I wasn't blogging back in the days when I was incubating my children. The internet existed then but not for the average household. If I had been blogging then it would have looked a lot like my life now because I was put on bedrest at 26 weeks with Cody and at 25 weeks with Austin - both for premature labor. Keeping the countdown chart up to par Cosette's 24th week of gestation is the one that puts us all on edge.
I didn't go to her appointment today because 1) the EGP* that will not go away (but is better) and 2) I have a sore throat / earache / stuffy nose combo that probably is nothing more than my usual ESP (evil sinus problems) but in the event that it could be something contagious I decided to spare exposing a doctors office full of pregnant women from being exposed to me and 3) I wanted Cosette's other grandma to have some time to visit with her via ultrasound. She's sat out the past two. So I didn't go. And as it turns out Cosette is measuring about two weeks behind gestational age and her amniotic fluid is low... I don't know how low because I didn't go... and this special combination indicates a need for more advanced screening than the local OB-GYN.
We have an appointment tomorrow at 2pm with a perinatologist. I know all about perinatologists - at least perinatology 20 years ago - because I had to see one with Austin. There was concern with Austin that his kidneys weren't developing right, the storage capacity was too small or something. It's amazing what you forget in 20 years. We had a couple of visits and a couple of super duper special ultrasounds - not the super duper kind they have now but the best they had back then - and ultimately we got the all clear long before he was born. The main thing was the anxiety of "what the heck is wrong with my kid" and I suspect/hope/pray that this is a similar situation. I fully expect this new doctor to find Cosette giving thumbs up or shooting him a bird via ultrasound and we'll be on our merry way.
As per my custom, I have googled every possible combination of the phrase "low amniotic fluid, measuring small for dates at 24 weeks" including the proper medical terminology of "intrauterine growth restriction" and "oligohydramnios". I've seen lots of scary stuff but the good news is that Tasha's blood pressure is "perfect" according to Austin's interpretation. (Again, I didn't go.) If she were to have any complication I would expect high blood pressure and that's one big trigger for these type of problems. It can also be caused by poor nutrition which, pot and the kettle here (I had four chocolate chip cookies for lunch) but Tasha doesn't eat veggies and I harass her frequently about this. It can also be a lot of other stuff or... it could just be genetics because Tasha and Austin were both pretty tiny as kids and her mom weighs something like 80 pounds so they could legitimately have a small baby.
This doctor is sixty miles away and I think my dad is going to go - if he does, I'll be glad for him to drive because I do have so much trouble with dizziness and stuff. If he doesn't (because he did take another trip over the dog gate this morning before dawn -which is a pretty startling sound to wake up to- and he might legitimately be sore although he did manage to play 18 rounds of golf today) if he doesn't, I'll figure it out. I mean, I used to drive to between Atlanta and Jacksonville over a weekend and that's like 600 miles. I was younger then. And not stressed. As much.
I don't think there's really any cause for panic because they offered her the appointment tomorrow or the next available was in February. If it could wait until February then it can't be that bad. I told the kids to pack their cellphone chargers just in case. Perinatalogist appointments tend to take a long time due to the nature of their specialty. I mean, they treat multiple births and premature labor and things that just "pop up" in the middle of the day. They also tend to give tests that involve long periods of observation as in, "go lay in that bed strapped up to that monitor and we'll see how things look in 8 hours". So. Yeah.
This does not give Peanut permission to raise a ruckus at 23 weeks. Somebody make sure he/she gets the word.
No pics today. I'm busy trying to keep the cat out of my hot cider. Happy Thursday. Love and hugs, y'all.
*evil gut pain
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