Even the millimeters count!

We had two doctor's appointments last week where we learned my physical condition had deteriorated since we left the hospital on 10/26.  Our first visit was with our favorite physician, Dr. Szilvia Nagy, at her practice in Brooklyn.  *As a side note, since we did not finish our sight-seeing tour of New York and it doesn't look like that will happen on this trip, it was interesting to visit her office in this borough.  We learned very quickly this part of Brooklyn was home to a specific sect of the Hasidic Jewish faith.  I watched a documentary a few months back on this sub-culture of the population and found it absolutely fascinating to be in the midst of their home area.*

Back to business, my cervix went from 1.7 cm on Friday to 5 mm on Wednesday so Dr. Nagy recommended we go see a specialist called a Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor at the Carnegie Imaging Center for Women.  Luckily we were squeezed in and had a series of tests run that looked for a couple of things:  cervical length and enzymes in my body that detect early labor (isn't technology amazing??).  In addition, we had a 40 minute ultra-sound on Baby P where they were looking for the baby's over all health.  Here is what we found out:

1.  My cervix is still not cooperating (no surprise since we were essentially forewarned the day before in Dr. Nagy's office!)  It's at about 5 mm, so again, almost completely effaced.  *GREAT NEWS HERE – It can stay this way for many weeks to come which we fully anticipate it will!

2.  Baby P is PERFECTLY HEALTHY!  We saw the (4) chambers of the heart all beating perfectly, the spine, ribs, legs, arms, (5) fingers and toes on each limb, kidneys and brain.  The most amazing part was when the sonographer was looking for a specific part of the baby's brain and found it…She said the most beautiful words we've heard in weeks, "Ah, there it is.  This baby is going to be very smart."  It was just awesome!  I had tears streaming down my face for 40 straight minutes.  She also looked at the babies "private parts" and said they looked perfect as well but again, we did not want to find out the sex so we didn’t peek.  At the end of the sonogram she said in her perfect Russian accent, "Your baby is absolutely perfect!"  THANKS BE TO GOD!  

3.  On Friday, Dr. Fox called and my enzyme test came back NEGATIVE!  This means the enzyme in the body that warns of early labor is not currently present in mine!  Oh my gosh!  I literally screamed over the phone with joy!  (He probably thought, "That crazy Texan!)  We are so incredibly encouraged and thrilled by the newest blessing!

So, in summary, the news about my body is good and bad but we are choosing to focus on the good!  Our goal remains for Baby P to stay put until 28 weeks.  Today I am 25 weeks and 4 days.  The biggest gift we can get is to remain pregnant until Thanksgiving.  This will put us at 28 weeks and 1 day where Gayland and I will celebrate our Thanksgiving holiday in New York at the "Good Restaurant"...an appropriately named restaurant for a day full of thanksgiving.