Thursday, April 18, 2013

Another scare

Yesterday (35+6) I had a regular appointment. On Monday the office called to let me know my OB wouldn't be in, and they asked if I would mind seeing the physician's assistant instead. I said that was fine, I figured it would be better to at least have an appointment rather than skipping one. My BP was good at my appointment for the first time in a while (usually it goes up when I go there, I wish it wouldn't, but it does). It was a nice surprise that it was fine! Well the PA was very nice, and she spent a while with us. She talked about last week's ultrasound, and said that there was one thing they were concerned about. I assumed it was going to be the baby's weight, but no. The cord is around his neck. Not what we wanted to hear by any means! It's "only" wrapped around once, and apparently it's not tight. It's one of those things, apparently, and shouldn't cause any problems. They're going to have me go in for weekly NSTs though to make sure the baby isn't in distress. The first one is going to be today (my appointment was late yesterday afternoon and they couldn't fit it in).
She said that sometimes it can cause the baby to go into distress during labor, so if that happened I may need to have a c-section. When I have my appointment with my OB next week I'm going to ask her what she thinks - of course I'd rather avoid a c-section if possible, but at this point as long as our baby is healthy that's all that matters.

While I was there the PA did the group B strep swab, so I should find out next week if I'll be needing antibiotics during labor. Hopefully not, but again, whatever I have to do for the baby.

I can't lie, this whole thing about the cord is worrying me a lot. It's just after 5am here and I can't sleep. I did get some sleep, maybe a few hours, but I've been tossing and turning all night. Eventually, at about 4:40am, I thought I might as well just get up. I can take a nap later, thankfully. Then this afternoon it's my NST. I'm not worried about the actual NST at all, but the results of it could be scary. Hopefully baby boy will be his usual active self and not be in any distress. I'm finally going to get my hospital bag physically packed today - just in case. I'm 36 weeks now and it's supposed to be done by now anyway. I have everything I need, I think, it's just a matter of packing it.

I've done some reading on nuchal cords, and apparently they're fairly common and don't usually cause issues. I wish I could stop worrying!! While I've loved being pregnant - and I still do love it, don't get me wrong - I'll be glad when the baby is finally in my arms. I know I'll probably never stop worrying about him, but at least I'll be able to see him to know what's going on!

4 comments:

  1. Emily, thinking of you my dear, it's never easy but you have the right mind set - anything for a healthy baby and momma, and just remain positive and keep trucking. Ask lot of questions and keep your self informed, also alot of Dr's office will let you "rent" a doplier for checking the heart beats, it might be nice to have that in between visits. Check when them, sometimes the hopsitals will also have them to rent too. xo

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    1. Thanks Ali! I hadn't thought about the possibility of renting a doppler, that's definitely something to consider. Now I kind of wish I'd bought one earlier on, but I was trying to avoid becoming obsessed with checking for the baby's heartbeat. I'll definitely ask loads of questions - I'm just annoyed with myself that I didn't think of many when I was at my appointment. I just wasn't expecting this news! I'll be prepared for my next appointment with a huge list, I'm sure :)

      I'll update after the NST this afternoon, hopefully all will be well. :) xoxo

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    2. Its completely understandable. Its always good after the shock from the first apt write down hour thoughts and make sure you ask all the questions you want. I think that you are doing great, and there is nothing better to be obsessed about then a birth babie. Hang in there!!

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    3. That's a good idea! I need to get my notebook out again :)
      I'm feeling a lot better since we had the NST done and everything was fine. It'll probably be a long week now until the next one, but I just have to have faith that everything will be OK :)

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