'Little' B-Rob Needs Your Prayers, Please!

During all of our ultrasounds (about every 6-8 weeks), the doctor measures a few different areas of the baby to watch for normal growth: the length of his femur and the circumference of his head and abdomen. In addition to these measurements, he also checks for the amount of amniotic fluid surrounding the baby, his heart rate, and the flow through the umbilical cord. Up until this point, our baby was growing at the same rate, landing in the 50th percentile for the measurements and the right amount of amniotic fluid with a great heart rate and flow.

We had our latest ultrasound on Tuesday of this week (May 6). Two weeks ago and this past Tuesday, showed 'little' B-Rob slowing down in growth. Two weeks ago he was only in the 30th percentile with the measurements, but still had great flow, heart rate, and fluid. This week, he was even lower than the 30th percentile. What this means: He is still growing, but not at the rate he should be. The doctor also checked for 'breathing': Babies take practice breaths which can be seen during the ultrasound as his little diaphragm moves up and down while he is awake. It took awhile to wake him up, but once he did, we were able to see his little breaths (a GREAT sign of healthy development!)

So here's where the doctors are going from this point: I will have a non-stress test twice a week in which I'll be strapped to a heart monitor for the baby. It will record the heart rate for about 30-45 minutes. The doctors are looking for an increased heart rate when the baby wakes up and moves around as compared to the heart rate when he's sleeping.

We will also have another ultrasound next Tuesday (5/13) to test the amniotic fluid, making sure all is well in that area. The following Tuesday (5/20-the last week of school!), we will have an ultrasound to do all of the measurements again. This is the big one: If little B-Rob is still measuring small, the doctor will do an amniocentesis to check his lung development. Depending on those results, our little man or woman may make an early appearance into our world!

All three of us need your prayers, but please pray especially for this tiny baby still trying to grow and develop inside of me: for safety, growth, and healthy development inside of me and when he makes his grand appearance. Right now, we're at 34 weeks and he weighs just about 4 lbs.

Bill and I are doing well. I'm getting past trying to figure out what I did wrong, but still fall into those thoughts sometimes. Bill stops me and reminds me of the doctors assurance that nothing we did caused this or can change it. The doctor also told us that if he was overly concerned about the baby or me, he would have sent us right across the hall to be admitted that moment. They just want to monitor more closely to keep an eye of his progress!

We've been praying now more than ever before and are at peace that God holds His tiny child close and protected.

We will keep you posted as things progress. Thank you for your prayers and love through this...it's been quite a ride!