We arrived at 32 weeks this past Saturday. 8 weeks to go. Eight. That's all. Ok, see now I'm starting to panic about getting everything done again. Anyway, 32 weeks means that we are in a safe zone of sorts. If she would be born now, she would stand a very good chance at not only survival, but going on to be perfectly normal. She's still kicking up a storm, which some NST techs have been surprised about. Usually by 32 weeks they are big enough that they don't have enough room to thrash around like she does. Oh but it feels like she has plenty of room in there! My ultrasounds continue to show her head being down, so we're on the right track there! And she continues to pass all of our NST's with flying colors. Sometimes she decides to take a nap right in the middle, so we have to be hooked up to the monitor longer than we'd like, but eventually they see what they are looking for as far as movement and heart rate goes.
Yesterday we had another growth scan done to see how she's progressing size-wise. The ultrasounds that I get done once a week just take measurements (via a special wand called a doppler) of the bloodflow through three major arteries in her head, umbilical cord, and abdomen. They do growth scans every two weeks. So four weeks ago was when she weighed the 2 lbs. 4 oz. Then two weeks ago, she was up to 2 lbs. 11 oz. Now this week she has shot right up to 3 lbs. 6 oz.! She's still below the 5th percentile, but she is showing steady growth, which is a great sign. The doctor said that it's looking more and more like she's just petite and not being restricted in her growth. That's what everyone's been saying all along, but it's good that the doctor is actually starting to believe it now! I guess it's very rare for that to be the actual case. Usually, when a baby is measuring this small it is because something is holding it back or restricting it's growth. Every once in a while, though, they see a baby that is perfectly content to be that size and that's just how they grow. He can't say for sure (can they ever???) but it's looking like that might be the case with Ellie. SUPER good news to my ears!
The only bad news is that they want to continue monitoring me twice a week, just to be safe. And that's only bad news because we got a bill this week from my very first specialist visit back in September. Apparently, our insurance only 100% covers 'routine' maternity care. Whatever that means. Are there really any 'routine' pregnancies anymore? Seriously. So every time I walk into the specialist's office, even if it's just for an NST and I don't see the doctor, it costs us a $25 copay. Really, considering the cost of all the tests and whatnot, that's not bad. Until you think about the fact that I'm going there twice a week. That's $200 a month just in copays that we didn't budget for. Hmmm, I guess we'll find that money somewhere! Really, it's not the money that's upsetting. Nowhere in the insurance statement of benefits does it specify that maternity care is covered 100% as long as it is within the realm of 'routine'. That's what's really annoying. It just says 100% covered. So anyway, that's our little hiccup for this week. There's always got to be something just to keep us on our toes!
So other than that, things are going pretty ok. We haven't been able to decorate for Christmas yet because the living room isn't completely put back together, which makes me kind of sad. That's usually something I do as SOON as I am allowed to, which is generally the day after Thanksgiving. I need to unpack and organize the music room because I've got a student coming tonight. Our dining room is piled full of stuff to be gone through 'then' and we have my Father-in-law coming over for dinner tomorrow night. And the nursery is an absolute mess. Here's a picture of the progress we've made on it so far:
Yeah. The walls need painted, we need to get a blind for that window, the furniture needs moved around, the brown dresser needs moved to another room, the armoire (which is in the garage) needs to be painted and moved up, the crib needs put together, and I have an art project for on the wall that I haven't even started yet! The good news is that we got the car seat and stroller out of the box and assembled the other night. Someday we will have to install the car seat bases in our cars so that we could actually USE the seat if we suddenly needed to, but it's still progress. We're both doing the best that we can and everything that NEEDS to get done will get done in time. Pardon me while I go sit in the corner and repeat that to myself over and over again! Oh wait, no time for a nervous breakdown, there is too much work to be done! Time to watch White Christmas (snow, snow, snow, snow, SNOW!) and unpack the music room. Wish me luck!
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