IM-ing 'bout our Baby Sweet Potato Girl

(11:34:26 AM) hellodaly: yo
(11:37:37 AM) Annejelynn: hi there!
(11:37:48 AM) Annejelynn: baby's doin' good! everything looks good right now!
(11:38:16 AM) Annejelynn: they'll have me come in every 4 wks for additional 2-level sonograms to monitor her growth and development, watching for kidney problems and anything else
(11:38:23 AM) Annejelynn: she'll have a heart test in a month
(11:38:43 AM) Annejelynn: she gained 3 oz in 2 wks
(11:38:49 AM) Annejelynn: and she's almost 9 inches long
(11:38:50 AM) hellodaly: wow
(11:38:53 AM) hellodaly: that is good news
(11:38:59 AM) hellodaly: I am glad that things are going well
(11:39:27 AM) Annejelynn: she's standing on her head (they hadn't told me that before), but every sonogram, she's on her head, with her feat kicking the side of my stomach, which is what I've been feeling all this time
(11:40:16 AM) Annejelynn: last night, she was doin' something and I told *OMIT mah honey-man's name HERE* and he put his hand where I was feeling it, and I told him he probably wouldn't be able to tell, and then she REALLY did something and HE FELT IT!
(11:40:47 AM) hellodaly: that's crazy
(11:40:54 AM) hellodaly: seems so soon but that is awesome
(11:43:27 AM) Annejelynn: we have 139 days to go!
(11:43:52 AM) Annejelynn: she has all this room where her legs and feet are, since she'd standing on her head... so she kicks and moves alot
(11:44:07 AM) Annejelynn: the tech and Dr we saw yesterday both said she's very active!
(11:44:26 AM) hellodaly: she's trying to turn herself around, huh
(11:44:41 AM) Annejelynn: no, she just stands on her head, dancing
(11:44:47 AM) Annejelynn: upside-down!
(11:45:11 AM) Annejelynn: she arches her back, she swings her arms up and down and up beside her head
(11:45:28 AM) Annejelynn: we didn't see any thumb sucking this time... but she really wouldn't hold still
(11:45:35 AM) Annejelynn: lots of the sonogram pics were blurry
(11:45:42 AM) Annejelynn: oh! we saw her eyeballs!?!?
(11:45:51 AM) Annejelynn: and we saw her opening and closing her mouth
(11:46:15 AM) hellodaly: wow that's crazy
(12:00:56 PM) Annejelynn: oh, and I forgot to mention, my placenta is NOT placed low as they suspected... her head is against my fundus, pulling the placenta a lil' lower angled is all, soooo no required c-section for that
(12:02:39 PM) hellodaly: that is good news
(12:02:49 PM) Annejelynn: yes!!!
(12:03:14 PM) Annejelynn: so, for now, I get to see her with the perinatal doc every 4 wks and in the last month, I may go every 2 weeks or every week for sonograms!
(12:03:36 PM) Annejelynn: and if things continue as she's going, just a lil' more slowly for her size growth, she should be fine, just small, like 5-6 lbs when she's born

NOW, SOME BACKGROUND INFO: I saw my OB a week ago, last Friday, for the first time since our last sonogram. I was told some troubling news. First of all though, before I get all into that, my doc did confirm that as of our Oct. 16th sonogram, everything still looks anatomically correct AND all the tests -downs syndrome, cystic fibrosis, neural tube abnormalities, plus a couple testing for genetic defects I cannot pronounce- they all came back negative. Yay! [Now to explain the troubling news, and I'm starting with what my doc told me lastly...] Via my sonogram, it looked like my placenta is attached low, near the cervix, which means I could be prone to bleeding in my last trimester, particularly in the last couple months and I would most likely have to have a c-section, and possibly bed rest in my 9th month... [SIDE NOTE: At this point during my appointment, I was thinking, I can deal with a c-section.. not what I wanted, but I can handle that. ] AND then my doc told me our lil' babe has only 2 cord vessels instead of 3. My Response: "I don't know what that means. What does that mean?" This is what it means: The umbilical cord is meant to have 3 blood vessels; 2 arteries going out from the baby and one incoming vein [SIDE NOTE: Until today, I'd had this allll mixed up, vein vs. artery, and the function of each in an umbilical cord!].

• The vein carries oxygen and nutrients from the placenta (which connects to the mother's blood supply) to the baby.
• The two arteries transport waste from the baby to the placenta (where waste is transferred to the mother's blood and disposed of by her kidneys).

So, our wee one has only one out-going cord vessel handling her waste instead of the two, which means she's at risk for growth development issues, particularly heart and kidney trouble, and she will most likely have a low birth weight. To date, her growth and development (minus the one cord vessel, of course) has been right on target thus far. At some point though, soon approaching, her growth rate is expected to slow and she may not progress like other babies would, size-wise. I'd asked if I should modify my diet, and was told not at all...except to make what I eat really count (this was not news to me).

Between my regular OB doc and the perinatal doc we saw this past Monday, we've been told she'll be monitored via 2nd level sonograms every 4 weeks until the birth... and they both expect we'll most likely have ourselves a small, but healthy baby come March. Fingers crossed!