Good News At Last

We had another OB appt today with Dr. B. This appt included a very thorough ultrasound that measured the amniotic fluid, Griffin's heart rate, his breathing, his measurements, and his movements. His heart rate is perfect around 150 bpm. He finally took a breath after about 10 minutes of the nurse trying to wake him up, which is really common for babies still in the womb. He probably weighs about 4.5 lbs and on track to weigh about 6 lbs like Lily and Schaeffer were at birth. Out of an 8 point score, Griffin scored an 8! That means he is right on track and he looks very strong and healthy despite all the contractions I've been having. Dr. B explained that preterm labor could signify a variety of problems, including low amniotic fluid or development problems with the baby and that's why they did the ultrasound today. But Griffin and I checked out just fine. Dr. B was pleased and said he'd give me a "gold star" since he figured I was a perfectionist and needed the reassurance that I'm doing everything okay. He also laughed and told me, "don't let the idea of perfection make something good look bad." He explained that my pregnancy isn't perfect, but it's good and I need to be willing to accept good. I agreed! So I'm instructed to continue doing what I've been doing, which is to take Brethine every 4 hours (or every 2 when needed), rest a lot, drink lots of water, and no lifting.

Because I have responded so well to Brethine over the past month, Dr. B is optimistic that it will continue to work over the next few weeks to hold off labor. And then at 36 weeks I'm free to stop taking it and see if labor begins shortly after. If the Brethine were to stop working before 35 weeks he would try some other medications. But if labor were to begin around 35.5 weeks, he probably would not try to stop it if everything else looked good. Until then, as long as I'm having 4-5 contractions an hour he is comfortable with that. He would be more concerned if I were having 6 or more contractions an hour and were dilating beyond 3 or 4 cm. I guess Dr. B has this down to a science. It was very reassuring to know that Griffin is a healthy, growing boy, and that Dr. B was pleased with how everything was going so far.