to post one as soon as I get it taken - hopefully I'll remember tonight.

26w2d Update

Well, not really anything new to report. Placenta hasn't moved any more than previously, so no change in plans for the time-being. But Baby B looked perfect :)

Looking ALLOT like her big sister in this picture!

Sweet hand & both feet :)

Relieved, but still itchy...

Well, yesterday I posted about this constant, horrible itching situation I have. And I also updated to say that the OB ran some labs and we were waiting for the results.

I got the phone call that I've been waiting on and the results are in: labs were NEGATIVE for cholestasis!

Now, while I said nothing in my previous post about cholestasis, I have to say that you can Google it if you so choose. But it is basically an issue that 1% of pregnant women deal with, and its nothing short of scary. Basically, your liver quits functioning as it should, and the bile backs up into your system. One of the symptoms is itching without a rash - generally on the palms of your hands and bottoms of your feet, but it can be generalized to any part of your body. And since I have no apparent skin irritations/rashes, doctor said this would be a good guess at a diagnosis.

I am so very thankful that his guess was wrong this time! I am so very grateful to NOT have a diagnosis :)

His comment to me yesterday was "if the labs come back negative, then you're likely just going to itch and there's not much we can do about it". And you know what, while the itch is miserable, I'd much rather itch than know that we were facing yet another obstacle to bringing this precious little girl into the world safely!!!

God is good!