Fetal Echo

Besides finding out we are having another boy, we also found out at our level II ultrasound 2 weeks ago that I have a two-vessel umbilical cord instead of a three-vessel. I don't know all the medical facts surrounding this, but I'm told it occurs in 1-2.5% of pregnancies (got this from my IM/Peds physician friend) and usually it's not a big deal. They watch for a few things, one, that the baby is growing adequently - so we'll be having more ultrasounds than usual and two, that the heart developed normally.

So this morning, Dan, Conner and I packed up and headed over to the U for a fetal echo. Luckily we were in the children's hospital side of the U, so there was plenty for Conner to do, including toys in the exam room - they do kids there, so they are prepared! A big thanks to the receptionist who went out of her way to show Conner the "trained" fish in one part of the lobby and let him feed both tanks of fish.

After a LONG time with the ultrasound machine looking for just the right views - this kid does NOT sit still for anything during ultrasounds, you poke him and he's off and running - the pediatric cardiologist came in, spent approx 1 minute looking at the scans and said everything looked great.

So another big sigh of relief! They certainly are cautious these days about ensuring things are okay - I suppose considering OB/GYN physicians are probably the most highly-sued docs, they have to be.

Now we just hope that the kid grows as he should - I asked my OB if I could help things along by eating MORE :-), but he said no. There's nothing that I can do about it - and if he doesn't grow - EEK - it's recommended bedrest. Apparently, laying around on your side somehow gets more blood and nutrients to the fetus. After hearing that, I asked my boss if we could set up a couch in our conference room for me.....