Amnio

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers on Friday.... we could definitely feel them.  The procedure was hard for me, frankly, because I am a wimp when it comes to needles!  It was a very strange sensation.  I think it is because as a mother, we have this overwhelming sense that we are to protect our babies.  Even though in my mind I knew that I was doing this FOR Josiah, there is a protectiveness when a large gage needle is moving toward his safe little cocoon.  You could feel the entry with lots of pressure, and then it sort of felt like a suction from within.   I felt very dizzy and sick, but the good news is that it really didn’t take very long.  

The difficult news, was that they were only able to get a very small amount of amniotic fluid.  It was also mixed with some of my blood, so they will not be able to do the quick results test, that I would have had on Monday.  They will send the fluid to the lab and try to grow  it, but it will likely take 10-14 days.  This is assuming that they will be able to get the results.  Also, because my blood is in the mix, it could be a little more challenging.  

The harder news was that my amniotic fluid is pretty low.  If I understood her correctly, it should be around 14, and mine is 6.  If it gets below 5, the specialist said that they would probably induce labor, because the baby is not getting what it needs from the fluid at that point.  I really don’t fully understand why it is low, and how quickly it can change.  She said to monitor his movement and drink lots of water.  She also said to rest for at least 2 days, with mostly staying on the couch.  Sitting still is very challenging for me, but Chad’s parent’s helped out with the kids this weekend and Chad has been running around and trying to get ready for things if he comes sooner than later.  

I am now thinking that my hope is that I can at least make it through this week.  I will be 37 weeks on Thursday, and babies that can make it to 38 wks or longer statistically do much better, although he is pretty mature at this point.  Since we don’t have all of the information that we had hoped to have before delivery, we will try to do the best we can with what we have.  We need wisdom..... in the best way to care for Josiah.  

We will keep you posted!  Thanks for your support........

This is a short clip of his heart beat... they were monitoring it after the procedure to make sure that he was ok..... I just love to hear his heartbeat!