Another Cervical Check

Today was my first appointment solo with my girl in tow. She was very well-behaved and snacked on pretzel sticks and mini muffins the entire time. Since it was just the two of us, and I was a little nervous what would happen if she started to get antsy.

She enjoyed listening to her baby brother's heartbeat on the doppler and now says, "Baby's heart thump, thump". For all she's been through as a micropreemie, she is an excellent patient herself, always following doctors' orders. She is the best little "sitter" when they listen to her lungs and since she has those preemie lungs, listening to her takes much longer than it would to listen to a "typical" child. She allows her ears to be looked at without putting up a fuss, and my favorite, is always ready to stick out her tongue and say, "Ahhh". But, she really doesn't like when anyone touches her mommy in a medical situation. So today, when it came time for my exam, she whimpered calling for me and wanting to hold my hand. It was nice to have the comfort of my Little Nut. She's so good at that!

My uterus is continuing to grow nicely and is slowly creeping up my mid-section. My cervix is measuring 3.3, right where it was last week. My TAC is nice and visible and is clearly, at this point, doing its job. Even with fundal pressure, my cervix is looking fabulous! Oh, and I gained a pound since my last appointment. Good news!

I proposed the idea of taking Prometrium (oral Progesterone) every Wednesday as it seems I am crampy just before my next P17 injection along with Thursdays after my shot - almost like the solution has "worn-off" before my next shot and by the time I do get my next one, it takes about a day to work into my system again. The doc said it won't change the outcome and I replied that I really just want to treat the symptom because the cramping is causing my mind to wander to places I prefer to stay away from. He claims that there is no harm that can be done by increased Progesterone and that I will be an experiment of sorts, that I can report my findings to them each week. So come Wednesday, I will begin my little test.

Finally, I am due for my flu shot and Nurse Barbara was ready to give it to me this morning. I freaked out! I have yet to finish my research on flu shots during pregnancy. I know that pregnant woman are in the high-risk category when it comes to influenza. Trying to convince me to get the shot today, Dr. G told me that pregnant women die from the flu. Lovely. I realize the flu is a big killer period. But I still have unanswered questions that require more reading on my part. For example, is there an increased risk of food allergies in the baby when the mother receives a flu shot during the pregnancy? What about the risk of Thimerosal? Will I get a Thimerosal-free injection? Nurse Barb seemed to think all shots were Thimerosal-free but couldn't guarantee that was what she was about to draw up in her needle. I explained that since I am due back in less than one week, and since it's early October, I am more than happy to wait and get the shot next time. I just need to ease my concerns a little before pulling the trigger or shall I say pushing the plunger.