32 weeks and 3 days - Ultrasound and appt

Today was our 32w3d appointment with the OB.  Wow, that's a lot of weeks, isn't it?

First we had the ultrasound.  Baby A looks amazing.  Even though I showed to be almost a fingertip dilated at last week's manual exam, my cervical length is still holding out at a little less than 3 cm, and there's STILL no funneling.  I am so amazed and grateful.  Heartbeat was 150 bpm, and she's just lovely.  She had her little hand up over her eyes like it was all just too much - so cute.

I had gained 2 lbs since last week - however, I'm still only up 11 from the beginning of when they started tracking.  They want me to gain some more weight, so I'm apparently going to deep-fat fry some chocolate later or something.  I need to get a belly pic taken and posted.  Measured at 31 weeks, so that's within normal limits.

I saw the OB after that.  The first thing I asked him was my dumb question.  Everyone I've told about this looks at me like I'm crazy, but occasionally I hear a clicking/popping sound when she kicks super-hard, up in the top part of the belly.  It's only been happening for a week or so, but it's there a couple of times a day.  He reassured me I was normal - she's obviously pretty big at this point, and her feet are right up in my ribs.  He said that, with all of my joints being weird right now because of the Relaxin, my ribs are moving a little bit whenever this happens and just making noise.  He was actually disappointed that I didn't have a weirder question.

Then I asked my big question.  I've had a little drama this week.  My peri had told me when I last saw him that he wanted me to call at around 32 weeks or so to discuss taking out the Shirodkar cerclage.  I'd done a lot of research and talking with my OB since then, and we'd decided to leave it in (I'll be having a C-section already, anyway, for other reasons).  I called this past Friday and told them that at the peri's office.  The PA called me back and said that the peri "strongly recommended taking it out around 36 weeks."  I mentioned that I'd be doing a C-section, and so she talked to him again - he still recommended taking it out.  This kind of freaked me out - there are several reasons that I want to leave it in.  I've already confirmed that my IVF clinic can do another frozen embryo transfer around it.  The rest of my reasons are more practical from a personal standpoint - it was pretty expensive to do, first of all.  It didn't exactly feel awesome - a Shirodkar is pretty invasive due to the incision, there was a hospital stay and a catheter involved, and there was a decent amount of pain/cramping (it wasn't as bad as, say, my radiation, but I am not lining up for one if it's unnecessary).  On top of all of this, why put another baby through the risks of a cerclage (including rupturing the membranes) if the previous one can just be in there?  Well, I told all of this to my OB - and he demonstrated why I love him so much.  He just agreed with me and said, "Well, why?  You have a Shirodkar, they're permanent - why take it out?"  I explained that I never got a reason, but didn't know if the fact that my exterior cervix was only about .5 cm at the time of the cerclage mattered.  He said, "Well, we'll find out" - he proceeded to pull his cell phone out of his pocket and leave a message for my peri right then and there.  I'm still waiting for a call back letting me know what's going on after he hears back from the peri, but my OB is one of my favorite people on Earth. 

I've been missing Maddie horribly the last few days - I just wish she could be here with us during this, that I could hold her and kiss her.