Hi Guys
I haven't been on since my little one was born a month ago but I thought I should recount my birth story - for others and mostly for myself to have on record.. be warned it will be loooong!![Smile :) :)](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
A bit of background -
I'm 28 and my husband is 31 ... we had found out we are having a boy (Isaac) and everything was going super smooth until around 30 weeks when my fundal height hadn't increased. It was always measuring a couple of weeks behind, at 28 weeks it was measuring 26 weeks but at 30 weeks it was still measuring 26 weeks! Our doctor sent us for a scan which showed the baby was slowing in growth - had dropped from the 50th percentile at 24 weeks to now the 15 - 20th percentile!
Our doctor advised us sometimes the placenta starts to deteriorate early - the scan showed no problems with blood flow, or problems with cord etc. The other thing is I had put on hardly any weight in the pregnancy and therefore was convinced I wasn't eating enough for my baby to grow which lead to immense guilt/fear. I upped my protein and continued having scans every 2 weeks which showed baby was following its growth of 15 - 20th percentile - it hadn't dropped lower in percentiles. At the 34 week scan the tech said the baby was now improving and on the 30th percentile. We therefore didn't have a scan at the 36 week point as doctor said we don't need any more scans as theres been improvement (regret that now!)
At my doctors appointment at 37 + 4, I mentioned the movements seem less active - lots of rolls but no more crazy jabs etc. She then did a handheld scan which showed blood flow was good but told me to keep an eye on movements and if its any less than the day before to go to the hospital!
At 38 weeks exactly (which was 18 April - good friday) I had a bad sleep.. felt anxious.. I woke up at 3 am when to the bathroom then fell back asleep.. woke up again at 5am and just lay in bed waiting to feel kicks... nothing came! I literally poked and pushed on my tummy waiting for a response but no kicks! I woke up my husband telling him and within 5 minutes we were out the door on the way to the hospital which was in the next suburb! Another 5 minutes and I was on a bed with a monitor strapped to my belly - heart rate active at 145 bpm - what its been all pregnancy mostly! RELIEF - relief relief! Felt a little silly for rushing to the hospital and joking around with hubby! Midwives came in and said my gyno wants me to get a formal ultrasound done and that because it was good friday the sonographer wasn't working and they would have to call them in and that I wasn't allowed to go home! We were a little annoyed because everything seemed fine on the monitor and it was 6am and we were so tired. We hung around the hospital room and had lunch at midday.. then finally went up for my scan at 1pm! The sonographer took measurements and said baby was around the 30th percentile and things looked good.. he then took the measurements/report to a doctor and came back... they then said the measurements were out and that the baby was pretty much on the 5th percentile and the blood flow to the brain vs abdomen was far greater.. I think its asymmetric IGUR.. well as expected I cried a lot and panicked but the doctors assured me the baby would be fine and to not worry! I just couldnt believe that the sonographer said everything was fine and then suddenly after consulting to another doctor suddenly the baby was down to 5%!?? It made me realise how inaccurate scans are and convinced that he has been going down in growth since 30 weeks and there wasn't some magic improvement at 34 weeks like they said there was!
I then spoke to my gyno on the phone - she gave me two options .. either induction (but my cervix was high long and closed), which could take 15+ hours and fail and cause stress for the baby - who was already so small! Or a planned c section which ofcourse is the option I went with only because it was safer for the baby - i didnt care about me or my recovery at that point! This was around 3pm.. she then asked me when the last time i ate was, i said midday and she then scheduled in a csection for 6pm! I signed documents, got my gown and stockings on and waited around nervous as anything with my hubby! We hadnt told any family what was happening and i didnt want to worry them!
Ofcourse things ran late and by the time I was prepped and wheeled into surgery it was 7:30ish. My gyno came around 7:45 and things were underway! All i kept thinking of was if my baby was okay (picturing distortion and a big head, tiny body, weak lungs, breathing problems, illness... all sorts of nasty negative stressful thoughts.. I didnt care about what I was going through was just anxious to see him!)
At 8pm exactly my baby boy was born I heard loud crying and they lifted down the sheet in between us and showed me (see pic which my hubby took) the gyno assured me he looks fine and I let out cries of relief.. all emotions came out! They then took him to check him and he scored a 9 on apgar and said he was super healthy! they put him on my chest and I felt amazed at this tiny creature hunting for food and crying on my chest - so surreal!!!
He was born at 2.856 kg - around 6.29 pounds! So not super tiny! He is so active and strong (full of muscles) and all the midwives commented on how much of a strong little fiesty man he is
He was born super scrawny with virtually no body fat which made me feel so guilty that somehow I had starved my baby ... which is silly! I haven't found out the reason for his slowed growth..the midwives did say my placenta was very 'crusty' .. I guess I'll discuss when I see my gyno at the 6 week postnatal checkup!
He is sitting on the 10% percentile now for weight and length (head is 25-50th percentile) - he is on formula since the last two weeks but he got a lot of colostrum (had issues with inverted nipples, latch problems, milk only coming when hand expressing and not with pump) .. he is 3.68kg today (about 8.11 pounds) so has done well for a 4 week old! We bought baby scales and measure him every 2 days or so but with formula we can see how much he is drinking and he drinks a lot for a little bubba.. about 3 - 4 oz every 3 hours and is developmentally doing well - lots of tummy time, he has started 'cooing' and is still super strong - rips out strands of my hair and kicks my hard during nappy change!
Some more pics attached.. first two from the day he was born and the third pic taken 2 days ago! What I can take away from this experience and advice I have -
- Ultrasounds are not accurate.. especially in the third trimester! And different doctors interpret the scans differently which is scary!
- C sections are not so bad.. when it comes to safety of the baby I would choose C section over induction! My recovery was fine and I was only in hospital for 3.5 days and walking around.. I have stairs at home and have been fine with them and only taking painkillers the first week back home!
- If you can't breastfeed or having issues - try to express or go with formula and buy a scale to monitor babys weight! Most important thing in those first few weeks is that the baby is fed and puts on weight!
- So many people have said 'he is so tiny' 'he is tiny' 'what a small baby' 'what did he weigh' ... I guess people don't realise these comments can hurt or be insensitive but you learn to just dismiss it! He is happy and healthy and yes only just fitting into 0000's but is growing everyday!
- No matter how stressful or crazy pregnancy/birth is.. in a matter of days when you have your bubba safe in your arms it all feels like a dream.. thats why I had to write it all down so I don't forget!![Smile :) :)](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
- I miss pregnancy! Even though I love my baby and having him out and everyday during the pregnancy I was counting down the days till he was born.. now especially because I'm not breastfeeding I really miss that personal bond I had with him when he was inside, just the two of us! But i think once he starts recognising me, smiling etc I wont feel like this anymore.. for now he just poops, sleeps and eats![Smile :) :)](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
I haven't been on since my little one was born a month ago but I thought I should recount my birth story - for others and mostly for myself to have on record.. be warned it will be loooong!
![Smile :) :)](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
A bit of background -
I'm 28 and my husband is 31 ... we had found out we are having a boy (Isaac) and everything was going super smooth until around 30 weeks when my fundal height hadn't increased. It was always measuring a couple of weeks behind, at 28 weeks it was measuring 26 weeks but at 30 weeks it was still measuring 26 weeks! Our doctor sent us for a scan which showed the baby was slowing in growth - had dropped from the 50th percentile at 24 weeks to now the 15 - 20th percentile!
Our doctor advised us sometimes the placenta starts to deteriorate early - the scan showed no problems with blood flow, or problems with cord etc. The other thing is I had put on hardly any weight in the pregnancy and therefore was convinced I wasn't eating enough for my baby to grow which lead to immense guilt/fear. I upped my protein and continued having scans every 2 weeks which showed baby was following its growth of 15 - 20th percentile - it hadn't dropped lower in percentiles. At the 34 week scan the tech said the baby was now improving and on the 30th percentile. We therefore didn't have a scan at the 36 week point as doctor said we don't need any more scans as theres been improvement (regret that now!)
At my doctors appointment at 37 + 4, I mentioned the movements seem less active - lots of rolls but no more crazy jabs etc. She then did a handheld scan which showed blood flow was good but told me to keep an eye on movements and if its any less than the day before to go to the hospital!
At 38 weeks exactly (which was 18 April - good friday) I had a bad sleep.. felt anxious.. I woke up at 3 am when to the bathroom then fell back asleep.. woke up again at 5am and just lay in bed waiting to feel kicks... nothing came! I literally poked and pushed on my tummy waiting for a response but no kicks! I woke up my husband telling him and within 5 minutes we were out the door on the way to the hospital which was in the next suburb! Another 5 minutes and I was on a bed with a monitor strapped to my belly - heart rate active at 145 bpm - what its been all pregnancy mostly! RELIEF - relief relief! Felt a little silly for rushing to the hospital and joking around with hubby! Midwives came in and said my gyno wants me to get a formal ultrasound done and that because it was good friday the sonographer wasn't working and they would have to call them in and that I wasn't allowed to go home! We were a little annoyed because everything seemed fine on the monitor and it was 6am and we were so tired. We hung around the hospital room and had lunch at midday.. then finally went up for my scan at 1pm! The sonographer took measurements and said baby was around the 30th percentile and things looked good.. he then took the measurements/report to a doctor and came back... they then said the measurements were out and that the baby was pretty much on the 5th percentile and the blood flow to the brain vs abdomen was far greater.. I think its asymmetric IGUR.. well as expected I cried a lot and panicked but the doctors assured me the baby would be fine and to not worry! I just couldnt believe that the sonographer said everything was fine and then suddenly after consulting to another doctor suddenly the baby was down to 5%!?? It made me realise how inaccurate scans are and convinced that he has been going down in growth since 30 weeks and there wasn't some magic improvement at 34 weeks like they said there was!
I then spoke to my gyno on the phone - she gave me two options .. either induction (but my cervix was high long and closed), which could take 15+ hours and fail and cause stress for the baby - who was already so small! Or a planned c section which ofcourse is the option I went with only because it was safer for the baby - i didnt care about me or my recovery at that point! This was around 3pm.. she then asked me when the last time i ate was, i said midday and she then scheduled in a csection for 6pm! I signed documents, got my gown and stockings on and waited around nervous as anything with my hubby! We hadnt told any family what was happening and i didnt want to worry them!
Ofcourse things ran late and by the time I was prepped and wheeled into surgery it was 7:30ish. My gyno came around 7:45 and things were underway! All i kept thinking of was if my baby was okay (picturing distortion and a big head, tiny body, weak lungs, breathing problems, illness... all sorts of nasty negative stressful thoughts.. I didnt care about what I was going through was just anxious to see him!)
At 8pm exactly my baby boy was born I heard loud crying and they lifted down the sheet in between us and showed me (see pic which my hubby took) the gyno assured me he looks fine and I let out cries of relief.. all emotions came out! They then took him to check him and he scored a 9 on apgar and said he was super healthy! they put him on my chest and I felt amazed at this tiny creature hunting for food and crying on my chest - so surreal!!!
He was born at 2.856 kg - around 6.29 pounds! So not super tiny! He is so active and strong (full of muscles) and all the midwives commented on how much of a strong little fiesty man he is
![Smile :) :)](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
He is sitting on the 10% percentile now for weight and length (head is 25-50th percentile) - he is on formula since the last two weeks but he got a lot of colostrum (had issues with inverted nipples, latch problems, milk only coming when hand expressing and not with pump) .. he is 3.68kg today (about 8.11 pounds) so has done well for a 4 week old! We bought baby scales and measure him every 2 days or so but with formula we can see how much he is drinking and he drinks a lot for a little bubba.. about 3 - 4 oz every 3 hours and is developmentally doing well - lots of tummy time, he has started 'cooing' and is still super strong - rips out strands of my hair and kicks my hard during nappy change!
Some more pics attached.. first two from the day he was born and the third pic taken 2 days ago! What I can take away from this experience and advice I have -
- Ultrasounds are not accurate.. especially in the third trimester! And different doctors interpret the scans differently which is scary!
- C sections are not so bad.. when it comes to safety of the baby I would choose C section over induction! My recovery was fine and I was only in hospital for 3.5 days and walking around.. I have stairs at home and have been fine with them and only taking painkillers the first week back home!
- If you can't breastfeed or having issues - try to express or go with formula and buy a scale to monitor babys weight! Most important thing in those first few weeks is that the baby is fed and puts on weight!
- So many people have said 'he is so tiny' 'he is tiny' 'what a small baby' 'what did he weigh' ... I guess people don't realise these comments can hurt or be insensitive but you learn to just dismiss it! He is happy and healthy and yes only just fitting into 0000's but is growing everyday!
- No matter how stressful or crazy pregnancy/birth is.. in a matter of days when you have your bubba safe in your arms it all feels like a dream.. thats why I had to write it all down so I don't forget!
![Smile :) :)](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
- I miss pregnancy! Even though I love my baby and having him out and everyday during the pregnancy I was counting down the days till he was born.. now especially because I'm not breastfeeding I really miss that personal bond I had with him when he was inside, just the two of us! But i think once he starts recognising me, smiling etc I wont feel like this anymore.. for now he just poops, sleeps and eats
![Smile :) :)](/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/icon_smile.gif)