Oh, what fun we've had....

and yes, the title is heavy on the sarcasm. McKynlee is determined to give mommy and daddy grey hair before she even gets here. She's already a handful, and we still have about 6 and a half weeks to go. If we make it that far.

I've been in Labor & Delivery Triage 3 times in the last 2 weeks. The first was because I got overheated and dehydrated. Baby girl was perfect. Mommy was sick. A few IV bags of fluids, and I was sent on my way home to rest.
The second time was yesterday. We went to our doctor for one of our twice a week check-ups. They did an ultrasound, in which they do a biophysical profile. Baby girl has been scoring 8/8 on them. Yesterday? A 2/8. She wouldn't move. Wasn't practicing her breathing. The 2 points were given because the amniotic fluid was good. So, we were sent next door to the hospital for additional monitoring. We were there for a few hours. Hooked up to fetal monitors. Her heartrate was great. They did another ultrasound, checked her BPP. The tech literally had to stand over me and shake my belly....and I guzzled some ice water. But it woke her up, she started moving, and we were discharged.
Third time was today. She was fairly active around 7 am. Around 11, I realized it had been a little while since I'd felt any movement. Typically, one should feel about 10 kicks every 2 hours. I drank a little juice, ate a little cereal, and laid on my left side for a little while. By 12:30, I'd only felt 3 soft thumps. I called my on-call nurse, who recommended I go into L&D to be monitored. Especially since she only had a 2/8 just yesterday. So by 1 pm, I was in L&D. Hooked up to monitors. Again, her heartrate was good, but there was no evidence of movement. They ordered an ultrasound, brought me some ice water to try to wake her up, and told me to relax. Easier said than done. The on-call doctor came in shortly after to go over my chart with me, and ask questions that she had. She's not our normal doctor, but WE LOVED HER! She was so nice, didn't dismiss any of our concerns, and really did her best to put us at ease. A little while later, ultrasound came in to do their part. A typical BPP scan will last for 30 minutes, unless they find that everything is great sooner. Her heartrate was good. About 3o seconds into the scan, she started practicing her breathing. So far, so good. But, she wasn't moving. At 29:45, the little stinker finally moved enough that they were more than satisfied. Even the tech was like, "are you freaking kidding me?!?!" So, they reviewed the scan. And the on-call doctor called Phoenix Perinatal (high-risk specialists who've been conducting my Level 2 scans) to get their opinion. Shortly after, they were discharged. Her scans were perfect, so they saw no reason to keep me. Which we understand, but its frustrating. This corioangioma on the placenta can put her in distress at any moment. So when she goes periods of time with no movement, we worry. And the doctors insist we go back in for monitoring. We have an appointment with PPA next week. They're scheduling us for a consult as well. They may end up taking over my care for the duration of the pregnancy. We'll see. So for now, I continue what I've been doing. Try to take it a little easier from here on out. I can continue to work, unless the doctor at PPA says otherwise next week.

In other, better news....my shower is a week away. I can't wait! Its going to be fun to see all the family and friends again. :) And our due date is only about 6 weeks away. Which is SO CLOSE....yet still so far away. We're so anxious and excited to meet our baby girl! :)