Baby is too small...let the bedrest begin.

I had an ultrasound yesterday and unfortunately things were not perfect. Our baby is measuring perfectly in the head and femur but her body is almost 2 weeks behind. They estimated the baby’s weight to be 3lbs 14oz – which is only in the 10th percentile for her gestational age. The good news is that they also measured the blood flow from the umbilical cord and the amniotic fluid – all of which were perfectly normal. After the ultrasound they performed a non-stress test which basically evaluates the babies heartbeat over time and its response to movement. She passed beautifully – her heartbeat accelerated during times of movement, showed variation, etc. – all good signs. Unfortunately at this point my blood pressure was sky high (not terribly surprising given all the hoopla in the last hour) so my Dr. sent me to the Labor/Delivery floor to be monitored and continue with the fetal monitoring. Eventually my blood pressure came back down to normal so I was allowed to come home.

I’ll be on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy and I have to see the doctor 2 times a week. I’ll get an ultrasound every week to monitor the blood flow from the cord/placenta and also a non-stress test twice a week. I don’t have any signs of pre-eclampsia (swelling, protein, etc.) so that is very good news. In 3 weeks (at 36 weeks gestation) we’ll recheck her growth and make a decision on whether or not to deliver. Hopefully the bed rest will increase the blood, oxygen, etc. that gets to the baby as well as keep my blood pressure down.

I'm feeling better today. I've been reading about IUGR/SGA (interuterine growth restriction/small for gestational age) and it's fairly common. They don't really know why it happens - my Dr. said it's not my fault but I don't know if she's just saying that to keep my BP down or if she really means it. All I can do now is relax, keep my stress down, get enough calories, etc. and hope that the baby has a growth spurt in the next 3 weeks. Growth ultrasounds are notoriously inaccurate so I'm trying not to get too hung up on the numbers and just praying that she keeps growing and the placenta keeps doing its job. If not, then we'll deliver early and have a little, but likely healthy, baby. She looked beautiful on the ultrasound - she's already headdown and was sucking her thumb. She was also pracitcing her breathing which is a great sign that her lungs are developing.

Anyways - if anyone has suggestions for great websites, hobbies, books, etc. to keep me occupied while on bedrest I would love to hear them! Thanks for all your prayers and I'll post updates twice a week.