Well no, I don't think you're nosy... But I really did leave you hanging with some vague "it's okay-ish" updates after our marathon day at the hospital, and since we met with the MFM specialist again this morning and have more answers, I figure I might as well use my "kids are eating crackers at my mom's house while I try to keep things quiet so Peter goes to sleep" time and hammer out a quick update.
1. Baby is a chunker! Giant head, much like all our other kids (well, except Elizabeth, who is normal-ish), and estimated weight at 6 lbs 4 oz right now but I'm betting we'll end up with another high-7s/mid-8s baby because that's how we grow 'em.
2. Oh, and I'm 35 weeks so... Not much longer? Or maybe much longer... They're no longer saying we'll need to induce, which I have mixed feelings about - on the one hand, I knoooooow it's better to wait until the baby's ready, and the best place for the baby right now is inside so those lungs can mature.
But on the other hand, I'm tired and done being pregnant and I'm due right before Thanksgiving and will probably go a little late, so it would be nice to know that they're expecting me and have all the necessary NICU people there in the event that baby needs extra help, right?
We'll have another ultrasound in a couple weeks and talk about things then, but proooobably we'll just let things go as long as they need to go.
3. The MRI was maybe the most uncomfortable experience I've ever had in my life. It wouldn't have been so bad if I weren't pregnant, but lying in one position for 1.5 hours while loud beeps and slamming noises echoed in my ears? Not super-fun. And actually fairly painful, because those little beds aren't really all that padded... And baby kept moving so they had to keep scanning AGAIN which is why it took so long...
4. There's an actual name for this whole thing - our baby has issues in both lungs, a CPAM (with a CVR of .9 - larger than 1.6 is cause for alarm, so it's not large enough for there to be issues with hydrops) in the upper left lobe and a CLE (which only the MRI could detect, so the ultrasound didn't catch anything) in the lower right lobe. The doctors predict the baby will be born asymptomatic, so we can deliver at the hospital that's closer to us and my midwife can keep doing the prenatal care we've been doing. Then we have to do a chest x-ray after the baby's born, and a CT scan a few months later - it's likely that a mass this large won't shrink, so surgery will likely follow between 6 & 12 months.
In the meantime, the baby will be at increased risk for respiratory infections, particularly pneumonia. Super-fun for a baby being born in November...
Well, I'm bored writing this so you're probably bored reading this! Your prayers are always appreciated :)
No comments:
Post a Comment
I *love* reading your kind comments and will always try my best to reply right here in the comment box so we can keep the conversation going! If you have a blog of your own, please do link to it so I can visit back :)