Sorry in advance for the length of the post.
Some of you may recall that last Friday I had my 37-week growth/position ultrasound, and the tech told me that the baby was measuring just "5 pounds... well maybe 5 1/2 pounds." (Thanks for the certainty.) So my OB was concerned that he was on the small side and ordered me to come in for a repeat growth ultrasound today.
I show up today, the tech does her measurements, and she says that he is measuring 5 pounds.
I seriously wanted to take the wand and smack her upside the head. I said, "That's what you said he weighed last week." She said, "Well, you can't really go from week to week, especially this late in pregnancy, as a good measure of a baby's size or growth." So then I wanted to take the wand and do something much more sinister with it.
Then why in the hell was I in the office getting a repeat ultrasound?
So I head over to my OB's office. She says that he looks good (organs and such), and the fluid levels are good. However, he's measuring quite small for his gestation. And the concern is that if the placenta is dying prematurely that it could be impacting his development. She said that if that's the case, they would want to induce. So she told me to go over to L&D and be monitored for at least 2 hours, basically a long fetal NST. She said that if the OB on call doesn't like what she sees, they may admit me overnight to continue monitoring. And if they still don't like what they see, it could mean induction.
So I head over to L&D, they hook me up, and I watch the Olympics. I've had a lot of BH contractions since halfway through the pregnancy, but they've picked up significantly in the past week. And I've had some real contractions mixed in as well, but no pattern to them. So it's no surprise to me when I start contracting a whole bunch during the monitoring process. The good news is that Jackson's heart rate stayed perfect the entire time, apparently no stress to him. And my BP stayed good the whole time, too, which is surprising considering I was stressed to the max.
When the on-call OB came in to talk to me after 3 hours of monitoring, she was surprised at how much I was contracting. So she did an internal and saw that I am 80% effaced and about 2cm dilated. Jackson is perfectly positioned, with his head right there. So she said that I could go into labor in a couple of days or a couple of weeks. She said the contractions, though, are definitely progressing things.
Since she said everything was looking great, she sent me home. My maternity leave starts now, though, which is just a week earlier than planned. And I'm on modified bed rest. Thank goodness we got everything ready ahead of time. (That reminds me... I never posted our final nursery pics here.) I have to go in twice per week for a NST, so I'll go back on Tuesday.
While I was hooked up, I had a buttload of contractions. So she told me that rather than pay attention to how many, to focus on the intensity level. And I'm under orders to really monitor his movements. If there's any change, I shouldn't hesitate to come back.
I'm still not buying that my little one is as small as the tech says, especially since she seemed to be really quick with the measurements this time. And how did he not gain
anything? I'm annoyed to be going through all of this when everything else is perfect. However, I'll do whatever it takes to have a happy and healthy baby.
THANKS FOR READING ALL OF THIS!
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Unexpected Trip to L&D and Now I'm on Bed Rest
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And i agree better to rest and encourage him to grow than risk a small baby. I'm on Modified rest too and it kinda sucks. Be on the look out for the contractions that hurt in your back.
10/29/11
Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.
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