Two Crazy Weeks

These past two weeks have been crazy. Two weeks ago on a normal Tuesday appointment, the midwife decided it was time for an ultrasound to see just how big baby Nathanial is going to be. Turns out, his weight was estimated at 7 lbs 14 oz. That was two weeks ago. While the ultrasonographer was looking around, she checked my amniotic fluid levels. They were low. And so began the cycle of going to the Dr. twice a week for both NSTs (fetal non-stress test) and AFIs (amniotic fluid index).

While I now know that my personal situation seems to be controllable by drinking a TON of water everyday, it was very, very scary at first. We were asked to come back the Friday after that normal Tuesday with the knowledge that if the fluid was lower, they may consider induction. At the time, we were not quite term yet. (Approx. 36 weeks, 3 days) Thankfully, I was able to get the fluid levels back up and they have not mentioned induction since. I know that they will not let me go much past my due date, however, due to the baby's size. Now, let me explain about both tests as they are utilized by my OB/GYN group.

Fetal NST

The NST scared me the most, but now I've become more used to them. Basically, a fetal heart rate monitor is placed with a band around my belly. I am given a hand held device with a button on it. Imagine the Jeopardy buzzer. I am then asked to hit the button every time the baby moves. The doctor looks for the baby's heart rate to accelerate with the movements. My baby is so crammed in my belly at this point that he is not the most active thing. He is most active at night (4:00 am). This past NST, we did sip on some Coke to get some movement going. It was very effective. So far, these have all gone well.

AFI

The doctors and midwifes check the amniotic fluid levels essentially by doing an ultrasound and measuring pockets of fluid. Nothing to elaborate - the ultrasound machine they use is a portable one that doesn't show a lot, but, it gets the job done.

My Biggest Mistake

The biggest mistake I made during this time was opening up Google and typing in "low amniotic fluid." Of course, ALL of the possible reasons for it, problems caused by it and solutions for it came flooding through the search engine flood gates. The panic and anxiety drove me to tears. I was unable to function at work thinking about all the things that could be wrong with my baby and all of the things that could go wrong. My husband, my doctors and my co-workers all fussed at me for it and calmed me down as much as they could. I wasn't much calmer until I went back to the doctor and had brought my fluid levels back up.

So that is where we are now - going to the doctor twice a week with NSTs and AFIs each visit. Per last visit, I am 1 cm dilated and 70-75% effaced. My feet are swelling, my back is hurting, and I am ready to go into labor :0)