Week 32! Woot Woot!

Before I begin my blog post for this week I would like to once again take a moment to thank my reader, Angela, for her guest post last week.  Her touching story is truly an inspiration and a reminder of just how fragile life is and of the importance of each moment and each day. Thank you to everyone for your comments on the blog showing her your support. Like me, I know many of you can relate to her fears with her current pregnancy.  Angela, we will all be thinking of you as your pregnancy progresses and hope to see pictures when Charlotte Rose is born.

When I first created this blog, it was to share my experience with my current pregnancy and hopefully help provide information and encouragement for other women who have also suffered an incompetent cervix and are thinking about having more children. However, what I have found in the process is that my readers have given me a gift.  I have learned so much from each of your personal journeys and for that I am incredibly grateful. So thank you for that!

Today, I am 32 weeks and 3 days.  Every week that passes is truly a celebration and a reminder of how far I have come. This weekend my husband and I were talking about what things we still need for the baby and I said “well we still have some time...” Then we suddenly looked at one another as if a lightning bolt just barely missed us. Even if I go full term, we only have 8 weeks! 8 weeks! Suddenly panic mode set in as we don’t really have anything ready.  I am excited and incredibly happy that this is what we are now worrying about!

And here is the really good news… At my ultrasound check last week in week 31, my cervix was at 3.5cm in length, my amniotic fluid is perfect, the baby looks great, and my OB said that he now feels very good that I will make it to term, (past 37 weeks and beyond). In his words I am “golden.”  I am still to continue taking it easy, of course as much as you can “take it easy” with a rambunctious 3 year old and a precocious 5 year old.  Since we are not scheduling the c-section and are waiting to see how far my body will go, everyone is betting on when the baby will come. Unfortunately, I will have to have a c-section due to the type of incision that was made in my uterus with Kenzie’s birth.

If all goes as the doctor plans, he is going to remove the cerclage stitches very close to the beginning of week 38, which happens to be the day before my hubby's birthday. The doctor doesn’t want to leave the stitches in any longer than that as it could be risky if I do go into hard labor as I could risk a cervical tear. Some medical articles and journals I have read online state that it is possible I will go into labor within the week following stitch removal. On the other hand, several women I have corresponded with have said that they went well into the 40^th week  So not sure when I will actually deliver my baby boy, but feeling ecstatic that I am closing in on week 33 and our worries have changed from viability to bets on delivery dates!

The baby has not been as active during the day in the last couple of weeks as I think he is sleeping more. He chooses to start moving around in the evening just as I get comfortable and ready to fall asleep. There are no longer any comfortable sleeping positions, despite the wonderful body pillow my mom got for me.  I thought his kicks were powerful early on, but I had no idea how much more ummmpff he could pack in each kick and each punch. Some new symptoms I am experiencing this week include sudden extreme exhaustion when just a few short weeks ago I felt so much energy I didn’t know what to do. This could be attributed to lack of sleep both from being uncomfortable now when I sleep as well as the fact that my youngest daughter, Kenzie, is still experiencing some extreme sleep disturbance. I’m still having issues with constipation when this has never been an issue for me before, but still following my OB's advice to take Milk of Magnesia everyday. I also have an incredibly itchy abdomen that no amount of lotion seems to help. My belly is protruding quite far now and I wonder how my skin can possibly stretch any further.  I’m also finding that I am constantly pulling my muscles in my lower abdomen like I did very early on in my pregnancy. I was looking back at pictures of myself when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter, Makaila, who just turned 5, and although I had a nice sized basketball sticking out with her at week 31, I think I am bigger this time around.  I questioned the doctor on how big he estimates the baby to be at this point since my stomach seems so large. He said that it also has to do with having babies previously as your muscles naturally become stretched out.

At my next cervical check ultrasound in week 33, the tech will measure the baby to make sure we are on target.  Since Makaila was born small for gestational age at 37 weeks weighing 5 pounds 7 ounces (she had minimal growth between weeks 33 and 37) and Kenzie was so early, I just worry and want to make sure that my baby boy is growing appropriately. The doctor said he doesn’t feel I have anything to worry about, but added growth check to the ultrasound for next week. I will be sure to share what we find out as I know several family members are curious since no matter where I go my belly seems to get there first before I do. I honestly can't figure out how he could possibly have any more room to grow.  

My girls had their combined birthday party the weekend before last. Since their birthdays are only two days apart, it works out for now to combine their party. Makaila turned 5 and Kenzie turned 3. They both wanted Barbie cakes and the ones we found in the store came with only a torso and fed only 2-4 people. So I did a ton of research on cake and pastry sites, spoke with cake decorators and friends, learned how to make marshmallow fondant and buttercream frosting, and created my very first Barbie cakes. My hubby was very helpful and made one of the batches of the buttercream frosting and I have to say his turned out much better than my batch. Yes, I know… it sounds extreme, but I’m sure by now it is obvious that when I get my mind set on something I do my best to make it happen. I wanted this birthday to be a special memory for the girls.



My first attempt at making Barbie cakes for my girls combined birthday party! They each picked out Barbies dress color.



Kenzie thought the cake was pretty cool and loved blowing out the candles.



Makaila asked to open presents first and then cut the cake last because she wanted to
preserve them for as long as possible.  Awwww....

For those that are worried I spent too much time on my feet, I actually had a chair that I sat on in the kitchen to do the majority of the baking and creative part. Although I must admit I did have to stand to work with the fondant especially when I placed it on the cakes – it’s quite an intensive process – but I was ok and didn’t feel any pressure in my cervix.  I am so proud of myself for learning how to make the cakes and the girls were so pleased with the cakes and their new barbies inside of the cakes.  It was all so very worth it and frankly, I had a lot of fun.  I’ve always wanted to learn how to use fondant.

I will keep everyone posted if anything new comes up this week and will be sure to post the news from my next cervical check next week. So far so good and we couldn't be more pleased!  If any of my readers are interested in sharing their experiences with incompetent cervix, prematurity, and subsequent pregnancies in a guest blog post, please send me an email to: incompetentmeblog@gmail.com