Today's visit was hard to describe. I should have probably blogged about it right when I got home, as I felt less anxiety than I do now, having done too much googling and reading about other stories.
The first unusual sign was that I had lost 2 lbs since my last visit. Now, I have been cutting out the fast food and eating lots more vegatables, plus with this heartburn I can't eat anymore after 8:30pm or so. So no late night snacks.
Blood pressure is slightly elevated, same as last week (in fact, the exact same reading as last week). Doctor pulls out the ultrasound machine and says baby's heartbeat looks good, but that my fluids look low. Low enough that she sends me over to have an NST screening done.
There, they hook me up to the fetal monitors and I sit for 45 minutes while they watch baby's heartbeat. She was as active as ever, which was good and bad. Good, because we know she's doing all right in there. Bad, because it was hard to place the monitors for long enough to catch her heartbeat for more than a few minutes at a time. But she finally settled down, and they gave me the vote of confidence that she's doing well in there.
Then we went for the final part of the NST, which is an extended ultrasound where they check the the levels of fluid. Ideally, I should be between 5-25 cm's (which is called your AFI level). When my doc checked me initially, she found I was at 5.6 AFI, which is borderline low. When the NST specialists checked me, I was at 7.4 AFI, which was a little better, but they'd prefer me to be closer to 11-12 at this stage of my pregnancy.
So, I've been ordered to do no housework, no errands, nothing really at all. They want me to lay in bed or on the couch, and do nothing but relax and drink LOTS and LOTS of water. They are concerned if the levels stay low that the baby could accidentally have the cord wrap around her neck.
So, of course they now have me freaked out. I'm doing kick counts now (never had to until now, she has been so active that I would get 10 kicks in 10 minutes, at times) but they want me to make sure if I feel a sudden change in her activity, to come in as quickly as possible.
All of this is stressing me out a bit. I'm sure everything is fine, but even a small risk like this is causing me some anxiety. Luckily, we are close to the hospital and ready to go, so who knows- the next post could very well be Ginger's birth story. We'll see...
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6 years ago
3 comments:
My fluid levels were also low but my water had also broken. I was measured and I went from 14 to 4 in one day. It's scary because the doctors and nurses aren't always careful when choosing the words to use to explain what's going on. I am sooooo proud of you. You seem to be in great spirits through your whole pregnancy. BTW....I love the glider and ottoman; that is going to be my new purchase because it makes a huge difference when rocking the little one to sleep. Just a couple more weeks and little Ginger will be in your arms. Don't worry about the weight gain. I gained 13 pounds during my pregnancy and I lost 50 so far and it's really all from eating well, breastfeeding, and the fluid loss. The amount of weight you will lose in just the first few weeks will be huge. As long as Ginger and you are healthy, that's all that matters.
Wow. I can't believe this. I'm sure everything is going to be fine. I've been on fetal monitoring twice a week the past two weeks because I feel the baby hasn't moved as much and they wanted to ease my fears - every time I go in it's been fine (although they did have to buzz it twice!). My fluid is 10 but one time they could only find three pockets instead of 4, but as long as the fluid was in between the range they were fine with it. So I know how you feel about being anxious about things, except mine has been a little different. I will keep you in my prayers, but I'm sure everything is going to be just fine. Just lay up on that couch or bed and have Paul bring you whatever you need. My appt is tomorrow so I'll let you know how mine goes. Try not to worry - I know it's hard, but there is nothing you can do in the meantime except for what the Dr. told you and just know you have an appt in a couple of days. I'll be saying prayers! And stay off the internet - we're the same with that and it does no good - everyone has a different experience, you know?
Hello, love! We will keep you in our prayers until we hear the happy news~ that Ginger & mommy are both doing well! I will be 30 in about a half hour...craziness, eh? You'll be in my thoughts all day! May God bless you, Paul, & baby with a peace & safe delivery! We can't wait to meet her!!! Love you sooooooo much :)
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