24 weeks

So I made it to my next milestone of 24 weeks- yay! The past week and a half off the PICC have been so refreshing. It has been great to shower whenever I want and not have to schedule evenings around IV infusions! I will admit that my nausea has taken a turn for the worst off the fluids but I am still not vomiting much- maybe twice in the last week so I will take that! My arm is healing up pretty well. There is still a scar/scab at the site and the skin around is scaly like a snake as the rash heals.

This past week was Jeff's birthday and my birthday so it was a fun few days of celebrating. I got spoiled with some gift cards for massages and a pedicure so baby and I are going to be pampered in the coming months!

Here are the latest belly pics from 24 weeks:

And comparing this pregnancy at 24 weeks to my pregnancy with Ella at 24 weeks in the same clothes!

24 week Baby #2

24 weeks with Ella

I had my 24 week appointment today along with the one hour glucose test. For those that aren't familiar, the glucose test is done between 24-28 weeks to test for possible gestational diabetes. You drink a super sweet drink and then have your blood drawn an hour later to see blood sugar results. I failed the one hour test with Ella and then had to go in and take the 3 hour test so am really hoping I don't have to do that again! I will find out results later this afternoon and do a quick update.

After the glucose test was my appointment with the OB. I am now officially +1 pound from pre pregnancy weight which is good and funny at the same time. The doctor listened to the heartbeat which was in the 160s and sounded great. Then he measured my fundal height (uterus) and it was measuring a bit small. Previously he had suggested that I do a growth ultrasound at 28 weeks since I have previous history of having growth restriction with Ella. After measuring small today he said he didn't feel comfortable waiting 4 weeks and wanted me to get in for an ultrasound today. Yikes! So I came back a few hours later and had a growth ultrasound. During these they listen to the heartbeat, check amniotic fluid levels and measure three things: head, femur and abdomen. Combined, these measurements indicate an overall percentile that the baby's weight falls into and then each component is looked at separately as well. There are two types of growth restricted babies or babies with IUGR. The first is symmetrial growth restriction and this is usually not cause for concern because it indicates that the baby is small, but proportionately small so it is likely just in the genetics. An assymmetrically small baby is more cause for concern because generally the abdomen lags behind the head and femur. (This is what Ella had.). The OB explained that the reason this is a concern is that it indicates that the baby is not getting enough nutrients so is rationing what it is getting and sending most to the vital organs and head, leaving the abdomen to suffer.

Looking at baby on today's ultrasound, heartbeat looked great at 148 and baby was moving around ALL over. Amniotic fluid looked great! Baby is till head down but flailing about from side to side and constantly sucking its thumb and putting its fingers in its mouth. (See picture below)

After the ultrasound I met with the OB again and he told me that baby is weighing in at 1 lb 6 oz putting its total body weight at the 37th percentile. So right now the total weight is on the small side but not alarmingly so. The more important measurements to look at were the individual head, femur and abdomen numbers. In looking at this, my OB pointed out that right now the abdomen is lacking about two weeks behind the other measurements. Right now the head is measuring at 25 weeks 4 days (58th percentile) and the abdomen is measuring at 23 weeks 2 days (24th percentile). As of now these numbers on their own look okay and do not mean that I need immediate treatment or anything- however they are indicative of possible IUGR down the road. Ella was not diagnosed until 30 weeks and her numbers at first were around what this baby's are and each week the percentiles continued to drop until it was decided that she should be delivered. So at this time we will watch and wait. The doctor reminded me that growth restriction is nothing to mess around with so I will be closely monitored. They take into account mom's weight gain and fundal height measurements also and both of mine are on the small side. So my next appointment will be in 4 weeks at 28 weeks and I will have another growth ultrasound. After that I will start going every two weeks and will have an additional growth ultrasound at 32 weeks. If at that time, the discrepancy has narrowed, then all is good and baby can come when it likes. If however, like in Ella's case, the perecentiles continue to fall and the gap between abdomen and head/femur increases, I will start non stress tests and they will determine an appropriate date to deliver. SO as usual, it was a lot to take in at the appointment but I feel a lot more educated about what is going on after having been through this once with Ella. We will keep on plugging along and hope that baby starts packing on the pounds! I will leave you with a final picture of Baby Grinstead 2.0. I may be biased but he/she is a real cutie! :)