Bed Rest

Last week at my doctor's appointment I brought up that while I've been feeling the baby moving that I hadn't been feeling things quite as strongly has I had been a few weeks prior. My uterus has also been measuring 1 cm behind for the last couple of appointments (it's normal to be +/- 1cm). As a precaution she decided to go ahead and have me schedule an ultrasound just to make sure that the growth of the baby was where it should be.

Kevin and I went in on Wednesday for the ultrasound and as we were leaving we were called back in to meet with the doctor. This was terrifying because we knew that the only reason they'd have me be meeting with the doctor immediately after the ultrasound when I have an appointment scheduled in a week was if something wasn't right. The nurse told us that the baby was measuring a bit small and the doctor wanted to go over with us what we need to do next. 

The doctor came in shortly after this and told us that my amniotic fluid was a little low and that the baby's body was measuring a little bit behind. The baby is still in the 40th percentile but the body is behind where the head growth is at which can be caused by low fluid since the baby can't move around as much. It is also hard for them to get accurate body measurements when the surrounding fluid is low. The first thing the doctor wanted to rule out was whether I was leaking any fluid or not. Luckily my my membranes are still intact so we were very relieved. The concern now is that my placenta may not be functioning properly which can be causing the low fluid.

 My OB is sending us to a perinatologist (an OB with special training in doppler and ultrasound and works with high risk patients). I have an appointment scheduled for next Thursday and we'll hopefully have more information about what is going on then. Until then I have been put on bed rest and I am just supposed to get as much fluid in my body as possible. While I didn't think that I was dehydrated it is a possibility that I have been. This would be the best case scenario just because we can do something about it. If it is indeed the placenta then we run into another set of problems. The doctor of course had to go down that road which was really scary hearing but we're trying really hard to remember that we don't have enough facts yet. My OB said it wasn't like I was going to go into labor tomorrow or anything and that she would be more concerned if my 19 week ultrasound hadn't come out great. We have caught the issue early and it is going to be addressed. 

The afternoon after hearing all of this news was pretty rough. It was just such a shock to go from everything being great to suddenly having a high risk pregnancy. While it is going to be a long week until our appointment with the specialist we are taking it as good news that they didn't feel the need to schedule us immediately. In the meantime I'm just really focusing on getting the fluids down. We are measuring how much I'm drinking so there is no question that I'm getting enough every day. 

 We're just trying to stay positive and have faith that everything will be okay. This is why we have prenatal care and I'm glad that my doctor's office is aware and proactive. We would appreciate it if you'd continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the next week and I will get an update as soon as we know more.