Thursday, June 16, 2011

The scoop for today

28 weeks + 5 days, 12 weeks post rupture, day 37 at my parent's place

Ultrasound went okay today. My fluid levels are a little lower at 4.4 but the bladder was full and everything else looks good. Baby has grown about 200 grams in a week and now is estimated to weigh 2 lbs 7 oz. Still measuring a little small, but remains on his/her own growth track. Blood flow through the cord and in the brain is perfect. Still can't see if it's a boy or a girl...so Acorn he/she remains. What was really cute was we got to see the front side of the face and Acorn looks to have sort of 'chubby' (relative to size, of course) cheeks. So at least if Acorn's head is a kind of a funny shape, his or her cute cheeks will make up for it!

Dr. Eeyore confessed to be 'excited' today at our appointment so I call that progress. He's amazed that I keep showing up pregnant every week. He's starting to wonder about how long to let me go. He's starting to err on the side of delivery as early as 32 weeks, whereas he admits other doctors would let me go as far as 34 or 36 weeks. As he said, he wants to get the baby out in the best condition possible and it would be bad if what prompted delivery was infection. Infected babies don't do as well. But, on the other hand Acorn is doing well right now and therefore it's probably best if baby stays put and bakes a little longer.

For my own sake I'd like this baby delivered as soon as safely possible. My back, legs, feet, neck, and shoulders ache on an almost constant basis from lack of movement. I would love to be able to get up and stretch and go for a walk...but alas I just have to lie there and beg my husband for massages instead. I try to do ankle rolls, leg pumps, shoulder stretches and side bends but my movement is severely limited. Last night was also the first night that I noticed my fingers felt a little swollen. I'm hoping it's just a 'pregnancy' thing rather than a 'heart not working so well' thing, but still it's a bit concerning.

For Acorn's sake, I'd like to go as long as possible. Bigger is generally better. I just hope lung development has been adequate and Acorn's delivery date is the start of a long healthy life, rather than (another) worst day of our lives.

As for the fetal ECHO we are going to go, but I have spoken to the nurse coordinator at the clinic and explained the situation. She is on board with only getting the images they can get. There will be no 'getting up and moving around' and no pushing to try to get the baby to 'turn'. What they will see is what they will get. I feel okay about this decision (it is another trip in the car and time outside, which is the highlight of my week!), but I just hope it doesn't add to our worries.

So that's the scoop for today.

10 comments:

  1. Yay for 28 weeks and 5 days and a good scan! I am so happy about that. I know the worries are never ending. I am constantly hoping that everything works out well.

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  2. That's a pretty big scoop for today- I mean look! You and Acorn made Dr. Eyeore get excited!
    Keep on keeping on Emily.. every week brings you closer to the finish line of what I hope and pray will be a beautiful ending to this story.

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  3. And PS.. I was just looking at Aidan's cheeks after I posted this.. looks like baby brother or sister is following in his chubby cheek sweetness!

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  4. See how impressive you are - you've got Dr Eeyore excited!!! Very impressive. I'm glad you talked to the nurse coordinator at the clinic; if anyone can understand and influence the appointment to make sure you get as much benefit with minimal risk to you and Acorn it would be her! I hope you're less worried about it. I was very worried about how you are coping with it all - but if it gets you another enjoyable car ride and helps your mood, that's good. I'll concentrate on hoping they get some good images! :-)

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  5. I'm so happy for you. I know your situation is still a long way from ideal, but you've come so far and Acorn has done so well for so long - I'm just really happy to still be reading pregnancy updates from you. All my love to the two of you.
    xo

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  6. So happy for you! Glad you've even got gloomy old Eeyore excited now. You are doing a fantastic job of giving Acorn the very best under very difficult circumstances.

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  7. This is sounding so optimistic and exciting, I am very happy to hear. For the aches, when I was on bedrest, I used to take 1g of tylenol a couple of times a day. I was in constant pain as well and had migraines because of fluid overload. I could hear my JVP pulsating like a low hum all the time. I feel for you. It is not forever, but while it is, it feels awful. Tylenol helped me.

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  8. My best friend was in the hospital from 22 weeks to 34 weeks before delivering her son and around where you are now they started talking about the potential of her getting to 32, 34, 26 etc and when they would feel comfortable delivering him. She had been dilated 4cm for weeks and weeks so the potential for infection was high. Ultimately, they let her go home at 34 weeks on strict bed rest and he came on his own a couple days later. He never spent any time in the NICU (with the exception of one day, not night, of monitoring) and just celebrated his due date last Saturday. I have a co-worker who pretermed with twins and a doctor had told her that one benefit of preterm issues is that our bodies release certain chemicals that tell our babies to develop faster. Not necessarily by size, but more importantly, by lung capacity. My friend has been my hero, I tell her all the time that seeing her going through what she did and still bring home a health baby helps me believe that I will too. Your story is also like that, you and the Acorn are fighting one heck of a fight (And winning!!). I can't help but give kuddos to Aidan who I'm sure has a hand in this too :)

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  9. So glad to hear that things are going well and that Acorn is still baking :)

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  10. Just think...you could be looking at Acorn in as little as 4 weeks! WOW

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