Another Milestone

Wahoo! Here I am doing another celebration dance! Tomorrow I am officially 30 weeks pregnant! Yesterday marked my 7 week mark of being in the hospital. I've successfully completed 50 days. Yes, that's right - FIFTY days in the same hospital bed.

People always ask how I am doing, and I always respond happily that I am still pregnant. I am grateful that I am still in the hospital, because that means I am still pregnant. That means Baby Girl is still healthier inside, instead of struggling for survival in the NICU. Everyday I am so grateful to still be pregnant. I hope and pray I can make it 4 more weeks.

Doc's Interpretation

I've had a lot to say about my current Doc. He was the same Doc I saw when I was pregnant with Little Miss. This time around, I have seen him a ton more than I ever did with my first pregnancy. He checks in on me almost daily. His sense of humor is kind of weird, and sometimes he walks away and you think that he's a very odd man. However, when he stops trying to be funny, and sits down and talks to me professionally, I really like him. He's really positive and reassuring.

I remember when I was 35 weeks pregnant with Little Miss, and Doc was sending me over to Labor and Delivery to see if my water had broken. He must have seen my look of panic, because I remember him very calmly explaining that if I had a baby today, it would be OKAY. No cause for concern, just reassuring. And it turned out great. She weighed 6.5 pounds and was completely healthy.

This morning, he came in to talk to me about my ultrasound results from a couple days ago. We talked about the big concerns that I previously blogged about. We talked about the baby being transverse, so I will need a C-Section. He pointed out that it was probably because of the baby's position that I am still pregnant. If the baby was head down, that might give my body a better reason to go into labor. Just pointing that out, made me feel so grateful.

We talked about baby's small size. He said that is mainly attributed to lack of fluid. Limited fluid is not an ideal situation for a baby to grow. So, it's not really a surprise. However, her small size shouldn't affect her development. She should still develop normally, but she will be really small when she's born. That's okay, she can put on weight after she's born a lot easier than she can develop her organs. He pointed out that they aren't finding anything in the ultrasounds that would indicate the baby having any permanent problems.

I asked him again about my weight gain having any affect on baby. I have lost 2 pounds since I was admitted 6 weeks ago and have just maintained that weight. He didn't seem to think that mattered. He thought her small size was more attributed to lack of fluid. He double checked to see if I was eating, and I told him I was. I am trying to eat a lot more protein. He even asked if I made sure to eat some sweets (which I thought was odd), but I haven't been able to eat a lot of sugar since I've been in the hospital. A couple of times, I've had some candy and I felt really sick afterwards. Which is strange, because if you know me at all, I am a candy-aholic. I have zero self control when it comes to sweets. No sweets are definitely a lot healthier and maybe it will stick with me after I'm done being pregnant!

Anyway, I'm still pregnant. Baby seems to be very healthy. Right now, I seem to be walking a thin line, where they are determining if it's better for baby to stay inside or be born. Right now, it is way better to still be pregnant. Her heart rate looks fantastic. So, we keep plugging away, a day at a time, grateful for every day I remain pregnant.

29 Weeks

Another week that I have stayed pregnant. 29 is soo much better than 23 weeks when I was admitted. If can just make it one more week, it'll be to the 30s. That sounds so much better than delivering a baby in the 20s.

I had another appointment with the perinatologist today. I had another ultrasound to measure baby's growth. We received a bit of not-so-good news.

1. Baby is sideways, not head down. This means I will have to have a C-Section. It's easy for babies in normal pregnancies to move head down, but I have limited fluid to allow the baby to move much. It's not terrible news. I knew before I was pregnant that this could be a possibility, and I am okay with it. Some girls are so ANTI-C Sections, that it's crazy. I am just grateful to live in a time where the technology exists that allows me to still have a baby without me or my baby dying. So, not the end of the world, scheduled C-Section is fine with me.


2. My fluid level is 0.77. This is tragically low. For the last 5 measurements, I have been in the 3-4 range. For it to drop so drastically is kind of startling for me. They did notice that she had a rather full bladder, so when Baby Girl decides to pee, my fluid level will go up a little bit, but this is VERY VERY low. And there is nothing that can be done about it.


3. Baby Girl is measuring small. She's only in the 35%. Six weeks ago, when I came in, Baby Girl was measuring a week big. Then 3 weeks ago, she was measuring in the 50%. She weighs about 2 pounds 9 ounces. She's simply not growing at the rate she was before, or what she should be doing. They checked her cord to make sure it was working properly, and they said it looks fantastic. Everything looks healthy and normal, except for being so small.

The doctor said this was a miracle pregnancy. She didn't know how I was still pregnant and how Baby Girl seemed to be so healthy in these circumstances. Usually babies are in a lot more distress than my baby is in. This just proves how much we've been blessed. So many prayers have been offered and answered, and I am so grateful. I feel like I am on borrowed time. I wonder how much longer I have. I am grateful every night that I made it through one more day. And I'm grateful every morning that I made it through one more night. All these days add up to weeks. And every time, Baby Girl still has a strong and healthy heart beat. And I'm tempted to ask "How is that possible?", but I know the answer. God is answering our prayers. So, we continue to pray. Because all these medical professionals can't do anything. Just monitor and watch and chart progress. Everything is literally in the Lord's hands. So we keep praying and exercising faith.

6 Week Mark

I love weekends. Morgan and Little Miss spend most of it here with me. It's fantastic. AND I get to check off another week to my stay here. It was on a Saturday night/Sunday morning that I was admitted, clear back around Thanksgiving time. That was forever ago! It's actually going by faster than it would seem. Which is such a blessing. I am so glad that I've made it this far and hope and pray I can stay put for another 5 weeks.

Over the Hill

I am officially on the downward slope of my targeted bed rest time. We are still hoping and praying that I can stay pregnant long enough to be on bed rest for 11 weeks. I have been here 5.5 weeks. I'm officially closer to being done with bed rest, than beginning. Yay!

I've started thinking of all the things that need to get done to prepare for a baby. Thankfully, we are having a girl, and we already have everything for a girl. It just needs to be dug out of the garage and washed. There's a whole list 'nesting' type things that need to be done, but will just have to wait. (Or make Morgan do it for me!)

I'm still doing well. I'm having contractions daily. I don't know if they are just Braxton Hicks or what, but they are generally far enough apart to not cause any concern. I got my fluid level checked yesterday, and it's at 3.6. Down a little from last week, but still in that 3-4 range. I'll take it. Baby Girl is looking good. They do an NST to monitor her heart rate 3 times a day now, and her heart rate is still looking good. With all things considered, we are doing VERY well. Let's hope and pray that it can continue.

28 Weeks

Today I was performing my celebratory dance from my hospitalized bed. I made it to 28 weeks! Over the last 5 weeks on bed rest, Baby Girl's chances went from probably wouldn't survive to probably would survive (and live a normal life). My next milestone is 30 weeks. Then 32 weeks. Then 34 weeks. Only 6 more weeks, let's hope and pray I can make it!

I am doing really well. The last several days, I have been very stable. I hope I can have a lot more boring days, where there is nothing to report. I had my amniotic fluid level tested last Wednesday. I honestly felt like I was losing a lot of fluid, but it came back 4.2. Which is awesome. I've been able to maintain my fluid levels in the 3-4 range. Hopefully that trend can continue. Every day counts!

How's Little Miss?

Everyone always asks how Little Miss is doing during all of this. Honestly, when this all began, she was the hardest part about all this. Morgan and I stressed a lot about who was going to watch her and how she was going to handle all of this. She's always been such a Mama's girl. I was worried how this would affect her. However, she's done fantastic! Another answer to our prayers and a blessing from heaven. She coped very well. There were some hard times at the beginning, but now this is normal. It is her new normal to have Morgan put her to bed and have me in the hospital.

I feel so blessed to have such a loving, caring daughter. I know Little Miss is only 3, but she is so sweet. She loves to 'take care of me'. She always gives me such wonderful hugs, and hugs for Baby Sister. The other day, I was giving her millions of kisses on her cheek while she giggled. She asked why I was giving her so many kisses, and I said because I love you so much! Then she started to give me millions of kisses on my cheek, and I asked her why. She said because I love you this much (as she stretches her hands out as far as they can stretch). She told me another time that she misses me when she's at home. And she said that every morning when she wakes up, she's excited to come and see me. So sweet. And when I have my hormonal bouts of crying, she cuddles up to me and says "It's okay, don't cry, I'll take good care of you".

I am so grateful for all the help we've received. We've had tons of help from our family, which we are so thankful for. I think Little Miss is coping so well, because she gets to spend so much more time with her grandparents (who spoil her with love and attention). And a huge thanks to our friends in our neighborhood who have helped watch Little Miss. This has made our lives during this hard time so much more manageable.