Hi there,
Just wanted to give everyone a quick baby update.
Good news!!!! Baby has finally flipped! The baby turned sometime over the last two or three days (and my back can attest to that!! – OUCH!)…but that’s great news..since it’s been hanging around sideways for the last 10 weeks or so.
Not so good news….. as you know I have been going for weekly fetal monitoring to keep track of baby’s heartbeat and general health. The skippy heartbeat is still there – but there is no regular pattern (which is good). The doctor thinks it will work itself all out when it’s born.
Last week, while I was in monitoring, I had an ultrasound to see how baby was growing and it turns out there is starting to be blood restriction between the placenta and baby. This may likely be caused by my Factor V Lieden *sigh*. The doctor would like to see a blood “flow” of about 2 pts, and the measurements for this little one is averaging 2.8. Not enormously high, but something the doctor wants to keep a good eye on. The baby is between the 10th and 25th percentile for growth – so a bit small, but still within the normal/acceptable range for growth at this age. Baby weighed in at 3 lbs, 8 ozs as of about 10 days ago or so which is bang on for weight – so go figure!
Suffice to say I am scheduled for another ultrasound for this Friday to check for growth, blood flow, and fluids. The doctor informed me that as long as the baby seems to be tolerating the blood flow restriction well, the flow doesn’t get worse, and baby continues to grow (even if only slowly), then we are going to keep a super close eye on things and see if we can get to full term with this little one.
If baby stops growing at any point from here on in, or seems to not be tolerating the blood restriction, or the restriction becomes worse, then we are going to have to induce and bring little one out ahead of schedule. There is nothing that I, or the doctor, can do at this point to reverse what is happening…..we just have to keep a close eye on it. Ultimately the doctor wants to get me to at least 36 weeks (which is only 5 weeks away!!!), but we will do whatever we need to do before then if it comes to that. The good news is that even if we have to induce early, there's an excellent chance I can avoid a c-section since I've delivered two babies the regular way before. I had a friend that recently delivered her baby at 33 weeks due to high blood pressure (and baby only weighed 3 lbs!!!), and the baby is doing absolutely fantastic…so that is a huge reassurance for me that even if this one decides to come early it will bounce back very quickly (much like Kira too).
Anyways, right now, baby seems happy and is quite active which we are all happy about. It has it’s wake and sleep cycles and likes ice cream (especially Tin Roof Sundae). :D It’s got super strong kicks and nudges and prefers me to sleep on my right side (I get some swift kicks to roll over if I am on my left side) and generally acts like Evan when I was pregnant with him. All good signs this one wants to stick around and “cook” for a while longer.
The kids are getting super excited, laugh at my belly almost every single day, and Kira gives it a goodbye kiss when she heads off to school. Evan just jokes that if it’s a boy Kira is going to be in trouble. Har har.
Anyhoo, that’s it for now. I’ll keep you all posted on baby’s progress and will be in touch if anything progresses. Positive thoughts for a big healthy baby!!!!
Hugs and Kisses,
Angela
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