Not my most favorite visit

December 22, 2010
Starting off, last week I had my first Non Stress Test at Dr Wells' office which went great. We're doing weekly Non Stress Tests now to make sure Ripplet is moving like he should and his heart rate fluctuates correctly. They also monitor my uterine contractions to make sure they don't interfere with baby's heart beat. I've been only having Braxton Hicks contrations for a month or so, but they still check.

A Non Stress Test is where I'm in a recliner with a monitor on my belly to track his heart and another on my belly to track any contractions. They have me hooked up for about 20 minutes and I have to hit a button every time I feel baby move. They look to make sure his heart rate fluctuates through out the test between 130-170 and that he moves enough.

He gets very wiggly when he firsts gets strapped and causes the technician some trouble as she has to keep adjusting the monitor so it'll either pick up his heart or so he'll stop hitting it causing a false reading. Squirmy little guy! His test came out great so everything is good!

Then we had our usual high risk appointment today- we met with Dr Throp again. I was down after the appointment because the intestines have more than doubled in size since the last visit. He's now at 12mm internal and 14 mm external in dilation. I was worried this meant they would want to get him out sooner, but Dr Throp said the intestines still looked healthy enough- they were just getting bigger is all. It's better for him to stay in and develop more at this point so I guess that was good news. It's hard not being able to do anything to make the swelling stop or go down.
Ripplet had another Non Stress Test (NST) that same day and did great again. So he's feeling great, his organs are developing nicely (except his intestines of course) so we have a lot to be thankful for I guess.

Still getting good news!

December 8, 2010
I can't believe time is flying by! Updates will be coming a lot more frequently as I'm getting seen every week now until Ripplet is born.

We saw the high risk dr again today, but it was Dr Dobak's senior partner Dr Thorp. Dr Thorp is extremely well-respected in his field and has been published numerous times so I was happy he was looking over our chart. We continue to get good news. I am moved to tears every time we get a good report!

Ripplet is STILL weighing in on track- especially his noggin!! He is measuring in at the 39th percentile, but is actually higher than that. The measurement of his abdomen is lower since his bowels are out thus making the circumference measurement smaller. His head is above average (I'm sure Steve claims it's from his side of the family) and his bone length is right close to 50th percentile. His estimated weight is 2lbs 13oz.

As you know the two things that are most important to us (besides all of his organ development being great- which it is) is his continue to put on weight and his intestines receive minimal damage. The weight gain will allow him to bounce better from surgery and stave off other complications. Of course minimal intestine damage will allow for a simpler surgery and less ramifications down the road.

His intestines are doing amazing as well!!! NO CHANGE in the dilation (ie damage) from 3 weeks ago. AMAZING!!
He's head down again (with feet knocking into my ribs!), very active, and snug in a nice little bubble!

We went on a tour of the NICU today and got a lot of questions answered. Everyone was so sweet, the place looked comforting instead of sterile and cold. I'll be writing more about the NICU once we're admitted.

Last week I also with my Florida OB that will be doing my C-section. Even though I still see Dr Wells, I had to get referred to an OB in Florida to do my surgery since we're delivering in a different state. Dr Dobak suggested Dr Duke because she has a similar demeanor and philosophy to that of Dr Wells. I like her a lot and feel much more comfortable about the surgery now. It was only midway through the month and she had already delivered a few gastro babies so I was encouraged by experience with this.

A few weeks ago we met with my old childbirth coach from when I had Riley to go over C-section information. I wanted to hear from someone other than a doctor about what to expect during and after surgery from the patient point of view. I was really apprehensive about the surgery but Jamie gave us a a great private class. It's hard to find C-section classes at hospitals since most are emergency C-sections; first-time planned ones aren't the norm. Jamie from Mobile Infirmary (where I delivered Riley) showed us a great video (not gorey!) about C-sections, went over ideas for a birth plan, discussed tips to make recovery go smoothly, and talked with Steve about his role in the whole event.

I felt so much better about the whole procedure after talking with her and identifying what things we have control over during the surgery so we can still feel like it's "our" birth. She even gave us a coloring book for Riley about his baby brother being in the NICU called Come Home Soon Baby Brother! It's a great way for him to understand what's going on with his brother while he's in the hospital and how he can help play a part even though he's not allowed to visit his brother during the hospital stay.

We got news too about the pediatric surgeon situation. Dr Kimmel is moving out of state so that leaves Dr Lewis as the only pediatric surgeon on staff. Lucky for us her specialty is in gastro-intestinal so we believe we're in good hands. We don't meet with Dr Lewis until the week before baby is due out, not ideal but she's a great doctor so we will take what we can get!

Next up are non-stress tests and the weekly visits!!