Yesterday, at our weekly appointment with the maternal-fetal medicine doctor, we saw why exactly I’m on bed rest. He was measuring my cervix on the ultrasound, and noted that it looked even longer than last week. I asked how, exactly, that can be true, since it doesn’t really grow. He said, “well, it’s not true. It just *looks* longer.”
Basically, the part of the cervix on top of the cerclage has come back together. So it looks like: cervix:stitches:cervix
But then he pushed gently on my abdomen and woosh, the top part of the cervix pulled right apart, and Sprout’s head rushed down to rest directly on the stitches. The cervix is just weak tissue, not doing much, and the Dr. thinks the same is true of the bottom part, underneath the cerclage. So the only thing between Sprout and the world right now are the stitches. And the only thing keeping Sprout from putting all his weight directly onto the stitches (which could pull) is that I’m not standing up. It was kind of scary to see just how easily his head moves down farther than it should.
On the plus side, bed rest is *working* – the cervix wouldn’t have had a chance to pretend to pull it together otherwise. And the Sprout is still healthy and strong (and mere days from viability at the magic 24 week mark). Though I kind of wish he’d stop kicking my bladder.
