19 Week Appt

We had our anatomy ultrasound today and another check up. Our ultrasound took almost 2 hours because our baby likes to move constantly! They finally got all the measurements and photos needed and again moved on to the gender of the baby. We were asked to turn our heads so that we didn't see! We were informed that our little baby isn't so little weighing in at few ounces under a pound. He/she is in the 65th percentile for weight. The Drs. informed us this is great news, considering my preterm labor factor. My medication to not go into labor arrived via UPS yesterday so Keith was shown today how to administer it. It is a intramuscular injection and he all but chickened out. He did it successfully and will continue to do so weekly up until 36 weeks. Poor Keith, good news is at the max only 17 more to go! The Drs. stressed again to us our goal and magic number is 34 weeks. I would feel more comfortable at about 36 weeks, but only time will tell. Good news is so far everything looks great and my cervix is about 4 1/2 centimeters long.

• At 16 to 20 weeks, normal cervical length is 4.0 to 4.5 cm
• At 24 to 28 weeks, normal cervical length is 3.5 to 4.0 cm
• At 32 to 36 weeks, normal cervical length is 3.0 to 3.5 cm

As you can see my cervix is right on target, therefore more or less eliminating that as a risk of preterm labor. The risk is still there but not as far as a cervical issue. We were instructed in the case that labor should happen we are to go to the ER Dept. Reason being, 1. parking 2. easy access for the staff to get us to Labor and Delivery. More than 4 contractions in an hour means get to the hospital at this point. I do not like hearing news like this because it is way to soon, but better to be safe than sorry and them not inform us what to do. I have a feeling we are in the clear until January. Which puts us at 31 weeks. Fingers crossed!

I did gain 3 pounds which the Drs. were very happy with. We do go back in ten days to make sure everything is okay. Not exactly sure why we are returning so quickly. I am also certain we will be returning then 3 weeks after that appt. Yes, we pretty much live at the Hershey Medical Center! All in all, baby is developing beautifully, bouncing and moving all around, I have felt movement. Keith has not yet feel it. According to the Drs. it should only be a matter of days until he feels it! Our nursery progress is really coming along more photos of that to be posted soon!