Hellooooo, Baby!

Today, we had our first appointment with Maternal Fetal Medicine (High Risk). They did an ultrasound, checked my cervical length and then I had an appointment with the high risk physician to discuss my cerclage  placement.

The ultrasound went great. The little bean was bouncing all around! It is truly amazing to see how much the baby has grown in just a week. Last week, the baby just had little nubbies for arms and legs, and this week, there were full arms and legs moving and waving all around. Amazing. By dates, I am 12w2 days, but because I ovulated so, so late, the baby is measuring 11w2d - not a surprise. They haven't officially changed my dates because I am within a week, so for now, they are keeping me at 12w2d...though, the high risk doc said he will most likely end up going with the later date to give the baby a bit of a cushion (when it comes to cerclage removal) since I tend to have early deliveries, especially if the baby maintains the same growth rate. I was also supposed to get my nuchal scan to check for any potential chromosomal issues, but the baby was measuring about 2mm too small, so I'll have another ultrasound in about two weeks to retest. Not only was the ultrasound to check on our littlest, but it was also to check the length of my cervix. In a normal cervix, it should measure 3-5cm in length, but mine measured 2.6cm - pretty short for this stage of pregnancy. I'm not too worried as this was the length it was for Clara at this stage, but it's still scary that I am starting off so much shorter than a normal cervix. I don't have a lot of "give"...so today, was the first cervical check of many. I have grown to know the "vaginal wand" very well in my time - not something I am proud of :)

After my ultrasound, we met with the high risk doc. He was the same guy who placed my cerclage with Clara. I like him a lot - great bedside manner and overall super nice. Obviously, he was in agreement with the placement of the cerclage. The "preventative" cerclage is generally placed between 12-14 weeks which is when the smallest risks are for placement. The later you get in the pregnancy, the higher the risks for complications such as infection, breaking water, bleeding, labor, etc, and after dealing with all those potential high risks with Lilah, there is no way I would choose the wait and see approach for the cerclage placement...for me, one emergent cerclage is enough. I'd rather get it before the changes start to occur. With Lilah, I was close to 21 weeks, and it was so scary because it was so incredibly risky. No thanks. I also was on bed rest for close to 15 weeks with Lilah, and with Clara, I basically had none.

So, as of right now, they are scheduling me for the cerclage on Monday, October 25th. It's scary to have to go through a procedure during pregnancy, but the potential outcomes if I didn't get it are even scarier...so next Monday it is. The procedure itself is a day surgery and I will be home the same day. I will have to be on modified bed rest and no heavy lifting for a week and if all goes well, I will be back to normal activity soon after that, just like I was with Clara.  I will be monitored very closely from 16-28 weeks when all of the cervical changes usually take place (for me, it has been right around the 19 week mark when I go down between 1.5-2cm in length).