I heart Dr.N

I love going to see Dr.N - not just because it's a much needed chance to get out of the house, but because he's a great doc who is compassionate, thorough, and responsive. I even sent him a card last week thanking him for taking such good care of me and Baby O. In fact, he mentioned the card when he walked in to greet me in the examination room today - flashing a big smile, saying its nice to be appreciated like that. :)

So, we went through the baby's measurements and the report from Dr.S (perinatologist) and he said everything looked great and within normal limits. No "soft markers" for any of the abnormalities they look for and the one soft marker we had seen at week 17 (brain cyst) had been resolved which Dr.N said is excellent.

We started the fundal height measurements today and my first measurement was 24 cm which is great for 23 weeks (generally the # of cm would be equal to # weeks gestation but if you're ahead that's ok as long as it's not significantly bigger). Apparently this is just another measurement that they compare with the measurements taken during the ultrasounds but the ultrasound measurements are considered more accurate.

I had clocked another 7 lb gain but this time over a 2 week period (not 1 week like before haha). I was thinking this still might be too much (of course not thinking that as cookie reaches my mouth, but just when feet reach the scale) but the doctor said no way - he said it's great. He said a fair amount of it is fluids and water (remember I'm drinking 100 oz water per day) and he said the hotter temps combined with the bed rest means swelling is starting (though I haven't noticed any swelling - just swelling of the #s on the scale). If he's happy then I'm happy. I laughed and said ok then I'll go ahead and hit the McD's drive-thru on my way home and he said "sure why not!?" Did I mention that I love Dr.N?

We talked about initiating the home contraction monitoring program so he's going to put that request through so that if the insurance company approves it, my home health care nurse will bring the device over and teach me how to use it so we can get daily readings of any contraction activity. This is to be proactive and make sure that if any preterm labor (PTL) signs start we can intervene and get it under control in a timely manner.

I told doc that my hips and back are really aching now and that there's no amount of pillows that can help now. He said it is typical after around 4-6 weeks of bed rest for this to happen so he's going to prescribe home-based physical therapy and massage to help with the aches and pains but also to help ensure good circulation in my legs (to prevent blood clotting).

Lastly, we talked about the game plan IF I were to go into PTL since the closest hospital doesn't have a NICU. He said that if that happens and I don't feel too much pressure down low then I can go straight to the hospital with the NICU which is further away but that if I feel urgent pressure to go to the closest hospital where they can stabilize me and try to get it under control before possibly transporting me to the other hospital. OK, got it. Here's to hoping that we won't have to think about this at all because we're going to keep Baby O in my belly until at LEAST 36 weeks. :)

I see my favorite OB doc, Dr.N again in 2 weeks.