Almost to 24 weeks!

I will be 24 weeks pregnant on Thursday!  Hooray!  I am excited about this milestone because that is the date that my MFM doctor has set as viability, and has said that at that point she will be willing to consider further intervention for myself and Elise.

Right now I'm stuck in kind of a waiting game.  My contractions have continued, in varying intensity.  Yesterday they were so bad (and 3-4 minutes apart) that I actually had some bleeding with them.  Today they haven't been as consistent as long, but have been painful enough to bring me to tears.  Some of the comments I made today about how they feel actually prompted Matt to ask me if I thought I might be in labor because usually I don't feel that way unless I'm in labor.  He knows this drill back and forth since he's been by my side through the last two pregnancies.  Normally the regular contractions with any bleeding would prompt a trip to labor and delivery triage, however they have already made it clear that they will not do anything to treat my contractions (either for my comfort, for the baby's safety, or to stall labor in any way), so there is no point in going in. 

However, I have an appointment with my MFM doctor on Thursday, the magical day where I hit 24 weeks, and I'm hoping that she will fully examine me and treat me then.  And I hope that she will treat me like she would any other mother.  I truly feel like we are being discriminated against as far as treatment goes...it's not fair to not treat signs of preterm labor in someone simply because of the chromosomal makeup of their baby.  I'm hoping that view was from that one particular doctor that I encountered in labor and delivery on New Year's Eve, and that from this point out we will be treated differently.  I have to prepare myself to advocate for Elise and myself though, should that not happen.

Some positives for the day:

• Elise has been kicking today!
• Isaac has been bringing the baby a stuffed giraffe (given to Elise by Grandma and Papa for Christmas) and playing its music against my belly.  He said it will calm down the baby and help her get to sleep...so sweet. :)
• Our doppler should be delivered today.
• It's really, really, cold outside (-22 degrees F with a -50 to -60 degree windchill), and we are nice and warm and toasty here inside.
• Matt says I have definitely passed the "is she fat, or is she pregnant?" stage!  Yay!

A picture from the other night...

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  -Romans 15.13