Baby has decided to make life interesting. It all started last Thursday. For some reason, the baby developed an irregular heart beat. Dr didn't seem too concerned. It was missing about every third beat, but he just scheduled a non-stress test for Tuesday (yesterday) and seemed fairly nonchalant about it.
Yesterday I went in for my NST. They had me hooked up for a LONG time. I could even hear the missing beat. So, then dr decided to take a peek at baby via ultrasound. No surprise that the baby measured big...about 10 lbs. The irregular heart beat continued as he checked out the heart.
He told me that he'd consult with a specialist in Saginaw and call me in the morning to know the specialists' recommendation. I am just shy of 38 weeks and so induction carries some risks (especially with my VBAC status). But, he led me to believe that I would probably be induced today.
So, we came home and made some frantic attempts to prepare for baby...like choosing a name, doing the laundry, cleaning the house, packing overnight bags for everyone etc...all the while trying to 'enjoy' our last night as a family of 5. Crazy times.
This morning, I took E up to a homeschooling academy that we may utilize next year. Our plan was to visit for the entire morning. By 9:30, I had talked to the dr's office and they were sending me to see the specialist this afternoon in Saginaw. So, I waited for the specialist office to call. They called around 10. They could see me at 11:45 today. I was in Mt. P, which is a good 25 minutes from home. It is an hour drive to Saginaw from our house. Consequently, we had to leave our observation pretty much as soon as I received the call. E was so disappointed. There were even tears.
So, we ran home. Jut arranged for a sitter to come watch the kids. We zoomed over to Saginaw. Thankfully, we were able to find the building without too much trouble. They saw me over their lunch break. The nurse started the ultrasound...and the dr came right in. He did a very thorough examination of the baby. He was great. He showed us what he was looking for and what looked 'normal'. He explained what would be abnormal. He spent probably about an hour with us. It was very nice to know that we were being 'squeezed' in but he spent time with us like he had all the time in the world for the consult.
In the end, he told me to cut all forms of caffeine out of my diet. The baby's heart was structurally sound. There didn't appear to be any problems at all with the structure. The irregular heart beat might correct itself before birth or within 2 weeks of birth. It is really doing a half-beat when it 'misses' a bit. The top is contracting but for whatever reason, the bottom isn't. It also isn't doing it all the time. For a bit of the ultrasound, it went into a 'normal' rhythm. That was nice to hear too.
I have to be monitored every three days. The fear is that the heart will start going crazy and beating at 300 beats/minute, which would make an induction a necessity, but otherwise, he thinks to let things progress naturally. He agrees that the baby is about 10 lbs already but he didn't seem concerned about the weight. He says that you get concerned about weight when the baby is 10% of Mom's weight...so this baby has several pounds to go before that is a concern. (Although, I personally think that 10 lbs is big enough!)
Jut and I had a nice leisurely lunch on the way home. It was nice and relaxing. We've been trying since Valentine's Day to have a date and it hasn't worked...but the 'emergency' appointment created a perfect opportunity, especially since we got such an encouraging report from the dr.
It was nice to go home and return back to the 'normal' of just waiting for baby.
No comments:
Post a Comment