Being a sensible, rational person, since getting pregnant I have spent a lot of time worrying about things like the RE having mixed up the embryos, Eggbert being born early because of my being elbowed in the belly by an aggressive middle-aged woman who REALLY wants a subway seat, or Mystery losing Eggbert at the mall. You know, the normal stuff. However, since the karyotype came back normal, and everything was going so well, more recently I've been focusing my attention on irrational worries about the birth instead. It's quite normal to be convinced that the baby is breach and that I'll need a c-section, and that the nurses in the hospital will then mislabel Eggbert, feed him/her so full of formula that breastfeeding is out of the question, and let him/her cry all night long, while giving us someone else's baby. Because that's pretty much standard practice at most hospitals, right?
I have been so busy worrying about things like that that I completely forgot to worry about Eggbert's health for the past few weeks. So, this morning when I went in for my "final" ultrasound before the birth, I was completely focused on whether the head was up or down. I was ecstatic when the tech put the probe on the lowest point of my belly and a little head showed up. I was even more delighted when he found two little feet on the top, two little hands down below, and a butt wedged under my ribs. I floated back down to the doctor on a cloud, only to be told that while Eggbert was measuring pretty much right on date at the 28 week scan, at 33w 4d, Eggbert's abdominal circumference is dating to only 30 weeks. So, in five weeks, my poor little Egg has fallen three weeks behind. The head is still measuring on date, but my doctor is now officially worried. The weight estimate is only 3 pounds 11 ounces, or less than two kg. I have to go back in two weeks for another ultrasound and a non-stress test, and if the results aren't improved, I'll be admitted to the hospital, and Eggbert may have to be delivered early and tiny.
Now I miss my irrational fears.
10 comments:
Sorry to read this news: hoping the next visit shows things are going well.
In the scheme of things, this is less important than it seems right now. At worst, you'll be delivered early and Eggbert will get "fattened up" on the outside. Another scenario is that the measurement this time was somewhat off and that the next time will be better than this time.
Cheer up, I'm sure that your doctor is taking good care of you and Eggbert :-)
I could have written this exact same post!
At about 29 weeks, the doctor first commented that my baby was on the light side. To monitor this, she asked me to come back two weeks later in order to see if the baby had grown appropriately. At this point, she seemed satisfied with the growth.
A month later, at about 35 weeks, the doctor again commented on the fact that my baby is on the light side (1,8 kg). She told me to stop working immediately and take plenty of rest, because rest is the only thing that can help the baby to grow as much as possible. Babies don't actually 'catch up', my doctor said, but the idea is to not let them slip behind any further.
5 days later, the babies estimated weight was 2 kg. Hopefully, by week 38 we can make it to 2,5.
As long as the baby's activity levels doesn't drop, she's happy to let me go to 38 weeks. Then we'll have a c-section due to breech.
My doctor said that in my situation, going to 40 weeks would probably not make that much difference in terms of weight gain. Once the baby is born, I have every reason to expect it will grow well.
I asked what she thought was the cause. Probably, (in my case) the placenta isn't functioning optimally. As this isn't going to improve with time, the baby needs to be monitored closely. Getting to 40 weeks is not really in the cards.
I hope I'm not scaring you. All in all, my doctor told me that the prognosis is good, but caution is required. Hang in there!
I'm sorry about this. I hope that Eggbert will catch up on his growth and you'll be able to return to your more usual fears.
I am so sorry Sara and I understand your fears. Well, I can tell you that being induced was not that bad at all and my son is doing absolutely great. Plus, since he was very small, the vaginal birth was not painful. I wish things were different for you though. The advice I was given was to eat lots of protein to fatten up the baby at the end of my pregnancy... Good luck with everything
I am sure the hospital already told you, but just in case: you should monitor your baby movements. If the baby does not move often enough, call your doctor. It is very important since IUGR might be caused by a problematic placenta. I hope it is nothing and that Eggbert is going to catch up.
Sorry, sorry, I forgot to add that you may get ready to have your baby sent to the NICU, at least for observation. I would recommend you visit the NICU and get some information about it so that it is less traumatic for you if your baby needs to stay there a bit. Small babies have very small stomachs, which means LOTS OF FEEDINGS -- one every 2 hours. And if you expect your baby will be under 7lbs, I recommend you get clothes in small sizes. We had to get lots of stuff in "newborn" size because everything we had was too big.Same thing for the diapers, we had to buy Preemie stuff. Good luck with everything and sorry for the multiple messages.
oh gosh, how scary. it seems like it never is the thing we're worried about with us infertiles, doesn't it? why does there always have to be something else?
i think rachel is probaby right. it's scary, but manageable scary. hope you're able to take it easy now, sounds like you've been pretty busy the whole pregnancy.
I hope Eggbert catches up and is healthy. Hoping for the best at your next visit.
Crossing my fingers for Eggbert.
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