Almost Time

We've had an eventful and very drawn out few weeks. It all started at my 37 week doctor's appointment. It was time for another ultrasound at that time. We were glad that it fell on Christmas break cause Brandon could be there. Good thing he was because it turned out to be a somewhat stressful appointment. We noticed that the ultrasound tech kept going back to the baby's heart and looking at it. When we talked with our doctor, she shared with us their concern that the baby's heart was measuring a little asymmetrical. The right ventricle was a little larger then the left. He was also measuring somewhat small in the 15th percentile with an abdominal circumference in the 3rd percentile by itself. That worried us. This all required further evaluation so they referred us to a specialist. This isn't the news you hope to hear when leaving your doctor's appointment, but we remained hopeful that we would get the answers we needed and the right care necessary.

We were supposed to go home and wait for the perinatal group to call us to make an apt. Meanwhile we got on the phone with a family friend who is a perinatologist in CA. We sent him the pictures and paperwork and he seemed to be more concerned with baby's growth more than anything. He said it was common for him to see this kind of thing among pregnant women who exercise a lot. I've been going to the gym often but I didn't think I was overdoing it. He emphasized the need to be seen quickly.

When we didn't hear from perinatal group that was supposed to call us, we gave them a call, but they couldn't get us in till the following week, so we went into their office anyway. I wasn't about to just sit around and wait if something was wrong. Luckily they fit us in that same day. We got an extensive ultrasound and their findings were the same as the other one. The baby was measuring at 5lbs 10oz and the heart was measuring asymmetrical. During the ultrasound the baby's heart rate dropped for a little bit. She was still unable to diagnose the heart problem but because of the baby's heart rate dropping she decided I needed to be delivered that day, and then they would be able to further investigate what the problem was once he was delivered. This was the day before New Years Eve. I wasn't due for another three weeks. I was in a whirlwind trying to wrap my mind around what was happening.

We went home to get our things and luckily already had a babysitter lined up for that afternoon/evening cause we had a date planned. The babysitter came over as planned and her mom just took the kids to her house for the night.

We got to the hospital and nobody received word that we were coming. The perinatologist was now "off" and another doctor was on call so we couldn't get a hold of her. My ob/gyn had left out of town for the weekend even though we had just seen her the day before so she was no longer involved. Luckily the perinatologist had contacted my ob/gyn's "on call" doctor as well as the neonatologist at the hospital so some people were expecting me. They admitted me and tried to take the best care of me as possible having no real information other then what I told them the doctors told me. They didn't have any of my records and couldn't get a hold of them but they knew I was supposed to be induced.

It took about an hour for them to get me a room and then another hour to hour and a half to check me in. Then another hour to get me hooked up to the IV and get fluids going. By about 7pm my ob/gyn's "on call" doctor was trying to decide if she was going to start me on cervadil first or go straight to pitocin. First call was cervadil, then she changed her mind to just start on the pitocin, then she decided on the cervadil again so they started me on that. I had that in for 45 minutes and they finally got a hold of the perinatologist that was "on call" who wasn't the one that ordered the induction and she put a stop to everything. After reviewing my case, she was of the opinion that if the only reason this induction was ordered was due to a drop in baby's heart rate during the ultrasound then that wasn't a good enough reason since that happens all the time during ultrasounds possibly due to pressing on the abdomen. And because ever since I was at the hospital and being monitored, baby was doing very well, so she decided that I would first need to be seen by the pediatric cardiologist to make the call concerning the baby's heart....but I couldn't see him till the next day. So now, I'm a patient in labor and delivery, not laboring, not delivering, just waiting, knowing that I will most likely just be sent home the next day when all is said and done.

We saw the cardiologist close to 1pm the next day and he took a look and found the problem. After looking at the aorta he saw a small part that was more narrow than it should be. This is called a coarctacation of the aorta. This was causing the heart to work harder which would explain the enlargement. He explained to us that this would require a surgery after he is born to repair the aorta and we would want the biggest baby possible, so for me, I was to remain pregnant. We went home from there and were happy to have some answers and happy he didn't have to be born at 37 weeks. Once we got home we had another talk with Dr. DeVore in CA, the family friend, who still seemed to be worried about the baby's size, fearing he wasn't getting what he needed in utero. His instruction was to remain on complete bedrest. So I did and I have been.

The following days have been filled with one doctors apt after another, doing NSTs, and getting ultrasounds. Once I saw the perinatologist again who first ordered the induction, she made it clear that I will not be going past 39 weeks and an induction date will be set for Friday the 13th. We got the word out to family and friends. Lots of prayers and support have been offered our way to prepare for everything that is to come. We have felt the peace and strength that has come from this and we couldn't be more thankful.

At the final ultrasound before the induction, measurments were again taken, and the baby was now weighing close to 8lbs! On average babies gain a half a pound per week so this was unusual that he grew so much. His abdominal circumferance shot up from being in the 3rd percentile to the 65th! There was no more growth concerns with baby. Everybody was shocked he grew so much. Because of this, the induction was called off at 39 weeks and now we are awaiting the original induction we always had scheduled at 40 weeks on Jan 19th. Prayers were heard and answered.

Now here we are a few days away from the real induction date. It's hard to believe if it's going to be for real or not. We've been teased way too much. I'm trying to calm my nerves as I don't know what to expect for when he arrives. It's a scarey thought for any newborn to undergo vascular surgery but we are at peace knowing all will be okay and he will be in good hands.

Some friends in our ward have a four year old that went through the exact same thing in the same hospital with the same surgeon so it's nice to be able to talk to someone who has been through this already. Their daughter is doing just fine now.

.

.

.

.

On another note, at the beginning of December some friends of mine threw me a baby shower. I never got around to posting those pictures up.

Rina, Kelli, and Brooke, the party throwers.

We're excited for our baby to arrive and in due time we know all will be okay.

We appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers that have been offered in our behalf.

Keep them coming! They help so much!