My mom went with me to the appointment since Ben is in Taiwan (he made it there in one piece!) and I'm glad she did! After 8 months of "everything's perfect" appointments, I was bombarded with not-so-perfect news about my little bun in my little oven. Overall, everything is fine, but here are the details (please excuse yourself now if you don't want to read all about it)....
After being asked the same 769 questions I was asked at 8 weeks, the doctor checked me - I'm one centimeter dilated and 50% thinned. She said this is pretty normal for 36 weeks and some women walk around a centimeter or two dilated for a couple of weeks without going into labor. She also used a doppler to listen to the baby's heart rate - sounded lovely in the lower 140s. Then, she ordered a sonogram since it's been 16 weeks since my last one. The tech measured the baby's heart rate again, measured her head, femur, and torso to get a feel for how big she is. Turns out, she's measuring small - about a week behind schedule. They estimated she weighs about 5 lb 3 oz - - putting her in the 25th percentile. They also measured my amniotic fluid and found it to be on the low end of normal, too. Finally, they looked at my placenta. The doctor said it looks like it's getting "old" - and she said this is normal, but sometimes it doesn't look that way until 40 weeks or beyond. Oh - and they checked to make sure the baby's still a girl - and she is! :o)
After the ultrasound, I was hooked up to a couple of monitors for a non-stress test. They basically measure for contractions and the baby's heartbeat for a longer period of time. I didn't have any contractions, and her heartbeat sounded great for the duration of the test (maybe 10 - 15 mins).
The doctor sent me home with instructions to drink more water than I've ever drank before and to be as lazy as possible for this week until she sees me again next Tuesday. She said I'm not confined to bed rest, but I really should take it easy... really easy. She also suggested I add more protein to my diet. She said that next week, if the baby isn't gaining more weight, if my fluid hasn't improved, or if I'm dilating more, we'll start talking about full-blown bed rest or even inducing me a couple of weeks early. Right now, she doesn't seem to think I'm gonna make it to my due date. I want her to be as healthy and plump as possible, and I really really really really want her to stay put until Ben gets back from Taiwan.
So none of this is necessarily bad news... it just wasn't the "everything's perfect" news I was used to hearing. After the 2 hour visit with the doctor, we went to Steak n Shake for lunch, I ran a couple of errands, and then I brought some lemonade over to my brother at his shop. It's been super hot the last few days and I feel bad for everyone who has to work outdoors!
For those of you who've never been to central IL... check out what you're missing!
Just like when Moses parted the sea! Only this is more like the Green Giant parting the fields of corn!
1 comment:
Bri, I certainly don't want to trivialize what your doctor said, but please realize that many doctors do these tests routinely at 36 weeks so that they have a paper trail to back them up when they want to induce or do a c-section in time for their golf tournament/family reunion/kid's moving into college. 25th percentile is nowhere near cause for concern, and ultrasounds this late in pregnancy have a less than 50% accuracy rate at guessing size. At least your doctor's advice to drink more was sound: your amniotic fluid can increase significantly if you're adequately hydrated. I know anecdotes aren't evidence, but a friend of mine had her second son at home at 37 weeks, weighing 5 lbs 7 oz. And he was, and is still, perfectly healthy, without any interventions during labor/birth/immediate postpartum (intermittent heart rate monitoring during labor showed he was doing great!). It's good to have a physician to step in if help is truly needed, but for now, just keep taking care of yourself and trust your body. Modern obstetrics makes almost all its money by scaring women into thinking they don't work and they therefore pose a risk to their babies. But in reality, early induction and elective c-sections are risky but thankfully they exist for those rare occasions where they're really necessary). You could ask your doc what her c-section rate is to see how trigger-happy she is, although in IL she is not be required by law to disclose it to you. Sending you lots of positive birth vibes and confident mama energy! It sounds like your body is doing just what it needs to do to get ready for your little darling to make her grand debut. Love you!!!!!!!!!
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