As some may know, this pregnancy has been a crazy roller coaster since the beginning. Good news was, I didn't have morning sickness ever, bad news was I ended up first with a subchorionic hemorrhage which was responsible for bleeding- landing me on bedrest for about 2 months, costing me my job. Good news- I started nursing school, and managed to have a fairly easy 2nd trimester while I watched him grow. Throughout this time we had many changes & challenges with work down in Miami, a pending move, the stress of completing school, etc. Unfortunately, in mid-November out of nowhere I experienced passing a large clot and bleeding- at about 27 weeks gestation. I went to the hospital in a panic, and was kept for observation. They monitored baby and made sure to complete ultrasounds and bloodwork. He showed right on target for everything, and was very healthy it appeared. They discharged me with modified bedrest orders, and no answer as to why it occurred. During my follow-up doctor's visit they tested fetal fibronectin- an indicator for preterm labor. It came back positive. Two weeks after the first hospital visit, the same thing happened- passed a clot, bled, went to the hospital, was monitored and examined, and had no explanation, but baby looked great- so they discharged. They did go ahead and give me a series of steroid injections (2- 24 hours apart) to go ahead and prepare his lungs in the event of a preterm labor. This was followed by continued bedrest and increased doctor's visits. A couple of fetal fibronectin positives later, they went ahead and ordered another ultrasound to confirm cervical length and amniotic fluid levels- everything on that end looked fine. However, two weeks ago today, during another ultrasound to check the same, along with his size, they discovered that he was measuring small for his age and then cord dopplers indicated a high level of systolic/diastolic ration (too much pressure). Instead of measuring 32weeks+, he measured about 30 weeks. They said something about "IUGR" which I had to research when I got home- stands for Intrauterine Growth Restriction." I was to take it easy and have a followup ultrasound the following week and scheduled for weekly Non-stress tests to observe his activity & ability to adapt changes in activity through his heart rate.
So last Monday we went in for the Non-stress test, and passed with flying colors. Cautiously optimistic, we could only hope for the best on Tuesday's followup ultrasound. However, instead of showing improvement or a possible error, he was then 33weeks 2 days, and was measuring around 30 weeks still, and high cord doppler numbers. Not knowing what to expect after weeks & months of bedrest, I was sent to a specialist- they went ahead and scheduled my appointment for Wednesday. So I went to that appointment (5 hours later), to have yet another ultrasound done, which confirmed the previous findings and even showed him to be closer to 29-30 weeks for size. They estimated his weight to be around 3lbs,11oz. Immediately I was asked to give consent for an amniocentesis to determine his lung maturity. I was told they would likely want to deliver the baby that week if the lungs were ready- they were concerned about losing him as he was obviously failing to receive nutrition. A very rough day- but I kept myself distracted and spent a good evening with Kaely. The next morning- Thursday- I waited on pins & needles to hear the results- they took too long so I called and was told I'd receive a call after the doctor reviewed the results. By 10am I received a call from my doctor -not the specialist- requesting I go straight to his office to talk to him. Kaely & I left to wait there- while the specialists' office called back and confirmed that the results were positive on lung maturity and the case was given back to my physician to handle delivery. So after much waiting, I found out at 3pm on Thursday afternoon that they wanted to move forward with the delivery, and insisted on a c-section because of the potential for stress on the baby as he was so small during a natural delivery. They said I was penciled in for a c-section the next afternoon- but that he wanted to do sooner than that- so he swapped the appointment for a 7am schedule time.
Needless to say I was in shock and an absolute mess. I kissed Kaely goodbye knowing I was headed into surgery in a matter of hours, and not knowing what to expect. Dave left work early to trek the 4 hour drive home, and I sat and prayed. This was the end to a ride that had been more than terrifying...
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