MFM appt. update - 28 weeks 4 days - Jan. 5, 2012

Today's appointment with Maternal Fetal Medicine went very well, and I'm already home & back in the recliner - praise God! They took Biophysical Profiles (BPP) on all three boys and they all scored a perfect 8/8 which is fantastic. To my untrained eyes, these ultrasounds are getting tougher and tougher to see because there are body parts everywhere. The babies definitely look like they're bigger, but we won't know measurements and weights until next week. I will try to scan some recent pictures but may not get to it for a while.

The blood flow through Baby B's cord looked the same today as it did last week, which was encouraging. The doctors mentioned that it's very unlikely that the flow will improve, so no change was great to see. We'll know more about his progress after next week's growth scan, but for now we feel pretty content with how he's doing. His movement and "practice breathing" all looked normal. If you imagine the blood flow through the umbilical cord like a garden hose, you prefer a steady, uninterrupted stream. His cord is still receiving plenty of blood at this point, but it's as if someone is turning the nozzle off & on so the flow is not constant.

Lastly, they checked my cervical length again and I was hoping is didn't shorten much from last week's 1.9 cm. Well today it looked great and was measuring between 2.5 and 2.7cm! Even with pressure on my belly, there was no shortening or opening which was a huge relief. It looks like the bed rest has been helping. It's so funny to see the changes in measurement from week to week - nothing seems to go as expected! Dr. Pielat thinks I should still aim for 34+ weeks (which is longer than the 32 I was hoping for), but of course it all depends on the future status of Baby B and the changes to my cervix.

I did ask him about another round of steroid injections, and it sounds like I won't receive another dose unless something happens to indicate that delivery is coming soon. The shots have an effectiveness of approximately two weeks, so if I had received another round today it's effects would wear off before week 31. If I can carry these babies longer than that, they would want the shots as close to delivery as possible. If I end up back in the hospital with strong contractions, they may give me another does, but for now there's no need.

Overall, we felt very encouraged by today's appointment. I haven't forgotten that we still need to take this one day at a time, and things can change very quickly. However, for now it seems like these boys will have a few more weeks to grow before joining us here in the outside world!