The Good News and the Bad News

So many people have emailed asking for updates on the pregnancy and/or say, "Keep me informed" that I guess I have decided to post an occassional update here.

Yesterday I had another appointment with the perinatologist. I see her every 2 weeks. Which do you want - the good or the bad first? Let's start with good.

Good news: Cervix is closed and long. Baby is measuring right on target. She actually did many of the measurements typically done at the 20 week ultrasound, including the head, chest, femur, 4 chamber heart, kidneys, etc.

Bad news: I'm contracting again. I had called in on Friday complaining about it, but she wasn't too concerned. I don't feel contractions or tightness, just a mild crampy feeling in my lower abdomen. Yesterday, via ultrasound she could see contractions and seemed a bit more concerned. She gave me a drug called Ventolin that is a smooth muscle relaxer. She didn't really want to give me anything saying that if she did it would "fill up my receptors" (or something like that). The explanation makes more sense in that if I take too much right now it won't work as well further down the road when it's really needed. Since I'm already in bed and drinking lots of water, she wrote the prescription telling me to only take it when really needed. It's very difficult for me to distinguish when "really needed" is. I seem to feel every little thing already while having nothing to do in bed, but think.

And, I'm finding it more and more difficult to remain optimistic. It's hard getting new bad news every time I go to the doctor. My perinatologist, although I think is the best around, is not very forthcoming with information.