Potential IUGR

[EllieJai44]

32 weeks pregnant, having regular growth scans (every 2 weeks so far).

-28 weeks scan baby was on 50th percentile
-30 weeks scan baby was in-between 25th and 50th percentile
-32 weeks scan baby is now at 10th percentile

Had my next consultant appointment brought forward because of the decline in growth and my next scan brought forward from 3 weeks time to 2 weeks time (expected this one).

I have no idea what the consultants will say or do and I have another week to find out!

Has anyone had anything similar? I've had two previous babies who were on slightly smaller size when born, both in 6lb range, both also had growth tail off a bit towards end but not this early or this dramatic on the graphs.

Both previous two were induced at 37 weeks for growth and movements, but was going to opt for c-section this time due to traumatic induction that ended in emergency c-section last time!

Sonographer mentioned possible IUGR even though baby weight relatively okay, just a little small but it's the growth in between scans they are worried about....

If you had IUGR or suspected IUGR what plan was put into place and when did you deliver?

@EllieJai44 I’m hoping yours stays in till 37 weeks to gain some weight, but otherwise I’d love the company for timing 😂

@Moancup congratulations! Hopefully he isn't in there for too long!
Don't try to walk yourself to the NICU, always ask to be taken in a wheelchair, you'll do more damage to yourself! I learnt that the hard way!

Feeding takes a while to establish so don't be too hard on yourself there, hope you're recovering well otherwise! 😊

@madeleine85 I'll be 36 weeks on the 15th, where does that fit in to your time scale? Haha

@EllieJai44 I’ll be 37 weeks on the 9th so absolutely won’t be allowed past then. Our timelines might work 😂

@madeleine85 it’s my first NICU experience and my first baby. I was not prepared to learn how to dress and change a baby attached to wires 😥I’m finding the separation between me and him really difficult and it looks like I’ll be sent home tomorrow while he stays in.

@Moancup Oh bless you :( NICU is no easy ride! Have they roughly said how long they think he will be there??

@Moancup sending you all the hugs. Having been there, it feels truly horrible leaving hospital without your baby, the empty nest issue of being home, surrounded by baby things without a baby is just soul crushing. I think they have the 3 tests to be able to leave being gaining weight through eating themselves, breathing without assistance and maintaining temperature. The nurses told me to expect 37 weeks, which was apparently a pretty normal leaving hospital gestation for the NICU (she had breathing and eating issues). At the time my hospital was very pro breastfeeding, and they were not going to let my DD go home until she was latching to me/when using a bottle they were using nipples that simulated breasts which are harder to use and slow the baby's drinking speed (I was a first time mum and didn't know different nipples had different flows). I knew by then I would only pump and bottle feed so I found the whole "must breast feed" thing very frustrating. One day I think I went in utterly depressed, cried on the main nurse and was like I can't do this anymore, I don't even feel like I am a mum at this point, and they finally listened to me, agreed to change to the quick flow nipples so that she would always be bottle fed and she was home in 3 days (but it was 37 weeks). Just something to consider if it is eating issues slowing things down. Sometimes pumping and bottle feeding (especially with premies) gives mums a little more sense of control over knowing what they are eating, I definitely found this. In the true early premie days, watching them struggle with 10mls of milk and going right to sleep is just so hard though, but they do get there. Suddenly something just clicks and they take off uphlll and out the NICU. Anytime you want to talk i'm always here. Going for my measurements in an hour and terrified, the nurse today at the heartbeat check said that as fluids are too low I should expect to be admitted, but I just don't know what to expect. x

So after my worried last post, we went for the measurements (i'll caveat that the sonographer couldn't get a good angle on his belly so these could be wildly inaccurate) but they thought he suddently might be at 7% after a month of 3%?! I think he went to 4lbs 12oz on the screen, last week was 3lbs 14oz. Again, could be very very wrong as there is always a margin of error. Either way, we were told we get a one week reprieve. Next week will be the final measurement at 36+3 and we were told to definitely bring a hospital bag, as the amniotic fluid is under 4cm now, and should be 15+ so at somepoint between next Friday and Tuesday the little guy is coming out. Still likely that there will be some NICU time, but every day he is in cooking longer is potentially less time there, and i'll take it with open arms. The sonographer also said she could see him practicing breathing on the scan which was throwing off her measurements, but to me, the fact he is doing that just makes me so happy. One more week of limited exercise, staying indoors out of the heat, sleeping, and eating all things protein. Hope you are both doing well, these babies know how to put us through hell and back, even when not here. My toddler also said this morning "Mama is going to the hospital today, they are going to cut her open so I can meet the baby" so I was worried she had some weird creepy premonition! Very relieved that isn't the case.

@madeleine85 glad he's able to stay put another week! Exciting it's so close now! And like you say the more time he has the potential for less NICU time!

We are still in for daily monitoring until Tuesday when the next scan is! Dreading it slightly because I feel like even though she has grown, she's still gonna be low on the percentiles or potentially dropped more....however I have my official date of the end, so we won't be going past 24th August, I'm only 34 weeks on Sunday so a little bit behind you still- just worried about tuesday and what's gonna happen! Have a feeling we will be more around 36 weeks delivery with the movements and growth 🤷‍♀️

@EllieJai44 crossing everything for your Tuesday apt and some growth/good news. The stress of going in there and waiting is just horrendous. My doctor told me that 34 weeks is a huge milestone, and then so is 36, so I am beyond hoping that your little one stays put just a while longer. It feels like time has stopped when waiting for the weeks to pass doesnt it?! Hoping you get to relax this weekend a bit and put your feet up x

@madeleine85 time is going so slow! I have no idea what's happening Tuesday except to turn up for my scan, not sure if I'm meant to speak to a doctor again or get monitoring done! In at 9am tomorrow for monitoring so that's a blast 😂😂

@EllieJai44 ahh the fun of the early morning appointments. Mine are always like "are you drinking and eating enough"? Yes, while getting up and here for 8.30am and wearing a face mask the entire time that I am in your hospital, I am cramming my face with food and water. It just makes me laugh. Just a few more weeks for all of us at least :)

@madeleine85 @Moancup hope both of you are doing okay?

Getting so nervous for my next scan! I think it's because even though I have an end point I don't know what the plan really is after the scan, the daily monitoring isn't booked in past tomorrow!

@EllieJai44 the lack of knowing or having an end date is really frustrating isn’t it. We know we won’t go past the 9th and yet still don’t have a set date which is just killing my ocd planner self. My MIL booked her flight down for next Sunday so we have help which will be a godsend If he stays in that long. Doing ok here minus rib cage pain at night. His head is apparently in the 40% and he’s breech. It feels like some kind of torture while he’s expanding my ribs. How are you? We’ve been told to bring all the bags on Friday to our final specialist checkup, but could go to Tuesday. After the nicu last time I’d rather Tuesday and maybe be “full term”. My DD was just under the nicu weight limit the last time and leaving her in delivery was the hardest part. I keep imagining this one is bigger and the happy feeling he gets to come with me to recovery, even though I know I’m setting myself up for a heartache there as he’s still so tiny. I just would do anything to have a different experience this time around. Basically 9 days left at the most and I’m going crazy 😂. When is your scan this week? Wednesday? Crossing everything for good news for you!

@madeleine85 glad you'll have help by next weekend! It will definitely be worth it!
You never know he may be big enough to achieve that goal!!

Scan is Tuesday, I know we won't be going past the 23rd but it's the what could happen before thats worrying me!
We spent 50 minutes on the CTG earlier! She wouldn't meet the criteria and had no movements, turned out she was sleeping as suddenly woke and had a party! 🤦‍♀️

Tuesday can't come soon enough! Did have my MRSA swabs taken today in prep for the section so it's definitely going to happen at some point lol

@EllieJai44 they are such tricksters!! Glad she was just having a snooze so you passed the test though 🤦‍♀️. I feel like we have drs who Live In Opposite lands. Instead of swabbing for a section mine last week did the strep test even though I’ve been told he’s breech, can’t turn and I’ll have to have a section, so why they’re running tests for a normal birth lord only knows. Sometimes I wonder about common sense. At least yours seem to have it though! Really glad you have a final date, and I’m hoping that your little one holds up in there and is making good progress. Keep us updated on how Tuesday goes please!

I do find the differences in how the three of us are being approached really quite striking - although as I said before, every consultant I saw disagreed with the one before about at least one thing.

Big update from me that we’re coming home this afternoon. I am ready for it!

Wishing you both encouraging monitoring and short stays after delivery.

@madeleine85 I am slightly freaked out by your toddler!

@Moancup thst is amazing and I’m so happy for you!! ❤️. Let real motherhood commence!

So scan today was strange but good in end I guess! They rushed a lot of the measurements, and the head came out as 95th percentile having been only 50th previously so not sure I believe the overall picture, however they seemed happy and it kept baby on same percentile as before 🤷‍♀️ baby weighing just under 5lb.

Either way we are sticking with the 37 week section date for now, no more scans and I only have tomorrow booked for monitoring and as long as that's okay I just wait for the section date!

Was at the hospital 4 hours in total today!
So we are on countdown now! Was so worried they were going to cancel my section date as scan was okay- still worried I'll go to my pre-assessment and they will cancel!

@EllieJai44 that is amazing, congratulations!!! Hope you are feeling a bit relieved. I’m just waiting for my fluid levels now. They tried to schedule my c section for next week but they’re struggling with slots so just waiting to hear when it will happen now, but if the dr isn’t happy on Friday they’ve said they will do it then. I live in who knows land 😂

@madeleine85 tbh I just want to make it to 37 weeks and get her her safely haha

Having no plans is so hard! You don't know if your coming or going! Hopefully you get some answers on Friday!

It’s so weird, the fluid reading today was higher, he supposedly grew last week. I’m like are we suddenly rebounding? This is just bizarre. I’ll be really interested to see what they say on Friday now!

@madeleine85 my fluid had apparently dropped yet was still within normal limits, was 11cm but had been 18cm before

@EllieJai44 i'm at 5ish now, which is actually pretty good, last week was under 4, and at under 2 its considered extreme, so fortunately 11 is a pretty decent read, even if it is going down

So as a little update, we had our final monitoring and growth scans today at 36+3weeks. Feelinge very deflated, the measurements from last week where the sonographer warned she had a bad stomach angle were wrong, and he is still 1% not 8% and is maybe around 4lbs 7oz now. The sonographer said that there is a give or take of 3/4 of a lb to any scan, last week we thought 4lbs 14oz, so i'm feeling a bit rubbish to be perfectly honest. I need to just be grateful though, he is getting good blood flow, kicking away, and the fluids are going up instead of down now, and he is alive. C section is scheduled for Monday morning at 36+6. I think I got my hopes up too high on not going to the NICU a second time, and that things could potentially be ok. I even finally put some onesies in my hospital bag last night, and now i'm feeling like that was very overly optimistic. Anyway, hoping that you are doing better @EllieJai44, apologies, I think I just needed to rant about this before my husband gets home with my toddler. 3 more days... just need to keep thinking about that. :)