30 Weeks Down, 10 (give or take) to go

I'm 30 weeks pregnant today! When we first found out about the fibroid at 22 weeks and were told we were at high risk for preterm labor, I thought I might end up with a micro preemie. I'm so glad we made it to 30 weeks. It's good to know our son's chances of survival are very good at this point, and his chances of having health problems are decreasing with each week. I still have not had any contractions since I was given Terbutaline in the hospital.


Some recent pregnancy highlights:

• The fibroid shrunk a little! Not a lot, but a little shrinking is better than growing. It was 9.5x9.5x12 cm at 22 weeks and 8.5x8.5x9.5cm at 28 weeks. 
• Baby is growing just fine. The ultrasound tech estimated he weighed 2.5 pounds at 22w5d, so if anything he's on the high end of normal.
• Baby's kidneys are fine. I never mentioned there was any concern about his kidneys since I wasn't that worried, but at 20 weeks they looked a little large. Now they look fine.
• I feel pregnant. About 14-27 weeks was the good part of pregnancy for me, minus those few days in pain. Now I feel big, I have all kinds of pelvic pain, stretching at night no longer helps my restless leg syndrome, and I wake up with leg cramps. Walking the third of a mile to work has become a chore.
• I've gained about 20 pounds now. Nathan and I weighed exactly the same on Sunday. It took so long for me to gain weight that I wasn't sure I'd even gain 25, but now I'm on track to gain around 30. (Healthy weight gain is 25-35 lbs.)
• I did not enjoy the glucose screening. Drinking the stuff was fine, but afterwords I had a headache and some dizziness and blurred vision. Thank goodness my glucose levels were fine!
• My iron levels are fairly high for a pregnant woman. This one surprised me since I don't eat much red meat. Apparently prenatal vitamins and spinach are enough for me. 
• We hired a doula. I didn't initially plan on having a doula, but there are so many unknowns about how labor and birth will go that we decided it would be good to have a trained expert there to support us.
• Baby is still flipping around. I thought he was close to head down last Monday, but he was back to sideways by our midwife appointment Thursday. Kicking my side is preferable to kicking my bladder or ribs, so he can hang out sideways for a while. I just hope the fibroid doesn't block him from going head down, like the ob thought it might.

Overall, we're doing fine. I no longer feel like a ticking bomb, worried that contractions will start back up again at any moment. Despite being labeled a "high risk" pregnancy because no one knows what issues the fibroid could cause, I feel healthy and happy. I can't say I love being pregnant, but it really hasn't been that bad.