Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Baby, baby, baby....

It HAS to happen soon...there has to be a time when we leave the doctor's office with good news. Right?

The baby is not growing as much as he should be at this point. He is weeks behind in growth, especially in the mid-section region, which they say is the first place to have delays when there is a growth-related issue. They did a test yesterday to see what the bloodflow looked like in the umbilical cord and it seemed to be a bit strained. This probably means that there is a problem with the placenta and that the baby hasn't been getting the blood he needs to grow sufficiently. The doctor thought that maybe the same defect that caused his heart to be formed incorrectly could be the same defect that is causing this. It's hard to say, though.

We have to continue to monitor the baby twice a week until he is born. If there is evidence of his movements or breathing decreasing in frequency, it is possible that he would be better off outside of my tummy. And....with his delicate little heart condition, being outside my tummy right now is not a good thing. He only weighs 3 lbs, 6 oz right now. That is too tiny for heart surgery. But, if he continues to show signs that he's not getting enough blood inside the uterus, then we'll have to take that risk.

The good thing is that he continues to pass every test with flying colors! He shows off his breathing and twisting and kicking every time we peek at him and that's a very good sign that he's still thriving in there.

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