35 Week Ultrasound

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Dear Stella Rose,

35 weeks...wow!  Mama and papa are so excited to have made it this far!  Doc had said something again yesterday about seeing what MFM says after the ultrasound and maybe sending you guys home for a week or two.  Mama asked Doc again if she still thought making it 40 weeks was out of the question.  Doc said that with the preeclampsia, she would induce labor by 39 weeks.  Mama still feels more comfortable staying in the hospital, especially with having to manage the gestational diabetes.  Her blood sugars have been creeping up little by little each day, and her night time dose has been increased 3 times just in the last week!


Today was your 35 week ultrasound and biophysical exam.  You were getting measured today, too. You passed your biophysical with flying colors again...practice breathing right away, moving like the busy bee you are, and all the doplers were great.  Your fluid was back up to 10.71 cm, too!

You are still breech, but Doc said there is still enough time and fluid for you to flip around.  If you don't turn on your own, they won't try to externally flip you due to the low fluid.  Mama will just have to have a C-section.

You measured 5 lbs 9 oz which is in the 35th percentile.  It was a little odd, because you had grown 1 lb 5 oz in 2 weeks the last time, and according to today's ultrasound you had only grown 5 oz in the last 2 weeks.  Two weeks ago you were measuring in the 62nd percentile.  Doc said they would just continue to watch your monitoring strip.  Preeclampsia can cause the placenta to stop providing the nutrients you need to grow, but that would be odd since mama's blood pressures haven't gone up, her blood lab results always come back fine, and you look beautiful on the monitor every time.  You would think that you wouldn't do as well on the monitor if the placenta was preventing your growth.

Ultrasound measurements are also just estimates and can be off by a pound either way.  They can also be different if you don't have the same ultrasound technician everytime.  The past two measurements were done by the same tech, but this time it was done by a new hire.  Mama isn't worried about it.  God is and always will be in control.  She thinks this is just another way of him showing them to just stay in the hospital to wait out the rest of the pregnancy as he did last time.

"He will cover you with his feathers.  he will shelter you with his wings.  His faithful promises are your armor and protection." ~Psalm 91:4

Love,
Mama & Papa