Today was the day that we had our first round of appointments (ultrasound, high-risk OBs, and pediatric surgeons). What I thought was going to be a stress-relief day turned into the opposite. It didn't help that I have a nasty cold and can't breathe. First, our ultrasound was scheduled at Magee (where I will deliver) for 1:30pm. We did not get called back until 2:55pm. This was after I had a mini-freak-out because our appointment at Children's Hospital (where the baby will go to be in the NICU and have her surgery) with a surgeon was at 3:30pm - there was no way we were going to make it in time. I was also under the impression that we were going to meet with the Maternal Fetal Medicine doctors (MFM - the high-risk OBs who will deliver me), but they had no such appointment and did not even know I was a patient with them. Back when we first found out, I had a quick consult with an MFM doctor who told me that someone from MFM would be at each ultrasound appointment from then on, but apparently there was some miscommunication and those appointments only take place on Wednesdays and should be scheduled through the MFM coordinator which did not happen. Now we know and I am waiting for a call back from the coordinator to schedule my next ultrasound - on a Wednesday. Overall, this already emotional and high-stress day was made worse because I had expectations, which I should not have gone in there with, that were not met.
On a more positive note, what we did learn today was that the baby is growing well. This ultrasound tech also thought "girl" so that's what we're going with as well, which we are very excited about. Good thing because my mum has already started buying her clothes and shoes! They took measurements of her head and abdomen and both fall within the normal range for gestational age. The tech and another doctor (still not sure where he fits in, but he said he, "worked closely with MFM,") both looked at her intestines and said that they see no evidence of dilation which is good. Dilation of her intestines would indicate that the intestines are becoming irritated and potentially damaged by the amniotic fluid. That is what they will closely monitor, as well as her growth, to see if earlier induction is necessary. Her heartrate was 163 and she was moving all over the place, which was nice to see.
Thankfully, my mum came to the appointment with us and drove us over to Children's where she just dropped Tom and me off so we could run up to our appointment with the surgeon for which we were already 15 minutes late. She ultimately could not find a parking spot (her car was too tall for one of the garages!) and just drove around until we were done. The surgeon was very nice and answered all of our questions as much as she could. I had a lot of questions concerning the recovery of kids in the various scenarios (i.e. those that have a primary repair all at once vs. those that have their intestines put back in in stages, those taken earlier due to intestinal dilation vs. those who are taken based on gestational age, etc.), but most of her answers were pretty vague and didn't give us an idea as to what are the better options. She also said we have no choice in our surgeon - it's basically who is available when I deliver or when the baby is ready - which was pretty frustrating as we have had some good recommendations made to us for certain surgeons. We will be able to tour the new NICU after Children's moves to their new building in May and apparently it is much more family-friendly with individual "rooms" in the NICU.
Overall, the doctors all seem to think that this is your "run of the mill" gastroschisis which means there are no other complications yet and we won't know much more until the baby is born. We are still trying to think positively and I am trying to de-stress anyway that I can (as I type this, I am listening to a relaxation CD - thanks Maureen!). If anyone has any other suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated. Again, Brody continues to be our comic relief through all of this. He spent the day with his Aunt Amy and Uncle Craig (thanks again) which was a huge help.
To end on a different note, here is our Steeler boy himself! Yes - that is a Terrible Towel cape that he wore most of Superbowl Sunday. We're starting him early!! Thanks again to everyone for your support. We love you all!
