Anatomy & Monitoring

It is still a girl! Our little lady looked so big during today's ultrasound! She was squirming around and kicking me all over during the scan but they still managed to see all the crucial parts they were looking for. She is measuring on target and developing according to schedule.

On another note, we were given some concerning news. The perinatologist noticed the umbilical cord is directly in front of the cervix (where baby is suppose to exit at birth). This condition known as vasa previa, it is very rare and potentially dangerous putting us at the top of the high risk delivery list. This condition requires very close monitoring and delivery by C-section before the mother goes into labor.

They are also suspecting something called velamentous cord insertion. Which means the umbilical does not connect directly to the placenta. This leaves a portion of the cord blood vessels exposed and vulnerable to rupture, especially if the mother goes into spontaneous labor. This was all very scary but we are glad to have wonderful specialists monitoring our pregnancy.

It is possible for the umbilical cord to move up and away from the cervix over the next several weeks and we will keep our fingers crossed that all will be well. We will have ultrasounds every 2 weeks for the remainder of the pregnancy to keep an eye on baby's growth. Please keep us in your thoughts. xoxo

Braxton Hicks = Anxiety

Okay, I need the advice of all my formerly pregnant friends out there again. Today I had a strange sensation that the baby was stretching out in all directions and I felt a pressure/tightness in my low belly. No pain. This happened to me last night while driving home from work too. So I hopped on google and read through many different descriptions of Braxton Hicks contractions and determined that's what it was.

At 17 weeks, I felt like it was a bit early to have BH. So I called my Dr. and he assured me it is okay at this point if I only have one or two per day. He is so nice but my anxiety level is still through the roof! My pregnancy has actually been quite an uphill battle since day one and every little "ping" puts me in high alert.

I did read that BH can be brought on when the baby is very active. Well we know this little lady is quite the mover, at 3:30am it felt like she was having a dance party in my belly. I really hope the BH are just a result of all her activity.

If you could please share you stories of when you started to experience BH, how frequent were they, what you did (if anything) to keep them away....or any helpful/reassuring info you might want to share. I would greatly appreciate it.