keeping calm and carrying on

The doctor’s appointments continue. I am starting to get weary of all this time spent in hospital and clinic waiting rooms. But the news continues to be stable or good so at least I am encouraged by that. Today Phil was not able to get time off work so my sister-in-law came with me to my ultrasound. It was nice to have company to keep my mind from worrying during the long waits between my different appointments. The current status is that the fluid around the lungs is staying the same. As the baby continues to grow the lungs grow as well so even though they are somewhat restricted by the fluid pockets, the difference is becoming less severe. So, for now we continue to wait and watch.

Two not-so-great things are that I didn’t pass my initial glucose screening, so I will have to go through the full day fasting test again next Monday. I am not looking forward to that and I am really hoping I pass that test as I don’t think I could deal with one more issue right now. The other thing is that the amniotic fluid appears to be more than normal. This doesn’t pose any immediate risks but they are going to have to watch that closely in the coming weeks as well because if it continues to increase it could cause pre-term labor. At least that explains why I am looking so much further along than I really am, it’s not just my imagination! For now they said I don’t need to restrict my activities but I should be prepared for the possibility that I might need to be on bed rest if I start to experience regular contractions or pain. Bed rest would be interesting with a two-year-old at home.

They will continue with the weekly monitoring and testing and, as we get closer to July, decide whether they might need to induce labor early. If that is the case they will have me meet with the NICU and Neonatal staff and go over what to expect when the baby is born as far as how long we would have to remain in the hospital, what procedures might need to be done, etc. I’m still just praying that this issue goes away on its own and that I can have a natural healthy delivery…but mostly just for a healthy baby in the end.

26 weeks (but feeling bigger)