OB Update

For those who weren't on my direct email distribution list.....here is an email update that I sent around to family and friends last week [September 23rd] as an update on what is going on with me and Baby Girl #2.

Just wanted to update you on what is going on with me.....please do not worry......

So today I went in for a routine "belly check" (32 weeks) and was measured and Dr. Ruedrich said all was well. Then as I pulled out my (admittedly long) list of questions and told him that I had some questions about the "end" that we never got to discuss before. He interrupted me and with a "let's walk around the corner and do a quick check on the baby's size.....I was thinking you were 30 weeks and just realized you're 32". So, we went to the ultrasound room and he told me that he was sure everything was fine and that I'm probably just "packing it all in there" really tightly but he wanted to double-check.

So, ultrasound is in progress and baby is measuring fine. We're at 4lbs, 5oz right now and all is looking good - this baby is right at the 50ish+ percentile, and pregnancy is when you want to have an "average" baby! He then starts to measure fluid levels (amniotic) and I mention that I've had a tad of pregnancy incontinence b/c of really bad allergies and sneezing a bunch and that sometimes I feel a little "trickle, trickle", which the last time I was pregnant was always followed by a blood clot, so when my water broke I called a nurse b/c there was no clot and now I can't tell if it is urine (which is my assumption) or something else. He tells me that he's measuring the fluid b/c it seems low on the screen, so he's glad that I mentioned the "trickles" to him.

So, he takes all kinds of measurements and tells me that subjectively the fluid levels look low....but once he gets the printouts they objectively fall into the normal range (although on the low side of normal). He also does a pH test to make sure my water didn't break (and a "fern test" - with a microscope slide to confirm for sure). My water didn't break, and the numbers are technically in the normal range -- he just doesn't like what he sees.

When your fluid levels drop too early it can be a sign that your placenta isn't functioning well. So..... he hooked me up to the monitor (like the monitoring I had in the hospital to check heart rate - called a non-stress test (NST)) and told me he now wants me to do that twice a week from here on out. (UGH!) Every Monday morning before work we'll start my week off with 30 minutes hooked up to the monitor, and then every Thursday morning we'll do another 30 minutes of monitoring, followed by an ultrasound to check fluid levels.

If my fluid gets down to zero, that will be an automatic ticket to the delivery room - no matter how far along I am. If they are just getting low (but my water has not broken), then he'll evaluate gestation versus risk like we were doing with Hannah and the bleeding. Of course at this point, he is not planning on an early delivery and doesn't anticipate making an early delivery call based on fluid until weeks 35-36 unless something drastic happens in the next few weeks....but that's when he'd start to think that he might want to take action if fluid is low. Until then, we're still better on the inside.

BUT, he reminded me that I could still be delivering a Thanksgiving baby at 41 weeks and just because we're "stepping up the vigilance/monitoring" that doesn't mean we're going to have an early baby or anything.....and that he doesn't want me to worry (which I am not) (Jon, however, is another story.). He said that fluid levels can seem low and bounce back up, can dip but then not continue to decline, etc. And, they're supposed to drop toward the end anyways - you just don't want them to drop too much. So, we're just going to keep an eye on them to make sure they don't dip and we don't know about it. It's just the "better safe than sorry" approach to pregnancy that he takes (and I appreciate).

So, that is where things stand. I had an 8:30am appointment today and arrived at work a little after 11am (2+ hours in the doctor's office, in 3 separate exam rooms....)....good thing I'm not concerned about hitting hours for work b/c this will take a chunk out of my days, for sure. But, still better than being in the hospital and he's not considering bedrest or anything like that at this point. He said that we're just monitoring, not worrying, so continue about life as normal, including my pre-natal yoga classes on Thursday nights (which just started last week....I'm the most pregnant person in there by 10+ weeks), which he thinks is a good idea b/c of the exercise and stretching anyways for delivery.

So, dont' fret, but I wanted to make sure you knew what was going on.
Julie