29 weeks

What a nice birthday gift today has been already! I had a check-up with Dr. McK this morning and was in and out of the office in less than an hour. Elijah was cooperative and we heard that steady heartbeat, complete with kicks of enthusiasm from him. :-) It's hard to believe that at 29 weeks, our sweet Isaac was born. I'm so thankful that I'm not in labor right now. Though Isaac was a fighter and did amazingly well to be 11 weeks early, that is just too soon to enter the world, and has made his life complicated at times. We have lots to be thankful for!

Dr. McK was happy to hear Disney went so well, and we chatted for a while about that. We discussed a few other things too. One was the possibility of a c-section looking more possible (he gave me a 70% chance of having one due to the placenta not shifting yet, though it's still possible). I'm still hopeful, but not in despair or anything if we have to do surgery. Reading up on placenta previa and realizing the profuse bleeding and scary issues that happen when a mom goes into labor sure make me want to avoid that. It's so risky for the mom and baby, so I am glad we have technology to help us be aware of these situations today.

As he measured me and felt around on my belly for E, I asked him to show me how to tell what was what. He took my fingers and lightly pressed down on the top of my abdomen, and said when I felt the bouncing back, that was the head. Then, the bottom feels "doughy", and gives in a little, instead of bouncing back like the head. Right now, Elijah is still breech, which is not uncommon at this stage of the pregnancy. That explains why I felt like a foot was stabbing me last night, really low. It was! He said he can still turn to get in position, but it's harder with the placenta in the way, and with his increasing size.

A little concern is that he shared he's never had a lady get pregnant with an ovarian remnant and also have placenta previa, resulting in a c-section, so he said that will just be something he has to carefully consider if we end up going the surgical route. (Some of you may remember that this remnant was found months ago before I was pregnant, growing where my left ovary was removed 11 years ago. We left it alone, because it wasn't changing over several months that we watched it and wasn't causing any problem, so neither of us wanted to do a surgery just for it.) His word to describe the c-section with placenta previa and the additional factor of removing this remnant is "grungy." :-) He said a uterine polyp or tumor would be simpler to handle, since he obviously would be there in the uterus anyway. Getting over to the ovary area and removing that during the bleeding that happens in a normal c-section is just more complicated. Right now we can't even see it any longer during sonograms, due to Elijah's size, so don't know what exactly is going on with it. It's not a major problem, just something he wanted me to know he remembered (I'd totally forgotten about it), and that we'd talk more about it as things progress.

For now, he put me on additional iron supplements, since I was borderline anemic with my last visit's bloodwork, and plus, he said anticipating the possible surgery, he wants me to "tank up." I realize more and more every visit how much I appreciate this man for his sensitive manner, and godly wisdom. James and I both are so impressed with the care he's given us for 6 years now, and it's so nice to really trust that he is seriously praying for us, and the best way to provide care for me. It gives me a lot of peace of mind, and I can happily anticipate each visit, knowing his heart, and his attention to details. What a blessing.

I'll go back in 2 more weeks, and then the next visit after that, probably at 33 weeks will be the final ultrasound to determine the delivery plan. Thank you all for praying! God is so good.