ETA

At the 20 week ultrasound we were told that BGJ (Baby Girl Jacobs) was measuring on the small side and Maitri recommended doing an additional scan (level 2?) at Fletcher Allen to make sure things were okay. They also noted that there was a Single Umbilical Cord (SUA), which means that instead of the typical 2 artery/1 vein cord, this baby only has on artery.

A few days after that we headed up to FAHC for the second scan. All of the measurements looked fantastic. Head, heart, kidneys, bones, neck folds....They checked the whole, sweet, itty-bitty baby and noted nothing else of significance. Yet, she was still teeny tiny and had the SUA going for her. We were offered additional genetic testing, but opted out. However, we were told that an additional growth scan would take place around 28 weeks.

By 28 weeks, my brain had basically turned to mush. I can't remember anything. I'm fairly emotionally fragile and to top it all off, my daughter started first grade, which creates for a busy time of year. Getting kids out of the glory of summer nights and into a strict bedtime routine is no joke. In fact, it's not a funny at all. It's torture. For everyone. There is basically no down time for parents because you spend 2 hours negotiating with your kids why they need to go to bed and then you're too exhausted to do anything but collapse on your bed-Which hasn't even been comfortable lately because it is approximately 1,000 degrees with a million percent humidity....And don't even get me started on this g.d. ragweed ridiculousness. I basically need an oxygen tank to breath.

So I arrived late to my first appointment of the week and needed to reschedule for the following day, which was fine, because they hadn't booked us for a room with an ultrasound machine thing, so I'm not really sure what the deal was. The doctor at our rescheduled appointment seemed to have missed the memo about what was going on in the room. I am fairly certain she thought I just brought some random couple to the appointment and had no idea that the baby was actually theirs. When the scan showed that the baby was still small, she panicked and fled, announcing that FAHC would call us for an additional scan. But don't worry, she momentarily peaked her head back in to ask if we had any questions. I'm barely exaggerating.

A week and a half later we had an additional scan and a great doctor that was very thorough and clear about the plan in the coming weeks, so here goes:

BGJ is measuring small for her gestational age. Any time a baby is below the bottom 5% the doctor's recommend weekly growth scans and doppler readings. The doppler readings study the blood flow between me and BGJ. Starting at 32 weeks they will add a Non-Stress Test which will monitor BGJ's heart rate both while BGJ is moving and when she's not moving. If at any point, BGJ stops or slows in her growth or she appears in distress then I will be induced and we will all get to meet BGJ earlier than expected! Although we would love to keep her in as long as possible, we also can't wait to meet her.

BGJ looks great, really. She's just a peanut. So we will do our best to keep you posted in the coming weeks. We are in the final stretch for sure!