Tuesday April 30, 2013
There are a couple things the doctor told us yesterday that I forgot to write about. First he told us that sometimes a genetic problem or an infection can cause a baby to be small. He felt like neither of these are the case for our baby. It was very reassuring for me to hear this. He said we just need this placenta and cord to last until the baby is born, then we are going to throw it away. He did in all seriousness ask if we were planning on throwing the cord and placenta away. They do have people who keep them to eat!!!
Today I am 30 weeks. The tests today looked good. I also got to see my perinatologist I had been going to in Logan. He seems to think things will be good for a while.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Monday, April 29, 2013
Monday April 29, 2013
We had an ultrasound first thing this morning. The blood flow in the cord is about the same. We also met with a perinatologist this morning who will be here all week. We liked him and feel like it will be nice to have some consistency during the week. He had me go back to ultrasound and had them look at the baby's blood flow to the brain and liver. He said that by looking at these additional flows, we can get an idea if the baby's organs including the heart are working harder than they need to. This second ultrasound showed that the baby is doing well. We were happy for good news. Each day they will repeat the ultrasound to check the blood flow in the cord.
We had an ultrasound first thing this morning. The blood flow in the cord is about the same. We also met with a perinatologist this morning who will be here all week. We liked him and feel like it will be nice to have some consistency during the week. He had me go back to ultrasound and had them look at the baby's blood flow to the brain and liver. He said that by looking at these additional flows, we can get an idea if the baby's organs including the heart are working harder than they need to. This second ultrasound showed that the baby is doing well. We were happy for good news. Each day they will repeat the ultrasound to check the blood flow in the cord.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Kids came to visit!!!
Cafe Rio beats the hospital food
Chloe reading us a story
Happy to see Dad
Flowers for Mom from Mack, Chloe, Leslie & Susie
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Overview so far
After our 20 week ultrasound we found out that our baby was measuring small. Two days later we got back the results of our genetic testing and one of the test was above the normal range. With two strikes against us our doctor felt like we needed to visit a perinatologist.
We saw the perinatologist at 22 weeks. They were able to rule out several of the possible problems with the baby but said we were still in a "grey area." They were not exactly sure what was going on. Our baby was defiantly measuring small and they did notice that there was abnormal blood flow through the cord. We were told to come back in three weeks to see how the baby had grown and hopefully we would know more.
At the next appointment I was 25 weeks. The baby was still behind overall but had grown about three weeks worth of growth in the three weeks between appointments. The doctor was more encouraged and Adam and I were too. The blood flow in the cord was still abnormal but didn't seem to be worse than the time before.
At 28 weeks when we went back for our next appointment Adam and I felt optimistic that things would be similar to our last appointment. This appointment we felt like we had a bomb dropped on us. The baby had only had about one week of growth in the three weeks between appointments. She is now measuring about 4 weeks behind. The blood flow in the cord had gotten worse. They estimated the baby to weigh 680 grams which is about 1 pound 8 ounces. The whole dynamic of our situation had changed. Along with the decrease in growth I am now far enough along that delivery is an option.
We went home and were doing a non stress test and an ultrasound every two days to keep a close eye on the situation. The first three test went well and our perinatologist felt like the situation was "stable" and that it was reasonable for me to continue the tests from home.
On Thursday April 25 I went in for the tests. This time the ultrasound showed that the blood flow in the cord was not as good. There were periods of zero flow. I left the hospital feeling discouraged and anxious to hear what the doctors would have to say. My mom was in town so we went to lunch. We were just taking something over to Adam to eat when the hospital called and said the needed me to come back for another ultrasound. We did a biophysical ultrasound that watched for specific movements on the baby. The baby scored an 8 on this test which was great. Since she passed the test we were able to drive ourselves and not be flown down here. We were told we had 30 minutes to pack and get in the car to leave. Luckily my mom was still with us and she was able to be there with the kids so we could leave.
Adam and I were pretty paniced. We didn't really know what would happen when we got here. We were pretty nervous we would be having the baby when we got to the hospital. Once we got here everyone here was a lot less urgent about the situation. They put me on the monitor to watch the baby's heart rate and movement which were both good. They gave me the first dose of a steroid shot. Later on a perinatologist came in to talk to us. She said that the zero flow was of concern but they would now be watching for negative flow. She also told us that along with helping the baby's lungs the steriods usually help improve the blood flow in the cord for one to two weeks. She called this a "steroid holiday." So we are hoping to let this baby grow for as long as possible.
Friday they took me to do another ultrasound. The blood flow in the cord had definitely improved from Thursday. The baby had also grown since our ultrasound a week before. They estimated she weighs 780 grams which is about 1 pound 12 ounces. She is still measuring about four weeks behind. Friday night they gave me the second dose of the steroid shot.
Saturday April 27, 2013. Today the did another non stress test. The baby looked good. We will have another on Sunday. We will have another ultrasound to check the blood flow in the cord on Monday. So the plan for now is that I will be in the hospital until the baby is born. The longer we can delay delivery the better.
We saw the perinatologist at 22 weeks. They were able to rule out several of the possible problems with the baby but said we were still in a "grey area." They were not exactly sure what was going on. Our baby was defiantly measuring small and they did notice that there was abnormal blood flow through the cord. We were told to come back in three weeks to see how the baby had grown and hopefully we would know more.
At the next appointment I was 25 weeks. The baby was still behind overall but had grown about three weeks worth of growth in the three weeks between appointments. The doctor was more encouraged and Adam and I were too. The blood flow in the cord was still abnormal but didn't seem to be worse than the time before.
At 28 weeks when we went back for our next appointment Adam and I felt optimistic that things would be similar to our last appointment. This appointment we felt like we had a bomb dropped on us. The baby had only had about one week of growth in the three weeks between appointments. She is now measuring about 4 weeks behind. The blood flow in the cord had gotten worse. They estimated the baby to weigh 680 grams which is about 1 pound 8 ounces. The whole dynamic of our situation had changed. Along with the decrease in growth I am now far enough along that delivery is an option.
We went home and were doing a non stress test and an ultrasound every two days to keep a close eye on the situation. The first three test went well and our perinatologist felt like the situation was "stable" and that it was reasonable for me to continue the tests from home.
On Thursday April 25 I went in for the tests. This time the ultrasound showed that the blood flow in the cord was not as good. There were periods of zero flow. I left the hospital feeling discouraged and anxious to hear what the doctors would have to say. My mom was in town so we went to lunch. We were just taking something over to Adam to eat when the hospital called and said the needed me to come back for another ultrasound. We did a biophysical ultrasound that watched for specific movements on the baby. The baby scored an 8 on this test which was great. Since she passed the test we were able to drive ourselves and not be flown down here. We were told we had 30 minutes to pack and get in the car to leave. Luckily my mom was still with us and she was able to be there with the kids so we could leave.
Adam and I were pretty paniced. We didn't really know what would happen when we got here. We were pretty nervous we would be having the baby when we got to the hospital. Once we got here everyone here was a lot less urgent about the situation. They put me on the monitor to watch the baby's heart rate and movement which were both good. They gave me the first dose of a steroid shot. Later on a perinatologist came in to talk to us. She said that the zero flow was of concern but they would now be watching for negative flow. She also told us that along with helping the baby's lungs the steriods usually help improve the blood flow in the cord for one to two weeks. She called this a "steroid holiday." So we are hoping to let this baby grow for as long as possible.
Friday they took me to do another ultrasound. The blood flow in the cord had definitely improved from Thursday. The baby had also grown since our ultrasound a week before. They estimated she weighs 780 grams which is about 1 pound 12 ounces. She is still measuring about four weeks behind. Friday night they gave me the second dose of the steroid shot.
Saturday April 27, 2013. Today the did another non stress test. The baby looked good. We will have another on Sunday. We will have another ultrasound to check the blood flow in the cord on Monday. So the plan for now is that I will be in the hospital until the baby is born. The longer we can delay delivery the better.
Friday, April 26, 2013
It has been suggested to us to start a blog so that as Emily is in the hospital and our baby is born, those that would like to be up to date on the situation can be. We are newbies to this whole blogging thing, although Emily is considered a blog-stocker so she has some experience at what these blogs should look like. Honestly if we update on a regular basis, that will be a success. Hopefully no one will expect too many frills.
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