Growing a boy: BACK STORY

On Monday, I was released from the hospital after a 26-hour stay and put on bed rest. I am 32.5 weeks pregnant with my third child, second boy, and am having some "wonderful" complications.

It all started last Wednesday, March 22 at my routine prenatal check-up (31.5 weeks pregnant). At this appointment my doctor discovered that my belly was measuring 40 to 41 weeks pregnant! Wow! I sure felt big but had no idea. At my previous 20 and 28 week appointments I was measuring just one week bigger which is pretty normal. So what happened?!?

There was talk that I might have late on-set gestational diabetes even though my previous glucose challenge came back negative. So, on Thursday morning, March 23, I took the three hour challenge test which involved fasting for 12 hours followed by drinking a 100ml sugar drink (on an empty stomach) and 4 blood draws. The next day, Friday, the results came back...negative. Leaving still more questions than answers.

My doctor also had me schedule a full scan ultrasound to measure baby, fluid and to check to make sure everything was forming properly. After my glucose testing, I headed straight to the ultrasound appointment. This ultrasound was very telling of some significant changes. Here is what I learned during this appointment:

• I have 50+ AFI (level of amniotic fluid); normal range is 8-18 AFI!
• Baby's inputs (drinking/swallowing) and outputs (urine) look good
• Baby is measuring 6-7 lbs (with 8 more weeks to grow)-- YIKES!
• Received my very first 3D ultrasound...it was amazing to see baby boy

The ultrasound was very clinical and left us with more questions than answers. So...we jumped online and discovered that I have what is called polyhydramnios. "Around 1-3% of pregnant women are diagnosed with having too much amniotic fluid. In 60% of cases there is no known cause, but factors that increase fluid volume include:

• The baby producing too much urine
• Decreased fetal swallowing (baby)
• Increased water transfer across the placenta by the mother"
• Taken from: https://midwifethinking.com/2013/08/14/amniotic-fluid-volume-too-much-too-little-or-who-knows/

With that information, we learned that I need weekly ultrasounds to monitor fluid levels and stress on baby. With that, there are risks with polyhydramnios such as:

• Premature birth
• Premature rupture of membranes — when your water breaks early
• Excess fetal growth
• Placental abruption — when the placenta peels away from the inner wall of the uterus before delivery
• Umbilical cord prolapse — when the umbilical cord drops into the vagina ahead of the baby
• C-section delivery
• Stillbirth
• Heavy bleeding due to lack of uterine muscle tone after delivery
• Taken from: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/polyhydramnios/basics/complications/con-20034451

Okay...so what do you do with that information??! We freaked out a little bit at first but then remembered that God is ultimately in control of this little guy and his entrance into this world. Thankfully we discovered all of the possible complications on Friday, the day before my baby "sprinkle" ... timed perfectly for love and support from our family and friends.

My next blog post will reveal the events that lead up to my brief hospitalization and my first few days of bed rest....stay tuned.