Post 94...3D Baby

Like every two weeks, we had a checkup with our doctor at Eastside Medical. The last time we saw him (on my birthday) he told me that I could basically go back to normal activity, within reason of course. Since then, I have been going on daily walks, sometimes even twice a day, for about 30-60 minutes. We even walked down and back to the nearby grocery store for the first time since before my cerclage. And I have been on my feet nearly every day cooking and cleaning. It has been so freeing to be able to be so active without having so much worry. Although, I have to admit, it's a little disappointing to see how much I'm huffing and puffing up the hills on my walks, the hills that I so easily once walked up almost daily.

Anyway, I was anxious to see how well my cervix was holding up to all the added activity. And much to my delight, my cervix looked great! The doctor said my stitches were holding up beautifully and that everything seemed to be staying in place. If this keeps up, I will only have to see the Eastside doctor three more times and then I'll be flying solo!...Well...solo being no more bi-monthly visits with Eastside but still the monthly visit with the Obgyn. After that, I won't see him until I'm getting my cerclage out at 37 weeks. Honestly I will be sad to not see my doctor at Eastside after 30 weeks just because I enjoy our visits so much. It's been so wonderful seeing Andy every two weeks, plus the doctor is by far one of the best I have ever had. But at the same time, I am more than anxious to be at 30 weeks because it means we will be in our third trimester and all the worry and risk of the cerclage holding in place will be a thing of the past.

During our appointment, as the nurse measured the baby (who is now weighing in at 1lb, 7oz and with a foot length of 2inches!) she switched the image over to a 3D image. So rather than a see-through baby like we were used to seeing in the ultrasound; for the first time ever we were able to see the contours of our baby's face. It was breathtaking! There he was, in the "flesh," his cheeks starting to round out, his little button nose, and even his lips slightly puckered out. It was a changing moment for me. Being able to put a face to him suddenly made everything feel all the more real. I was overwhelmed with the urge to hold him and kiss him, wishing desperately that I could fast-forward time into July so he could be here with us in our arms. I am so lucky that I was able to see such a wonderful preview of the joy that will soon be in our lives.

In these pictures, he's cozied up to the placenta. It was amazing to see him move and even make some facial expressions. It was so cute when the nurse pressed down on my tummy to get a good ultrasound picture and Andy made a very obvious pouty/grumpy face as soon as she pressed down. "I guess he didn't like that very much, did he?" she laughed.