Placenta Previa, Holiday Travel, & Nursery Paint

Just when you thought there couldn't be any more news......

So our ultrasound revealed a bit more than just the gender.  I'm feeling completely exhausted today so this is the short version.  My doctor called this morning and let me know that my placenta is really low and really close to the wall of my cervix.  Couple risks with this...she said it looks like placenta previa and that I can not deliver vaginally if the placenta doesn't move, and also she said she's concerned about the placenta breaking/bleeding which would increase my risk of pre-term labor even more.  Anyway - she said it will most likely correct itself if we're extremely careful over the next two months because as the baby grows the placenta will probably just move up again and away from my cervix.  It can't be within three inches and right now it's less than one inch.  So we just have to play it extra safe and hope things work out.  Basically the key is to fight gravity and not allow for any downward pressure - so laying down is extra essential now.  She'll check me again at 28 weeks to see if the placenta has moved.

One of the big bummers is that she said I'm a high-risk pregnancy and can't travel for the rest of my pregnancy.  Which puts quite the damper on our holiday plans and I get emotional every time I think about it.  So I had to call my mom and mother-in-law today and tell them we can't be there for Thanksgiving or Christmas.  That was a big let-down but they both were very understanding and said not to worry about it.  I think the hardest part was telling my baby sister I can't be there for Thanksgiving - she sounded really disappointed.  But everyone understands that there are lots of holidays in the future and right now we just need to get baby here.  

I let my work know that this has become a more permanent situation (we were really hoping the pain would start to subside by 22 weeks or so and I could return to work at the office).  I'm currently approved to work from home on a temporary basis through mid-November.  So they are looking into seeing if we can make this a permanent thing.  Hopefully we can get it all worked out!

My mom is coming in this weekend!  Looking forward to having her around.  She and Aaron are planning to paint the nursery this weekend - hope it all goes well!  Aaron said I'm not allowed to be anywhere near the paint, even though we're buying Glidden paint which has low fumes and is safer for nurseries and things.  He's very protective of the baby already.  (I've even gotten busted for putting my dinner plate on my belly - "I don't think the baby appreciates having your dinner on her head!" lol)  So I'll have to see how it turns out when it's all done.  I'm sure it will be great!  They're painting the room Iced Purple (actually a similar color to this blog background) so hopefully it matches well and looks great.

I have to add that despite all this frustrating stuff with my pregnancy, I am so grateful that all of it so far has only affected me.  The baby is growing right on schedule and looks very healthy and strong.  All the issues are things that are currently only affecting me and so I'm really grateful to have these pregnancy issues and not something that's a problem with the baby.  I feel so blessed!  We'll just keep praying it stays that way and keep doing everything we can to give our little girl the best chance possible of getting here healthy and strong!