Well, the big placenta check was yesterday, and while the appointment went well, I'm still wrapping my head around the results.
The sonogram revealed (according to the doctor - my least favorite one by the way), that my placenta is approx 3cm away from my cervix. At the last check at 30 weeks (I'm now 34), it was 1 cm away. Their cut off? 2 cm. It's all very close, but according to the doctor, since it's further than 2 cm, I'm cleared to try for a natural delivery.
Most people would be ecstatic about this - and part of me is - I mean, I never would have guessed I'd have a shot at being normal in this pregnancy whatsoever - but it all just seems too risky to me. First of all, these sonogram measurements are so inaccurate and bias. One doctor could measure and it be 1 cm and another doctor could get 3 cm, so how do we REALLY know? Also, I'm not thrilled about the plan of "trying" for a natural delivery. I just have this gut feeling that I'm going to have to go through the waiting of labor to start, the pain of labor, the pain of pushing, only to be told it's not working or I'm bleeding too much from the placenta and have to get an emergency c-section anyway. Ugh - soooo not ideal.
So I'm still trying to let it all soak in. At the end of the day, I have to trust that the doctors know what's best and hope that it all goes smoothly. Who knows, maybe the best will happen and I will actually be able to successfully deliver him vaginally and I can skip the c-section scar & recovery. Although a natural delivery means I'd miss out on an extra 2 weeks of maternity leave - so I'm kinda bummed about that haha.
In other news, I got my TDAP shot (kind of a booster shot for a bunch of sicknesses) - it includes Tetanus, so they warned me my arm would hurt for a few days, but so far, it hasn't hurt at all and seems better than the flu shot. Also, they FINALLY took some growth measurements of Coleson so we could get an idea of his size. He's measuring 5lbs 12oz - which I can't BELIEVE. He's a little bigger than average - 70th percentile - so I'm really measuring closer to 36 weeks than 34. Also babies gain .5-1lb per week at the end of pregnancy, so if he keeps that up, I'm looking at a big baby to push out - oh boy...
So, my prediction is I definitely won't make it till 40 weeks, but I also haven't had any signs of labor starting any time soon, so who knows. 34 weeks is still early though, so I'm hoping he stays put for at least 3 more weeks. Once I get to 37, I'll be all about him getting out of there. Every day gets more and more uncomfortable - I feel like he's taking up every inch of my stomach.
When I look back to March and getting that first positive pregnancy test, I remember how extremely nervous I was about what the next 40 weeks of pregnancy would hold. Would my uterus cause me to miscarry? Would I go into preterm labor and have a micro premie in the NICU? Sitting here at 34 weeks with no signs of labor coming and the chance at a normal delivery is just insane to me - I cannot believe how normal everything has been and how well my body has coped with carrying (a big!) baby. It's truly amazing and no matter how this little boy is brought into the world, I'm just so thankful that we've gotten to this point.
So now I'm off to wait just like all the normal pregnant people :) And hopefully he doesn't decide to make an early appearance this weekend while Kyle's away camping! Next appointment is at 36 weeks. They will start doing cervix checks at that point to check for dilation and we will start going every week!
In the home stretch!!!