If you follow me on social media, you were flooded with pictures of our tiny sweet princess last weekend, and I even did a quick post about her name. Now, that she’s here and we’ve had our first pediatrician appointment, I thought i’d take a moment and share the story of her arrival.
I guess you could say the story of her earlier than expected birthday started at our anatomy ultrasound. During the ultrasound it was noted that our baby was measuring in the 25 percentile for gestational age. Even though I have a history of small babies, the doctor at the ultrasound place was concerned about her size so I was scheduled for monthly ultrasounds to check growth.
Pregnancy continued, baby was still measuring small but we were both growing. The weekend of September 17, we dropped the girls off with family and had a little #disneyside baby moon. We stayed up late, watched movies, slept in, ate whenever and whatever we wanted… It was really a relaxing time. We also decided to go to a local park and snap some Disney inspired maternity photos.
On Monday, I went in for a routine ultrasound.
I was greeted with the ultrasound technician, and a medical student. I gave my consent to allow the medical student to stay for my ultrasound and meeting with the doctor, never thinking it could possibly be anything but a routine exam.
After she took what I had expected to be the final measurements, she started over again. This time she rechecked my placenta, took an extremely long time reviewing the umbilical cord and even measured the flow. Since this was something i’d never seen before, I started to have questions. I never claim to be an expert on anything, but after three pregnancies in three years, you start to know what to expect for a routine growth check.
I casually asked what she was measuring, and what it tells us about the health of the baby. She smiled, and calmly told me how it was just a way to see how the umbilical cord is working.
… (insert totally confused look here)…
Next she checked the brain. The Heart. The Kidneys…
“Don’t wipe all the gel off yet, we might need more pictures when the doctor arrives” is what she told me. Those few minutes waiting for the doctor felt like an eternity, my only comfort was feeling our little girl kick and stretch.
The doctor, medical student and technician came back in the room and without any hesitation, the doctor exclaims “we are going to go ahead and diagnose your baby now”
I’m not exactly sure what she may have said next because I instantly burst into ugly tears and said “DIAGNOSE?!!” “WHAT’S IS WRONG WITH MY CHILD!?!”
She backed down, got some tissues, gave me a minute and explained.
Our baby had dropped from the 25 percentile down to the 10 percentile, which is an automatic diagnoses of IUGR (Intrauterine Growth Restriction). Even though I have a history of small babies, this baby had dropped below the comfortable growth rate and it was recommended that we induce.
I sat in a private waiting room for a few minutes so I could gain my composure to call my husband and obstetrician to set up another ultrasound and a consultation prior to making the final decision to induce.
Everything was set up for an ultrasound and appointment, on Thursday, but my Obstetrician wanted to see me and my reports on Wednesday instead.
Tuesday I spent the day on google (BIG MISTAKE), repacking my bag, researching the NICU at my hospital, researching how to prepare for a potential stay in the NICU, and cleaning. I also called my pediatrician to talk about IUGR, and get his opinion on the induction.
Wednesday morning, my husband and I got up bright and early and headed over to the ultrasound. Thankfully the doctor wasn’t in yet, so I was able to just have them send the report over to my doctor and head over to appointment number 2 for the day.
During the appointment, my obstetrician agreed with me that the baby was probably measuring small due to genetics, but just in case there was an issue with my placenta or umbilical cord he recommended we induce the next day.
It is difficult to describe the range of motions, when deep down you know your baby is perfectly fine and healthy but there are these numbers that say we should prepare in case… I’m so thankful for our families. The support of our families both blood relatives, and those in our church family was amazing, and I am forever grateful to be part of the family of God.
