37 Weeks - A Much Bigger Worry

Can I just say how silly and petty I feel for ever having worried about a breech baby or c-section?

Today was our appointment to attempt to turn the baby. I wasn’t allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight, and my appointment wasn’t until 11:00. To say I was starving was an understatement. When the first doctor came in to scan me, he asked how I was feeling. I replied with "hungry and a little anxious." A great combination according to Brian. The doctor did a quick feel with his hands, then started the ultrasound. As he had the probe over my lower pelvis, he asked what my thoughts were. I said I had no idea but wasn't hopeful, and what did he think? He thought baby was head down. Then he second guessed himself and scanned up under my ribs. He appeared super confused, and then a second female doctor came in. He asked for her advice, so she took over. After they got me into a flatter position, she confirmed that baby was head down. Hurray! The two of them seemed happy for us that baby turned on his/her own, then said the OB who was actually going to do the version would come in and possibly check one more time, and then we’d be free to go. The OB came in, scanned all over, confirmed once and for all that baby was vertex and in good position, and then left. One of the RNs came in to go over some basic info with me, and after 5-10 minutes the OB returned. She restated that baby’s head was down, and then, almost casually, dropped a fucking bomb on us. She told us that while she was scanning, she was concerned that the ventricles of baby’s brain may have appeared enlarged. She followed that up with the possibility that their machine just isn’t that great and they may have just had a hard time getting the best image with baby’s position. Regardless, she had already put in a request for us to see a MFM specialist tomorrow. They will do a far more in-depth ultrasound and let us know what they find. And then she left. Brian and I are pretty stressed out. It seems insane that everything looked fine at the 20 week scan, and then bam, just weeks from our due date we are facing a rather serious birth defect. From what we’ve been reading, they usually catch something like this at the anatomy scan. It’s crazy to think that such a huge issue could go unnoticed throughout a pregnancy. If there had been no concern about a breech presentation, no one would know anything until birth. And that’s so scary to me, because if baby really has hydrocephaly, a vaginal birth can be quite risky. Sometimes I really don’t think they monitor women enough during pregnancy. Would it have prevented this? No, but it sure would have been nice to be better informed a whole lot sooner. Well, I think if I continue in this vein, I’m going to just start rambling, so I’ll stop. Please keep our baby in your thoughts and prayers.

How Far Along: 37w0d

How Big Is Baby: BabyCenter would tell me that baby is somewhere around 6 pounds and 18-19” long. The food comparison is a bunch of swiss chard. Once again, I have no idea what that is.

Sex: I continue to guess boy. The first doctor who examined me today said he got a look at the baby’s goods and asked us to guess. I didn’t read his facial expression when I said boy, but I feel like with how grainy some of the images were, it would have been easier for him to see boy bits rather than girl bits.

Symptoms: Continued Braxton Hicks contractions. Nothing else is really new.

Food Cravings/Aversions: None I can think of.

Belly Button: Out.

Sleep: This baby has truly blessed me with good sleep throughout my pregnancy. Aside from some anxiety-related insomnia early on and while in MN, and the readjustment to high altitude after our vacation, I have never had trouble sleeping through the night. Thanks baby!

Stretch Marks: I don’t think anything new has sprung up yet.

Weight Gain: Somewhere around 30 pounds so far.

Maternity Clothes: Yes.

Movement: Baby continues to kick away in there. I still feel several bouts of hiccups per day.

What I Miss: Being able to walk, sit down, stand up, and roll over without sharp pain in my pelvis.

What I’m Looking Forward To: I guess I’m not “looking forward” to my appointment tomorrow, but I definitely want to know what we’re facing here.

Best Moment This Week: Finding out baby is head down. We got to enjoy that news for about 5-10 minutes.

Milestones: Baby shifted head down, and some websites consider me “full term,” although it seems that the new consensus is that 39 weeks is really considered full term these days.

The Bump: