Thirty Weeks and Counting!

30 weeks, 1 day (June 12, 2011)

On Saturday, I reached my 30-week mark of this pregnancy.  This the longest pregnancy, ever, I swear! The baby is oblique, which is slightly better than his transverse position that he had been in over the past couple of months.  Basically he is sitting diagonally in my uterus.  His bottom is wedged down toward my pelvis and his head and feet are in the lower quadrant of my uterus.  It is very uncomfortable at times. My high-risk OB tried to take a picture of his face a while ago using a 4D ultrasound machine and his feet were covering his face, so he's kind of in the half-way, backwards somersault position. I am told he "still has plenty of time to turn", but, each week I get less and less hopeful because it seems like to me he is stuck.  But maybe he's just not uncomfortable enough yet to try to move! At 37 weeks, if he hasn't turned, I will go to the hospital and see if my OB can turn him.  It is done at the hospital in case my water breaks or the baby goes into distress and then they can hurry and do an emergency c-section to get him out.  If my OB is able to turn him, then he'll be left in until I go into labor on my own or I reach 39 weeks, in which case, it has been agreed upon that I can be induced, because I had my other two kids extremely fast!  If he isn't able to be turned then a scheduled c-section will be performed, not necessarily that very day but the next day or two.

And then there is the prematurity risk.  I am approaching the time where I went into preterm labor with Toby.  The first time was at 31 weeks and the second time was at 33 weeks.  They were able to stop him both of those times.  Then, at 33 weeks, 6 days, I went into labor again and they didn't try to stop him, because I was close enough to that magical "34 week" mark and he had had the steroids to develop his lungs.  My docs are keeping a close watch on me.  Things ARE starting to progress ever so slightly but not enough to do anything differently or take any kind of medication.  There is a test that I am doing now that detects when your body is getting ready to go into labor within the next two weeks.  I've taken it once and it came back negative and the next time I do it will be next week.  If it comes back positive then it is time to start on the steroids to develop the baby's lungs.  At that point, I will just watch for signs of labor and if I do go into labor then I will be hospitalized to stop the labor and try to keep him in until at least 34 weeks, like Toby. I really hope I can make it to 36 or 37 weeks and I'd be thrilled to have to be induced at 39 weeks and be able to take the baby home with me when I left the hospital. I continue to take the 17p weekly injections, and take my last one at 36 weeks.  Time will tell if this medication is helping me, my doc says that once I take the last injection at 36 weeks, if I WAS one of the women that it helped, I should go into labor at between 37 and 37 1/2 weeks along, because the medication typically stays in the system for 7-10 days.

Other than that, the heartburn is getting really bad and pretty much everything is getting smashed inside of me.  I am uncomfortable and not sleeping well.  My skin is acting up. And my feet are swelling from the heat.  Pretty much the only thing I have going for me is that my hair is thicker (it always is when I'm pregnant) and I haven't gained very much weight--only 11 pounds so far.

Until later,

Emily