So I came down with some weird GI issues recently...so not fun. Without getting into to many gross details, basically whatever is in my system has been causing me to run to the bathroom about three times per day, and I'm worried it's starting to make me dehydrated. It's been going on since last Monday, so I finally called my doctor's office a couple of days ago, and they suggested I come in for a checkup.
Once I got there they took my blood pressure (normal) and then measured my belly, which was as usual smaller than where it should be. The entire time I've been measuring in the normal range but about a week behind where I am "supposed" to be in the pregnancy. This time it was a few weeks behind though, which concerned them. So they hooked me up to a fetal monitor to check the baby and left me in the exam room to press a button every time I felt the baby kick. Which in my opinion, was often. I guess the test came back okay because they doctor came back in and looked at the results after and didn't seem concerned at all. She ordered an ultrasound for fetal growth though, and a gallbladder check because of my symptoms. The baby's heartbeat was a little elevated, probably due to slight dehydration she said.
At first, even though I was nervous about what they were looking for I also was a tiny bit excited over the chance to see our little guy on-screen again, but that was very short-lived. The ultrasound was super clinical and very blurry. Nothing like the fancy 4D one we got last time, or even as showy as the basic one we got at 20 weeks.
The ultrasound showed what I was fearing for awhile now, and that is that the baby is pretty small. He is now only in the 22nd percentile for size at his gestational age according to the sonogram. Five pounds, and one ounce. They told me not to worry about it, but of course I am super stressed. I am trying to stay positive but it's so hard not to just imagine the worst outcome from whatever his teeny size may mean. Does it mean he is sick in there? Not getting enough nutrients/fluids from me? Does he have something wrong with him? Is it possible that everything could have presented normally up until now and his growth, or lack thereof, is finally starting to show an abnormality? Is everything going to be okay?
That is what's going on in my head right now. I didn't have the guts to ask all those questions at my appointment, for whatever reason...maybe I feel superficial and shallow thinking such blunt things out loud. And maybe the doctors just don't know what to say, so they'll try to sugarcoat an answer for me and hope that I just accept it and calm the hell down. I don't know what to think. I did ask the sonographer if she thought it were abnormal that the baby's head was measuring at 37 weeks, and his body to be at 33 weeks though, and she said it's something they see all the time, and not to worry. The measurements can be very unpredictable at this stage of pregnancy and that there is a huge range of "normal." She said he looks like he is still doing pretty good in there, and that he's probably just a little peanut of a baby.
It also showed that he is in the frank breech position, which means his butt is down. Which is the opposite of what we want. The birthing class nurse showed me an exercise to try and get him to turn so I will be on my hands and knees a lot at home from now on.
So basically they are going to keep checking me every week now, which would have happened anyway starting next week, only I'll have an ultrasound too. If his size drops lower in the percentile ranges, to 10% or less, then they will take me out of work. And according to a nurse I spoke with last night at our birthing class, possibly induce me earlier than my due date. She said they are probably concerned with IUGR, or intrauterine growth restriction. Which sounds just awful. Basically babies that have that can't get the nutrients they need from their mother. I asked her if I should be trying to eat differently (like getting more protein/fat/anything she suggested) and she said no, because it has to do with the placenta, and there's nothing I can do about it if I have it. I really hope that's not what it is. Hopefully the tests will reveal some bug or something that can easily be treated with antibiotics and go away, putting us back on track for the next month.
They really didn't give me an answer about the GI issues...just told me to drink lots and try to rest and stay calm. Ugh, I so wish it were that simple for me. I hate not being able to do anything about any of this. The next month is going to be rough for me if things don't seem to get better. I just want more than anything to have a healthy baby. March can't come soon enough...
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