Pregnancy #2 - update continued

So this is a follow-up to my last pregnancy post. (This is kind of long, sorry...)

On Monday we had an appointment at the birth center as well as our first non-stress test (which the doctor had wanted us to do since the baby was measuring small).  The test showed that baby girl's heart rate dropped after one of the contractions, which is called a late deceleration.  Apparently this is a very worrisome thing. So then we were off to have an ultrasound to measure the amniotic fluid, since if it's low, it could be a sign that baby isn't getting enough nutrients/blood through the cord, or that the cord is being compressed which could cause the heart rate to drop.  But the midwife said my fluid looked great.  So then we had to sit and wait while she consulted with the doctor.

After a while, she called us back and told us to head over to the hospital for an extended non-stress test.  She also recommended that perhaps Eric give me a blessing before we went (it's so nice having a Mormon midwife!), which we did. Eric stayed home with Abby so she could get a nap (we had been at the midwife since 8:30am and it was noon by this time), since we figured I would be there for an hour or two.

I checked into triage and they got me all hooked up. I found a chocolate bar in my bag to eat to try and calm my worries. After about an hour, the nurse came back and said that there was another of those variabilities, and that they were going to do an ultrasound to check fluids.  So, for the second time that day, it was off to get an ultrasound.  Once again, my fluids looked great, but the technician mentioned that the cord seemed up high by the head.  After consulting with the doctor, the nurse said that the doctor was worried that the cord might be below the head which would cause a risk of cord prolapse if the head was already engaged (low down) and I went into labor.  So he was going to come assess me after his office hours to see if this was the case.

I asked the nurse how serious this would be, and she said that it would mean a c-section, that day most likely.  That was a big blow for sure, and I just started crying and wishing Eric was there. While I was waiting for the nurse from labor and delivery to come get me, I started doing a little research on cord prolapse, and sure enough it's not a good thing to have and can be very dangerous for the baby. So I started trying to resign myself to the fact that baby might be coming that day by c-section.

I called Eric and told him to start trying to find someone who could help watch Abby so he could come up to the hospital. Then I got picked up by my new nurse and off we went. I was checked into a room and hooked up to an IV and monitors and told I couldn't eat or drink in preparation for the possible c-section. And then I waited. The doctor came at about 5:30pm and Eric (thankfully!) walked in right after him.

The doctor did a quick ultrasound and then told us that, yes the cord looked like it was up near the head but it wasn't below the head so the c-section wouldn't be necessary (sigh of relief!). But then he continued to say that he felt we should start induction right away. He said that since the baby was small and having these heart rate variabilities, we should get her out right away. He gave us the option of breaking my waters or starting the Cytotec. I felt overwhelmed. This was a ton he was throwing at me. I asked him what would happen if we did nothing right now. He said he wouldn't let us leave the hospital without having the baby. I asked if it would be possible to wait overnight to think about it. He said yes, but seemed very upset by this (but I could see the nurse in the background giving me encouraging faces). The doctor then said,'but then you run the chance of something happening in the middle of the night and us having to do an emergency c-section.' I felt like he was really pressuring me and I did not feel comfortable with him at all. He left so we could think it over for a couple minutes.

After he left, the nurse told me that in the few hours since I had been admitted, the baby's heartbeat had looked great, and that it was perfectly ok for me to ask to wait overnight. She also said that we could always ask for another opinion if we weren't comfortable. She had told me earlier that they had offered to the doctor to have a specialist come and do an in-depth ultrasound and he had declined this, saying he could do it himself. He did do an ultrasound but just a real quick one, with no measurements. So she said that we could always request that this ultrasound be done so the baby could be more carefully measured to see how small she is.

Can I just say how wonderful the nurses we had were? I felt like they were being our advocates the entire time, and helping us know what we could ask and that we did have other options. It was so helpful and relieving.

So when the doctor came back we told him that we would like to wait til the morning and also that we would like to have the perinatologist come do the ultrasound. He again did not seem happy but said he would so see if there was still one at the hospital. After he left, the nurse told us that she felt we made the right decision, that from her observations, we didn't need to rush into an induction quite yet.

A little while later the perinatalogist showed up. He was so great! Eric and I both said after he left that we wished he could be our doctor. He was so calm and personable, I felt very comfortable and trusting in his opinion, something I wasn't feeling with our own doctor. So he started up the ultrasound and doing the measurements, talking to us and making jokes the entire time, completely putting us at ease.

And the results? He said our little girl looked beautiful. She is small, but not too small. He measured her at 16th percentile (10th is where the worry starts). He said the blood flow through the cord was perfect, and the fluid levels were great. He turned to us and said that he knew why we were having those decelerations - the cord was around her neck. That didn't sound good! But then he continued to say that it was very loose around her neck, more like a loose necklace and that this is actually very common. He said you don't need to worry unless it is 3-4 times around, and that with how it is, 99% of the time there is no problem. He said he didn't see any reason why we needed to be induced or why we couldn't have the baby at the birth center. (!!)

Wow.That was completely unexpected! He said he would share his results with the doctor on call for our doctor. So again we waited. Soon the nurse came in with the news - no induction needed, but the doctor wanted us to stay overnight for monitoring. If everything looked good, we would be headed home in the morning. Yay!

By this point my parents were already almost there, which I felt really bad about. But they came anyways. We also had our friends bring Abby up to us to be with us until my parents came, which was great. Abby loved being there with us and it was so great to be with her. She thought our hospital room was just awesome.

After a terribly uncomfortable night, we met with our doctor again, who was back in the hospital.  I was a little nervous, hoping he would go with what the doctor on call had decided. He came in and said, 'looks like we don't need to do an induction!' Good, good. He then told us that he thought that we should transfer care over to him and plan on having the baby at the hospital. I was a little surprised and mentioned that the perinatalogist had said it should be fine to go back to the birth center. He then said that there was a 1% chance, with having the cord around the neck, that something could go wrong. I asked if we had an option, if we could talk with the birth center. He said, yes it was up to us and the birth center but that his recommendation stayed the same.  He seemed very confident that the birth center would stand by his recommendations.

Of course we were so happy that everything was fine with baby! What a relief! And for now, the birth center has approved me coming back to them, as long as I continue the biweekly non-stress tests. Which we have had two of. And so far, things look great!