measuring ahead...

   It has been a while since a blog update - but that is usually a good thing because it means I haven't had any doctors appointments and I have been able to just take it easy :) I had my appointment with my regular OB - Dr. Pohl - today! I had met my mom earlier for lunch and she treated me to a pedicure (much appreciated!). I headed back to her house to lay down for a bit and wait for my appointment after we got done. Josh was supposed to go with me, but unfortunately he got stuck at work :( It really wasn't that big of a deal because I figured it would just be a regular appointment. So, when my mom offered to go I told her not to worry about it.... (my mistake....). My reasoning was that I felt prepared and didn't really think Dr. Pohl would give me any "new" news, so I wanted to go to an appointment by myself (for the first time ever this pregnancy, HA!). 
   Let me preface what I am about to say with a few details about last week. I had an impromptu trip to Dr. Pohl last week because of  some questions I had regarding pre-term labor and he wanted me to come in to the office. I did go to this appointment by myself (I don't count it though because it wasn't scheduled!). He did an ultrasound of my cervix to make sure it looked okay and also did a fetal-fibronectin. This tests for any chances of pre-term labor in the next two weeks (it came back negative!). When I went in for this appointment I was 27 weeks and my stomach was measuring 31 weeks. This difference is somewhat expected because we already know I have slightly high levels of amniotic fluid. I didn't blog about this visit because it wasn't really anything serious and I didn't want anyone being concerned for nothing! That leads me to this appointment...
   Dr. Pohl did his normal measurements of my stomach and listened to the heartbeat, which was a strong 147. I asked him a few questions about the back and rib pain I was experiencing and he explained the reasoning for all of that... I know it is a part of pregnancy I just wanted to know what was the cause! Afterwards he sat down and told me that I was measuring a little ahead (remember, I am 28 weeks now). I asked what he meant by a little - his response, 35 weeks. HOLY MOLY. Basically this means in the last WEEK I am measuring another 4 weeks ahead of where I should be normally. Because this number has jumped so high it is evident that the levels of amniotic fluid are increasing. There is a name for this - hyrdroamnios. He discussed the risks with me and I will use his example because it makes it really easy to understand! Basically when you are pregnant your uterus is designed to go in to labor when it reaches the "measurements" of around 40 weeks (some people go in to labor early, some late). Moms that are pregnant will twins usually go in to labor early and since they have two babies they measure further along for the most part throughout the whole pregnancy, so even though they have two babies the uterus just hits "go-time" when they reach the 'normal' 40 weeks measurement or close to it, hence why they are usually early. Since I am measuring ahead it does put me at risk for my body thinking it is time to delivery much earlier than it is really time - and in my situation that is a big no-no and something we would ALL like to avoid at ALL costs.
   I have a follow-up appointment with Maternal-Fetal on Monday and they will measure the levels of amniotic fluid via ultrasound and Dr. Pohl said I can request them to do an ultrasound of the cervix. Dr. Pohl also scheduled me for Friday with him so he can run another fetal fibro-nectin and measure my cervix. If there is any shortening or softening they will put me on bedrest and continue to monitor. If it continues while I am on bedrest I will go in to the hospital so they can monitor everything closely because we really want Baby Murphy to stay in and grow as much as possible before his birth. We still don't know when he will need surgery so if he needs it soon after birth it would be better for him to be born closer to full-term and be as big as possible.
   I called Josh to fill him in and I called my mom too - who proceeded to say "I KNEW I should have gone!" (I don't think she will miss another appointment). The last time I told her it would be okay if she didn't come was when we found out the first signs of a lung issue at Maternal-Fetal. She ended up coming to that appointment anyways, so I should have known I was going to get "hit again" when I told her not to worry about coming....oh well. I am somewhat proud though because I held my composure and asked all the questions I wanted to get answered without freaking out. It is scary though because I get hit over the head with something new EVERY SINGLE TIME I go to the doctor... and I definitely won't be going to future appointments alone. Yes, I probably can do it alone but the truth is - I don't want to do it alone. I would much rather SOMEONE be there for support, especially if Josh can't be there. He is really trying to save all his time off for the time after the baby gets here so we have been picking and choosing appointments so we can have as much time with the baby after he gets here and Josh won't have to be running back to work. 
   I will be keeping you all up to date for sure, especially after Monday and my appointment with Maternal-Fetal. Hopefully I will have some cute 3D pictures to share :) and hopefully I won't be put on bed rest! I will say that whatever the doctors tell me and recommend is something I am going to follow very closely because I want baby Murphy to be in utero to finish growing as long as it is possible. Thank you to all of our prayer warriors for surrounding us and our baby with prayers! We appreciate them and ask that you continue to pray as we move throughout the next few weeks slowly and treading lightly. Before I ever got pregnant I was scared of having a baby, and now I feel terrified. I know God has a plan and we are trusting His guidance and wisdom throughout all of this - it just doesn't make it easier sometimes. I still have my humanly worries and fears that I face almost daily, luckily God already knows everything we are facing and has been/will be standing by us throughout everything these next few weeks/months bring to the table!

Love you all,
Ashlyn