12 week ultrasound and a new game plan

UPDATE: My cerclage officially scheduled for Wednesday at noon. I talked to people at work and my friend is going to do the anesthesia portion, yay. Also, my favorite L & D nurse is on to circulate and take care of me afterwards. Makes me feel slightly better :-)





(Here's Spot waving at us with all five digits of their right hand!)

Yesterday I had my weekly OB appointment and ultrasound. I expected my normal excitement at seeing little Spot wiggling around on the screen, an update on my previa, a boring cervix measurement and shooting the breeze with my OB a little and then returning home. Yeah, that would have been nice. I did get my ultrasound which had Spot booty wigglin once again, along with reaching their right hand over their head! Also, low and behold, my previa moved just a little bit! But what I got after that wasn't so cool. The ultrasound tech whom I've gotten to know pretty well said "your cervix is shorter than last week." My next stop was down the hall to see my OB, so I quickly dressed and jetted down with DVD and photos of Spot in tow. After he entered, I could tell immediately that my OB looked concerned (another downfall of working with him for 8 years at the same hospital - we know each other very well.) He told me that last week the readings were around 3.3-3.5 (they take three measurements and average them). This week my average was around 2.6 with the lowest number being well below the magic 2.5 line they use as a cutoff for "badness" as we always joke.

So while originally we had not planned on doing a prophylactic cerclage if my cervix was fine at the start of my pregnancy, this was now completely different. The benefit of prophylactic cerclage for a first time pregnancy does not outweigh the risk if the patient has no history of second trimester loss, etc. Since this was my first pregnancy, I obviously don't have a history to support doing a cerclage, "just because." But now that my cervix is getting way too short way too fast, we don't really have any other options and it is no longer considered prophylactic, but rather therapeutic. Basically, now we have a compelling reason. It is not an emergency yet, so we have it scheduled for next Wednesday. I know cerclages are not foolproof - they can fail, and if this fails to work over following weeks I will be delivering a nonviable baby, but I can't think about that right now. Nor can I think of the fact that most people who are considered early at beginning to dilate and have cervix shortening do it much later like 16 weeks or so, but I have somehow started this at 12 weeks. I am just so so grateful that we started the weekly monitoring so early. Most peris or OBs don't monitor cervix length on unicornuates until 14 weeks or so. By then who the hell knows what mine would be. I'm officially off work "for the rest of my pregnancy." Ouch, 12 weeks and told that I will not be returning to work until 2009 sometime, this is something I'm going to have to take awhile to digest. I suppose I need to figure out what kind of paperwork I need to start doing!

On a lighter note, while waiting in my OB's office for my appointment today, I picked up a magazine to pass the time. It was Metro Parent, and I flipped to the feature article with Jennifer McCa.rthy. It was with Jennifer discussing the well known struggle with her son's autism. But what made me stop and smile was what appeared near the title and ending of the article. It said written by Pauline _____ a free lance writer from _____, MI. Pauline is my friend who I have mentioned in the past. I was so proud to be able to think, yup I know her...that's my friend. That's the girl who was there the day I met my husband 11 years ago. The girl who moments after my husband proposed to me in college I ran into as she was coming back from the computer lab carrying a stack of papers for her class assignment. I literally ran into her and gave her a hug and caused her to drop the stack of 200+ pages of paper to be blown across campus. Instead of being pissed off, she hugged me back. That was 8 years ago. Girl I was so proud to see your name in print while just waiting for a doctor's appointment! If you get a chance stop by and give Pauline a congrats.

Tuesday night I really wanted a cheeseburger from McDon.alds. First of all, I rarely ever eat fast food. When my husband and I were ordering, I chimed in "a cheeseburger , with extra pickles please." What the f--k? I don't even like pickles, let alone extra ones. My husband looked at me with relief in his eyes. He whispered to me, does this mean you're actually pregnant? It's funny how a pickles from McDo.alds can make more of a believer out of you than a doctor telling you "yes things will be fine." Most people would think we are odd, but when I am used to waking up to a toilet filled with blood once a week, I'll take the solace and peace of mind coming from any source these days. Even if it's pickles from McDon.alds. You know what else? The pickles were great!