some news

So we got some news on Thursday at the ultrasound that is not the best news, but not the worst news, either. For a reason yet (and maybe forever) unknown, the baby is not thriving in my uterus. At 37 week/1 day gestation, she is only 5 lbs. 3 oz., which is about the size of a 34 week old baby. Somewhere in the past three weeks she has stopped growing. While everything in the ultrasound showed that she looks healthy otherwise (has all her fingers and toes, has enough amniotic fluid available to her), she is not doing well in there and I will be induced sometime before 39 weeks (August 27) so she can come on out and get the help she needs to thrive.

While there can be a few concrete causes of this (high blood pressure, drug abuse, smoking), I have none of these risk factors. And while we have been under tremendous stress lately with our living situation, stress did not cause this, although it can make the situation worse. For that reason, I was put on bed rest, effectively immediately. I can drive to my doctor's appointments (and I now have one every day next week) but can't go anywhere else. And when I'm home, I need to be a "couch potato," as the doctor says.

It's been difficult to process this, as we have so much else going on right now. Jay and I didn't even have a chance to talk about it all face-to-face until he got home from work on Friday night at midnight. We've had lots of love and support from family and friends, and we're dealing with it as best we know how. We're finding it best for us to spend as much time left as we have before the baby comes with each other, and be calm and quiet and think through everything and talk about our concerns and just be with ourselves in these last few days before our lives will forever change. I know I've said this before many times, but Jay and I are a good team, and we're going to be alright, no matter what, because we have each other.

Despite this news, this still remains a very exciting time for us. We are daydreaming about our days as a new family, feeling more confident than ever that we can handle anything. Her nursery is set up with all her beautiful things, waiting for her to come home. Our bags are packed and we've got a cute outfit picked for her to come home in.

And while the birth experience will likely be different than we imagined, it will still be ours to share in our own way with our little girl. As I said, if I do not go into labor between now and the 27th, I will be induced, which can be up to a 3 day process because they have to proceed slowly because of her size. If there is any sign of fetal distress, I will have a c-section immediately. We will find out on Wednesday at the next high-level ultrasound how the cord and placenta are holding up and how she is doing. That will be the determining test that will dictate when I am induced. If she is still not thriving, I will likely be given 24 hours notice before the induction, unless they think there is a great risk and we will proceed immediately. If she looks like she's growing slightly, they will schedule the induction for no more than 7 days from that point.

As I'm already full term (which is defined as 37 weeks), her lungs are anatomically developed but she may need some assistance with oxygen when she's born. "Premature" is defined as 5 lbs. and under, so unless she drops weight (which is possible during an induction), she will not be considered premature. And while we plan to deliver at our normal hospital, we may deliver elsewhere if the doctors think we need to be at a more major medical center.

There are a lot of factors to consider, and many scenarios to play out. We are still working things out in our own heads, but are confident that things will be just fine and that there are far more dire situations in which babies enter the world and thrive.

I'll try to keep this updated as the week wears on. Lots of love to everyone.