I have been MIA for too long ... but that's a post for another time. In quick summation, the last few months have been chock-full of all things pregnancy, and baby boy is doing really well (I get to see him often because I have extra ultrasounds due to my "high-risk" status.
I'm 25 weeks along, and throughout my pregnancy the doctors have told me that there is a possibility of early delivery due to my fibroids. It's always been in the context of all of the possibilities as a result of the fibroids - degeneration, c-section, etc. And I've always taken them seriously - especially after my first big bout with degeneration in December which landed me in the ER with a morphine drip - but I always thought we were talking weeks 36-38 or something.
Today, I saw my OB for my regular appointment. The heartbeat was nice and strong, but I'm measuring really big (have been throughout this entire pregnancy) at 32 cm. I was telling her that I had visited both of the hospitals where she delivers, and had decided on the one a little further away. She told me that I wouldn't be able to deliver at the closer hospital anyway because they won't deliver before 35 weeks. My OB said that we are hoping to carry to 34 weeks! Whaaaat?!?!? I was not expecting that. Basically she said that she anticipates that the fibroid(s) will cause me to go into labor early. And I see the perinatologist again on the 28th, so I will talk to him about it then as well. However, he hinted at it as well at my appointment two weeks ago when he told me that he wants me to take my Indocin at the first inkling of pain, because he doesn't want me to go into labor. And apparently the medication isn't okay in 3rd trimester, so I'm not sure what we do at that point.
A few days ago, I posted on my birth quarter thread that the 15 weeks left seemed so soon because I felt behind on everything. 9 weeks or less is WAY more overwhelming. I'm truly excited to meet my little boy, but I certainly want him to stay in until fully cooked. My emotions are all over the place right now. It just feels so crazy to me that my doctor would basically tell me to prepare for a preemie. I haven't fully processed this yet, and I'm holding out hope that my OB is wrong and we'll go full-term. All of this "wait and see" is kinda driving me batty.
I don't really have a specific question, but wonder if anyone had any experience with their doctor predicting a significantly early arrival?
I also have a meeting next week with the HR Director and my boss to discuss plans for my maternity leave (my role is key and, while we are hiring additional staff for my department for the upcoming school year, I'm currently a department of 1). My "plan" was to stop working at week 38. I've previously talked to my boss a little about the possibility of going out early or on bed rest (given time out after my ER visit, some other time off due to pain, and extra doctors' appointments - another colleague is due 6 weeks before me and has had to miss significantly less work, and I didn't want them to think I was just being flaky), and I'm wondering if I should share more information at this point? Or have work just "wait and see"? I'm a huge planner, and I don't want to leave them in the lurch, because it will just bite me later when I return from maternity leave.
Ugh. So this turned out to be kind of a pitiful "woe is me" vent.
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