Resting in Bed

Yes, I'm on bedrest. Boo.Long story short:

Yesterday I went in for my regular appointment, and also ended up having an ultrasound and non-stress test. I am now on bedrest, being monitored with ultrasound/NST twice a week until they are ready for me to deliver. They are concerned about low amniotic fluid and baby’s lack of growth. The doctor said that I could deliver as early as Monday, but it also could be on an appointment to appointment basis. It is a balancing act between leaving the baby in for as long as possible and needing to get the baby out if my fluid starts to deteriorate more.

Yikes!

The details:

The baby is measuring only 4lbs, 7 ounces, which puts it in under the 10th percentile. That is gestational measurements of 33 weeks, as opposed to the almost 37 weeks that I am. Small baby. I haven't gained a single ounce since I was in the hospital probably because of the super healthy diet I'm on because of the gallbladder. The bigger concern for th

e doctor is the amount of amniotic fluid. So hence the bedrest on my left side, and I'm to drink water like crazy, and eat lots of protein - bars and shakes - basically Ensure, "to my health!" At least I think that's what they say in the commercials. Luckily, the baby looked good on the monitor, and I'm not having any contractions. So the goal is to keep the

baby in as long as it is healthy to avoid other complications after birth, and to get the baby out as soon as we need to.

This is scary for me for a few reasons: of course we want a healthy, healthy baby; I don't want to deliver by c-section if I don't have to; it is hard not knowing how long I w

ill be on bedrest; it's a challenging time of year with Gabe's work - he's very busy with files and admits; it's hard to take care of a 2 1/2 year old on bedrest. Luckily, my mom is here for a few

days to help out.

This is also worrisome and upsetting to me for a few reasons: we don't know what is causing the amount of fluid to be low, or the birth weight to be low; I worry that I could have done something better or different; 4 lbs 7 ounces is really small.

We did get some new ultrasound pictures, and seeing the baby on the monitor and ultrasound is always a treat.

The profile - a little harder to see now that the baby is "bigger"

Face looking up - now that the baby is bigger and more filled out, these aren't quite as creepy to me :)

I'll leave you with the words of the doctor: "Monday could be a big day" Oh my.....