12 October, 2012

Bare Bumping It at 36 Weeks



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I am now 36 weeks pregnant.

This week started out kinda scary. At our regular ultrasound, the perinatologist informed me that my placenta "looked old." Apparently, it's prematurely aging. She graded it as a "grade III," which it shouldn't be until the end. All she really said was that it probably wouldn't be a problem, but I need to make sure I do my kick counts. Then she said I needed to go into fetal diagnostics at the hospital twice a week for monitoring until she comes...

At first, I was just kind of irritated that I had to go in for hour-long monitoring twice a week on top of all the other stuff we have going on. But a couple hours later, it sunk in what this whole old placenta thing means. It means that there's the potential for my placenta to essentially die and stop taking care of my baby. Then I freaked out. I've had to hear a lot of things like this throughout my entire pregnancy. It hasn't been easy, and there have been lots of little concerns and minor complications. I haven't freaked out at any of them. I hardly even flinched when I found out I had to have a C-section. But this was too much for me. I couldn't stop crying, and I was so so soooo scared.

Levi and I had church that night. I cried pretty much the entire time. At the end, two women prayed for me, Levi, the baby, and my jerk of a placenta. I began to feel a little bit of peace, but I was still pretty scared. The next day, I kept telling myself, "I won't be afraid. I won't worry." In the afternoon, I got a text from one of the women with this verse:

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. - Deuteronomy 31:8

That was really comforting, and I started to feel really covered in peace and prayer. Then Levi called and told me he had spoken with the most senior perinatologist at our ultrasound office. The doctor said that they never judge a placenta on how it looks; it's how it functions that counts. And since my baby is right on target, my placenta seems to be functioning just fine. He also said that the twice-weekly monitoring should be able to catch anything before it actually becomes a problem. 

Hearing this made me feel SO much better. I was so relieved, and I've been really relaxed about the whole thing ever since. I had my first monitoring appointment yesterday. Everything looked great, and I haven't noticed any decrease in movement. Baby girl is doing really well! Hopefully, she'll stay put until her scheduled Halloween birthday, but we're almost ready for her now, so she can come any time she wants.

Pregnancy is really hard, you guys! Even though this has been the most difficult period of our lives, I feel incredibly grateful for so many things. God has been taking care of us LIKE CRAZY. Seriously, I could write a book on this. We have seen miraculous provision. I trust God like I never have before, and it feels really really good. I'm excited to see what He has in store for my little family of three.

P.S. This is the most risqué bump shot you guys will see on here... hopefully, my bare bump didn't offend anyone too much. ;)


16 comments:

  1. Flaunt that bump, girl! Definitely not offensive -- beautiful symbol of life! So excited for you guys and can't wait to see pictures of her when she graces the world with her presence! Sending prayers up for everything to continue smoothly :)

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  2. ahh! i love it! so excited for you guys.

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  3. You look sooooo cute! I'm still the sweaty, swollen kind of pregnant... So no pictures of me like this :) I'm glad to hear your little one is healthy! Hopefully the monitoring puts your mind at ease. My doc is concerned my baby might be big, so I have to go get an ultrasound. I guess I just grow them big? :)

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  4. The Lord is going to bless you as a mother & your beautiful, healthy baby. :)

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  5. Your bare bump is beautiful!

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  6. I was offended and how long has that wall been pink for?

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  7. continuing to pray for you and baby girl every day!

    ps - you look beautiful :)

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  8. Jasmine, you AND your bare bump are beautiful. I can't not wait to hear the joyful news when your gorgeous baby girl finally arrives. Take care of yourself. xoxo

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  9. Umm... I awake to a new stretch nearly every morning and yet you appear to have none. (brat. i kid i kid.)

    I'm so glad to hear that all is going well with baby so far. I love that you've had peace from that beautiful scripture as well as prayer. The Lord will be with you and watch out for you and your baby girl in the best way he see fits. Keep your pretty chin up. xo

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  10. your bare bump is BEYOND beautiful! Thank you for sharing this and and especially the scripture :)

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  11. i love the bump photos.

    Glad to hear that everything is fine and that your little girl is growing stronger every day :)

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  12. GORGEOUS! I've been waiting to hear how you all have been doing! The Lord does cover us, more than we ever can/will know! Your healthy baby girl will be in your arms so soon, I am so excited for you and Levi!!

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  13. GORGEOUS! I've been waiting to hear how you all have been doing! The Lord does cover us, more than we ever can/will know! Your healthy baby girl will be in your arms so soon, I am so excited for you and Levi!!

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  14. I'm so glad that you and baby are doing well! Your photos are in no way too risque; they're just perfect. Sending good and healthy thoughts your way :)

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  15. I love your pregnancy tweets! Ok, being a totally not pregnant person, that sounds kind of funny, your placenta looks old. Like, is that something you should take offense at? haha. Ok no more jokes, because seriously that is scary! It's scary that you're doing everything you can to grow that little girl and give her everything she needs and there are so many things that can go wrong. Well I hope that everything goes ok and that your little one keeps growing healthy and happy.

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