Weekly Appointment 02/05/2007
It sure seems like there were a lot of needles today. It started with my glucose screening for gestational diabetes. It seems a little wierd to continue doing normal pregnancy things when everything else is so far from normal. Everything looked mostly the same on the ultrasound, including her bladder. Since there was no improvement, we were given two options. One was staying on the wait and see track and the other was inserting a needle into her bladder to drain the fluid. Since the possible outcomes from waiting included a ruptured bladder or permanently impaired kidney function, we chose to drain it. The possible risks of that were rather low.
It was a procedure much like an amniocentesis. They gave me 3-4 shots of local anesthetic and then inserted a very large needle through my abdomen and uterus and into her bladder. They drained nearly 1/2 cup of urine, which doesn't sound like much to an adult, but is a significant amount in such a tiny baby. We'll probably do it again next week on both Monday and Tuesday. If they test it two days in a row, they can get a pretty good idea of kidney function based on the proteins they find. If it continues to be a consistant problem, we'll explore the option of having a shunt placed. Overall, it was a rather quick and painless procedure. The shots of anesthetic hurt the most. After it was over, I had to be monitored to make sure the baby's heart rate didn't drop and that I wasn't contracting.
In other general pregnancy related updates- remember my 11 lb month? yeah, try 8 lb week. In my defense, my hands, feet and ankles are incredibly swollen. Even if I sleep with my feet propped up all night, I still have a hard time getting my shoes on in the morning. I can't imagine how they'll look two months from now. Despite all the water retention, my blood pressure was back to normal after being elevated for the last month. Apparently visits to the perinatologist's office are getting to be routine. I think I wish it was unfamiliar enough to still freak me out a bit.
It was a procedure much like an amniocentesis. They gave me 3-4 shots of local anesthetic and then inserted a very large needle through my abdomen and uterus and into her bladder. They drained nearly 1/2 cup of urine, which doesn't sound like much to an adult, but is a significant amount in such a tiny baby. We'll probably do it again next week on both Monday and Tuesday. If they test it two days in a row, they can get a pretty good idea of kidney function based on the proteins they find. If it continues to be a consistant problem, we'll explore the option of having a shunt placed. Overall, it was a rather quick and painless procedure. The shots of anesthetic hurt the most. After it was over, I had to be monitored to make sure the baby's heart rate didn't drop and that I wasn't contracting.
In other general pregnancy related updates- remember my 11 lb month? yeah, try 8 lb week. In my defense, my hands, feet and ankles are incredibly swollen. Even if I sleep with my feet propped up all night, I still have a hard time getting my shoes on in the morning. I can't imagine how they'll look two months from now. Despite all the water retention, my blood pressure was back to normal after being elevated for the last month. Apparently visits to the perinatologist's office are getting to be routine. I think I wish it was unfamiliar enough to still freak me out a bit.
posted by Valarie at 1:35 AM
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