Wednesday, April 08, 2015

Maybe she will be a swimmer?

After eight months of pregnancy, I've learned that I am anemic, I have sciatic nerve pain and my pelvis is softening. All very glamorous, yet normal. 

However, last week I also found out that I have polyhydramnios. Only one percent of women get this condition and I have it, but all of my tests have come back normal with zero issues thus far. I found out about this condition on the internet because, of course, I had to Google it. However, the information I read just confused me because none of the reasons for the condition pertained to me. Polyhydramnios means that I have extra fluid in my amniotic sac that my little girl is swimming around in. So, my OB sent me for testing and a consult with a high risk doctor. Fortunately for me and the baby, there is a great doctor on Long Island who is one of the best in his field, Dr. Goldstein. 

On Tuesday, when my doctor called me, she told me that I needed this testing and the consultation and so I cried on Tuesday and Wednesday out of worry and fear. I never had a complication with either of my pregnancies, so I started to over-analyze every little pain and started to feel fragile, which I seriously hate. Eventually, I was able to regain my composure and realize that I am strong and I will do whatever it takes to protect my daughter. That's the job of a mother and I have to do MY job, no matter how scary or painful it is. 

On Thursday, my mother and Jackson accompanied me to the doctor's office where they started me out with a very detailed sonogram. Since there was a flat-screen TV on the wall where I could see everything the tech was doing, I saw my daughter's face, spine, stomach, hands and the four chambers of her heart. The tech even checked out my uterine arteries. Like I said, it was SUPER thorough. The tech said that everything looked good. One point for me!

From there, I did a urinalysis and then moved to the stress test. They sat me in a seat and wrapped two bands around my stomach with heart-rate monitors strapped to them. I received a button that I had to push every time I felt the baby move. It was like the morphine or epidural button at the hospital. At first the baby moved very sparingly, but then I was given a cup of cold water and she was more mobile. The nurse took my blood pressure and I told her that I was pretty nervous so it might be a little higher than normal. She told me not to worry because my tests were all good and this was not considered a complication. She also told me that the doctor would explain everything to me and that she's seen patients who had a lot of excess fluid and they ended up being just fine. Another point!

Then, I went in to see Dr. Goldstein. He described the condition to me in a very sensitive and thorough manner. He reassured me that he thought I would be fine, but he did want me to come back every week until my due date for monitoring. He was confident that my fluid would go down and that I would be able to go full term. (PHEW!) I did ask what would happen if the fluid increased and there was increased pressure on the placenta. To which, he said that I would go into early labor and be induced. He said there would be no need to drain the fluid or for a c-section, which was music to my ears. I was induced with Jackson, so that is the best, worst-case scenario. He also said that there was nothing I could really do to make the situation any better and that there would be no residual effects on the baby or me. Another relief! 

This could have been a serious issue if my tests weren't all normal, like my glucose tolerance test, my sonograms and my blood pressure for my entire pregnancy. In severe cases, it could lead to fetal death or chromosomal abnormalities. Luckily, my case is very different and the reason for my poly is that my daughter just likes to pee a lot. Those were the doctor's very scientific words. 

So, tomorrow I will be trekking back into the doctor's office for my weekly test to see if my fluid amount is less than 28. I need it to get down to 20 or less to be considered normal. Fingers crossed, everyone!