Tuesday, February 25, 2014

**Trigger** Baby Girl Update: Appointment full of GOOD news!



Today I am 31 weeks and 3 days, and for once in a long time, my doctor appointment was full of nothing but GOOD news. We had a little bit of a scare earlier this week about some symptoms that pointed towards pre-eclampsia. After running additional tests, the doctors are no longer concerned. Today's NST was perfect too. The best news I received today though was that the Doppler is showing that the blood-flow to the baby is normal. The doctor said that although she may not catch back up, as long as the blood-flow stays where it is now, she shouldn't fall further behind in growth. He will do another growth check in 2 weeks.



I will still be closely monitored with NST appointments two times a week, and an ultrasound once a week to check on blood-flow and fluid levels. I will still continue my medication that is helping to stop my frequent contractions, but they are less concerned about preterm labor and will only do FFN tests again if the contractions pick back up. Hearing all this good news makes it so much easier to rest and eat as much as I can. I will do what ever it takes for our baby girl.

Today I am going to work on figuring out what I want in my hospital bag and writing a birth plan. Everything seemed so up in the air for a while that it was hard to think past each day, but now I am getting excited again. Thank you all again for your support through all of this. Thank you for being there through the ups and the downs.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

***Trigger** Baby Girl Update: Still pretty little, but not showing signs of distress

Information is a blessing and a curse. Time can be the same. For a this hormonal, nervous mother, the combination can sometimes be overwhelming. "Are hiccups a bad sign or good?" "Is she kicking enough?" "Is she kicking too much?" "Is this nausea a sign of Preeclampsia?" "Is my medication a high enough dose?" "Could the medication be causing problems?" and on and on and on.....

Loving advice can be difficult as well. I know that positive thinking is important, but sometimes it is hard when doctors and other people tell me to pay attention to every little detail. At this point I am monitoring how often she kicks, how many calories and protein I am taking in, how many contractions I am having, how often and how long she has the hiccups. This is all on top of the many many tests  the doctors run each week.



So that brings me to today. I decided to stop worrying what the doctor might think and ask my questions.

Preterm Labor:
He decided my contractions are under control enough that we don't need to do a FFN test this time. It is hard for me to not have the reassurance every 2 weeks, but good to know that he is less concerned about preterm labor. She is head down, but he said that doesn't really mean much at this point.

Hiccups:
He said hiccups are a really good sign about how well the placenta is working. He explained it well in the appointment, but I can't really remember enough to post about it here. She had hiccups during my ultrasound too, it was pretty cute. :)

Naseau/Preeclampsia:
He eased my fears about Preeclampsia after checking a few things and asking me a few questions. My regular OB told me that some people are lucky enough to have "morning sickness" return in the 3rd trimester.

Blood Flow:
He said the blood flow to the baby is still off, but he did see a little improvement. It is always good to hear that word. :)

Fluid Levels:
My fluid levels are still great.

Kick counts:
I am supposed to be doing kick counts twice a day now. If she is not kicking 10 times in a hour, I am supposed to go Labor and Delivery right away. So far so good!

Non Stress Test:
She passed another non stress test. I will be having these done 2 times a week.

Growth:
She did grow. She is estimated to weigh about 2pounds and 10ounces. That still puts her about 1.5-2 weeks behind in growth and somewhere in the 10-15%.

Placenta:
Hiccups, good stress tests, and seeing some improvement in blood flow are all good signs that my placenta is still working well enough for now, but he suspects it will become more of an issue as the pregnancy progresses.

Delivery:
He said at that point she will likely need to be delivered by April 16th. That is only 10 days earlier than my due date. I would love to make it that long! As long as she continues to pass the stress tests, and she doesn't drop off in growth too quickly, she should be able to stay in for many more weeks! I still need to rest to prevent preterm labor, and continue to eat lots of calories and protein.

Although I was hoping to see a better change in her growth, I am feeling good after my appointment today. I have decided to focus on what colors will match her nursery best and research about all the fun new Mommy gadgets out there.





Wednesday, February 12, 2014

**Trigger**Baby Girl Update: Tests, tests and more tests...

We have made it to 29week and 4 days!!! At this point I am being monitored very frequently. Although all these possible complications can be scary, I am very thankful to be working with some wonderful doctors this time around. These doctors are willing to really explain what is going on while also listening to my concerns. They are taking all the information about this current pregnancy as well as my past pregnancies very seriously.


At this point I will be going in to have non-stress tests done twice a week, an ultrasound to check fluid levels and blood flow once a week, FFN tests every 2 weeks and growth checks every 3 weeks along with my regular visits to my OB every 3 weeks. I am also supposed to be doing kick counts twice a day and monitoring my contractions. The doctors are still concerned about my preterm labor symptoms, but what has them most alarmed at this point is the increase in resistance with the blood flow to our baby girl as well as the drop in growth.

Today's appointment started out like usual with the dreaded question... "How many pregnancies have you had?... and how many live births?" No matter how many times I answer that question, it still breaks my heart a little. Then we met with a different doctor than usual, so he wanted us to explain the details of our Wyatt who was still born at 27weeks and 2 days. Although I am very glad that he is trying to put all the pieces together, it is never easy having to go back and re-live those tough memories.

He will be getting my records from that pregnancy as well as Wyatt's autopsy report to help him try to figure out why we are having similar issues again. It is starting to sound like maybe our little girl's complications are not just another round of bad luck and may actually be related to what ever caused us to lose Wyatt. He said it is very uncommon to see such a fall in growth so early, and the blood flow issues are alarming as well.

I am just so thankful that these issues started so much later this time. Even if one of these tests come back with bad news, our baby girl has a very good fighting chance. She is already over 3 times Wyatt's size and her lungs should be much more developed. I am also very glad that this new doctor as well as our other high-risk doctor and our regular OB are all being very cautious about everything. They are working very hard to try and figure out what is going on at the same time as making sure I am being properly monitored. Plus they treat me respectfully.

I was told today that it is actually a good idea to get up and move around at least a little every day, but to still be very careful and rest when I can. I am still working hard to get all the calories they recommend.

 29 Weeks 4 days
1.5 weeks behind in growth (Will recheck on Tuesday)
2.75cm Cervix length (Wasn't measured again)
1cm dilated and soft
Perfect Fluid levels
Still moving well, but not quite as often.
3 Negative FFN tests
Meds doubled to help control contractions
Blood Flow becoming more resistant
Passed first non-stress test