Hello! Want to hear an update on my pregnancy?
Everything is good — I’m finally ready to say that out loud.
In fact, there’s nothing unusual to report. Hurrah for a totally normal, boring baby!
I hesitated to write about it for a while because I didn’t want to jinx anything. At my 19-week ultrasound the tech noticed my placenta was lower than expected and my amniotic fluid was on the higher side. Those findings can be soft markers for certain complications, so I was scheduled for a level 2 ultrasound. “Soon” turned out to be three weeks, which felt like a long time.
The wait was more nerve-racking because a doctor made an offhand comment suggesting that if something serious were wrong we’d want to know as soon as possible. Three weeks was not “as soon as possible” to my anxious brain. If she had simply noted the findings without framing the tiny risk as potentially fatal, I would have kept my focus on heartburn, sore hips, and persistent morning sickness. Instead I lay awake imagining worst-case scenarios.
I did manage not to fall down an internet rabbit hole. A search for “high fluid levels” returns so many results that it would have been impossible not to panic.
At the level 2 ultrasound both the tech and the high-risk specialist reassured me: the placenta had moved upward and my fluid is at the high end of normal rather than truly elevated. The baby looks healthy and screening results show very low chances of a genetic issue. I felt a huge wave of relief.
I didn’t want to share anything until I felt reasonably certain — or as certain as one can be before the baby is born — that things were fine. The experience reminded me how many things can go wrong in pregnancy and how delicate the whole process is. Tomorrow I reach 24 weeks, which is the point of viability in a technical sense, so now I feel comfortable complaining about the trivial stuff.
Let’s start with the big one.
My butt. I mean everything from my lower back down through my thighs. The internet calls the stabbing pain sciatica, and while I experienced sciatica with previous pregnancies, this time it’s far worse. It feels like the difference between a paper cut and losing a finger. The common recommendations online are stretching, rest, or maybe acupuncture. Resting isn’t practical with small kids and constant stretching isn’t always possible, so I’ll ask my OB about other treatment options at my next visit. I’m fortunate to be able to lie down when it gets intense, but until the kids can handle errands and grocery shopping without me, there will be painful days.
I’m also hoping I don’t get SPD on top of this — the pelvic pain that feels like a steel-toed boot to the crotch. Even rolling over in bed can bring tears, so if that joined the sciatica I might be tempted to get a motorized scooter for the next few months.
And now, some blurry ultrasound photos I snapped with my phone.
From those pictures alone I’m leaning toward “girl” — the profile reminds me of Caroline. Both kids are hoping for a girl, while E insists it’s a boy. Oddly, I’m no longer tempted to find out the sex in advance. I’m excited to wait in the delivery room and be surprised with everyone else.