Pregnancy Update - 37 Weeks

Ok ok so I won't technically be 37 weeks until tomorrow, but whose counting? :) I was born three weeks early, so I've had this feeling that Avery will come that early as well. Not sure if it was really a "feeling" or more of me hoping because I can't wait to meet her. So today I went to the doctor for my first exam to see if I'm dilated, etc. I was secretly wishing I was, but I wasn't at all. I know she will come soon enough, and God knows the perfect time, but I feel like a little kid who can't wait until Christmas to open her presents!

I have felt like she has been moving less than normal lately. It started when I got my ultrasound on Monday. The tech has to see certain movements during the ultrasound and Avery wasn't moving much at all, so we were in there forever trying to get her to move. Until that day, there had never been a problem. I almost called the doctor's office on Tuesday because I had hardly felt her move at all, but every time I went to call she would move a little and I thought I was overreacting. When I saw the doctor today, I mentioned this to her, and she wanted to do another ultrasound to be safe. She said whenever something happens, that's the #1 thing people notice - decreased fetal movement.

After the ultrasound, they said the baby looked fine, but my fluid had decreased. They said it was still in normal range, but was lower than it was on Monday, so she wanted to do another ultrasound in a few days. Since that falls on the weekend, I have to go to the hospital to get one on Saturday. She said it's not a huge cause for concern unless it keeps dropping. She told me to drink water until my eyeballs are full, and then drink more! I admit this is something I could be doing better. I have never been a good drinker. I'm just not ever that thirsty, and when I do drink, I drink really slow. Plus, I'm not a huge fan of water. Rustin has been "helping" me though by constantly reminding me to drink :)

I will post again when I find out something. If everything is fine, I really want to go to Wichita Falls next week. The doctor said it was ok since it's only 2.5 hours away and I would be able to get to the hospital in that time should I start going into labor. Rustin is not too keen on the idea though and is accusing me of having a plan to make sure she's born in WF!

Pregnancy Update - 30 Weeks

We had a slight scare early in the pregnancy. They did the first trimester screen which looks for the baby's chance of trisomy and down syndrome. They calculated my risk first just based on my age, then recalculated after blood work. My risk for trisomy dropped drastically, but my risk for down syndrome went up. Because of that increased risk, my doctor had me get a level 2 ultrasound at a hospital at 18 weeks to see if everything was ok. That was back in April and when we found out it's a girl! All of her measurements looked great, and she was in the 51st percentile for weight. The doctor said if she was at risk for downs she would weigh less and have larger measurements in certain areas. And I thought that was the end of it...

At my last appointment, my doctor told me that I would have to start coming in twice a week for a fetal non stress test (NST). From what I understand, she is concerned because something caused my first trimester screen to be off. Since they don't think it's downs, they're not sure what it is and want to make sure everything is ok.

So starting July 25, I will be going to my doctor's office in McKinney every Monday and Thursday. For the NST they are going to hook me up to machines as if I was in labor and test fetal heart rate and contractions for about 20 minutes. (This is just what I understand from my doctor. I'm obviously not a doctor, so hopefully I'm explaining everything correctly!) But there is a VERY big benefit with this - I get an ultrasound every Monday! That means I get to see our little girl once a week until she is born! I haven't seen her since the ultrasound in April, so I'm very excited about that!

Although I am an expert worrier, I have tried to continually remind myself of two main things - God is sovereign, and He loves her more than I do (even though it's hard to wrap my head around that one). And I also love the comfort of Psalm 139: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb...My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." 

Other than all of this, I have had a relatively easy pregnancy, but Rustin and I would appreciate prayers that everything would continue to go well!