Last week my amniotic fluid level had been 7.3, and this week it was back up to 10.5! Dr. Copeland told us this week (thank goodness he didn't tell us this last week), that an amniotic fluid level between 1-5 means you need to plan to deliver ASAP, between 5-10 means you're in a grey zone and need to be watching it like a hawk, and 10-25+ is within normal limits. He said ideally he likes to see numbers around 18, but 10.5 is at least back within the normal range even if it is very low normal. On a fun side note: the ultrasonographer who did my recheck yesterday was my favorite tech, and she did a brief 3-D ultrasound for us which was really cool. Unfortunately Dylan's umbilical cord is hanging out pretty much right in front of her face, so it made it hard to get a good clear picture of her face on the 3-D, but we got a glimpse anyway which was really fun to see! She's so cute already! :)
Dylan's non-stress test looked perfect again this time, like it did last time. She is a kicky, busy, rolly-polly loch ness monster! It's fun to get to listen to her heartbeat and all her movements for 20 minutes while they run the test. I know I can feel her moving all the time, but it's just cool to get to actually hear her moving around in there too, and hear how her heartbeat accelerates when she moves around - just like it's supposed to. They also managed to catch one of my contractions on the monitor during the NST, and her heart rate went up during my contraction which is good too they said. They just don't want her heart rate to go down when I contract, so that's good to know that she's tolerating my contractions well too.
As for my cervix, last Monday it was 25 mm long when I was relaxed and 21 mm long with pressure. This week it's still 25 mm long, but won't shorten to less than 24-23 with pressure. YAY! So in short: my fluid is better, though still low normal; my cervix is better, though still just 'okay'; and Dylan is still a very happy baby in her environment. All of this was good enough news so that we don't have to go back in for a recheck for 2 weeks now and Dr. Copeland seemed very relieved! I'm still supposed to be taking it easy and drinking lots of fluids, but I'm allowed to do a little bit more now, so long as I'm careful. Basically, if I'm doing something and I start having any Braxton-Hicks, then I just need to quit right away and go be a lazy lump again. So at least now I won't feel like a terrible mother if I attempt to do a load of laundry or make some dinner (though of course maybe I'll have to quit half way through, poor Chadmo.) Baby steps, but we're incredibly happy that we are better this week than we were last week!
Just reading this tonight. Yay for the improvement! So glad he didn't tell us what the numbers meant the first time.
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