*Screeeeech*

Yeah, so, um... I finally did it. I set an end date at work. I thought it was reasonable. I set it for the 20th. I'll be 24 weeks, 2 days. In fact, I thought maybe it was being slightly alarmist and silly. But I had gotten that lecture from my doctor two weeks ago about cutting back at work, and I thought it made sense to start thinking about an end date. Cutting back my hours was clearly only going to go so far. But two weeks ago, it still seemed a little silly, particularly with a 4cm, tightly closed cervix. Nevertheless, I DID set that end date, with the caveat to my client that the date could always change to an earlier date if my doctor slammed on the brakes. But that was never going to happen, you know. Because, seriously, did I mention that beautiful 4cm tightly closed cervix?

Yeah.

So I happen to know that the people that read my blog are smart and sophisticated as evidenced by your reactions to my informal froggy poll. See, I liked the froggies, Jess didn't. Jess's readers didn't love the frogs. MY readers? You mostly loved the froggies. Therefore, I know you are smart, sophisticated, and highly evolved. So I have this sneaking suspicion that you know where I'm going with this story. Because, as I said, you are smart.

I went to the doctor today, and accused him of putting a Mayan curse on me. See, just a couple days after the lecture I got about not working so much, I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. All of a sudden, I was dragging. Walking became a zillion times more tedious. Breathing became a chore. Contractions started happening more often (but still not SO often that I was worried). Dragging myself to the office was questionably sane. Cutting back my hours suddenly seemed very wise. So my theory is that the doctor KNEW I wasn't going to follow the strict letter of the law on the lecture I'd gotten, so he put a Mayan curse on me. So when he came in, he said, "How are you feeling?"

"I think you put a Mayan curse on me."
"Oh? Why would you think that?" (Please note the distinct LACK of a specific DENIAL here)
"Because immediately after you lecturing me about cutting back on working or stopping work, I suddenly felt like I'd been hit by a truck. Did you just know I wouldn't otherwise listen?"
"Pretty much. So does that mean you've stopped working?"
"Uh... no, but I'm going to soon?"
"Yeah, you're going to REAL soon."
"Can I squeeze out one more week?"
"Not so much."
"Really?"

Yeah, so my cervix has shortened to 3cm, which is still astoundingly fabulous for a chick who is 23 weeks pregnant with triplets. Still, that's a bit of a jump and he doesn't love it. What he loves even less is that he's starting to see some slight evidence of funneling, which is decidedly not good. He did say that many other doctors would look at these pictures and say there's nothing wrong here at all. "BUT," he cautioned, "With a triplet pregnancy, there's a lot at stake and we try to look for any early sign of any possible problem so that it doesn't become a big problem. It's possible I'm being overly cautious where another doctor would choose not to be, and if you were pregnant with a singleton, I wouldn't think twice about this." Yup, and that's why I'm seeing THIS practice and not another. They handle a LOT of triplets, but they take NO risks. I will do what they say. So what he's saying today is that I may go to work tomorrow, and I may take my foster-son to his developmental evaluation on Friday as planned, but only on the condition that I return to the office on Monday for a cervical check. If nothing has changed, he will clear me to work from home for the week so that I can wrap up my final projects. If things have progressed, he will tell me I'm done, regardless of how my projects stand.

Oh, and he's not so happy that I didn't call about the contractions. But the last time I called about the contractions (when I was 17 1/2 weeks pregnant), I got "ho hum, could be normal" from the doctor on call...not a doctor I've ever seen in real life, and not a doctor it appears I'll EVER see in real life as it sounds like she's actually leaving the practice. Furthermore, the guidance I'd been told all along was to call if I get more than four contractions per hour. I don't get more than four, I get 2-3 per hour. However, I now have strict instructions that if this increases even to a steady 3 per hour or more, I should call immediately. "We could do at home monitoring for you, but that's really a pain in the ass, so we'd really rather not if we can avoid it," he said. Anyway, he doesn't think the contractions are too big a concern by themselves, but combined with the slight funneling, he's not thrilled and wants to know if there is any change at all. Got it. I'm okay with that.

In other news, these little guys (or gals) are doing great... they are all measuring at 1 pound, 2 ounces each. They are all growing perfectly. They are fighting each other a lot, which is good. Apparently the constant stimulation in utero is good, because it's part of what helps their lungs develop. I think that's pretty cool. My blood pressure is still good and I asked about my high pulse and he's not worried because it's completely attributable to my increased blood volume. He said if it gets into the 120s that he'll be worried, but in the low 100's (where it's been) he's not worried at all (though I gotta tell you, it's not real pleasant for ME!).

I'll write more about how and what I'm feeling (physically) and what the kiddos looked like at the ultrasound in a separate post. Right now I'm tired and need to lay down for a bit. I might get motivated enough to scan todays ultrasound pictures eventually. We'll see.