Whining at Winnie

Last Monday's blog seems as if it were a year ago! After hearing the question "Are you having any contractions" from the sono tech on Monday, I started feeling a tightening in my stomach which I had felt for several days but dismissed it because it wasn't painful. On Tuesday when the tightening was still there, I called my OB and was told to go to the triage at Winnie Palmer Hospital to get checked out. Nick and I met my Mom and we were shortly put into a room where they monitored Anna for a half hour; they were looking for contractions and her heart rate. During the 30 minutes, there was a contraction and a 'decel' of her heart rate. A decel is when her heart rate drops off. We were taken for another sonogram and it was determined that the amniotic fluid was even lower than the day before and blood flow doppler wasn't quite what it should be. They liked me so much that they decided I should stay so they admitted me to a luxury suite. At this point they have me on IV fluids and Anna is being constantly monitored by fetal non-stress tests 24/7.

This morning, my OB came in and talked to us about our risks and where we stand at this point. Basically if the amniotic fluid level stays the same or decreases, the baby will go into distress and we will have no choice but to deliver her. I will be delivering Cesarean regardless of when this happens. I was given a steroid in order to help mature her lungs. The steroid takes 48 to 72 hours to achieve its' maximum effect.

According to the sonogram at the hospital, she currently weighs 12 oz (sono machines differ according to the different machines and techs. We liked our OB's weight better at 14 oz). Each ounce matters at this point. A typical 25 week baby should weigh about a pound and a half. Because she is little, if she has to be delivered even within the next 72 hours because of fetal distress then they doubt there is anything they can do. Even the tubes they would need to use to help her breath are not small enough. The neonatologist came in and talked with us and he was not much more hopeful. We are now being faced with terms of 'aggressive care' or 'gentle care' and to make a decision about how far we should take this. Aggressive care means using all measures necessary to sustain life though it may be painful for her. Gentle care is using less invasive measures to help her. The neonatologist recommended gentle means; she has been in distress since the beginning and with a baby with so much unknown, even if they use aggressive means to sustain her we must ask the question what quality of life will she have. This is a question only God knows right now.

So in the midst of all this terrifying news and these decisions, we are still holding on to our hope. The OB doctor said that with IUGR babies, because they are in such distress, they tend to mature faster. This is great news in case we need to deliver within the next couple of days. On the sonogram they were looking for various signals of maturity and one is taking practice breaths in the womb. Little Anna did us proud by taking 9!

The miracle we are looking for is that with the IV fluid I am receiving, the amniotic fluid will be replenished. That in turn will cause her to relax and stay put for at least 2 more weeks or for as long as possible. We would LOVE to have Christmas here at Winnie Palmer, but for now we'll settle for Thanksgiving. As one blogger wrote, we still have "a chip to play".

So the miracle has to be that we are here for the long-haul so keep the prayers-a-comin'.


P.S. Happy birthday Elisha! We love you.

Love Melanie, Nick and Anna