Just Got Back From My Ultrasound...

The news isn't really good but its not really bad either. Dr. Lovelace, himself, came and got me in the wheelchair. And just as we were getting into the elevator and heading towards the tunnels underneath the hospital to go to his office, my friend Dana and her son Will showed up-- so they went with us. Will (who probably had zero desire to go into the examining room) stayed in the waiting room. Poor Will. He's about 18 and I know from many visits that there's mostly a selection of Parenting magazines and the like.
The ultrasound showed that I had a pocket of amniotic fluid-- the most I've had since coming into the hospital (shocking since I've been leaking so much) and Spartacus had a full bladder-- so that was all really good. His feet are still cramped right up there next to his head-- that hasn't changed. And my placenta looked okay-- probably better than expected since it is torn. There are signs of what he calls "calcification"-- little white spots-- a sign it is getting old in the womb. Dr. Lovelace said that's not routine for a normal pregnancy-- but expected with my complications. But he said it's still functional, nothing to be worried about and okay for a while. He'll just keep an eye on that too.
Now for the measuring of Spartacus. I am, as of today 30 weeks and 5 days pregnant. The bones in his arms are only measuring at 27 weeks. And then his abdomen, legs and other areas they measure were showing at 28 weeks. If you remember, the last time we measured-- overall he was only a week behind. So I was disappointed to see he's slipped. However, Dr. Lovelace says he is still within the numbers they allow--he is not in distress, not failing to thrive and he is still "safer" in my womb than in an incubator in the NICU. Dr. Lovelace agreed he is still my miracle baby.
Also, Spartacus weighed in today at 2 lbs 14 ounces. I was hoping to be over the 3 lb mark-- but am hopeful he will start "packing" on the weight now that I am into the magical 30 weeks of pregnancy. Dr. Lovelace said he will in the "30's" put on anywhere from 1/4 lbs to 1/2 lbs a week.
I asked Dr. Lovelace how he felt overall about the ultrasound and he said he's concerned with the "asymmetry" (meaning the difference between weeks)... but he still feels I'll be okay to keep pushing along.
I did have 4 contractions (not painful) in my last monitoring session this morning... so things are changing a bit. But Dr. Lovelace feels like I can keep shooting for more time in here. He also feels the bones in the arm will grow just fine after the baby is born. I reminded him how small my other children are and that Byron and I were both short, stubby and skinny until late ages... so he agreed, some of this could be genetic.
So there you have it. I'm not sure exactly how to feel-- other than just to keep doing what I've been doing. And keep reminding myself of all the miracles I've witnessed.