If we have our way, we will make our return trip to Austin on
Christmas Day! This will be the biggest Christmas gift of our lives for
two reasons:
1. Baby P will still be cookin’
2. We will finally be home!
We received conflicting recommendations from physicians last week,
which sent me into a tailspin. Our New York OB/GYN recommended we stay in
New York due to the shortness of my cervix until after the baby arrives.
Picking ourselves up by our bootstraps after hearing that news, we
prepared mentally and emotionally to ride out the pregnancy in the Big Apple.
The next day, our Austin-based OB/GYN called and said if I stay pregnant
until 32 weeks we should come back home. WHAT? Who on earth do you
listen to? Who do you believe? We have no medical background and
depend heavily on the advice and recommendation of our physicians to make wise
decisions about our child and our own lives. It was incredibly
frustrating so looking for advice from a third party; we decided to hold off on
making decisions until we saw the specialist later in the week.
On Friday, we went to the Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist for our
weekly sonogram and cervical update. We learned my cervix had improved
over the week prior from 3 mm to 6 mm (I sure as hell hope so! I'm doing
virtually nothing all day every day except perhaps going a little bit more
crazy...this is sweet victory for what feels like the training session of my
life). When the doctor came in to speak with us, she asked what our plan
was moving forward since my condition has stabilized? We told her our
Austin based physician was comfortable with us going home at 32 weeks and she
agreed that was a good plan of action. So, with fingers and toes crossed,
we impatiently waited for the results of my fFN test.
Fibronectin proteins are produced by fetal cells and for women
that are at high risk for pre-term labor (like me), the fFN test can
indicate if those cells are present. A "positive" result
indicates the possibility of going into labor "soon" but is also inconclusive, as women with a positive result can stay pregnant
for many weeks to come, go figure! Conversely, a "negative"
test is a conclusive result that a woman has a 95% chance of NOT going into
labor in the next two weeks. We were thrilled to learn today I had
another NEGATIVE test, the second negative result in the past two weeks. Such a
huge relief off our minds.
We have our weekly appointment with the specialist tomorrow for
another sonogram and assuming the results remain consistent, we will book our
flights back to Texas for a Christmas day return! As we've done for the
past month, we remain cautiously optimistic.
To end today's post, Thanksgiving is weighing heavily on our minds.
We are constantly reflecting on all of the blessings that have been
bestowed upon us this year, starting with reaching our 28-week milestone tomorrow!
Sitting in that hospital bed at 23 weeks and 5 days pregnant one month
ago I honestly thought we might not have a baby to celebrate with this year and
every year for the rest of our lives. I will never underestimate the
amazing grace of God and the power of prayer. For those who have added us
to your prayer chain, prayer list at church and continue to pray for us in the
privacy of your homes, THANK YOU! We have a new perspective on the things
that matter in this life. At the end of the day, if you don’t have
amazing family and unwavering friendships you're not really living!!
We
wish abundant blessings to you and your family this Thanksgiving.
No comments:
Post a Comment