Back Home Again

More good news this afternoon when Dr. F. got a break in her schedule to come talk to us. I've been sprung! I am home!

Bedrest is still ordered for the foreseeable future, and I will go to various offices on First Hill next Tuesday for a check-up, fetal monitoring, and an ultrasound. This ultrasound will measure the amniotic fluid volume and monitor blood flows in the umbilical cord and in the baby; it will not measure growth. Dr. F. acknowledged to us that bedrest at home is not as restful as bedrest in a hospital, but now that I've been on hospital bedrest, I do know what I am supposed to do to comply. Plus, here at home, I have Jeff, Chief of the Bedrest Police Force to keep me in line! If I continue to remain pregnant with a healthy BabyJ, it's possible that the bedrest will be phased out over time, but we need to cross that bridge when we get there. For now, it's great to be at home with Jeff and the cats, and all the baby gear surrounding our existence here serves as a stark reminder that this crazy bedrest/monitorings/ultrasounds adventure will end soon with a beautiful baby girl that will change our lives forever. (Not that she hasn't done that already!!!)

More details on the ultrasound results this morning.... The session started with the tech (a different Seattle U grad than last time) telling us they would get in touch with the doctor about the results before we left the room, in case they needed to do an amniocentesis today. That alarmed me a little, because I hadn't heard Dr. F. mention an amnio to us before. However, I know from talking with other drs. that had seen me on rounds and the nurses who took care of me that an amnio would be used to check lung maturity (apparently there is a protein in the amniotic fluid that gives them lung maturity info). I knew we wouldn't need one, though, because I was so sure BabyJ had grown!

The tech spent quite a bit of time taking pictures and measurements, etc. At one point it took 3 or 4 tries to get a good reading on a vein in BabyJ's stomach, because she was moving around so much! When the tech finished her work, the measurements of BabyJ's femur, abdomen, and head were put into a computer model that gives projected weight and percentile figures. Before the report was finalized, the US dr. came in to remeasure BabyJ's abdomen, as she thought the abdomen looked a little pinched (I guess there is a picture that goes with the measurement). She assured us even at that point that we were out of the woods, over the 10th percentile already. She did the measurement 3 more times, and then I heard her say to the tech, "Let's use this one to err on the side of caution." After a few more minutes, she came back with the 16th percentile figure and the 5 pounds, 10 ounces projected weight at this time. So BabyJ is somewhere between 5 and 10 days "behind schedule," so to speak, of a 50th percentile baby. We were told that some of the difference between the 5 and 10 days can be attributed to the different due dates the drs. are using. (Dr. F's due date is 2/11, and the US office I've been to says I'm due either 2/7 or 2/9, depending on which visit's data they use.)

So being above the 10th percentile means that BabyJ is no longer considered IUGR (=growth restricted). Dr. F. told us that either something happened to slow her growth, or she's just a small baby. Dr. F. will continue to keep an eye on the situation, with weekly check-ups, and maybe even another growth ultrasound at 39 weeks (3 weeks from now). She said that usually they wait 3 weeks between growth ultrasounds due to the variability in the measurements, but she went just 2 weeks with us this time because it wasn't worth waiting for better data if the baby wasn't growing. (We agree!) So as of today, BabyJ's arrival date is less certain than it sounded a couple of weeks ago, as Dr. F did not mention inducing me next week when I hit 37 weeks. The current thinking is that if BabyJ's monitorings and blood flow ultrasounds continue to look good over the next few weeks, the bedrest may be phased out, and we may even make it to 40 weeks! She did say that she wasn't sure we'd want to go past that; she may induce labor near the due date if BabyJ hasn't arrived on her own yet.

All of this sounds SO much more positive and sensible that the noise we heard 13 days ago (admittedly without growth data at that time, it was appropriate for the doctors to be cautious). Thank goodness! The plan on the table suggests we'll be adding another Aquarius to the household, though we're back to the possibility that she and I will share a birthday. We'll have to see what the next few weeks bring. But my time in the hospital was well-spent: we have a birth plan and we are about as mentally and emotionally prepared for labor as we can be before it starts. The baby preparations at the house are nearly complete, and we have just a short list of things we still need to get either for us or for BabyJ. We have chosen a pediatrician, and we know a TON of specifics about Swedish's services for us and for BabyJ. In my time on the antepartum unit, I met several nurses who also work in the birthing suites, so I may actually see one of them on the big day. In addition, I know if I do end up getting induced, I will likely start that process in the antepartum unit, maybe with a nurse I've already had, and I can labor there for quite awhile (as long as I don't need pain meds) before heading to the birthing suites for delivery and, hopefully, rooming in with our little girl. So there are a ton of positives to my 13-day "vacation" at "Club Swedish." Right now, though, we are exhausted from the intensity of the last 2 weeks!!! We are looking forward to getting to bed early tonight, together, in our own bed, and facing a new day with far less worry and stress.

Thanks again to everyone who called, emailed, visited, wanted to call and/or visit, did things or offered to do things for us, kept us in their thoughts and prayers, and sent us positive energy of growth. Our network of support is so awesome and we don't take it for granted for one minute!!! Thank you!