On Friday we went for an optional growth scan to measure baby's head, abdomen, femur length, placenta and amniotic fluid. The ultrasound tech was good at identifying parts but mum about qualifying those parts. No goods or greats or normals, just identification. This is the abdomen, there are the kidneys and bladder and diaphragm, a foot, a femur, the head. We got a printed sonogram each of hair, a blurry foot and a scrotum. Our baby is still hiding his face during ultrasounds and we still have not been able to see his profile. The only sonogram we have of his face is a baby Skeletor image at 18 weeks. That was a little disappointing. We will just have to wait until birth day.
The tech estimated the baby's weight to be 4 pounds, 10 ounces. When I did the math of adding half of a pound per week, which is average, I reached 7 pounds at 38 weeks and 9 pounds at 40 weeks and worried briefly that if I continue to eat ice cream every night this baby will be huge.
Because we had a Friday afternoon ultrasound, we had to wait until my appointment today to go over the results. We were both too afraid to ask the tech whether everything looked normal. I don't think they can really say anyway, so we waited. If she had told us something looked abnormal, the weekend and the wait would have been awful.
At today's appointment, the midwife said everything looked normal. The baby is in the 56th percentile for size and they are not concerned about anything, including the placenta and amniotic fluid. The only value I received (I chose not to ask for measurements and trust that if something were abnormal, disproportional, or concerning, they would tell us and I would be scheduling another growth scan in a week to recheck) was the amniotic fluid level. It was measured at 8cm. The American Pregnancy Association lists anything under 8 to be low, with 10 being ideal. Both high and low levels can indicate birth defects and be a risk factor for stillbirth. Again, my midwife didn't seem concerned. And given how conservative they are with risk assessment and determining who can and cannot birth at the center and who must go to the hospital, anything that would put me at risk for growth restriction or emergency c-section would be discussed. So...
My only approach is to drink as much water as I can. I have been waking up at night thirsty so I know this is something I need to improve anyway.
Things are going well physically, with the exception of a sore and stiff pelvis most days. Emotionally I am feeling more confident each week. Getting past the 90% survival rate of 29-30 weeks and further into the third trimester has been huge. I can't believe this week is week 33. I could have a healthy and normal birth in as early as 4 weeks. Sometimes I just can't wrap my brain around that idea.
4 comments:
Hoping you can get the fluid to a nice even 9.
First off, yay for being in the 33rd week!! That's awesome.
Good luck increasing the fluid levels. I know when they measured mine, there would sometimes be a difference of up to a centimeter or more just depending on what pocket of fluid they measured. So, hopefully it's just a matter of being a little "off" and will be no problem!
Glad to hear everything is going so well!!! I've been trying to increase my fluid levels too. Amazing how much time one can spend in the bathroom...
So glad the growth scan went well. Try to rest and drink your water. I had low amniotic fluid around 38w, I think it measured around 6.5. My doctor said the same as yours, that anything below 8 was concerning, and 10 was ideal. But like another commenter said, different pockets can measure different amounts. I was told to rest and drink tons of water, and I went for checks every two days or so. Mine did go back up with rest and lots of fluids, I was told to stop working and no more exercising. Good luck! It sounds like your providers are comfortable where you are at and are monitoring things well! Take care.
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