Polyhydramnios

You know it is going to be an interesting appointment with your midwife when she walks in the room and says "Oh, you are alone today. Ah.. what a day to come alone."

Nolan was able to make it to the ultrasound appointment in the mid-morning (which we thought we be more informative that it turned out to be), but headed into work before the midwife appointment later this afternoon.

Well, it is official. After having an ultrasound done this morning, I have been diagnosed with polyhydramnios - too much amniotic fluid - much like the midwife thought about a month ago.

The good news is Baby Dean looks good - weighs about 3 lbs. 4 oz. and is still measuring around his due date... Also good news is that when he moved his heart rate increased (like it is supposed to.) I passed my blood glucose test last week - scoring a 107 and a score of 135 implies possible gestational diabetes. My weight gain continues to be about a pound a week; I am up to 160, so a total of 20 pounds gained. I am 29 weeks and 3 days although I am still measuring, 5 weeks ahead, which puts me at 34 weeks.

Since I am now considered a "complicated/high risk" pregnancy there is a lot that goes with that.

They drew about 6 vials of blood to do various testing.. I will get the results of all of that next Wednesday at my appointment with an obstetrician, who I will likely now be seeing every two weeks for the remainder of the pregnancy (no more seeing a midwife).I will likely be sent to a fetal/maternal specialist (now that I am "high risk") to have a more in depth ultrasound done. There is no reason for them to think that Baby Dean has any birth defects (a possible cause for the excess fluid), however having this more in depth ultrasound will provide more information on that front...
I will begin weekly non stress tests at the Naval Hospital where I will sit for an hour and Baby Dean will be monitored; they will also measure the amount of amniotic fluid each week to keep an eye on that.
The obstetrician that I briefly saw today after the ultrasound wrote in his notes that they will look at inducing at 38 weeks - not really a fan of that idea since I have read that most inductions turn into C-sections - but maybe it truly will be medically necessary... or Baby Dean will beat them to the punch! ;-) We shall see.

And here he is! ;-)

So... who is he looking like to you? Nolan or me? Hopefully a bit of both! ;-)

Although the "diagnosis" seems to make things a little overwhelming, I think overall we are all doing well! I am having a bit of trouble sleeping as of late - I am a back/stomach sleeper, which is totally impossible at this point, so it is hard to get comfy, but I do manage to sleep 2 - 3 hours at a time! :-) In general, I feel good, I have had slight cramping the past two days, but the midwife attributes that to all of the stretching that my uterus is having to do - and at such a rapid pace. I have been laying down in the afternoons, when possible; I don't sleep per se, but it seems somewhat restful. Driving has become quite awkward over the past 2 weeks or so... Baby Dean seems to move straight up and push his head and backside into my ribs! haha He is quite active throughout the day and night, which I appreciate, since it lets me know he is still kickin' in there! ;-) (and punching and sometimes he does both at the same time!)