The Super Fast Birth of Eleanor Ruby

Well, less than two hours from my last post, we became a family of five!

My water broke at 8 am, contractions started around 8:30 am, we arrived at the hospital at 9:40 am and at 10:03 am Eleanor Ruby was born! My doctor made it two minutes before Ella came out. No drugs, other than most of a bag of antibiotics for the group B strep bacteria. It was such an exciting birth and I am so blessed with our beautiful new daughter. She is very healthy and nursing wonderfully. We have to spend 48 hrs at the hospital to keep an eye on her due to the brief exposure to GBS, but our stay has gone very well.

Eleanor is our biggest baby, weighing in atr 7 lbs, 1 oz and 20" long.

A few photos of our new family!

Saw Our Eleanor today!

I had hoped to go into labor this morning so I could avoid going to my last scheduled sono with my MFE, but no dice. Nonetheless, it was good to see her again, I just feel even more excited and eager to meet her in person!

I had a ton of contractions earlier in the day, so my friend that planned on staying home with Sean decided that she should go with me to the appt incase I needed her to drive us back. We loaded up her 2 1/2 yr old and my son in the van and they both fell asleep on the way there. She offered to stay in the van with them during my appt so they could nap. Luckily it wasn't too hot today & we parked in a parking garage.

Anyway... my little girl did great for her sono, fluid looks good, placenta is holding out and she has grown! The estimated weight is 7 lbs 4 oz right now. She is definitely engaged, it was hard to get the shots of her head. Her hair is so long, the tech estimated it was around 1 1/2 inches long! I wish our scanner was working so I could add a pic of her hair. Maybe Doug can scan it in at work. Missy had her arm over her mouth, so as usual we didn't get a pretty face picture.

Contractions have eased up, so maybe we will make it to August after all.

Edited to add the photo of her hair:

Yay! Yay! Yay!

Good news for me! I finally got to see the MFE yesterday and she said she does NOT believe my placental lake is caused by a partial abruption! She thinks that the baby is doing really well and I don't need another sono for 3 weeks! Yay! She said, "of course, if you have her by then, just call and cancel the appt." I am so hoping that she is safely in my arms soon. It is a huge relief to hear that all looks well and I don't have to be watched so aggressively. In fact, I don't have another OB appt until July 25, so I get a 2 week break from the dr's office.

I had a BPP before the appt and the sono tech and I had a good laugh about Eleanor. See, she is without a doubt a little stinker! We haven't had a clear view of her face since 28 weeks, she's always hiding it in the placenta. Well, yesterday, she had her face turned towards us so we thought we'd finally get a good look. NOPE! She kept one hand over her mouth the whole time- except for a few brief seconds when she'd slide it down to her chin and stick her tongue out at us, then slide it back up! Cracked us up!

Doug and I feel a great sense of relief today and hope that the rest of the pregnancy goes smoothly. It's hard to imagine that in a month or less we will be a family of 5!

Happy 4th of July!

Hope everyone has a great and safe day! We will be celebrating by cooking out on our almost finished new deck with family tonight. Sean is terrified of fireworks, so he and I will stay in this evening while Doug takes Aidan to see the big display the city puts on. I'm sure they will have a fun night together.

Yesterday I went in for my weekly BPP and the tech did a full sono instead. I guess they changed their minds because the full sono was supposed to be next week. Oh well! Baby Eleanor's hair has grown even more! It looks close to an inch long on the sono. She passed all the BPP test with another perfect 8/8 and her estimated current weight is 5 1/2 pounds! Wow! She is still very high up in my tummy (which makes sitting down uncomfortable because she has her butt wedged in my ribs.) She also is still snuggling the placenta, so no pretty pics of her face.

I will take some photos today and share them tomorrow!

Today's BPP Sono

This week's sono check up went well! I remembered to ask what the score from last week was and was told it was 8/8, the best we can get. Today it was the same. It went very quickly today, the tech found everything she needed to see right away, so I was out of there and back on the road in 20 min.s

Aidan again went to the office (earned $2 shredding paper today!) and Sean went over to one of my friend's house. Unfortunately Sean didn't adjust to being there as well as we hoped. He refused to eat his lunch, but did enjoy being rocked to sleep for a nap. I woke him up when I got there and he ate when we got home.

I have a regular OB appt on Monday next week and another BPP on Thursday. I need to remember to take some CDs next time, it's sad that we only keep kid's CDs in the van. Sorry, but I'm not listening to The Wiggles if I don't have to!

First Biophysical Profile

I went in for my first BPP today and it went really well. Got in and out quickly, so I was home in less than 3 hours. A BPP is a test using ultrasound to measure four things about the baby & gives each part a score up to 2 points:
1. amount of amniotic fluid
2. heart rate & respiratory signs
3. fine motor movement
4. gross motor movement

In our case, they are also checking the condition of the placenta. I asked the tech if I could have a print of the placental lake (the concern my Drs are watching) and was told no, that those are diagnostic images and not for patients. I asked if she could point it out to me, so I could see it for myself & she did. I said, "Wow, its bigger than I thought." It looked to be roughly the same size as Ella's foot. The tech said "I've seen bigger." Ella's heart rate was 144, perfectly normal. The tech said I had plenty of fluid. She saw Ella kick, wiggle and curl her toes, so movement was perfect. She gave me a blurry pic of a foot and a poor shot of Ella's face. Ella wasn't interested in looking at the transducer today, so we didn't get to see her face very well. Maybe next time!

Sean stayed home with my friend Ellie and her 2 1/2 yr old son Hans. They had a great time playing together! Sean skipped his nap, so he had an early bedtime tonight. Aidan went to the office with Doug and earned his paycheck shredding paper.

Doug got our photoshop program working again, so I am hoping to edit our vacation photos to share here. I'll have to see if Aidan will let me use the computer long enough or not. ;)

Nite all!

Oh tartar sauce....

I had a regular prenatal appt with my OB today & my first NST. The NST went well, but when I met with my OB she said that she thinks it would be best if I went to Wichita for weekly biophysical profiles instead of just having the NSTs in her office. She feels that would give them a better chance to watch growth and the placenta issue. Shit. So the nurse gave me a list of appts there up until July 17- when I can finally get in to see the specialist again. The nurse and my Dr apologized for difficulties get information to me last week.

Best case scenario is that they will get to see the placenta issue resolve itself and disappear. Second best- it stays the same. Worst case is it gets bigger, causes problems to the baby.

I asked her if she thought my chances of carrying to term were good and she thinks they are. They just have no way of telling if it is caused by a partial abruption or not, so they have to keep a close eye on it. I am fluctuating between feeling hopeful that I can carry to term and have a natural childbirth when Ella is ready to be born and feeling defeated like I need to come to accept that it will be an induced labor and I'll end up getting an epidural because the pitocin kicks my butt.

I am going to call a friend of mine from LLL to see if she can keep my boys for the Wichita appts. I also, of course, still have to see my OB for prenatal appts., but Doug can help me with the local appts. Fingers crossed that all that works out!

Thanks again for all the support through this rough pregnancy. It's amazing that physically it hasn't been too bad, but emotionally it has really taken a toll on me.

News at last!

Finally got a call!!!

They said the plan is that I need to go to my local Dr for weekly non-stress tests and a follow up sono at the specialist's office in 3 wks. I am to do daily kick counts and call if there is not enough movement or if I have bleeding/cramping. The person I talked to today told me that what was found is a pocket of fluid behind the placenta. Could be from a partial abruption. I haven't had any bleeding whatsoever this pregnancy, so this is pretty surprising.

I'm relieved that we don't need to make weekly trips to the specialist's and hope that all continues to go well.

Partial Update

So, I decided I was totally pissed at 5 last night because I still hadn't been called. I called the nurse on call, who is the one that I've been talking with, and said you have got to tell me something today! I told her I was losing sleep and had a lot of family & friends concerned about us. She said that the specialist called the office at 4:30 and spoke with my Dr's partner. My Dr's partner will relay that canversation to my Dr (who is still out of state on vacation) and I will get a call today with some idea on how they want to manage my care.

I asked if the specialist's sono showed the same concern they had & if so what is it? She said yes, they did find the same problem. It is an area of the placenta that is not functioning properly. At this time, it is small and does not appear to be causing complications to the baby. They want the specialist to tell them if I need weekly sonos to keep an eye on it, to make sure that the baby continues to grow on schedule or if they can just rely on fundal measurements/heart tones. If she recommends regular sonos, they want me to get them done at her office, where she can evaluate them.

The reason they would want to follow it so closely is to catch it before it causes damage (either heart failure due to lack of blood flow, or growth delays due to restricted nutrients.) If it does get worse, they would want me to deliver early- prior to 37 wks & I will have to deliver in Wichita & the baby will go to NICU there. I understand the reason to be cautious, but I am hoping that since she is doing so well now that they can take a less aggressive approach. I have to factor about 4 hrs per appt if they are in Wichita, plus budget the $30 for gas per trip. Since the boys are on summer break, I'd have to find childcare for them (Doug can't take that much time off of work and the 2 of them at the office make it impossible for him to work.) I guess we will adapt and do what we can, obviously her well being is a priority.

I need at least six more weeks of baby growing time!!!

Waiting sucks

I'm back from our vacation- it actually went rather well. The only problem was that Wednesday afternoon, I was woken from a nap with a phone call from my OBs office regarding the appt I had Friday before we left. The radiologist read my sono pics and determined that there appears to be something restricting blood flow from the placenta to the umbilical cord. The nurse said the Dr was concerned enough to get me an immediate appt with the MFE for Thursday (as in the next day.) I explained that I was in WV and could not get there that fast. Of course, I was panicing and thinking, maybe I need to look into a flight home or see if there is someone in WV I can get into see asap. They decided it would be okay for me to wait until Monday, the day after we returned, to go to the MFE.

We started driving back Saturday and got trapped in the flood detours across Indiana, so we didn't make it as far as we hoped. Sunday, I was stressing that we'd hit more road delays since the entire midwest was saturated. Luckily we got home Sunday evening.

My mom drove down to go with Doug and I to my appt because she was sick with worry for us. We got there and the first thing they told us was we needed to plan when I'd be coming in for my weekly sonos and appts for the rest of the pg! I was like, "WHAT!?!!" So I called my OBs office and they said it wasn't necessary to do that unless their sono confirmed a problem. So we had the sono, very long & extensive. It was like an echocardiogram- it showed the path of blood flow from the placenta to the cord, thru the placenta, thru the cord, thru the baby's tummy, and thru her brain. The tech can't tell us shit, the MFE has to read the images and write a report to send to my OB. So we didn't get any news one way or the other at the appt, but was told our OB should have the report in 24 hrs.

Today, I called 2x to see if they had it yet (btw, my OB is on vacation this week) and finally the nurse got ahold of the MFE office at 3:30 and was told "it's on the top of her stack, she should get to it today and you'll have the report tomorrow." Once she sends the report to my OBs office, her partner will read it & tell the nurse what to tell us. Ugh!!! I am going crazy waiting. Can't sleep....

I am trying to stay reassured because baby Ella looked so good on the sono, she even gained 8 oz since the one a week ago. She's measuring ahead on my OBs due date by a week. She's had hicups 2x in the past week. I keep having this sense of panic that I need to finish the baby's room, wash up her diapers and clothes and buy the remaining things we need asap. Of course, at 30-31 weeks, she'd have to be delivered in the hospital an hour away and would spend at least a month in NICU before she came home. My mind is figuring out where I can stay there so I can be close enough to see her every day. How will we manage the boys if I deliver preterm?

I just don't want to think about it. Worse of all, I just don't want to think about losing her. I can't imagine it.

Learning about Isoimmunity

Monday was my appointment with the Maternal Fetal Specialist. Doug and my mom came with me to see the baby and hear about possible complications we might face this pregnancy.

The first stop was in the ultrasound room, where we got to see a much bigger baby stretching, waving, hopping and moving around. The tech took several measurments, including one I wasn't expecting- the Nuchal Fold Measurment. The NF is the area on the back of the baby's neck. If it is above 3 mm, it can indicate a possibility of a genetic defect like Down syndrome or a neural tube defect like spina bifida. This baby's NF measurement was 1.5, well within the normal range. We got a few prints of the baby to bring home and share with everybody. It was too early to tell if it is a boy or girl, but Grampa Larry assures me that if it is a boy we'd surely be able to tell this soon. ;)





After a looooooong boring wait in the exam room, we met with the doctor. Apparently she had been waiting and waiting for my lab results from my regular OB to show up. She sat down with us to explain the isoimmunity condition we have and to set up a game plan for how she recommends monitoring it.

During the routine blood screening for my pregnancy last Spring, we found out that I have the antibodies E and Kell in my blood. Generally, these are only developed if a person has a blood transfusion with E and Kell positive blood or if a woman is exposed to it from a E and Kell positive pregnancy. I've never had a transfusion, so this led us to having Doug's blood tested to see if he is a carrier of the antigen E and Kell. We found out that he is, so one of our sons must also have it and exposed it to me. My blood reacted to the antigen by making an antibody (a protein to attach to the E and Kell proteins and attack them.) So far, the amount of the antibodies in my blood has been at a very low and relatively safe level.

The reason the doctors must be concerned about this, is because if the levels in my blood get higher, then can pass to the baby. If the baby is also E and Kell positive, then the antibodies in my blood can attach to the antigens in the baby's blood and start breaking down the proteins in it's blood. This could result to anemia, and worse, heart failure.

The plan is to get my blood drawn every moth to see if the antibody level rises. If the Kell level gets to 1:8 or the E gets to 1:16, then I will need to make regular visits to the specialist. They will do a special ultrasound test to measure the amount of blood flow to the baby's Middle Cerebral Artery (the main artery in the brain.) If it shows an increas of blood flow, then this is a sign that the baby is getting anemic. The next step would be an amniocentesis (a large needle draws fluid from the bag of waters) to measure the amount of bilirubin (the breakdown of blood cells) in the baby's blood. If that indicates a problem, the baby could require in utreo blood transfusions to fight off the antibodies.

Right now, my levels are low enough that the specialist said that she thinks this is unlikely to cause major complications. She is hopeful that I will be able to continue the pregnancy without further complications due to the isoimmunity. However, the baby will most likely be jaundice after birth and require some phototherapy to help break down the bilirubin. Sean and Aidan were also jaundice after birth, but only Sean required treatment and that was able to be done at home. We are hopefully that the baby will be fine.

Another interesting thing we learned, is that when Doug was tested for antigens, they did not test to find out if both sets of his DNA carry the antigen. He has to get the test repeated to find this out, because if both sets have it (she said its called homozygotic) then the baby will definitely have the same antigens. If only one set of his DNA has it (called hetrozygotic) then the baby has a 50/50 chance of getting the antigens. She frequently stated that we needed to find out if Doug was hetro or homo! Ha ha ha, gotta get humor where you can! If he is hetrozygotic, and the baby was made with the 50% that doesn't have those antigens, then thankfully the antibodies in my my blood will not cause any complications to the baby! Yay! Let's pray for that!

The doctor breifly talked about genetic testing with us and I stated that I was fine with getting amnio's done to check the well being of the baby due to the isoimmunity, but that we did not feel it was necessary for genetic testing. She was very comfortable in our answer and did not try to encourage me to change my mind.

Also, the sono tech said that the baby's measurements gave me an Aug 10th due date. The 6 wk sono tech gave me an Aug 19th due date. Based on the fertility charting I did, I have felt that Aug 15th is my due date. I decided I'm sticking with the 15th, though I am well aware that "when an apple is ripe, it will fall from the tree" as Grampa Larry quoted.