On Tuesday, December 18th, my mother and I went to the hospital for a visit for another ultrasound. The previous week, I had just had the detailed ultrasound where they do an extensive check of baby, uterus, placenta etc. The doctor had expressed concern about the amount of fluid surrounding my baby and again they told me that he was smaller than usual, placing the due date according to size at April 25th instead of March 15th (the date according to 40 weeks from my last menstrual cycle.) He wanted me to follow up with a specialist and we were blessed to be able to get in to see him within a week - which my OB said was pretty rare.
The ultrasound technician did the ultrasound and left, saying she would give the doctor all the information and he would be in shortly. The doctor came in and said that the blood flow to the placenta was too low, that my baby was really small for his age, and that the fluid in the uterus was also extremely low. He said "It's not an emergency, but there is an 'urgency'." They would need to monitor me and probably take the baby in a couple days. I think I was in shock, and asked him, "So you're saying that I might have my baby in two days?" He confirmed that and said I would need to check in with Labor and Delivery right then.
I called Tyler, pretty emotional and told him what was going on. I think my mom took care of everything else. She called the school to let them know I'd be out and possibly having my baby, I had an appointment that afternoon with an endocrinologist that we had to cancel, and I was stressed that I still had a bunch of tests that I promised my students I would grade that afternoon, which needless to say, didn't get done.
Come to find out, it wasn't really a might, but a pretty sure thing. They hooked me up to an IV, placed a monitor on my belly for the baby's heartbeat, put me on magnesium (which would help me and the baby - reducing the risk of cerebral palsy) and gave me a steroid shot to help my baby's lungs develop. Normally they give another shot 24 hours later, but my blood pressure started rising, and they gave the second shot at midnight, 12 hours later, letting me know that if my blood pressure continued to rise, we might deliver the next day.
Again we were blessed - my blood pressure evened out, and we were able to hold out for another day. Wednesday they let me know that the c-section was planned for the following day at 7:30 am. They predicted my little guy would be about a pound!
If we hadn't caught this when we did, Dr Johnson said it would have been pretty likely that our baby would have been still born. Even though it's scary and a bit overwhelming, we are so thankful our little guy will have a chance.
We are so thankful for our wonderful family and friends, who visited, sent flowers and gifts and gave us encouragement and prayers.
The ultrasound technician did the ultrasound and left, saying she would give the doctor all the information and he would be in shortly. The doctor came in and said that the blood flow to the placenta was too low, that my baby was really small for his age, and that the fluid in the uterus was also extremely low. He said "It's not an emergency, but there is an 'urgency'." They would need to monitor me and probably take the baby in a couple days. I think I was in shock, and asked him, "So you're saying that I might have my baby in two days?" He confirmed that and said I would need to check in with Labor and Delivery right then.
I called Tyler, pretty emotional and told him what was going on. I think my mom took care of everything else. She called the school to let them know I'd be out and possibly having my baby, I had an appointment that afternoon with an endocrinologist that we had to cancel, and I was stressed that I still had a bunch of tests that I promised my students I would grade that afternoon, which needless to say, didn't get done.
Come to find out, it wasn't really a might, but a pretty sure thing. They hooked me up to an IV, placed a monitor on my belly for the baby's heartbeat, put me on magnesium (which would help me and the baby - reducing the risk of cerebral palsy) and gave me a steroid shot to help my baby's lungs develop. Normally they give another shot 24 hours later, but my blood pressure started rising, and they gave the second shot at midnight, 12 hours later, letting me know that if my blood pressure continued to rise, we might deliver the next day.
Again we were blessed - my blood pressure evened out, and we were able to hold out for another day. Wednesday they let me know that the c-section was planned for the following day at 7:30 am. They predicted my little guy would be about a pound!
If we hadn't caught this when we did, Dr Johnson said it would have been pretty likely that our baby would have been still born. Even though it's scary and a bit overwhelming, we are so thankful our little guy will have a chance.
We are so thankful for our wonderful family and friends, who visited, sent flowers and gifts and gave us encouragement and prayers.
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