Yesterday’s appointments went well for the largest part. I got to push Baby Azulito’s head out of the way (is it creepy I felt accomplished having an actual role in an ultrasound if it involved shoving my kid’s head around?). I didn’t cry once. I felt lighter and more grounded by the time our anniversary dinner rolled around.
Baby A is estimated to weigh 4 lbs 9 oz at 32w1d. That sounds huge to me this early. The Miracle Toddler was nowhere near that size by this point although he ended up a good size at birth thankfully (~6.5 lbs). Way to grow, Azulito/a! It is a relief not to be facing any sign of Intra-Uterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) at this point since I’m at elevated risk for that with my autoimmune issues.
The pediatric urologist was very lovely. She says that “architecturally” baby’s kidneys are perfect-looking and that there are no presently visible signs of a medical problem with their operation. Because of this she is hopeful that in time the determination will be made that this kid simply has large kidneys and nothing more serious than the need for monitoring through his/her early life.
We will have an ultrasound at her office in the local Children’s Hospital at 6 weeks after baby’s birth. If no red flags appear then, baby will likely be checked once a year for a few years unless something changes. If red flags do appear we may be sent to the kidney specialist at the teaching hospital for more testing. Fingers crossed that this all works out fine in the end.
In other promising news (this is where I got to push baby’s head out of the way so the Perinatologist could measure the space between the edge of my placenta and cervical opening (OS)): My placenta has moved! Not enough to no longer be classified as placenta previa but 1.4 cm. This means that if it moves at least another 0.6 cm I may be cleared to try for a vaginal delivery. I will get rechecked, as will Baby A, on May 27th at 35 weeks. Fingers crossed on this front too!
The energy healer was not really “out there” to me at all. She is so much more reserved and demure (introspective?) in person than in her web presence. I have really no idea what she did or how apart from the fact that she did Reiki first then Yuen method for energetic clearing but I felt much more grounded and relaxed afterward. That was fantastic.
She said some things about what she cleared that threw me for a little loop. The biggest one was that in a past life I was persecuted and this was interesting to her being that now I practice law. (I think it better explains my activist youth and younger adulthood actually but that’s because the law I do now is primarily about other people’s money and corporate divorces. Nothing noble, really, except my pro bono work.)
I had a persistent sense of Azulito/a and my late Mom being present throughout the treatment. Afterward, I definitely felt my feet more rooted to the earth and my emotional and spiritual energy vibrating lower and more peacefully. All good even if I have no clue why or what happened during most of the hour I spent there.
As for the scary news: I asked the Perinatologist (MFM) about what my OB had said the day before regarding the risk of my needing an emergency hysterectomy. The MFM said that this could be due to placenta accreta (where the placenta invades the uterine wall) for which I’m at risk or because the lower part of the uterus does not contract like the upper portion does and has much more vascularization generally (more blood vessels, less natural ability to stop bleeding in lay terms) and sometimes bleeding with low-lying placentas cannot be stopped due to these factors, resulting in an emergency hysterectomy.
Upon reflection that left me with a new question I plan to ask my OB on May 20th. I spoke with the LP about this last night and we agreed that if vaginal delivery is discouraged even if my placenta moves enough I will accept the scheduled cesarean over running the risk of delivering vaginally and then being rushed to the OR for an emergency hysterectomy. One more thing to worry about. Darn it.
The anniversary dinner date last night was awesome. I gorged on seafood (Lobster Bisque and Lobster and Giant Prawn Thermidor, taking an extra antihistamine and some tummy meds for the dairy allergy) and the LP had to-die-for mushroom soup and a veal chop. (I cannot bear the thought of veal calves suffering so have never and will never eat veal and the LP does not eat it except at this restaurant which supports locally and responsibly raised livestock.).
We know the restaurant owner and he was so happy to see us and brought us a special dessert with “Happy Anniversary” beautifully written in dark chocolate on the plate (which we sampled even though we were both stuffed beyond belief). Our server also recognized us and made me a fancy mocktail while the LP had a lovely Pinot Noir. It was wonderful and recalling the evening and our love for each other now brings tears to my eyes. I also got a beautiful new necklace that touched my heart – it’s made with a stone my Mom introduced me to with beautiful earrings late in her life.
In other news: My left-side bruised rib is killing me… Last night it hurt so much I was whimpering as I tried to get comfortable at bed time. I hope this doesn’t take as long as an actually cracked rib to heal. It woke me up and resulted in me writing this post, however, so I suppose it’s not all bad!
Thank you all so much for your kind words and warm wishes yesterday. They mean so much to me, as you do.