I know I owe everyone an explanation for my vague Facebook post this week. I apologize if I scared you. The post simply said "polyhydramnios and (potential) fetal macrosomia," and I didn't expound on that. I've had several people ask me about it, so here's the rundown.
At my 30-week appointment, my midwife measured my fundal height (that's basically how big my belly is from top to bottom). I was 4 centimeters above what I ought to have been measuring. When I went in for my 32-week check up, they measured again, and I again was 4 centimeters larger than normal. This concerned my midwives enough to advise me to get an ultrasound done.
At 33 weeks, I went in for an ultrasound. Stephen was able to join me for this appointment, which I was grateful for so I wouldn't have to try and explain everything to him later. The technician was the same guy that had done both Paige and this child's 20 week ultrasound. He checked out all the measurements on baby and told us he was measuring as if he was 36 weeks along rather than 33. He also measured the amount of amniotic fluid I had--at the time, I thought it was within a normal range, but my midwives later clarified that it was indeed above normal. The ultrasound was able to check that baby's kidneys and bladder were functioning properly, and all together, his body seems healthy as far as technology can tell.
I had to wait a week to hear back from my midwives about the repercussions from the results. I worried they would say I was too high risk to use their birthing center, but they reassured me I could still continue in their care. However, because of the excess amniotic fluid, I was diagnosed with polyhydramnios (don't ask me to pronounce this out loud). Basically, the condition is I have extra fluid. That in itself is not a problem, but it leads to higher risks of other problems. For instance, baby has more room to move around and is more likely to be breach or in a bad position for birth (he's currently head-down, so cross your fingers he stays that way). There's also an increased risk for umbilical cord prolapse, where the cord comes out before baby during delivery.
Along with the excess fluid, my baby is measuring large for his gestational age. This in itself is also not necessarily a concern, but could cause problems during labor, such as getting stuck or prolonging labor. He was about six pounds at the 33 week check up, and considering babies gain about a half a pound a week, he could easily be nine pounds or more at birth. I myself was a nine-pound baby. My mom gave birth to several nine- and ten-pound children, so, genetically, it's not too surprising. Paige was an average 7lbs 9oz, but I also measured normal with her.
So, combining the fact that I have a large baby and extra fluid, my fundal measurement is already that of a full-term 40-week mom, even though today I'm only 35 weeks. There's nothing inherently wrong with either condition, but it does raise concerns for complications during labor and delivery. Because I'm with my birthing center and midwives, and because I hope to have an unmedicated birth, I have to weigh my options. Will I need a c-section? Not necessarily. Should I? That's a different question only God can answer, and I'm asking him. I currently feel like proceeding with my plan is safe, but I can't say for sure I feel peace about it due to pregnancy hormones that like to enlarge the "what if"s of life. But regardless, I hope for support from you on whatever decision I make.
My midwife recommended I consider natural induction measures around 39 weeks to hopefully reduce some of the risks. I wouldn't use pitocin, but rather try things like evening primrose oil, caster oil, membrane stripping, a foley balloon, and other nudging practices for my body to go into labor. They won't break my water to start labor because of the polyhydramnios, and they would do stress tests before trying anything to be safe. I don't know for sure what I will do as far as induction, but luckily, I still have a few weeks to think and pray about it.
Does all of this make sense? Are you following? I know it's a little medically heavy, and unfortunately, I'm not the best at relaying medical information. I'm doing alright, but emotionally, this has definitely shaken me a bit. I'm confident a large factor is hormones, and I'm able to recognize that when my logical side is confounded. Still, it's never fun to think about any complications for me or baby. My midwives reassured me that all the potential issues are only potential--they wanted me to be informed and aware so that, if something does happen, I'm not caught off guard. But, there is still a great possibility that I'll have completely normal and healthy pregnancy, labor, delivery, and baby. We may be worrying over nothing, but it's better to be prepared for alternate outcomes than ignorant.
To add one more note, there's no indication as to why I'm dealing with polyhydramnios. I don't have gestational diabetes, and it's definitely not a factor like twins. It kind of just happened--there's nothing I did and there's nothing I can really do to fix it. Same with having a large baby. It's just the luck of the draw I guess.
Beyond all of this, my pregnancy hasn't been easy, as anyone following along can gather. However, for some really happy news, I went six days without vomiting! I can hardly believe it. I don't know what was different enough to keep my stomach settled, so unfortunately, I can't replicate it on demand, but it gave me hope. I know also I only have about a month left, which some days seems doable, and other days seems to be a cruel joke of enduring for yet another month.
My body has also become increasingly sore. Considering I'm the size of a full-term mom, it's understandable to be sore, but thinking of another month of growth makes me cringe. My hips are very unsteady since all the muscles are relaxing for birth. I think they're relaxing a little too much though, because I've had days where it is painful to stand or walk, and oddly enough, life likes to request that I do those things. It also is extremely painful to roll over in bed because of my hips and legs. I now own the full pregnancy waddle in all it's grace and glory. I'm sure I'm a sight, but you know what--Stephen loves me, so who else do I need to impress?
Oh, Stephen. He has been such a champion in all of this. As my abilities have declined, he has stepped up to the plate. He's been really busy with work lately, and then comes home and has to be really busy here too, but he does it all so lovingly. I seriously don't know how I got such a catch. And guess what? He's super cute, too! Score! Paige has been pretty good most days. She will still throw the occasional tantrum, but for the most part, I've lowered my expectations of what she and I can accomplish in a day, and that's taken a lot of stress away. I know she gets bored though, and I wish I felt better enough to play with her like she would like me to, but we find other ways bonding, and she's patient with me.
Life is still continuing, despite any medical conditions I have. We started the month off with Paige having a bout of sickness that I'm 95% confident was Roseola. She had all the symptoms and followed the timeline pretty accurately. She made a full recovery pretty quick though, and has since been doing just fine.
We also watched General Conference this past month, which was great. Paige didn't love the idea of watching people speak and asked for her shows instead. It was difficult to keep her quiet and entertained enough to listen, but we managed. For the Sunday sessions, we invited all nearby siblings from both my side and Stephen's side to watch with us and play games together. It was fun and great to spend the day with them. Paige picked favorites for a while between her aunts and uncles, but by the end of the day, I think she warmed up to everyone. ("Gigis and Kennys" (Nicholas and Kenzie) are probably her current favorite, but she also sees them the most.)
We made a family trip up to Boise last week to support Stephen's brother Brandon in his choice to be baptized. We also got to meet Spencer, our new nephew. It gives me encouragement to see newborns and know I'm working towards that end goal. It was also comforting to see how much he slept. Paige never napped like that, but hopefully, this baby boy will sleep through any noise Paige creates, just like Spencer did with so much commotion.
For Easter, we celebrated with a few egg hunts that Paige absolutely loved. She was so excited to find the candy inside. She was particularly impressed with dying Easter eggs and the "color water" we used. She also was happy with her Easter basket this morning and kept saying "wow." Paige was not such a fan of the traditional egg roll, where two eggs compete by being rolled together and loser leaves cracked. She quickly realized her egg might break if she participated and promptly safeguarded her treasure, refusing to even watch Stephen and I play. She wouldn't use a different egg, and despite all of our encouragements and offerings, Paige clung to her egg and said no. It was pretty cute.
Well, I know think I've sufficiently shared more information than anyone really wanted to know. I hope this can clear up any questions people had about baby and me. It's hard to give information when I don't fully understand it myself, and it's even harder to tell people what I'm doing about it when I lack those answers myself. We're going to proceed, and that's about all I know. It's pretty much the only option, seeing as turning around and going back isn't physically feasible. And we're going to trust God. That's also the best thing we can do at this point.
And I'm going to waddle, seeing as there's not much alternative there either.
