Today Lucy is viable as we are 24 weeks pregnant. I'm not feeling the small sense of relief that I was expecting.
I've been purposefully not writing about approaching today because I didn't want to jinx anything and have something go terribly wrong. While nothing has gone wrong, I had a scary day yesterday, so am not feeling any relief whatsoever.
Yesterday I felt contractions 13 times, and four of those were during my 20-minute shower. They only occurred while I was standing, but any contractions this early are scary. I tried to sit as much as possible yesterday, which meant a lot of TV for Gus. He didn't care, but I didn't feel like the best parent ever. I read up on Braxton Hicks contractions and decided that I needed to make sure I wasn't dehydrated. I'm usually not a "thirsty" person, so getting 64oz of fluids in each day is a real challenge, and I'm usually happy if I get 40. So, yesterday I made sure to drink, drink, drink. I also told Jon what was going on around noon, so he knew that I would want to sit on the couch for as much as possible when he was home.
After pushing fluids (by the time I went to bed I had consumed 60oz), I noticed that I wasn't having as many, but my nerves were still on edge. This morning, I had 2 contractions during my shower and already had plans to call the OB's office when they opened at 8:30am. While leaving the message for the nurse, the receptionist suggested I keep resting until I spoke with the nurse. She called back about 1.5hours later and said that 13 BH in 24 hours is a lot less than is typical during pregnancy, that I need to make sure I stay hydrated, and that I rest when I can.
So, I've been plopped on the couch or the floor, watching TV and playing board games with Gus today. And as of right now (3pm central time) I've had 44oz of fluid, and have only had 3 contractions all day. But, they only happen when I'm standing and I've done very little of that. I mean, I can't just stay on the couch for the next 15 weeks! So, I'm going to make a bigger effort to drink at least 60oz of fluid each day, which is difficult because I don't want to drink juice (all the carbs that I'd need to take insulin for) or a bunch of artificial sweeteners (I know they're safe in moderation, but 60oz a day during pregnancy isn't something I'm willing to risk), and I don't like plain water. So, if anyone out there has any ideas of how to help me drink more water, I'll gladly take suggestions!
This is not the post I wanted to have for reaching 24w. I wanted to be able to say how excited I was that we've reached this milestone. I wanted to say that I know we have a long way to go before we want Lucy to be born, but I was happy that we've reached viability. And while I do feel those things, the feeling of how I don't trust my body is stronger than those happier feelings.
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| That's Gus' hand. As much as he said he was sad that he wasn't getting a brother, he sure does seem to love Lucy. |
