34 Weeks

Today, 34 weeks, is a big milestone in my pregnancy.

When I went to visit my OB more than two years ago to make sure that trying for another baby wasn't the stupidest idea she had ever heard, she confirmed that she thought it was reasonable that I could make it to 34 weeks.  This became the goal, even before I was even ready to embark on the journey to try to become pregnant.

When I got pregnant last summer, she again reiterated that the goal was to get me to 34 weeks.  Today I breathe a sigh of relief (while still maintaining a reasonable level of fear of the unknown).  I still have dreams and hopes of making it to 36 or 37 weeks, but I will take it day by day, blood pressure measurement by blood pressure measurement, and appointment by appointment.

It's been several weeks since I posted, so let me do a quick re-cap.  When I last wrote, I was worried about an upcoming ultrasound and MRI for a small head measurement from my 28 week growth scan.  Two weeks ago I had my follow up appointment and good news...the head size caught up to the rest of the body.  All the measurements were around a week to a week and a half small.  The doctor that I saw that day didn't see a need to do the MRI, but recommended that I come back in two weeks for a follow up growth scan to see how things were progressing.  I asked the coordinator to put a hold on an MRI appointment for the follow up scan just in case, but my husband and I were breathing easy.

This past Wednesday was that follow up appointment.  I guess the fun never really ends.  On the growth scan, the baby continued to trend smaller, with all measurements except for the abdomen measuring consistently small by about a week and a half or so.  Fluid is trending lower, but still within the normal range.  The abdomen, on the other hand, measured perfectly average at 60+%.  This doctor, the same one who I had seen at 28 weeks, was concerned as to why the stomach and bowels looked distended (compared to my small baby).  I couldn't help but ask whether this was something that would cause me to be induced that day (yes, I packed my bag last week in expectation of someone, sometime, sending me straight to L&D). Thankfully the answer was no, but she recommended that we consider doing the MRI.  It wasn't a "you must do this so that we know what we are dealing with" sort of thing, but more of a "this will tell us what is going on".

The MRI was uneventful and I heard back on Thursday evening that everything looks normal.  The baby's head is small but normal.  The stomach and bowels are normal.  I just have small babies.  I didn't realize until I got that call how stressed I was about all this.

At my weekly appointment with my OB on Friday, she agreed to clear me to leave work.  I will work tomorrow and maybe Tuesday to finish up a few things and then I will be off to rest and start getting ready for the baby.  I have twice weekly appointments now - one at the hospital for NST, doppler, and fluid, and one with my OB for urine, BP, measurements, etc.  I now live three or four days at a time, waiting for a shoe to drop and to be told to head to L&D to be induced.

We're not yet at the end game, but I do feel like the end is near.  I would be thrilled to make it to 36 weeks which would put me into familiar territory in terms of fetal development and NICU expectations, but that's still so far away and so much could happen during those two weeks, so I just hope to clear tomorrow's appointment at the hospital.

One day at a time.  It seems like this little mantra has helped me through so many different phases of this journey.