Journey On

So here we are. Nearly halfway through the journey, and yet also at the beginning again. I am now 17 weeks and 4 days pregnant, and when I was 17 weeks and 4 days pregnant with Pedro and Archer, we had a detailed ultrasound which showed my cervix to be "long" and "closed". We never got any measurements, and it was the first time in the pregnancy that anyone had measured my cervix so we don't really know what "long" meant. And as far as I know, no one pressed down on my belly to see if there was any funneling. But we were given the stamp of approval and sent on our way to drive across the country. Three weeks later, without my having felt a thing, my cervix had completely opened and our pregnancy was in peril.

So, here we are. At a familiar moment, embarking on a familiar journey, again through the dangerous period, but this time with so much more to guide us. We have taken so many steps to prepare for this moment, to try to pave the way onto a new road. We had the cerclage placed, added vitamins and supplements to bolster my immune system and quiet my uterus, started weekly monitoring of my cervix and our girls, began modified bedrest at week 12. And today, we started p17 shots, a painful little injection into my gluteal muscles, another weapon in our arsenal to fight against the path of the past.

So, here we are. I feel as though everything we have been through so far has been leading to these next three weeks. Of course, we need to make it much father than the next three weeks, but I feel the true battle begins now, the battle to change the course, to not repeat history. If we make it through the next three weeks without my going into labor, without my cervix opening, then I think we will have achieved a major step forward and an immense morale boost for the troupes.

So, here we are. And I, for one, am excited and even hopeful about what happens next.