Speaking To Soon

I went to my normal Tuesday doc appointment yesterday.

My amniotic fluid had decreased to 5.8, from the 7.X that it's been holding steady at for the last couple visits. My wonderful nurse advised me that anything at 5 and under, since I was 37 weeks, was an indication of an earlier c-section than May 7th that they planned for. Since I'm thankfully so far along, they just wouldn't want to mess around with trying to wait longer and me and the Melon getting into a distress situation.

I spoke with Dr. Wothe after the non-stress test, and luckily the Melon was doing great with a steady heartbeat - no signs of distress. The only thing he did caution me about is if decreased movement - less than 10 movements in 2 hours - to come right in after calling the MAC (Maternal Assessment Center).

She's been kinda lazy with her movements the last day or two, and it was explained to me that as long as she is still moving normally, even if her movements aren't as vigorous, it's due to the decrease in room because of the lower fluid level. So, me, being the paranoid person that I am, will be doing kick counts today every few hours just to make myself feel better.

I've also decided to drink strictly water until my Friday appointment instead of counting any Juicey Juice or milk as fluid. My own experiment to see if that makes a difference in the fluid levels.

Also, we started the Heparin injections last night.
Wow, it makes me miss the Lovenox. Dosing myself 1.3 ccs every 12 hours (6am and 6pm), out of these itty bitty teeny tiny vials of 20,000 units per 1 ml....it's annoying because I have to use two of them each time I dose. And DUDE, you should SEE the length of the needle on the 3 cc tuberculine syringes they gave me. Crap on a stick are they ever long! It's seriously like a 2 and a half inch long needle for the 3 cc syringes.

It just amazes me when I think of how little I personally have gone through... knowing that it may be a lot of medical issues - Factor X/Lupus Anticoagulant, constant blood thinner injections, lab draws, doctor visits - for me, but that there are other women out there who have gone through so much more in order to carry their babies to term. That's what keeps me going.

We're close now. Whether they tell me this Friday we're rescheduling for a sooner c-section, or we can safely wait until May 7th...we are definitely looking forward to our new addition.

Overwhelmed much?

No further updates on my Tuesday and Friday doc appointments due to the fact that things haven't changed all that much. My amniotic fluid level has swung from 10 to 7, and is holding steady at 7, with bed rest still prescribed.

Some news as of last Friday's appointment: MN Perinatal has tentatively scheduled my c-section for May 7th at 11:30am. I say 'tentatively' because it could be May 8th - dependent on my labs.

They are switching me from Lovenox injections to Heparin injections. I had to jump through a few hoops to get that all squared away - including a PA (prior authorization) that we had not anticipated. The PA was approved, but Walgreens doesn't carry the necessary dosage that I needed. They'll have it in tomorrow afternoon they said - so I'll start it beginning Wednesday, and have a lab draw on Thursday to see if they need to adjust dose.

Again, being switched from Lovenox to Heparin is due to the fact that Heparin has a shorter life in the body than Lovenox does. It ought to be fun... I have to draw up my own Heparin and inject as normal. Lovenox apparently, is the lazy persons' blood thinner injectable. lol Yes, I find it humorous. :)

So.... we've started making lists and checking them several times. Not like we need to bring much to the hospital, but with my memory the way it is right now, always best to rely on the written word.

Also... we've started going through stuff. I keep offering things to friends and asking them to come over and figure out if there's something they could possibly NEED. We have less than 3 weeks before the Melon makes her appearance, and less than 8 weeks before we move to our single family home in Roseville.

And please don't take this as bitching, but even though I've gained about 14 pounds total the entire pregnancy so far (which is good and fine and dandy) I feel like I've gained about 40 pounds and everything is stretched out and uncomfortable and ... and ... while I feel blessed to have made it happy and healthy to this far point of nearly 37 weeks with this baby, it's just really hard to get comfortable. Daytime naps are becoming more common.

In fact, time for one now.