We have now entered a much anticipated phase of this pregnancy. We saw our specialist today. Once again...to his surprise, I am still pregnant! Yes, I am, very pregnant. I am now 32 weeks pregnant. This of course is a milestone we never thought we would see. Elizabeth Grace is doing great and measured today at 4 lbs and 12 oz. We were able to get a few quick glimpses at her on 3D and she does have some chubby little cheeks. Needless to say, we are thrilled to be where we are, see her doing so well, and anxiously anticipating the coming weeks.
My specialist is allowing my OB to make many of the calls from this point forward with regards to timing. Neither one will be doing any FFN tests anymore as they feel these are no longer relevant. My OB will make the final decisions on stitch removal, inductions, and c-section as those times approach in the weeks ahead.
As of now, here is where we stand. My OB does not want to remove the stitch until I am 37 weeks. This puts us into the first week of December. At that point, they will see if I go into labor. If not, I will be released and sent home. If by week 39 I have not gone into labor, he will schedule a c-section due to how big they anticipate Elizabeth to be. My 17P injections will continue until week 36, however, I will remain on the Heperin until we narrow her birth down to within a day or so.
We did learn today, she has dropped again since last week and I am feeling every bit of it. This indicates the contractions, cramping, and pressure I am feeling are productive. Essentially, if this continues, we could be lookng at another week or so. So in the Ashford home, we are washing little girl clothes and blankets, packing a little girl bag for the hospital, and washing the infant car seat. The entire time, we continue to stand in amazement we are even at this point in this journey and are so very thankful to be here. Not to mention EXCITED!
Needless to say, things are getting busy around here for the first time in a while. Although he still insist on bedrest, I am slowly pulling the reigns back a bit in an effort to regain a bit of normalcy around our home before we welcome Elizabeth Grace. By 34 weeks, I am able to slowly regain my strength and normal routine again. I anticipate this will be difficult, but with lots of patience I will get back to normal. The good news is I have only gained 9 pounds the entire pregnancy. I feel as though I've gained much more, but the scale says different. That's never been a point of focus anyway, so it's just a side note. LOL
We are looking forward to the day when we can share our precious miracle with each of you as we know each of you have played a large role in carrying us through this journey. When going through an extended journey of this nature (life saving surgery for our baby, 14 weeks of bedrest and counting, financial burdens and loss) it would be easy to tear through a family or a marriage. But in the midst of this storm, God saw fit to draw us so amazingly close to one another. We have learned the significance of prayer and leaning on each other. We have come to value the small things such as being together and laughing at each other. We have learned the material things won't buy you happiness, but time together, prayer together, and love for each other will. Our marriage is unbelievably changed forever in ways we never imagined. I knew I married my best friend 4 years ago, however, I never really understood that until these past few months. He has dried so many of my tears, held me in his arms when I was most afraid, and lifted my spirits when I felt like I couldn't fight any more. He has repeatedly told me how beautiful I was (despite the grossness I feel on bedrest). He has fought alongside me in his own way keeping our family together, stable, happy, and fed (haha). For all these reasons, I would not change a thing that has happened in the past 3 months.
So as we move forward, we continue to do so with our hearts filled with gratitude. We enter November, with an abundance of thanksgiving. Although we continue to wait patiently, we are hanging on...literally by a thread!
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