Doctor Visit

I didn't really know what to expect with today's doctor appointment with the perinatologist. The only thing I had to compare it to was the Boise appointment, which was extremely long, emotionally and physically draining, and loaded with lots of uncertainties and bad news.

The ultrasound was much shorter than I expected which was nice and it's always good to see the baby. She has a cute little profile and definitely has Lance's lips/mouth. Addressing all the concerns from the Boise doctors, this is how she's looking: the heart still looks great, the cord is fine, she's measuring small, and the ecogenic bowel has cleared up on its own. I was really suspecting the bowel would clear up on its own and since that was the main (and only) concern last time and has now corrected itself........yay! Everything looks great.

Their main concern right now is her size. She's measuring at 2 lb. 2 oz. which is only in the 10th percentile. All the measurements of her bones are still small but in proportion to the rest of her body. She's just a petite little thing! They're thinking something is wrong with the placenta which in turn is stunting her growth. Either the placenta is only functioning at 80% or so instead of 100%, or I have a bit of placental abruption. She's not getting the blood and nutrients needed to grow on the same scale as a regular size baby.

They did hook me up to do a non stress test to see if I'm having contractions. I was only in there for 20 minutes or so and it showed no contractions. Just really strong braxton hicks which have become much stronger the last few days.

I go back in two weeks so they can monitor her growth more closely. If she isn't consistent in growth and slips from 10th percentile to 3rd (for example) then they will take her early. The doctor we met with today was AWESOME. I really, really liked him a lot. He was very thorough in explanations and answered all of my questions.

One question I had was if I could travel. Christine's baby shower is October 19th (Mom is hosting and it's her turn for craft day) and Lance still owes me for my birthday so he was going to take Kimball while I went home Thursday through Saturday to surprise Mom and Christine. It would have been an awesome surprise, they wouldn't have suspected it in the least! But given my conditions the doctor told me no. Major bummer!!!

All in all, good news today! I'm amazed what a difference it makes to have a doctor who listens to you and who answers all of your questions. When that happens I always leave much more confident and encouraged. I feel good like I can face the next two weeks and endure it well. Yay for encouragement!