35 weeks!

Can you believe it?  35 weeks... Here we are!

35 weeks... Less than 5 weeks to go!

Other than the continued sciatica and headaches (which are normal for me, except that I cant take anything for them now), it's all pretty good!  By the end of the day, my fingers and feet tend to swell (not badly, I take my rings off but can still get them on/off and I can still wear shoes, etc...) but Peter is a sweetie and will rub my feet while I lay on the couch.  He's also such a great masseur after a rough day when my back hurts.  I'm really lucky in that regard!

I had my 35 week check up yesterday and, gulp, am now on the weekly plan!  Really cant believe we are at this final stage!  And, I know you probably get tired of hearing it, but I just LOVE my obstetrician.  Dr. B. is the BEST.  He was out of the office yesterday so I was scheduled to see his new (quite young) partner.  I wasn't thrilled about it because I do love Dr B so much, but figured that a) I'd either like his partner (I liked Dr M after all) or b) it would be an opportunity to educate a new OB/GYN about IC and the TAC.  But, I was still bummed that I wouldn't see Dr. B. 

So, I'm in the exam room and waiting... and waiting... and waiting... I read a magazine, and was wondering Where in the heck is she??? I know she's here and the office isn't busy...  Finally, there's a knock on the door and Dr. B. walks in!  He came into the office from his conference to check in (he was local) and had me wait so that he could do the scan himself!  Love this guy.

So, the scan showed what he suspected might happen. My uterus is, indeed, thinning.  To give you an idea of uterus measurements as it relates to VBAC-ing and uterine rupture, studies have shown that if the lower uterine segment is below 5mm near the possible rupture site(s) (i.e. the previous points of c/s surgery), then the risk of rupture is considerably higher.  (I'm not a VBAC candidate, obviously, because of the TAC- this is just for comparison.)  There aren't studies on rupture with TAC because there just aren't studies available, so Dr. B. is using his VBAC experience to try and guestimate getting Michael here safely.  Whenever pressure was applied to my uterus, it began to bow into my bladder.  Imagine an oval at rest, but at pressure, the top of the oval (which at this point is near the baby's head and butts up against my bladder), the oval thins and becomes almost like an Arby's hat.  The thickest lower uterine segment (LUS) he could measure even without pressure was 5mm; without pressure, the thickest area near the bladder was 4mm.  With pressure, it thins more, but the contrast was such that getting a measurement wasn't possible (you could just see the layer visually thin, quite neat when you think about it from a technological standpoint).

Because of this, he went 100% with his previous recommendation of no more running post 35 weeks (which we'd already agreed to).  Walking is still fine, as are normal household activities, yoga, yard work, playing/holding the kids, etc.  But he wants me to make sure that I'm taking time to just rest and put my feet up. 

In really good news, my cervix was over 5!!!  So, pelvic rest is lifted and he was able to see my TAC clearly: no erosion, no damage, looks great.

At this point, he said there are no losers in delivery.  If my LUS hits 1mm at any point, we'll walk over to the hospital and deliver.  He has no concerns about hitting full term on July 4th; and he thinks I'll walk into my c/s on July 22nd.  At this point, other than the LUS measuring too low, it's a labor/contraction issue.  If contractions are stable at 10min/apart (or less) for 6 contractions (or an hour), then it's time to come in and deliver.  Same if my water breaks.  But otherwise, we are on the final countdown, P17 shots are done, running is done, and we are just waiting for Michael to decide when he's ready!