Yesterday, I had to venture out of the comfort and safety of my home quarantine to go to an appointment with my high-risk perinatologist. I
really didn't want to go, but I knew I had to. It was necessary for myself and for Cinco. I was scheduled to have a growth ultrasound, a consultation with my diabetic nurse, and a visit with my favorite maternal-fetal medicine specialist, Dr. G.
I want to take a moment to note that this is my fourth pregnancy that has included visits to the MFM office. It all started with
Chase's heart defect diagnosis back in 2009, and we continued to be followed with each subsequent pregnancy with E, Squish, and now Cinco, as high-risk pregnancies seem to be my jam. However,
this was the FIRST TIME I wasn't able to have my husband by my side. That's a pretty big deal, y'all! For starters, we didn't want to risk having anyone in our home to keep the kids while we were at the appointment, but even if we did, the doctor's office was not permitting
ANY visitors with patients. Our hands were tied. It was disappointing and very different for sure, but I understand and appreciate the logic. And to be honest, my heart was breaking at the thought of not having my spouse there with me had this been my very first appointment and I was about to find out the details of a possible defect in my unborn child. I can imagine there are mothers-to-be in this exact position right now, and it breaks my heart just thinking of them experiencing that life-altering news all alone. My prayers are with these precious mamas and the journey ahead.
I was quite anxious to leave the house, and even more so to head to a medical office. The MFM office had me call them when I arrived, and wait in my car. I appreciated this so much! They came out to my car and took my temperature with a contactless device, handed me a check-in questionnaire to fill out, and asked me to call them when I was finished. Then they came out to my car to take me directly into my exam room. I should add that on Monday, my aunt was super awesome to drop an N95 mask in my mailbox that my mom gave to her, which apparently came from my brother-in-law (thanks, y'all!). I put it on in the car when I arrived for my appointment, and left on for the duration of my 2.5 hour visit. It was terribly uncomfortable, and quite unfashionable, but it provided me with added peace of mind for which I was quite grateful! I was cautious not to touch any part of my face, not to touch anything in the office unnecessarily, to sanitize my hands at every opportunity, and just make smart, healthy overall decisions as much as possible. I felt terrible that the nurses were jealous of my N95 masks as they all were wearing the typical disposable paper masks, which really don't provide them with much protection, especially when they're around so many different patients each day.
The diabetic nurse met with me first, and overall she was very pleased with my numbers. Not unlike previous pregnancies, I find myself checking my blood sugar with finger sticks 4+ times per day, and dosing two different insulin medications anywhere from 2 to 5 times per day in my stomach. That's a lot of poking, folks! But it seems to be keeping my levels where they need to be, which keeps both Cinco and I safe, so I'm happy about that!
After the nurse left, the ultrasound tech came to take me back for the u/s. Cinco cooperated quite nicely! We got a few precious pics of his adorable profile -- check out that sweet little button nose!
His growth measurements literally came in at 26w6d, which was
exactly how far along I was yesterday! One of the biggest concerns with gestational diabetes is that the baby will grow too big, but for now, he's sitting at a perfect 2
ish pounds (I forgot to write down the exact number -- hubs usually handles all.things.numbers. 😔). In addition to the growth measurements, Dr. G wanted to check the position of the placenta. At my previous ultrasound, they noticed the placenta was located right next to the cervix. Obviously placenta over the cervix would result in a C-section delivery, which I would very much like to avoid. Based on the ultrasound yesterday, the placenta was moving
away from the cervix as the baby has grown, which was exactly what I had been praying for! Praise the Lord! I'm so grateful He hears our prayers in the midst of all that is going on in the world today. He is so good!
After the ultrasound, they took me back to my exam room to meet with the doctor. He was pleased with everything, and said he wished all of his high-risk patients were like me! LOL! While I have several reasons that cause me to fall into the
high-risk category (old lady age, gestational diabetes, overweight, autoimmune disease), I am managing to maintain all of the risks well... at least so far! Dr. G was especially awesome because he wanted to eliminate the extra visits between his office and my OB's office, and we basically made the decision for me to continue to be seen exclusively at his office, eliminating the additional appointments with my OB. I will see him again in 3 weeks around 30 weeks, and then again around 33 weeks. Once I'm at 34 weeks, I'll likely start weekly appointments for growth ultrasounds and NSTs.
As for baby preparations at home, I haven't even started, y'all. 😳 Hubs and I had originally thought about closing in our upstairs loft and turning it into a 5th bedroom. This would allow us to put Chase in that room, move Squish into E's room, and leave the nursery for Cinco. However, we recently switched up our plans and are now planning to keep Chase and E in their room, keep the upstairs loft open, and put baby Cinco in the same room as Squish. I'm a little nervous about this because we've NEVER put a baby in a shared room. If you've successfully done this at some point with your kids, PLEASE send me some encouragement that it's going to work and it's going to be okay! All tips and suggestions are welcome! That said, I have no clue what I'm going to do with this combined room. Squish is in a toddler bed now (as of earlier this week!), and Cinco will obviously be in a crib. They will share a dresser and the closet. I have no idea how to decorate the room, what bedding to make/buy/use for Cinco, etc. I don't think I've ever felt this behind with preparing for a baby's arrival! There are only about 12 weeks left, so I'd better start figuring things out soon! Send virtual help and hugs my way, y'all!
Thanks for reading along with me on our journey! I'm grateful to the family and friends who have remembered us in prayer as I am dealing with pregnancy and a pending delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is scary territory that I've never found myself in before now. I'm praying for the health and safety of my sweet baby during this scary time, and would covet your prayers as well.
Hugs, all!
