updates from the perinatologist

So since my blog is going to be alot of medical jargon updates and what not I thought I would slip in a few random pics to keep people enticed to read more. The pic below is from the Summer of 06--Donnie and I had been dating for 2 years already and the shirt im wearing--the infamous dicey jane shirt--is the shirt i was wearing the 1st night i ever met donnie and incidentally he is probably wearing the same thing he was wearing the nice we first met haha ok now on to updates

They went ahead and gave me two steriod shots (one yesterday and one today) to help little buddy's lungs develop more rapidly so if they need to induce me/deliver him anytime soon his lungs will hopefully be a little more developed.(for what it's worth they dont forsee me being induced anytime within the next 2 weeks but it is better to start the steriod shots now in case I do need to anytime w/in the next month).

So I met w/ the perinatologist last night and he said that my short term course of treatment is: I will be on strict hospital bedrest (not allowed to walk or get out of bed except to go to the bathroom) for the next 2 weeks until my next ultrasound. Basically he explained that strict bedrest can help women in this way: when ones body is active and exerting energy the heart obviously pumps harder and can actually be pumping blood from other organs to help supplement that. (for example marathon runners tend to go to the bathroom far less often in comparison to how much they are drinking because their heart is rerouting some of the blood from the kidneys which tell them they need to go to the bathroom) well when you are pregnant, or at least some pregnant womens hearts reroute blood from the placenta first (since it is a pretty big organ) instead of one of the moms other organs so for moms whose hearts exert more energy and take blood from the placenta bedrest can help stop that from happening. The more blood in the placenta is essentially better nutrition for the baby. (sidenote: bear w/ me the perinatalogist explained everything much better than I am) So the hope is that after two weeks of me literally doing nothing laying in bed with very minimal movement my heartrate will stay calm and relaxed and baby can get all the nutrients he needs. If it is successful and the baby shows growth at the next ultrasound then we know that I need to be on strict bedrest and monitored for the duration of the pregnancy (If this is what happens I am going to cross my fingers about the potential of completeing the bedrest at home vs here and at this point getting to 40wks isnt really seeming like it is going to happen so my own personally mini goal is making it to at least 37wks)

But--this is a big but-- if the bedrest doesnt help then there are a few different courses of action. In looking at the results from my ultrasound on Monday the perinatalogist noted that little buddy had smaller than normal (and maybe even smaller for him) arm and leg bones (humerus and femur) as a result of this and a few other things including the overall growth restiction that this could be a sign that little buddy may have Down's syndrome. Since there havent been many other reasons to explain LB's growth restriction this may be a contributing factor. Granted LB( little buddy) hasnt shown any other soft markers for downs such as the nuchal fold thickness, nasal bone issues, etc. the shortened humerus and femur are signs (but I think the baby could just have short legs like Donnie--and hopefully Donnies muscular legs too haha). So if the bedrest doesnt help the peri thinks that an amniocentesis would be the next step to look for more factors contributing towards Downs or any other chromosomal issues and they also want to check for an virual issues such as toxoplasmosis (sp?) So the issue for Donnie and I are that doing an amnio at any stage of pregnancy is risky he said for us we would be at a 1 in 400 chance that the amnio would break the bag of waters which would obviously mean I would go into labora and have LB. So right now we are just kinda bouncing around the idea of what we should do- If the only purpose of doing an amnio is to tell us yes there is a better chance you baby does/might have Downs be prepared or no it isnt looking like your baby has Downs then we will skip it--whether he has downs or not it isnt worth risking his life to find out earlier for our own convenience--when he is born we will love him and be excited and overjoyed and deal with it then but I know already how perfect LB is for me and donnie--the perfect baby for US (downs or not) so it really doesnt effect much I'll just wait and see when he comes.

BUT if the amnio is also being done to check for the viral things that could effect their course of treatment for the time being then we might consider doing it. For example if the amnio DOES find a viral infection then we know they can either try to treat it in utero or it will be confirmed that yes the baby needs to come out to be treated properly. Because either way by the time we get to choosing whether or not we are going to need an amnio we wil already be talking whether to keep LB in longer or to induce me

Ok lets take a quick breather from the scary stuff to look at another picture not seen by many. this pic is from Donnie and I on New Years Eve 2004! we were so cool then and so in love already haha and yes if you note closely that IS a tongue stud in my mouth- I was such a sinner!

and we are back to the serious stuff...


So it was a LOT to take in all at once and now that I have had a day to process I am feeling better about it. We are just working on really leaning on God--I was a wreck last night (when the dr started talking about the possiblities of downs I completely zoned out on everything he said after that--it completely threw me for a loop) but after taking a step back and reading His word, talking to Him, unloading all my worries to Him I had a pretty stress freel worry free day (thank you LORD!) Either way an OB nurse told me that everyday LB stays inside me is three less days he would have to stay in an incubator so as the day passes in a positive light I know I just saved LB 3 days in an incubator! I know these next 2 weeks are going to be really hard and stressful and worryful (is this a word?) I know I am going to be waiting on pins and needles to find out the results of my u/s after 2 weeks on bedrest plus BEING on bedrest is making the days tick by slower than molasses. Staying strong- staying positive! I got to have an exciting day--I got a complimentary manicure offered to all the bed rest mamas (and I think they are coming back on Fri to do pedicures yay), i convinced my nurse to take my heplock out so I am currently no longer stuck w/ anything! yay!! and I got to take a nice stroll in a wheelchair around the hospital which was quite refreshing to just sit in a chair rather than lay in bed and to walk around well wheel around/be pushed but ya know same diff- we went up to the nursery and looked at all the cute little babies--it just reaffirms--THIS IS ALL WORTH IT!

So right now the biggest prayer concerns we have been praying are that God would keep growing LB to a healthy and strong point- that God would hold LB in his hand and nourish him and that Donnie and I will continue to turn to Him in our frustrations and trust that he has it all figured out.

This is Donnie and I only a few weeks ago at our vow renewal service. I love my husband so much and I wouldnt want to/cant imagine going through this with anyone other than him. He is such a rock for me, never showing his fears, staying strong for me--I love you Donnie more than you can imagine!