Tuesday, April 30, 2013

fetal MRI & final NST appointment!

Lately my amount of sleep has totaled about 45 minutes to an hour at a time and I never feel well rested when waking up in the morning. Between having to get up to use the restroom or having to turn over because I am so uncomfortable, sleep is a distant memory. Most people say "oh, it is just preparing you for life with a newborn!" To be honest, I really don't feel that way. I would MUCH rather be waking up to my sweet baby boy than to be woken up because I cannot breath or have intense pain in my side or back. I say all that to say this - getting up at 5 AM this morning to head to Atlanta was much harder than I thought it would be since I can't really sleep anymore. I convinced Josh to stop and get me a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast and that seemed to help a little! We were supposed to arrive by 6 AM and luckily the registration process was quick and we made our way down to the MRI department before 6:30 AM! Once I got changed the doctors came in to review the process and tell me what they would be looking for in the images. I was under the impression that they wouldn't review what they found, but they indicated they would come talk to us after it was all over. Thank goodness for this because I really don't think I could wait too long for the results from the high-risk doctor.

When we were up in Cincinnati the MRI lasted about an hour and towards the end I was pretty uncomfortable. I was also no where near the size I am now... Due to the extra amniotic fluid it can make it pretty hard to breath and I can't really lay on my back at all. During this MRI they wanted me to lay on my back and said it would only last about 20 minutes. I felt confident that I could make it through the whole thing but little did I know it would actually last 45 minutes and I would be getting contractions the whole time that made it even harder to breath! Baby M moved around a bunch so they had to keep trying to take different pictures. Luckily they did and were able to come in the room shortly after to discuss the pictures and what they found. They told us that the trachea appeared patent (no constrictions!) and that the lungs looked hyperechogenic. We already knew this as well though because of the dilation of the pulmonary artery pressing down on the bronchi. They gave us a copy of the images and told us they would send the report over to maternal-fetal specialists. 

Dr. Eller called me about 10 AM to discuss the results and let me know what they thought. He was very reassuring that a vaginal delivery would be fine and that the MRI didn't show anything other than what they had expected. The main concern for the MRI was that the trachea may be compressed or constricted and they wouldn't be able to intubate if needed, but that will not be a problem! This was very reassuring to hear and made my decision of vaginal versus cesarean delivery an easy choice.

NST Appointment with Dr. Pohl 

Baby Murphy wouldn't sit still during MRI but of course he decided to take a nap during the NST this afternoon! He eventually woke up and we were able to get off the monitor and get ready to meet with Dr. Pohl. I mentioned at my last appointment the concern that he expressed about a vaginal delivery so naturally one of his first questions was about what decision I had made. I told him we had decided to go with induction and try things naturally. He didn't really say much and measured my fundal height - which is STILL 46 cm! He then checked to see if I am dilated, which I am 1-1/2 cm and 50% effaced. This does not really mean anything other than he was feeling better about the induction. For a while he thought that my cervix may put up a good fight and make the labor much longer than it needed to be for his comfort level. We scheduled induction for next Tuesday! I am so excited (and very nervous) to meet our little man! It is hard to believe that time is really so close, and it is definitely the FINAL COUNTDOWN! We have one more appointment with Maternal-Fetal Friday so I will probably update after that and then the next time you will hear from me will probably be once we are in the hospital or after baby M has made his grand appearance!

Pray for peace over the coming week.
Pray for wisdom over the doctors and nurses that will be involved in the delivery of baby M.
Pray for Josh and I, that we will lean on God and His comfort through these upcoming changes.

Love,
Ashlyn

No comments:

Post a Comment