18 Weeks- No bedrest!

Beautiful Baby Girl

Another milestone passed, woohoo! Today was my second scheduled (third actual) cervical check and everything was great. My cervix was even longer than last week! As long as I don't have any symptoms or concerns, they will recheck me via ultrasound at 24 weeks. We got TONS of pictures of Stella and confirmed that she is indeed a girl! 18 weeks is the long scan of her entire anatomy so we saw everything from her brain to her aorta and four chambers of her heart. So beautiful and amazing! She was super wiggly and hid from the ultrasound tech who was a total sweetie. Haha, silly baby girl. I knew she was wiggly because I have been feeling her all of the time and Eric got to feel her for the first time last night. Amazing.

We had our OB appointment with our regular doctor right after so we were quite happy to deliver the news and relieved to go there instead of the hospital! I can't say enough how much I love my doctor. She is always willing to talk and answer all my questions. You can tell she is genuinely invested in our well being- me and Stella. She even said "My goal is for you to have a hospital-free pregnancy until you give birth!" We chatted about the ultrasound- all good. Then we got the results from our integrated screening (blood test/ultrasound then blood test) which was also great- 1/10,000 chance of Downs Syndrome and Trisomy 18, 1/4,900 for Spinal Bifida. They also rechecked for Spinal Bifida at the ultrasound and there was no indication of abnormalities.

Next, we chatted about the Strep B. They are retesting me to make sure the antibiotics work. If it shows up this time or any other time throughout the pregnancy they are going to suppress me with antibiotics (taking them daily for the rest of the pregnancy). Whoa! Just had a big kick from Stella, haha. Back to the appointment... our doctor reassured me that they would treat me in labor. I also told her about my concerns about not getting the antibiotics in time during labor. I didn't want to say the word "induction" but she brought it up and I am so thankful! She said if I was progressing like I did before (cervix thinning and dilating) we can talk about scheduling an induction. Yay! That would be a huge relief knowing I could get the 4-6 hours of antibiotics Stella needs to decrease the chance of getting sick. There is nothing scarier than having a sick baby. Nothing. Not cervical issues, not bed rest, not giving birth- nothing!!!

Last but not least, we needed to talk about the progesterone "money" shots that Eric has been giving me. I have two more left and then the price goes up to $1,400 per week. Yikes. I thought the doctor would have more information but there isn't much out there about where to get the new shot since the fertility pharmacies aren't making it and even if we got it she wasn't sure insurance would cover it. Thank God it is being fought in the Supreme Court. Thankfully, there is also an alternative medication in a suppository form. Same medication, just another way of getting it. I took it during my IVF cycle so it doesn't worry me and I know it is covered by insurance. If they get more info about getting the actual shots they will call and let me know.

All good news today. I am elated! I wrote out my questions before I went (during Addi's nap time). No appointments for the next 4 weeks (Thursday before Addi's birthday- yikes!) and no huge changes. My baby is safe, my body is doing what it should and so is my medication- could I ask for more? The schedule from here is:

• 22 weeks- OB appointment
• 24 weeks- Cervical ultrasound and OB appointment including FFN

I forgot to mention the FFN! I actually forgot it all together until the doctor brought it up. It will be the first one and it will let me know if I will deliver within the next two weeks. I had them all the time with Addi and I never got a positive. If I did, they would be able to give me the steroids to pump up Stella's lungs. Sigh. I feel such peace knowing I am in such good hands and doing all I can for my baby girl. I love her so much already! Time to snuggle with her and the hubby!

Tiny Feet