I had a routine OB check-up on Monday. I was nervous going in, since bed rest arrived during this stage of my pregnancy with Lexi. Ten days ago, the PA told me my cervix was beginning to thin. She brought up the idea of bed rest again, so I was pretty concerned about the possibility.
My appointment started with an ultrasound. Chris, the technician, and I are on a first-name basis because I have seen her so often over the last few months. I think I have about 30 ultrasound photos of this baby! Chris has been doing growth scans (measuring the baby's head and belly circumferences, femur length, organ function, and fluid pockets) every three to four weeks since March, plus keeping an eye on my cervix. Since I have about a dozen contractions a day at this point, frequent monitoring will continue.
Baby Girl (yep, still a girl -- I ask Chris to check every time!) is doing well. She's a tiny thing, just in the 25th percentile or so. Her current estimated weight is three pounds, nine ounces. If she follows her growth trends and arrives at 40 weeks, she might only weigh about six and a half pounds. It will be interesting to see what happens! I'm pretty large, considering I have two months of pregnancy left. I just close my eyes on the scale in the OB office. But I figure that with feeling so lousy all the time I deserve whatever food I crave and/or can tolerate. I'll lose the weight later. And looking at this sweet baby profile makes me very, very happy! She's worth all the discomfort.
Baby Girl is a wiggly little thing. She is especially active in the evening when I lay down after the kids go to bed. I can usually count on an acrobatics show, which can now be seen from the outside of my belly. She's pretty shy when Garry or the kids place a hand on my belly. While I sometimes wish they could feel what I feel, I cherish this time that the two of us have together. Feeling her move inside me is easily the best part of being pregnant. I always miss it when it's over.
Dr. Bianco had some excellent news for me: I have not made any progress toward delivery. In fact, he said the PA mis-diagnosed a thinning cervix. I'm not dilating at all, so the daily contractions have not been productive. This is such good news! I couldn't quite imagine how bed rest with four kids during the summer would play out. I'm happy that my somewhat-functional status can remain as-is. All of this could change quickly, but for now, I don't see the doctor again for two weeks.
The heat is definitely getting to me, though. My hands and feet are always swollen now, instead of just at the end of the day. I'm not sure if the heat is to blame for my nausea, which has been LOTS worse the last few weeks. Do I have the flu? Am I just crazy? Who knows. Thank goodness for Garry, who comes home whistling every day and doesn't seem to notice my deficiencies.
5 comments:
This is all good news! Glad that you aren't dilating at all AND your cervix isn't shortening!!
Ivy is pretty shy too when people are paying attention. :) I think CJ's felt her maybe 4 times??
Have a happy 4th!!
No bedrest - YAY! Barfies - BOO!
Keep up the good work!
That's great news! Maybe this next week can be very restful with the kiddies gone! We're excited.
She's beautiful Heidi! What a sweet profile. Sorry you're feeling worse. Be sure to drink plenty of water! (Swelling or not). It actually can help with the swelling. It can also really help to cut back where you can on salty foods. So can eating plenty of protein. And let your doc know if you have other symptoms (headache, vision changes,abdominal pain, etc.) or the swelling gets worse. And of course, kick your feet up as much as 4 kids will let you. I would sometimes sleep with a pillow under my calves to elevate them at night at least.(Forgive me, you probably already know all this, so just ignore me if you do!)
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