Our Appointment

We had our biweekly appointment today with maternal fetal medicine. Our regular doctor will be back in the office Thursday, and another appointment is set for than. I actually really liked the doctor that I met Thursday and that we saw again today. She is very kind and seems firm on getting a plan in place. She was going to call all of the other doctors today, and set up a care conference for later this week. She talked with our doctor on Friday, and even talked again with both of the fetal surgeons also. She wants everyone to meet together (some of that will be via conference calls) so that we can work out a plan and have everyone on the same page. She said the goal is to get me to 32 weeks. Later would be great, but with Hydrops, you just never know. She is worried that with me hitting 28 weeks this week, that we could need a plan in place in the event they have to take the baby before the optimal 32 weeks (shall I add here that 32 weeks plus would be optimal of course?) So she wants a plan for what to do in different scenarios if something changes before the 32 weeks mark. Do we place another shunt, do we drain fluid, do we deliver the baby? The problems with placing more shunts is that anytime you do something that punctures through the amniotic sac, you risk labor. And the more pokes, the greater the risk for rupturing, labor, infection, etc. And when they drain fluid, it seems to come back almost by the next day. The doctor told us today that the point of getting fluid is not to give more room for the lungs, but to keep the hydrops from further spreading because of the pressure it places on the heart, thus impairing optimal heart function. I hope this little guy can cook longer and be healthy until 32 weeks, but we have many unknowns.

So what did we see with our little guy today? He looked pretty good last Thursday, and we were hoping to see the same picture again. Things could have looked worse (and we saw him looking pretty blah last Monday) but things did not look as good as last Thursday. The fluid on the right has stayed about the same. But there was a small pocket of fluid on the left. The shunt was still in place, which is good, but there is some edema on the skin again. Still, not as bad as it has been. This is one of the reasons I go in twice a week, to monitor how things look. We are still optimistic, and the doctor was really positive. Seeing her felt something remotely close to our doctor, just that she really seemed on the same page as he has been with us and she was sincere. But we are anxious to see Dr. S. back, because really he is truly the best. The technician wanted to show us some fun things, so without even asking her, she did some 3-D pictures. Now I am not one of those Moms to say the ultrasounds are cute and they look like so and so. I love seeing my children, but really and truly I think ultrasound pictures make the babies look like little aliens. Hope I did not offend anyone with that, just a personal opinion. But it was cute seeing him with skin and just seeing him almost cuddling against the wall of the placenta. So I guess you could say he was cute as you can be without being seen in person. He had hiccups again, which thrilled the doctor. And he was drinking the fluid again. I think that is about it.  Sorry for the novels, it is just a lot of information to take in and this is the best way to keep everyone updated.