The Unexpected

It's not what we were expecting. Hubby and I have been saying this all afternoon and evening after a busy and emotional morning of unexpected baby news.

I had an appointment with my OB-GYN on Monday, December 21. Heart rate was good and we talked about the possibility of an induction on my due date if my cervix was "favorable." If my cervix wasn't at least starting to dilate and efface by January 19, then they recommended a C-section since VBAC success goes down the longer baby "cooks" and I'm already a little higher risk due to AMA (at the ripe old age of 35). I made plans to start eating dates, bouncing on an exercise ball, and trying techniques like curb stepping once I hit full term at 37 weeks in order to help increase my chances of avoiding surgery and giving birth the old fashioned way. I didn't mind a C-section if needed (I know what to expect from last time and I would have some control of the timing), but I wanted the quicker recovery time so I wouldn't have to be away from Baby 1 for too long in the hospital or struggle with a toddler, newborn, and the aftermath of major abdominal surgery.

Then I had an ultrasound growth scan this morning, December 22. Heart rate was good. Brain, kidneys, fluid all looked good. Baby was measuring normally. Except where he wasn't. His abdomen was slightly smaller than it should be. Like, in the 6th percentile kind of small. Last month Baby 2's ultrasound showed his growth fitting into the 16th percentile overall, which is small, but not worrisome since I'm not that big myself. Now, a month later, his belly was behind in growth. So they decided to check his "blood flow"--two arteries from the placenta. One artery had normal blood flow. The other had increased blood flow, which was causing placental insufficiency. Blood was being diverted to the places that needed it most, like the brain, which was why thankfully Baby's brain was looking great. But it also meant that we shouldn't leave baby in too long if the placenta is not providing adequate blood flow to him!

The doctor at this ultrasound location recommended resting, increasing my protein intake, and scheduling a C-section for between 37 weeks and 37 weeks and 3 days. She was going to contact my OB-GYN and recommended scheduling an appointment with him sooner than my currently scheduled appointment (December 30) because that would be too late. We needed to discuss next steps and the C-section after all.

Then two fetal monitors were strapped to my belly (standard practice even if we hadn't received such news) in order to measure baby's heart rate and any contractions. I actually experienced at least two contractions during this monitoring, which was exciting! Baby's heart rate was excellent and tolerated the contractions well. But I doubt it means I will go into labor this early, and so I'll likely be undergoing surgery (again) to get Baby 2 out as quickly and safely as possible--next week!

We were able to get an appointment with my OB-GYN on Monday and will have more information about the situation and hopefully a C-section date at that time. Now we have to furiously finish baby prepping (I'd definitely started, but thought I had at least 3-4 more weeks!), rearrange any plans (like work meetings), adjust our parental leave dates, and hope we're not forgetting anything important.

It will be a lot of work to squeeze into just one week (with the holidays thrown in there too!) and through it all I'm supposed to be "resting" as well--which is already proving emotionally challenging as Baby 1 doesn't understand why I can't rock him to sleep standing up anymore. But the good news is we get to meet our second son even sooner, begin the process of recovery sooner, and start our lives as a family of four!