My wife called me at school today to tell me how her doctor’s visit went. I could tell as soon as I heard her voice that something wasn’t right. “They’re telling me it’s no big deal,” she began, and I felt as though the air had been sucked out of the room. Conversations that start out that way are never full of good news. A sonogram had been part of the visit, and they detected a level of amniotic fluid that was on “the low side of normal.” Other tests followed, and she’s scheduled for another sonogram next week. By the time she left, the doctor told her that the tests looked good and not to worry. Gee, thanks. That’s like telling someone not to think of pink elephants. Friends at work told her not to worry, too; some of them were diagnosed with the same thing and everything turned out fine. That is comforting, but I get frustrated when there’s a problem that I can’t do anything about. Hurry up, baby – if I’m going to worry about you, I’d rather do it while holding you.
15 days until baby
I fully understand -- they had me NUTS worrying about low fluid for about five weeks. My brother got married 3 weeks before Macie was due (in NY), and I wasn't even sure my doctor would let fly there until a few days before the wedding.
ReplyDeleteI tried to look at the situation as a good thing, though. We were having at least one ultrasound a week, which was reassurance that baby was just fine. And I was being monitored so closely, so I knew that if anything was really bad, I would be induced. I am sure they will be watching your little one just as much in the next few weeks.
A few days before my due date, my fluid was just low enough to be induced, and my doctor left the decision up to us. We said we'd do it. As it turned out, the pill they gave me to start labor didn't work very well, and then I went into labor on my own anyway.
The long and short of it is that Macie was perfectly healthy and continues to be. You guys are in good hands.
I should add that I learned that fluid levels can vary a lot, even from hour to hour. And also, the position of the baby during the ultrasound can affect how much fluid the tech can actually measure. (Like, the baby might be blocking large pockets of fluid from view.)
ReplyDeleteThat's why Ryan was 3 weeks early. He had stopped growing and then the amniotic fluid was low. I had a sono a Wed and then on Monday the fluid was low, so they put me in- they said the baby was better off out than in! The sono can tell how the baby's lungs are and if they are ok- then you shouldn't be worried! So it could be sooner, rather than later!!
ReplyDeleteAmy - thanks for filling me in. The more stories I hear, the more I realize how common this is. We'd still rather not have it happening, but it's nice to know that it happens a lot and the kids usually come through OK.
ReplyDeleteJane - they were worried about the kidneys, but the sono showed that things were OK. If Linda could have her way, I think she would have them induce today. She is ready for the baby to come out!
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