Friday, March 4, 2011

Well, I guess it was okay!

She grew 10 days worth in 16 days, which is acceptable. At least she grew!!

According to them, I'm 25w3d, and she's measuring 23w3d, so two weeks behind. Her measurements were:
BPD <1% (she said not to worry about this number, it only indicates head shape or something...)
HC 18%
AC 4%
FL 8%
They said she's showing signs of head sparing, which is good, and wasn't there last scan. Cord blood flow resistance was higher than last scan, but still okay. My cervix was NORMAL!

The mfm today talked about viability. According to her, it's more based on the baby's size than the actual number of weeks you are gestating at. Ellie is 4 "days" away from viability, but given that she's growing at 62.5%, it will take her closer to a week to reach that magical weight.

So, starting on Tuesday, I'm to go in for twice weekly NST monitoring (looks like Tuesdays and Fridays), and then weekly ultrasounds. Every Friday, they'll look at her amniotic fluid levels (which were a little lower than last scan) and the cord flow . Every other Friday they will be looking at growth, since you need about two weeks between growth scans to be able to tell anything significant.

Depending on how things go, they will either increase the frequency of the monitoring, or decrease it. I don't need to tell you which one I'm hoping for!! Every Friday, after my u/s, I'll meet with the mfm docs, and go over the reports for the week.

She drew out a diagram of what they look for when they do the cord doppler studies. She showed normal, absent, and reverse. We're still normal, but I could definitely tell a difference between this one and the one two weeks ago. It's getting a lot closer to absent...

She talked steroids again. Mentioned that they like to administer them at least 48 hours prior to the birth, and not more than 2 weeks out. She said this week since things were still okay, we'd hold off, but that they'll talk about it again at every appointment.

I asked if I would have to have a c-section if they decide she would do better on the outside, in the nicu (which I'm touring on Friday). She said that if I have to have Ellie because my placenta gives out, then yes, I probably will have to have a section. I'm starting to prepare myself for that. I know all that matters is that our little peanut comes out alright. Today, she was presenting frank breech, with her feet above her head, which was pretty funny to see

So, that's my update. I'm still on bed rest, since it's clearly working. They are going to keep me on bed rest until Ellie reaches 32 weeks (who knows how far along that means I will have to be!)

Thanks for all the support