Yesterday we passed the 24 week mark, better known as VIABILITY! in my mind anyway.
I decided to finally make the dreaded FB announcement, sans any photos, ultrasound or otherwise, as I know there are people who’s feeds I will show up in for whom this could be a sensitive topic. Those people had already been previously personally informed about my pregnancy so I knew it would not be a blow out of left field for them, but I still did feel that little tug of guilt knowing the feelings seeing a pregnancy announcement could bring. For those out there that might be having problems that I don’t know about, I tried to leave a clue that hopefully makes it clear that I’m not some clueless preggo – I mentioned being grateful to have made it to 24 weeks and how we’re praying that things stay boring and uneventful.
In one week Paul and I will be getting on a plane to paradise. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous as hell about flying the closer we get to our departure date. My doctors have all assured me they have no concerns about the flight, just that I should stay hydrated and get up and make sure to get up and walk frequently in the plane. I also ordered some compression stockings which should hopefully help prevent any swelling.
I think part of my nervousness stems simply from knowing too much. I’m not really scared of the flight itself causing issues, it’s just that lately I’ve been absolutely, ridiculously paranoid that I’m leaking fluid. I say it’s ridiculous because, well, I have no real reason to think I’m leaking fluid. I’m not soaking any pantyliners, I don’t have any leakage when I cough or sneeze, and I’m pretty sure that when I do find spots of wetness on my liners that it’s discharge or, um, pee (sorry, TMI, I know). So what I’m really afraid of is that I’ll go into preterm labor in flight and have the baby nowhere near a Level III NICU because I’ll be thousands of miles in the air, in the middle of the pacific ocean. Not very rational, I know. At least, I hope it’s not?
It’s funny because whenever I read websites about preeclampsia or preterm labor or just anything about anything that can go wrong with pregnancy in general (why do I read these things? I have no idea) they always say to trust your instincts. But what do you do when your instincts have a tendency to be a hypochondriac?
I’m a worrier. And a lot of the time what I’m worried about turns out to be absolutely nothing. Case in point: When I spent thousands of dollars (thank GOD for pet insurance) because my cat was throwing up and after numerous vet visits (emergency and regular) we got one traumatized cat (from having to stay overnight at the pet hospital) whose labs all indicated she was generally healthy but maybe just had an upset stomach.
Sigh. So I’m trying to push all the paranoia out of my mind and look at things logically. I’m having my GD test today, hopefully it’ll be negative and one less thing to worry about on the trip. I also have an OB visit on Wednesday so I’m thinking about seeing if he can do a fern test just to put my mind at ease about the whole leakage paranoia. And then, I have another PR interval (ultrasound) on Friday the day before we leave so I’ll get to see the little one and be reassured his heartbeat is nice and strong, and I’ll ask the ultrasound to do a quick scan of my cervix just to reassure myself it’s still nice and long.
Paul and I were talking about how it’s both a blessing and a curse to have a high risk pregnancy. At times like these (i.e. when things are going smoothly), I’m so grateful for all the extra monitoring I receive because I think I would probably lose my mind as a “normal” preggo who gets two ultrasounds and monthly OB visits. Although, Dr. MFM doesn’t want to see me for two months between visits this time and I’m kind of freaking out! I was counting on having a visit with him the week after I got back from my trip to get a peek at the little guy. Luckily, I was able to schedule another PR interval for that week so I’ll still get to check in like the paranoid mama that I am.