MFM visit, 04/23/07

U/S tech, Janet
(T wasn't there, so Janet gave me a screen print of the stats)
Weight - 3 lb 2 oz (1426 g)
Right ventricle - 2.16
Left ventricle - 2.33
3rd ventricle - 6.4 mm
Head circumference - 28.52 cm (67.6)
Abdominal circumference - 25.82 cm (57.1%)
Femur length - 5.36 cm (9.8%)
Overall growth percentile - 38.8%
and she has hair on the back of her head, 1.1 cm

8 of 8 on fetal well being (BPP) - she was practicing breathing like a champ, moving and grooving, and generally not staying still long enough to get readings or good pictures.

Actually, to get all these pictures, I had to keep rolling from side to side so we could get a decent angle, and maybe trick her into unblocking her face and showing her cuteness.

a regular U/S profile, with some of the exposed bowel near her face.
She was all rolled up on herself for most of the exam, with her chin tucked into her chest and her mouth near the exposed intestines.

FOOT! See the pointed out big toe.

FOOTPRINT! So, so cute.

There's the hair on the back of her head.
There is measurement thingie, showing 1.1 cm of hair.
(So, she hopefully won't be a bald baby like her mommy was.)

It's kind of alien baby looking.
But you can clearly see her hand and her nose across her face.
And, I believe you can sort of see a little intestine too.

She's got her finger and thumb across her nose.
(during this series of photos, the tech said she was opening and closing her eyes.)

She's wiping her nose with her thumb.

now she's blocking her face with her forearm.
I call this series of pictures, "No paparazzi photos, please."
It's like she knows we are trying to get pictures, and is blocking our efforts.

Met with Jedi doctor again. Asked a bunch of questions. He told me I should go into medicine, what with my knowledge and the questions I asked. I like Jedi doctor. He's funny and friendly.

(and the next day I had an appointment at the Pediatric Surgery Center to meet the doctor who will be performing the gastroschisis repair. This particular doc came recommended by both the MFM office and my OB. He was good, and was young, but not too young, knowledgeable, a parent of two, and from a two-doctor family. He answered most of my questions, and reassured me. He said she could wear normal clothing once she was out of the hospital, and would have minimal scarring, and be basically a normal child. That's the gastroschisis part; now I just have to meet the neuro and take two hospital tours.)

OB visit, 04/18/07

Biophysical Profile, score 8 of 8
AFI - 9.9
weight - 2 lbs 10 oz (1191 grams)
overall - 42%

BPP / ultrasound performed by the sonographer who has bad beside manner.
She was nice enough to print ALL SORTS of pictures, and to take requests as to photos I wanted.

cute little foot. :)

another shot of a cute little foot.

the exposed bowel (gastroschisis).

profile, with her little face and everything.

more of her face.

I can't get enough shots of her face.

you can see the nose and lips and everything in this one.

that sweet little face, lips, nose, eyes.
and her hands are near her face.

now she looks like she's smiling and sleeping.

Also, the doc I saw was not my normal OB. I liked this woman, though. She trained in NY, and worked with midwives, and said when she moved to Memphis, she didn't understand why there weren't midwives here. When I asked about being backed up (they put me on iron pills for pregnancy-related anemia, and that's what happens, thank you very much), rather than recommmend pills, she recommended adding flax seed to my diet.

MFM visit, 04/09/07

(from T's wonderful notes)
New U/S tech, Janet
head down (position changed)
hair on back of scalp
placenta still anterior
Fluid level 7
Blood flow through cord is good
Heart rate 148 (perfect!)
right ventricle - 1.9
left ventricle - 1.7
3rd ventricle - 5.4 mm
gastroschisis - fluid in the loops
weight - 2 lb, 1 oz
8 of 8 on fetal well being
growth percentile, overall - 31%
femur - 8th percentile
head - 54th percentile

Now, the pictures!

not sure why this is sideways, it happened in the scan.
great profile, and you can see a little of the exposed intestines.

another great profile. That nose just always gets to me.

Sort of alien baby, sort of really cute face shot.

eyes closed, great nose, paused animation. Little adorable nose again.

profile with nose and lips. darling.

profile with face, placenta (at top), a view of her beating heart, and a little bit of the exposed intestine.

A successful visit, at which we started the Fetal Well Being / Bio-Physical Profile assessments. They look at four factors, and score a total of 8 points.

A description of the BPP / Fetal Well-Being assessment:
The biophysical profile (BPP) is an ultrasound scan that evaluates your baby's well being. It looks at your baby's body movement (body rolls from side to side), tone (movement of the arms and legs), breathing movements (movement of the diaphragm or "practice breathing") and the amount of amniotic fluid. Each of the observations is assigned two possible points (8 total).

You'll notice that Emma scored an 8 of 8.

Met with normal doctor, who insisted on giving me a hug when we left. I love the people at that office. Every single one of them is nice.

(one side note observation - you would think people who worked in health care would know about the risks of tanning, but one of the U/S techs and one of the RNPs look like they've spent a little too much time getting brown.)

Updates, no photos (yet)

I have three sets of ultrasound photos to be scanned in and explained. But I rely on my roommate for this, so I can't post them until they are scanned. And I'm not pushing her on it. Let me just tell you, though, the most recent set are amazing. She's got her hand in front of her face, and it is just the CUTEST thing.

Over Easter, I flew to IL to visit my folks (and Bebe, who came for the holiday as well). We also were visited by my Aunt C, her husband E, their two foster kids, and my Gram (great-grandmother). Mom, Bethany, and I went to Target and registered for a bunch of baby stuff. The "big stuff" is all Graco in the "Family Tree" pattern (it's green and has jungle animals). Oh, I've also registered (just a little bit) on Amazon (mostly for books and the like). I tried to do a Babies R Us registry online, but got stymied and figured I'd stick with the two.

As for registry items and sizes, I'm expecting Emma to be hospitalized for (roughly) the first two months of her life, so things in the 0-3 range (and up) is fine. She isn't expected to be that small, other than the fact that I am small, and ran below the growth charts (though not in "failure to thrive" ranges).

I met yesterday (4/24) with the pediatric surgeon who will be performing the gastroschisis repair, and he said that she should be able to wear normal onesies and clothing once she comes home. I have to make an appointment with the pediatric neurologist / neurosurgeon and find out how the hydrocephalus might affect things before I say definitively that she can wear certain things, or fit into certain items (car seat / stroller / etc). He also reassured me that her surgeries (for the gastro, at least) shouldn't be too long or drawn out, and that my research has served me well. (If you have further questions about that meeting, ask.)

My baby shower date is set, and I believe invitations are going out this week. Please understand why I can't post that information here. If you want details, email me privately (don't post a comment).

I've gained nearly 25 pounds, and still have another 10 (or so) weeks to go. It is mostly showing up front (boobs and belly). I've also got edema (swelling) in my feet and hands, and the swelling has brought back my carpal tunnel in heretofore unknown strength. I wake up some days and can't feel the fingers on my right hand at all. It's a very pins-and-needles feeling. All the doctors can say is get a brace (I invested in a brand-new one for my right hand, recommended by my sister Leen). Mom suggested I soak in tubs and swim. (I need to get a maternity swimsuit; I think I'll buy one at Old Navy Maternity online.)

I passed my glucose screen at the end of March, so no gestational diabetes. I do have anemia, though, and I am now on Iron pills to keep those levels up.

Only two more weeks of prenatal education classes. Tonight is breastfeeding; next week (the final class) is Infant First Aid and CPR. I still need to find out about a prepared c-section class.

So many things to get done in the next 2 months, including meeting with more doctors and taking hospital tours (multiple). Please continue to keep us in your prayers; knowing people are thinking good thoughts for us helps me when I get down.

Pictures of a Flexible and Active Baby

Pictures from the bi-weekly (or is it bi-monthly) visit to the Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) doctor.

Props to T for coming along to all my doctors' visits and taking notes. She said at this visit that she is just a secretary, but she's much more than that. I appreciate her support at every visit, and she's there watching Emma grow right alongside me, and asking the good questions.

This visit was Monday March 23, and here are the vitals:
Heart rate 146
She is practicing breathing, and they don't expect to see that until 28 weeks, so she is ahead of schedule (the visit was at 25 weeks).
Right brain ventricle: 1.68
Left brain ventricle: 2.0
Third brain ventricle: .43
"prominent anterior horns" in the brain
no measurements at this visit, but she was on schedule with weight
Cord looks good
She is still breech, and is expected to stay that way
gastroschisis is stable

Onto the ultrasound pictures

a great profile, and you can see her little heart in the picture.
Can you also see the cute little nose and lips?

another sweet profile.

that limb? the tech said it was her leg.

the tech really liked her profile. another beautiful one.

that's her arm by her head (again).

see that little hand by her (alien-looking) head?

another angle on the hand-head shot. A little fuzzier, but still sweet.

a regular resolution shot of her foot. She wouldn't cooperate to let us get the picture of her feet. She barely cooperated to let the tech get the pictures she needed of the gastroschisis. (Which she was very protective of. Which is a very common reaction from gastro babies; they don't want to show the tech the exposed bowels.)

oh, the U/S tech changed back to the first one I had at this doctor's office. All the U/S techs and nurses and office staff at this doctor's office are GREAT!

We met the partner doctor at this visit. He's a funny guy, and started out making us laugh. He also tried to use a Jedi mind trick, and I caught on. He recommended against doing steroid shots at 28 weeks.