Famous Cervix- 21 wks 5 days

My cervix is going to be famous!  After my fetal echo today, they did the vaginal to measure my cervix, and my doctor came in and just did my appt from there so she could see the ultrasound results.  She requested a few pictures so she can take them to a lecture she's doing later so a whole room full of people will get to look at my cervix, haha.

So I was pretty on edge last night, I got pretty crampy out of nowhere and it stuck around for a little while, and my discharge picked up some.  I've also been so tired, ever since we got home from Vegas I just fall asleep everywhere, my head bobbing wakes me up, only to doze off again a few seconds later.  The extreme fatigue, increased discharge and cramping were all present a few days before I went into labor.  But, I think some of the fatigue is just normal pregnancy exhaustion that comes and goes, and I might still be trying to recover from jet lag and time change.

While the discharge was noticeable, it wasn't thick and snot-like, as it was last time, and the cramps went away after about an hour.  But being just days away from the point I went into pre-term labor last time, I guess I am understably extra nervous.  I was very happy for my appointmet this morning....first I had my fetal echo just to give Boo's heart a better look since I was diagnosed with GD so early.  She was doing yoga again this morning, she's obsessed with her feet....she's always got her feet up around her head, probably trying to suck her toes.   I guess it probably gets boring in there, not much else to do.

So while the tech was waiting for her to roll over so she could see her heart, she re-checked a few things and said her brain looks absolutely perfect as does her spine.  I can never hear those things enough.  Of course we would want her and love her so much no matter what, but I had this huge fear that while this pregnancy would be successful, there would be something wrong with her whereas perfectly healthy Kayla didn't make it.

So she passed the heart exam with flying colors, and she is now weighing one pound, which is just slightly behind Kayla who was 1 pound 1.6 ounces....but there is a very good chance she could catch up, and even pass that up in the next few days.  She could see the cervix from the abdominal ultrasound but she said she'd ask the doctor if she wanted her to do the vaginal one as well.  When she came in, she said it's up to me.  At first I said it was fine, she could see that it was measuring 4.7 cm....but then I decided, with the milestone coming up and the fact that we're announcing to the world this weekend, I had better just get the other one done too. My "highs" from a good appointment do not last long, so the added reassurance will be appreciated in a few days I think.

Last week my cervix was measuring 4.2 cm, down from 5.0 the week before.  They said it is normal to fluctuate and as long as it is above 2.5 they don't worry, but I was happy to see it lengthened some this week.  Most likely, it shortened some due to all the walking we did in vegas, and then lengthened back out since I've been a couch potato since we got home.    I asked my doctor, since my measurements have all been good, does that mean I didn't have an IC, or is it just that the cerclage is doing its job, but she couldn't say either way for sure.  She said they didn't have enough evidence to say I had one to begin with, but she wasn't confident in bypassing the cerclage, and there isn't a lot of studies done on it because once it is determined that someone likely needs a cerclage, they're probably not going to go through a pregnancy again without it to see if it holds up on its own.

That makes sense....I'd rather not have a difinitive answer, than to not have tried and had the same result as last time.  But it sounds like if we do this again, I'll definitely get another cerclage, there is just no reason not to and take the risk.  Maybe I am just one of those 85% that has good success rates with the cerclage.  I mean, I know I am far from out of the woods, I've still got two more weeks until V day, and 5 more weeks until Boo has a 90% chance of surviving with no complications....but I am very pleased with my progress.  Given the fact that 5 days before I went into pre-term labor and was dialated four centimeters and this time I have not even had any consistent, significant shortening, I would say is a very good sign. 

Of course there are many factors to take into consideration, and we won't truly know until at least a year after Boo is here, but I am growing more and more confident that if we chose to, another baby after Boo may be possible.  I don't know what we'll decide, but I am glad it's looking like we may at least have the option.