Pregnancy Update

I have discussed our pregnancy issues in the following posts: The Unexpected Diagnosis – PJ's Projects (pjsprojects.com) and I Am Tired – PJ's Projects (pjsprojects.com) .

I appreciate all of the many words of encouragement and support. This post is simply an update. 

26 Weeks

The ultrasound for this week was complicated by the fact that the baby had moved with her head positioned toward the defective portion of the uterus. This made obtaining accurate measurements very difficult. The defect did not appear to have worsened. Despite not receiving an accurate measurement, the fact that the baby's head was pressed against the weakened part of the uterus was promising. Any pressure from movement would be dispersed over a larger and rounder area versus a hand or a foot that are more likely to protrude through the uterine wall. 

Early in the 26th week, I awoke with back pain. Given my diagnosis, it was suspected that I may be going into early labor. I spent the day getting tests and IV fluids as active labor was ruled out. My false alarm was caused by a combination of being pregnant, the baby doing a 180 degree turn and lying on an uncomfortable hospital bed. A little temporary excitement and an IV placement but otherwise, everything was fine. 

27 Weeks

I can tell that the baby is growing as I am getting bigger. I am noticing more heartburn as the baby places more pressure on the other organs sharing the same abdominal space. I had this issue with all of my pregnancies and despite being told that it would lead to a baby with a full head of hair, my babies were essentially bald. I am simply adjusting my eating and sleeping habits with smaller meal sizes and sleeping in an inclined position. 

The ultrasound this week continued to show baby's head downward toward the defective area of the uterus. Since I was nearing the time when an elective C-section would be considered, I wanted as much definitive information as possible. The tech called the physician to the bedside and they placed me in the trendelenburg position (lying flat on the bed with the head of the bed moved downward below the level of my feet). The physician placed mild pressure on the baby's head while the tech used the ultrasound to obtain measurements. This resulted in numbers that were slightly better than previously mentioned but believed to be simply an indication that nothing has changed (it's not getting better, just simply more difficult to measure). My uterus was considered "stable". The physician reassured me that if the defective area were getting worse that we would be able to see it on the ultrasound.  

This week was the extremely fun (being sarcastic) glucose test. I failed the first one. This led to the three-hour glucose test. For those of you that haven't experienced this test, let me explain. The patient has to fast for several hours prior to the first blood draw (not fingerstick). Then, she drinks this horribly sweet liquid within a short period of time. Three more blood tests are performed every hour after the ingestion of the highly concentrated sugar solution. 

After fasting and experiencing heartburn overnight, I was slightly nauseous. The glucose drink did not help the situation. I knew that if I didn't keep this liquid down, we would simply have to repeat the test on another day. I spent the time between blood draws in a dark room, cold wash cloth on my forehead and/or my neck and occasionally sniffing an alcohol swab to prevent vomiting. Finally, the test was over. 

Next, was the NST monitoring. This is where I have to lie flat for an hour with disk-like devices tied to my abdomen in order to monitor the baby's heartrate and any possible contractions. I normally do this for an hour each, twice a day. Today's testing was delayed a few hours due to the need for the glucose testing and my nausea. It was discovered that the baby didn't care much for the onslaught of sugar. We had to make several adjustments and the test was prolonged for over two hours. In the end, everything evened out and she and I are both fine. 

I did fail the glucose test. Now, I am being subjected to blood glucose fingerstick testing four times a day (fasting level every morning and two hours after each meal). This hospital stay just keeps getting better. 

Overall, we are trucking along without any major complications. The baby is developing well and we will continue to monitor for any changes and make decisions on a weekly basis.

After midnight tonight, we will have officially hit the 28-week mark!