A Stressful Day in "Paradise"
Today was a very stressful day, thanks in part to the predicted winter weather. There were a few bright spots in the day, but those were few and far between.
Yesterday the National Weather Service issued a Winter Weather Watch for our area from 9pm on Thursday to 9am on Friday. I was mildly concerned about it, seeing as we had three doctors appointments scheduled and were also planning on starting our trek to Illinois. This morning, all hell broke loose - we had been upgraded to a Winter Weather Warning. I'm sure my Illinois readers, much like myself, are giggling inside. Apparently this is not something they take lightly here in Texas. Patients started canceling appointments, and people started freaking out...
I decided that based on what I was hearing, it'd be in my best interest to see if it was possible to move my OB appointment to sometime today. That was easy peasy. However, while I was on the phone with them I received a phone call from Texas Children's. They left a message asking me to return the call, which I did. Apparently they were already canceling their clinic tomorrow because of the weather. This posed a problem for me, seeing as I was scheduled at 8am for my Anatomy Scan and that I was leaving the state for a few weeks. They didn't have any availability for me today and were trying to reschedule my appointment for next week. Yup....problem. I called my OB frantically attempting to locate a place that could see me today. Things were not looking favorable. And then I stumbled upon Memorial Hermann Southwest who had an appointment available. Crisis averted. Unfortunately by this time I was on the verge of a panic attack. Lordy....
I left work just before noon and picked up my mom for the appointment. Yes, it was a bit ghetto, but everybody there was super friendly and helpful. I could immediately see Chad's disappointment in the facility. Texas Children's facility is state of the art, whereas this was nothing spectacular. The US tech was friendly and helpful and the doctor I saw was great as well.
We got some great shots of Baby C, and it was confirmed that it is a girl. Can you imagine my relief?!?!? They only gave me a few printouts versus the cd full of pictures that we received at TCH and there were no 3D views. :-(. The doctor came in bad spoke with us about what she saw. The good news is that there do not appear to be any birth defects and the reason I don't feel her moving much is because of the anterior placenta. However, CJ only has one umbilical artery, versus the three that should be there. Dr Friel (the high risk doctor) told us not to really worry about it but that I needed to return in two months to monitor her size. Apparently this particular issue causes growth restriction, meaning that she will most likely be a small baby. We scheduled our appointment and headed to the OB.
Chad was unable to make this appointment, as he had to head back to the office. Thankfully my mom was there to keep me on my toes. Dr Heaps did his best to not get me worked up, and answered all questions that we had.
I am no longer a normal pregnant woman. I'm now between medium to high risk due to this development. Since everything else looked essentially perfect, he said we shouldn't worry about birth defects. Unfortunately, growth restriction is something to be concerned about.
What does this mean?!
Well, first of all, I have to be monitored more frequently. I'm not too disturbed by that, especially since it means more ultrasounds. Unfortunately, I will probably end up with weekly ultrasounds to monitor her growth closely. Delivering a Stillborn baby is a huge concern with this 'condition'. That is part of why I am going to be closely monitored - if she doesn't fall within a certain curve, she will be delivered early. If she makes it full term, which from what I understand, is unlikely, she won't weigh much more than 6 pounds. She will probably have to spend some time in the hospital. I may end up in the hospital myself, to try to push high-calorie IV's to encourage her growth. I'm not a allowed to fly, and I'm to take it easy and not stress out. I've told my work to plan on my maternity leave starting in May. I've also explained my situation - at this point we want to keep her insideas long as possible, so we will do whatever it takes.
Moving along to my OB appointment, yes, he told me all these scary things. But it was meant to be helpful. I'm doing my best not to freak out. (Oh, amd my BP was super high today as well.). This has made a big decision much easier for me - I am a horrible traitor, and will be delivering at Memorial Hermann instead of Methodist, as they have a better NICU. It's more than likely that she'll be a preemie, so we need to be in the best place possible. Dr Heaps was quite pleased that we are staying put here in Texas, and this little hiccup has reassured us that we made the best decision for our family.
Yes, it's a scary thing, but I'm trying to look on the bright side, we have a perfect little princess. It's not the perfect situation, but we will make it work. I made the mistake of telling Chad everything, so he's being a worry-wart. He's usually the strong one and I need him to be the strong one, because, honestly, I think I'm slowly falling apart inside. (Good ole denial). I will leave y'all with a few pictures from our anatomy scan, and kindly ask for prayers
I think I can...I think I can...I think I can....
Yesterday the National Weather Service issued a Winter Weather Watch for our area from 9pm on Thursday to 9am on Friday. I was mildly concerned about it, seeing as we had three doctors appointments scheduled and were also planning on starting our trek to Illinois. This morning, all hell broke loose - we had been upgraded to a Winter Weather Warning. I'm sure my Illinois readers, much like myself, are giggling inside. Apparently this is not something they take lightly here in Texas. Patients started canceling appointments, and people started freaking out...
I decided that based on what I was hearing, it'd be in my best interest to see if it was possible to move my OB appointment to sometime today. That was easy peasy. However, while I was on the phone with them I received a phone call from Texas Children's. They left a message asking me to return the call, which I did. Apparently they were already canceling their clinic tomorrow because of the weather. This posed a problem for me, seeing as I was scheduled at 8am for my Anatomy Scan and that I was leaving the state for a few weeks. They didn't have any availability for me today and were trying to reschedule my appointment for next week. Yup....problem. I called my OB frantically attempting to locate a place that could see me today. Things were not looking favorable. And then I stumbled upon Memorial Hermann Southwest who had an appointment available. Crisis averted. Unfortunately by this time I was on the verge of a panic attack. Lordy....
I left work just before noon and picked up my mom for the appointment. Yes, it was a bit ghetto, but everybody there was super friendly and helpful. I could immediately see Chad's disappointment in the facility. Texas Children's facility is state of the art, whereas this was nothing spectacular. The US tech was friendly and helpful and the doctor I saw was great as well.
We got some great shots of Baby C, and it was confirmed that it is a girl. Can you imagine my relief?!?!? They only gave me a few printouts versus the cd full of pictures that we received at TCH and there were no 3D views. :-(. The doctor came in bad spoke with us about what she saw. The good news is that there do not appear to be any birth defects and the reason I don't feel her moving much is because of the anterior placenta. However, CJ only has one umbilical artery, versus the three that should be there. Dr Friel (the high risk doctor) told us not to really worry about it but that I needed to return in two months to monitor her size. Apparently this particular issue causes growth restriction, meaning that she will most likely be a small baby. We scheduled our appointment and headed to the OB.
Chad was unable to make this appointment, as he had to head back to the office. Thankfully my mom was there to keep me on my toes. Dr Heaps did his best to not get me worked up, and answered all questions that we had.
I am no longer a normal pregnant woman. I'm now between medium to high risk due to this development. Since everything else looked essentially perfect, he said we shouldn't worry about birth defects. Unfortunately, growth restriction is something to be concerned about.
What does this mean?!
Well, first of all, I have to be monitored more frequently. I'm not too disturbed by that, especially since it means more ultrasounds. Unfortunately, I will probably end up with weekly ultrasounds to monitor her growth closely. Delivering a Stillborn baby is a huge concern with this 'condition'. That is part of why I am going to be closely monitored - if she doesn't fall within a certain curve, she will be delivered early. If she makes it full term, which from what I understand, is unlikely, she won't weigh much more than 6 pounds. She will probably have to spend some time in the hospital. I may end up in the hospital myself, to try to push high-calorie IV's to encourage her growth. I'm not a allowed to fly, and I'm to take it easy and not stress out. I've told my work to plan on my maternity leave starting in May. I've also explained my situation - at this point we want to keep her insideas long as possible, so we will do whatever it takes.
Moving along to my OB appointment, yes, he told me all these scary things. But it was meant to be helpful. I'm doing my best not to freak out. (Oh, amd my BP was super high today as well.). This has made a big decision much easier for me - I am a horrible traitor, and will be delivering at Memorial Hermann instead of Methodist, as they have a better NICU. It's more than likely that she'll be a preemie, so we need to be in the best place possible. Dr Heaps was quite pleased that we are staying put here in Texas, and this little hiccup has reassured us that we made the best decision for our family.
Yes, it's a scary thing, but I'm trying to look on the bright side, we have a perfect little princess. It's not the perfect situation, but we will make it work. I made the mistake of telling Chad everything, so he's being a worry-wart. He's usually the strong one and I need him to be the strong one, because, honestly, I think I'm slowly falling apart inside. (Good ole denial). I will leave y'all with a few pictures from our anatomy scan, and kindly ask for prayers
I think I can...I think I can...I think I can....
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