And so the sofa loafing continues

Well I had my monthly checkup with the midwife this morning and she did a couple tests to see if they could find a cause for all the cramping and contractions. She took a swab of my cervix to run a test to see if my body is preparing to go into labor within the next 2 weeks. Fortunately, my cervix is still closed and thick, which means the contractions haven’t caused me to dilate any.

She also measured the height of my uterus (a standard thing to do at every checkup). I should have measured at 25cm (which correlates to 25wks). However, I measured at 28cm, which is 3wks ahead. Any variation under 2cm is considered a normal variation, but since I was over that she had an ultrasound done to check my fluid levels to see if they’re high. High fluid levels can cause contractions and could be a sign of things like gestational diabetes or congenital defects. Also, if my fluid levels are high, I could be at an increased risk of placenta abruption, preterm labor, premature rupture of membranes (water breaking), growth restriction for the fetus, cesarean delivery, and postpartum hemorrhage. Of course I’m having a c-section anyway, and I had postpartum hemorrhaging with Carter, so those two don’t scare me as much. I should hear back from the midwife later this week if they find a problem from either test and they’ll treat accordingly.

In the mean time, she extended my partial bed rest for at least the next 4 weeks (my next scheduled appointment). I am to rest as much as I possibly can and absolutely no sex (it stimulates contractions). She said it was a good thing that staying off my feet has been helping, but if it gets to the point that resting doesn’t help and they get worse then they’ll have to take a more aggressive approach to prevent early labor.

So that’s everything I know for now. If I find out more I’ll be sure to post it. I have survived one week of partial bed rest already (and went a little stir crazy). We’ll see how the next four go!

Oh yeah, we also got 5 more ultrasound pictures out of the ordeal. I’ll try to get those scanned in and posted sometime soon. :)