I’ve been a bit MIA from the space here since New Year’s, despite being fairly busy and with lots of updates on the Knish. My radio silence has been a little complicated, to say the least.
It’s official: I can no longer zip up or button my jeans. I feel the transition from teeny bump to blossoming bulge happened overnight sometime in the middle of last week. My first pair of maternity jeans, which I once mocked a month ago, is set to arrive in the mail this week. I understand now why elastic is my bestus friend in the whole wide world and buttons are my arch nemesis!
Also, I’m pretty sure that I’m only going to wear that pair of maternity jeans and leggings until the weather gets warmer, at which point I’ll ditch the pants entirely (or as I call them, prisons for my legs) in favor of skirts and dresses.
In fact, if I could live out of these for the next 6 months, I totally would:
Seriously, these are the most comfortable pair of leg prisons I have ever owned.
At 19 weeks, there’s plenty of reason why my jeans wouldn’t be fitting so well anymore. The Knish is doing quite well. At our ultrasound last week the sonographer measured the Knish a whole week ahead based on the size. She said the Knish was measuring around 10 ounces already!
I’m in the “golden age” of pregnancy right now: the nausea has finally chilled the fuck out, I’ve got a decent amount of energy, the bump is growing and I’ve still got that radiant glow. But there are the little things: round ligament pain that sent me to the OB in a panic (who assured me it was totally normal and that the Knish was likely having a growth spurt), the ever-shifting center of gravity, the new shortness of breath when I walk around the supermarket. And now, I can actually feel the baby move.
I hold that I’ve been feeling the Knish for a solid five weeks now: I know, that would make my first detections of movement at 14 weeks and thus ridiculously early for a first pregnancy, but I stand by it. I can definitely always feel the Knish after I eat and usually right before I go to bed. It’s wonderful to know know the Knish is there, especially when every now and then I get that lovely reminder – like someone lightly tapping my skin – that our baby is doing great.
My placenta, on the other hand, may not be cooperating.
At my 18 week ultrasound last week, they had a hard time getting a view of my placenta and cervix, so I got the double pleasure of having both an abdominal AND transvaginal ultrasound. Just when I thought my dates with Wanda were over, it was like a sloppy seconds messy rebound moment. Anywho, the ultrasound went great – we got to see so many details of the Knish since I had my full anatomy scan. We saw tiny bones and fingers and toes and even the ears! (Which, the Knish absolutely takes after Larry in that aspect.)
Later that afternoon, I got a call from my OB: turns out, I have an “anterior marginal placenta previa.” Basically this means that my placenta has attached to the front wall of my uterus as opposed to the back wall; that would explain why I felt the Knish a lot more a few weeks ago as opposed to now, since the placenta acts as a buffer. In addition, my placenta is very close to – but not covering – my cervix. The issue here is that if it doesn’t move out of the way, I’ll potentially need a c-section.
The good news is that since it was detected so early, there’s a good chance that the placenta will move up and out of the way of my cervix as the baby and my uterus grows well before my delivery. I was in a bit of a hysterical panic last Thursday afternoon when we got the news, but after doing a lot of reading online and Larry getting lots of helpful responses on the r/parenting subreddit, we’re feeling a lot better about it.
And if I have to get a c-section, I will. I’m not going to put principle before medical necessity. I’m just really, really hoping to avoid a c-section as much as humanly possible. In my dream world, I’d love a natural, drug-free birth. (Go ahead and laugh, it’s cool.) But I also know that I almost never do anything the easy/normal way medically, so I’m trying to prepare myself for medical intervention if necessary. And, after 3 relatively major surgeries in my life, I’m kind of over that whole “open my body up” thing. Yeah. Not so much.
The other big drawback with this whole marginal placenta previa thing is that I’ve been put on pelvic bed rest… for 10 weeks. There are some bonuses to pelvic bed rest: no heavy lifting or strenuous, aerobic activity. I no longer have to take out the trash because I shouldn’t be lifting. But the biggest bummer of all: no sex. As in: nada, zip, zilch, zero sex. FOR TEN WEEKS.
So, if Larry or I seem a little grouchier than normal between now and the end of March, there’s your answer.
Next week we head out to Disney World for six days for a much needed and most likely last vacation, at least for a little while. And when we get back, we’ve got some exciting news to share… Like whether the Knish is a boy or a girl!
And yes, we totally know right now and nope – we’re not sayin’ a word until we get back 🙂
