A funny thing happened on the way home from Boston...

The first few weeks of my pregnancy were great, I felt great. I had no morning sickness, just was overwhelmingly tired all the time. My new boss at my fancy office job was great about it, she would allow me nap time during lunch or additional time if I needed it because I wasn't feeling all that perky. I had landed a job that offered me full benefits, and didn't consider my pregnancy a pre-existing condition. I saw my OB, who deemed my pregnancy great so far, gave me prenatals, and sent me on my way. I went and saw Dr. Zaveri every month, and other than a look of shame for gaining too much too quickly, she thought I looked great, the baby had a strong healthy heartbeat, and that was all that mattered to me. She had sent me for my 18 week anatomical ultrasound, and the tech said everything looked great. We found out that day that it was a GIRL! Which I'll be honest, was what I really wanted. I was ecstatic. Scott had gone with me and had asked the tech to tell us what it was, he wanted a boy, I'm sure, to do all his sports and hunting stuff with. I was a bit surprised when I went to see Dr Zaveri and she told me that I had to go for a second anatomical scan, she said that the girl had forgotten to do some measurements. She gave me the name of perinatologist named Dr. Khoury that she works with, and said that his office was great and that he would make sure it was done correctly this time. I had set up the appointment and the first time I went Dr Khoury told me that the baby was lagging a bit behind development wise, she was 21 weeks but only measuring 19 weeks abdominally. He said he wanted to see me in 2 weeks to see if things had corrected themselves, as they sometimes do. He told me not to worry and I'd see him in two weeks. He's a very brisk, abrupt man and I was a little taken back by the way he said things. Bedside manner isn't his strong point.

The last weekend in September we decided to go up to Boston to visit Jackie and Kevin. My only other pregnancy complaint was the migraines. Oh the migraines. I had one that lasted 2 and a half weeks, solid. I thought I would end up taking an ice pick to my head to relieve the pressure. I had a headache that would top all headaches that weekend, and slept a large portion of Saturday away on Jackies' couch. The boys were working on the house, Jackie had to work, and I slept like the dead. I woke up that afternoon, feeling a bit better. Decided I'd do Jackie a favor and clean up her house while she was suffering at Costco. I scrubbed and polished, did dishes, and was satisfied with it when I was done. We had dinner when she came home, and decided to go into Boston to walk around. We did one of the Haunted Tours, and loved it! We walked around the Fenuil Hall, it was beautiful out that night. We left Boston Sunday night, and got home after sitting in 5 hours of traffic.

I had told work I would be in late that Monday morning because I had to go for my second ultrasound. I went that morning, and had my ultrasound, the girl doing it - who's name I can't remember now - was really very nice, and did a 3D scan for me, so I could literally see the baby and what she looked like. It was amazing. She was roughly 23 and a half weeks gestation. Dr. Khoury came in to talk with me after all was said and done with the technician, and he told me he had some news for me, that the lagging behind hadn't corrected itself, and he felt the baby was suffering from growth restriction. He also said that my amniotic fluid levels were low. He ordered me to go on full strict bedrest, and also ordered more bloodwork than I can tell you. I had 14 vials of blood drawn that morning, for a multitude of tests to determine the cause of the IuGR and low fluid levels. I was tested for blood disorders, clotting disorders, diabetes, poor placental growth, checked to make sure all arteries were present in her umbilical cord. The rest of that blood was tested for things I can't even remember now.

I left his office that morning upset, there was clearly something wrong with the baby, and I now had to break it to my already very understanding bosses that I couldn't come back to work til who knew when. My bosses handled it very well, and I being the panicky asshole that I am, googled IuGR, intrauterine growth restriction, which is what the baby had. I was slighly relieved by what the searches turned out, she would likely go to term, so long as I took it easy and stayed in bed. I left work that afternoon after clearing out some of my things, and went home and got into bed.