Registry Update

It has come to my attention that Wal-Mart finally deleted our registry, since I never changed my due date from 2009 to 2010.  I know that a few people are working from this list, so I redid the registry, but now there is a new link to follow.  The Babies-R-Us registry is now also closed, but we have what we need.

Here is the new link to the updated Wal-Mart registry.

  

36 weeks

The last two weeks have been super busy, and consequently I have been a bit of a cyber-slacker.  I have been busy getting ready for back to school (which means trying to get 86  kiddos arranged in a one therapist schedule for the first two months of school) and getting the new physical therapist oriented.  And...then there is the nesting and the list of projects to finish before Bean arrives.  During all of this over the last two weeks I have spent minimal time on Facebook, returned very few emails and phone calls (unless they pertain any of the 86 kids) and not done any blog updates.  So, here is an update for the last two weeks......

Tuesday, August 17th was a three-appointment day....non-stress test, ultrasound and midwife appointment.  The NST was again reactive within 20 minutes.  The biophysical profile ultrasound was good, scoring 8/8.  The ultrasound tech gave the very distinct impression that he was in quite a hurry to get us in and out; I was only on the table for about 3 minutes.  I have confidence in his scoring/evaluation of everything except the amount of amniotic fluid, which he rated as normal (it had been high during the two preceding ultrasounds).  After the ultrasound done yesterday (8/26) I am pretty sure that my assessment was correct in not trusting his 'normal' rating on the 17th.  The midwife appointment on the 17th was uneventful.  She reviewed the rest of my labs that were not back by the last time I was in to see her.  There was very little protein (which is normal) in my 24  hour urine sample, which is what anyone with chronic hypertension wants to hear.  The 1-hour glucose test that I did on Wednesday the 11th was also well within the normal range, so it means that the extra amniotic fluid that was seen was not the result of new onset gestational diabetes. 


35 WEEKS
Friday, August 20th was another NST...again reactive within 20 minutes.

Monday, August 23rd was another NST...again reactive within 20 minutes.  I am starting to love the quick reactivity that Jellybean is showing at this point, as Gracie was never this reactive.


36 WEEKS
Thursday, August 26th was a NST, a Maternal Fetal Medicine appointment (which included a level II ultrasound) and a midwife appointment.   Bean was quite active during the NST, so I was again done within the 20 minute window.

The level II ultrasound was good.  We didn't get any good pictures because she continued to be quite active right through the ultrasound.  She was estimated to be 6 lbs, 4 oz, which puts her in the 50th percentile for size.  Keep in mind that this is an estimate, and can be +/- one pound of the baby's actual weight, but it is encouraging.  At 35 weeks Gracie was estimated to be 5 lbs on the nose, which put her in the 19th percentile; a week later she was born at 4 lbs, 3 oz, which put her in the 7th percentile...which is way to small for a fetus.  So...at this point, Bean's estimated weight is about 50% more than Gracie's actual birth weight at 36 weeks.  The ultrasound technician seems to think that Bean is going to have quite a bit of hair.  She pointed out white spots around Bean's head on the ultrasound and said that it was hair (from her head) floating in the amniotic fluid.  Given the hair history of Bean's parents, aunt and uncles, I won't really put too much faith into that prediction until she is born with a full head of hair!!  :-)  

I met with a MFM doc that has not been to my OB's office before...the assumption is that she usually doesn't travel and was just filling in for one of the regulars.  Too bad if that is the case, because I liked her quite a bit more than the regulars.  She had no concerns other than my amniotic fluid level, which is, in fact, still pretty high.  Right now, there are two realistic explanations for the high fluid levels (there are many other things that can cause high fluid levels, but most of those have already been ruled out).  It could be absolutely nothing - completely benign and insidious.  It could also be the result of a chromosomal abnormality (i.e. Down Syndrome).  If it is benign without substantial cause, it may go down between now and the end of the pregnancy, or it may not.  If it is due to Down Syndrome, it will likely persist for the remainder of pregnancy with the possibility of increasing further.

The MFM doc offered me induction any time after 37 weeks (this coming Thursday).  She offered this for two reasons, first and foremost being our emotional well-being in light of our history.  The other reason was the fluid and the potential impact that it might have on my breathing.  Luckily Bean has been very low during the entire pregnancy, and she's not yet dancing around under my ribs, so I am not having any breathing issues yet.  At this point, we are not considering early induction, however she left the option open and on the table in the event that we change our minds.  If I start having a hard time breathing, we will probably consider it, otherwise we are just going to wait things out and let her come on her own terms.

Thursday's midwife appointment was relatively uneventful.  We did and discussed some end-of-pregnancy stuff.  We discussed the fluid issue a little more and that was it.

Next appointments are Tuesday the 31st (NST, BPP and midwife) and Friday, September 3rd (NST and hospital pre-admission visit).  Bean and I have a busy weekend ahead.  We need to finish packing the hospital bag (Yep...really....it's not packed yet; it was packed at 30 weeks with Gracie).  We are going to put the car seat in the car.  We are going to coerce Jeff into helping with our belly cast, and we are going to try to cross lots of other household projects off of the list.

On a different note, Bean had a busy night last Friday/Saturday morning.  She went to two fires in a period of about 5 hours.  The first fire was relatively uneventful, but the early morning fire was pretty substantial.  Here is a picture of Jeff and one of our other members (Jeff is on the left) during the initial hit.  Jeff has a funny story to tell about how they ended up in the middle of the highway with the hose line. 

Nothing else to report at this point.  Check back next week for additional updates. 

34 weeks

On Tuesday this week we had our weekly appointment marathon - non-stress test, biophysical profile ultrasound and midwife appointment. 

For those who are not overly familiar, the biophysical profile (BPP) is comprised of an ultrasound and a non-stress test (NST).  Overall it is rated on a scale of 10.  The ultrasound portion is worth 8 points - up to 2 points each for baby's practice breathing, movement, muscle tone and amniotic fluid levels.  The NST is worth 2 points, and it looks for elevations in heart rate of at least 15 beats per minute that are sustained for at least 15 seconds.  Generally, if a baby is cooperative, a NST should be done in 20-30 minutes. 

We scored 10/10 on Tuesday, so all was well.  We were done with the NST in 20 minutes, which is something that never happened with Gracie.  Beana's size was not measured, as it was too soon following the last measurements, but she will be measured on Tuesday the 17th.  My amniotic fluid measurements were actually a little high, which can be indicative of many things - including new onset of Gestational Diabetes, so they ordered another 1 hour glucose test.

I did the glucose test and a smattering of other blood work on Wednesday morning.  Since it is also time for my third trimester pre-eclampsia screen, I did a third (and hopefully final) 24 hour urine collection yesterday into today and dropped that off this afternoon when I went for my second NST of the week.

Today's NST was the third in a row to be appropriately reactive within 20 minutes!  The midwife went over all of the labs from Wednesday, and everything looks 'wonderful' and 'fantstic'.  As I was expecting, no new onset of Gestational Diabetes, so we are keeping our fingers crossed that the extra amniotic fluid is just a fluke.  We have another BPP ultrasound on Tuesday, so we will see what everything looks like then. 

Here is a 4-D picture from Tuesday's ultrasound.  Hopefully we get to meet this little face with open eyes some time within the next six weeks!!

33 Weeks

Had a NST today - that was the only appointment.  It was far and away the best NST that I have had.  Period.  With either baby.  I was hooked up for the minimum of 20 minutes, not a moment longer!  No weight gain since Tuesday, so no further accumulation of fluid in my hands or legs.  :-)   Back to the office on Tuesday for NST, BPP and midwife check.  Nothing else to report!

32 Week Appointments

Our big 32 week appointment was on Thursday, July 29.  We had a non-stress test, an appointment with the Maternal Fetal Medicine doc - which included another level 2 ultrasound, and we met the new midwife in our OB practice.  Highlights from the appointment as follows:

• Non-stress test was considered to be 'reactive', which is what they are looking for.  That is a good thing. 
• Everything looked good in the ultrasound, including size and condition of the placenta, blood flow through the umbilical cord, level of amniotic fluid, Bean's movement and practice breathing.  She was estimated to be 4 lbs, 3 oz. (which is exactly how much Gracie weighed 363 days earlier), which put her in the 51st percentile for overall growth.  The girl that did this ultrasound is the one who did the one with the measurements that put her estimated size in the 39th percentile 8 weeks ago; a different person did the scan 4 weeks ago that had Bean's estimated size in the 61st percentile.  I am inclined to think that she is probably somewhere around the 50th percentile right now.  
• We will continued to have biophysical profile ultrasounds once a week and non-stress tests twice a week.  
• We will see the Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor one more time, at 36 weeks, and that will be it unless a problem creeps up.  

We went yesterday for this week's BPP ultrasound, another non-stress test and a midwife appointment. 

• This particular ultrasound did not measure growth, but looked at Bean's muscle tone, movement, practice breathing and the amount of amniotic fluid.  It also looked at the health (not size) of the placenta.  
• The non-stress test was again considered to be reactive, which means that Bean demonstrated heart rate elevations of at least 15 beats per minute that were sustained for at least 15 seconds.   
• All was well with the midwife appointment - at this point everything is as it should be.

We will go again on Friday 8/6 for another non-stress test.