Mini Baby and the Lost Tooth Saga

Well, gosh - where to start?

A lot has gone on in the last few week. As you know, from the last post - we found out we are having a girl. One week later, the concept is still so abstract!!!! I wonder if that is normal? When you have a boy, are used to boys...then to have this frilly, pink concept thrown at you. Wow. Like I said...still processing the whole idea!!! Don't get me wrong - I am thankful, immensely thankful that she is healthy, the right SIZE and all the parts and pieces are in place....just...wow, a girl?!?!

So - that leads to the mini-baby thing. As some of you know - Isaac was small. Ok - not just small, he was crazy-tiny. He was born at 37 weeks, only 4lbs 13oz. Therefore, with this pregnancy, they sent us to a fetal specialist for our 19 week ultrasound. At first, I was intimidated - every time I called they were so somber, saying things like "Bring one adult with you, do not bring any children....". This isn't exactly the office you bring your energetic 3 year old to, people who come here aren't usually in the "normal pregnancy" category, from what I can tell - and so, aside from the distraction, I presume flaunting your toddler around isn't welcome.

We go in, the ultrasound portion goes nicely - all the parts and pieces in their right place, a nice juicy weight (10 oz), placenta the right size and operating appropriately, yadda yadda. Dr. B walked in and confirmed all that the tech said - including the "girl" part. We then head into a conference room. At this point I am thinking "whew, this is going to be a breeze!!!"

In the conference room he explains that based on the information provided about Isaac - he has said "he would be labeled an IUGR birth". (IUGR = Intrauterine growth restriction) He then goes on to explain the different reasons why IUGR happens. He also explained how serious IUGR can be - and how lucky we were that my water broke when it did with Isaac.

After going through our family history, asking a ton of questions about our pregnancy with Isaac - he then explains that possibly I have an inherited blood disorder which may have caused the IUGR - but other than that, I didn't fall into any of the other known explanations (drug abuse, smoking, genetic disorders, etc). He explained the complexities of this possibility - which scared the ba-jeezus out of me. The other possibility is the IUGR cases that do not have known explanations, which means just a whole lot of monitoring in the third trimester. So, 10 viles of blood later, instructions to up my protein by drinking 1-2 protein drinks a day and take baby aspirin...we walk out the door in a state of "uh, what does this mean?"

Either way, I will be seeing Dr. B the remainder of the pregnancy. I will say, despite the initial impression of the office, I REALLY liked them when we were there. Dr. B was very easy going and easy to talk to.

The next day, Mom calls me and tells me that this inherited blood disorder called Thalassemia Minor (sp?) runs in my grandfather's family - and that pretty much everyone who has been tested for it has it (Grandpa, Great Uncle, Great Aunt, 4 cousins....) - and of course, she found links on the web to IUGR. So - I call Dr. B and they add that to my list of "tests". Good news is, people with Thalassemia don't get malaria - thank goodness I won't have to worry about that (heh).

In the meantime....I headed for Flint for the weekend while Brian was gone for work. On Monday, we had a fun playdate planned with cousin Gillian!!! However, while eating breakfast, all the sudden...my front tooth broke off! This is a tooth that I had a crown and a root canal on - so it didn't hurt at least. Suffice it to say, this was just the icing on the cake. I lost it. We headed home and it wasn't until late Tuesday that I got a "flipper" from the dentist. Now, I need to get a dental implant - however, the oral surgeon won't touch me until after the baby is born...so, to add to everything else right now - I am dealing with getting used to this fake tooth, eating with it, talking with it and facing the fact that it's going to be with me for the rest of the year (oh, and it is NOT cheap). This threw me in a state of emotional highs and lows all week. My poor husband and son....

The call came at almost 5pm on Friday. The nurse said I came back negative for everything. So - I don't need to worry about some freaky blood thing raising the possibility of us having another IUGR baby. (Yay, but now I have to worry about that darn malaria!) However, does this mean we won't have another baby with IUGR? No...it doesn't - it could still happen at any time during the third trimester, from what he said. So - I go back at the end of April for another ultrasound and I suppose we will discuss how that will go for the rest of the pregnancy. In the meantime, so much for only gaining 7lbs so far - those protein drinks (at almost 250-500 calories a day) will take care of that.

So...the weight is lifting, but still - it was a rough week over here. It's still not past - but, we are adjusting...

Good news this week? We have started to feel actual movements from "the lil gal". Brian even felt one last night while we were watching a movie. This is the part I love, the reminders that there is a little being in there, chillin' out. ;)