I mentioned that I'm waiting for Jrex to get into town before we deal with baby stuff, right? (He's coming Saturday, I'm SO excited to have him back!!!)
Anyway, this morning I had a sonogram. At the 21-week anatomy scan, the tech noticed that the baby's kidneys are a little enlarged and they recommended a follow-up scan at 32 weeks to make sure everything was fine. Basically, the kidney size was at the high end of normal. The issue is that if they are too enlarged, it may indicate that there's a blockage and fluid isn't draining properly. In the worst case scenario, that could mean kidney tissue is getting damaged.
In today's look/see, the kidneys were still at the high end of normal. Everything else was fine. The Kid continues to hide his face with his hands, keep his head down and flaunt the rest of himself. The tech estimated his weight at 4 lb 10 oz, which freaked me out, "Wait, I have eight more weeks to go! How big is he going to get!? Is his head big?" She went back to measure the head and said it was definitely big, but not overly so. I think I've mentioned that Jrex's Mom loves to tell me how he was so hard to get out and almost killed her cause of his big head? So, a big head does NOT sound fun.
On the plus side, I've only gained 20 pounds so far! One of the strangest surprises in this pregnancy has been how weirdly body-obsessed I've become. I'm not dieting, I'm just eating normally without doing much 'eating for two'. Knowing how hard it is to lose weight in one's 40's, I think I've been terrified of gaining 60 pounds and then having to fight to lose it again. The thought of conquering that mountain, but then trying to get pregnant a second time and having to fight it AGAIN (yes, I think too much, is that a problem?) freaks me out.
After the sonogram, I had a chat with my doctor, let's call him Dr. Kind. Based on the kidneys being enlarged, he wants me back in two weeks. "What's the worst case scenario?" He laughed, "Yes, that's always the question, right? Worst case is that if they are too large and might be getting damaged, we'll go ahead and deliver the baby early. He'd be premature, of course, but he's at a good size and it shouldn't be an issue."
"Two weeks?! I haven't even really started thinking about baby stuff! I was going to do that in September. We don't even have a mattress for the crib. Holey Moley. I guess we'd better pull this together."
He smiled and nodded, but added, "You've had a lot going on this summer, haven't you? It's highly unlikely an early delivery will be necessary. Enlarged kidneys is very normal for boys, it's just something we're going to be watching carefully."
On the bright side, I've found a local diaper service (thanks for the idea, Dad!) as well as a stay-at-home Mom who runs a great store out of their garage--she's got all the diaper covers, 'snappis', great nursing bras, and assorted intimidating paraphernalia. I like the idea of being able to go there and ask her questions.
Jrex is greatly comforted by the diaper service concept, so I think that helps tip him toward cloth diapers. Basically, we have to buy the diaper covers, but the service will not only wash the cloth inserts, but any covers or other stuff we want to throw into the bag. We just fill up a Diaper Genie with dirty diapers (no need to rinse or clean them) and every week we get clean, sanitized, lovely diapers back. Totally helps decrease the intimidation factor on the cloth diapering. The other bonus is that there have been great strides since the '70's and we don't have to mess with pins at all. There are little plastic thingys that pull the sides and front of the diaper together. Nice.
Thank you for all the advice about buying as needed vs going out and getting all the latest greatest stuff. That said, we do need a mattress and a changing table. Sigh. I guess another IKEA run is in my near future.
6 comments:
Please don't stress out about everything. Easier said that done, right?
The only stuff we had when Abbie came along were: Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper Bed (I LOVED ours!), diapers, soap, etc. Her room wasn't finished until she was home for a month.
RE: changing table, I wish we had gone with a dresser with the changing pad on top, like this:
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/larkin-dresser-and-changing-table-topper-set/?pkey=cchanging-tables
Congrats on the pounds gained! Way to go!
Sending good thoughts and prayers that everything is okay with the baby. I'm glad to hear JRex will be back soon. You need him!
The kidney thing must be pretty common with boys, for I have at least three friends dealing with that possibility too. I'll be praying it's nothing or that it rights itself quickly.
Re: the head being big - don't you just wish we came equipped with zippers that a doc could quickly unzip, scoop out the baby, and zip back up? I'm tempted to ask God when I get to Heaven why He didn't go with that design. :D
Ah, a changing table. I so wanted one that I could line with cute baskets and fill it with all manner of necessities. But that was the one item we weren't gifted with, and didn't want to pay the cost to buy a new one. Thankfully, we had a crazy long counter in our bathroom, with a wide window sill right next to it. I still keep a towel laid on that space as a changing pad with a basket of diapers on the sill. Granted, my 2.5 year old practically hangs off of it now, but it has worked and I loved being right next to the sink for handwashing, etc.. When I go somewhere else, I don't even know what to do if they don't have the same setup; I'm such a creature of habit.
It's fun watching you venture into motherhood. You and JRex are going to be very fun parents, I just know it.
My oldest had a head over 10 cm which landed up 37 cm after birth - lots of fun my youngest came home to a demolished bathroom and one unusable bedroom. They both slept in the pram until they were a few weeks if not months old. I hope all is well with you and also excited for JRex's return! All the best
With both kids I was freaking out at this point in the pregnancy about how big they were getting, and both were born at nice weights between 7 and 7.5 lbs. They kept telling me Joshua's head was big, and it was no biggie at birth. Remember that most of those numbers are estimates, and "big" or "little" based on their curves of normal and whatnot.
I have yet to have a changing table, 3 years after the 1st birth. As long as you have some kind of changing pad to stick under his bum, a bed or couch or floor is a perfectly fine place for changing diapers. And newborns sleep just fine in car seats and other baby chairs, or you may surprise yourself and end up wanting him in bed with you (I never thought I'd do that, but both of my kids have slept primarily with me). So don't freak if things are the way you thought they should be before he is born.
That said, you are pregnant, and nesting and worrying a bit about it all (including your body shape, etc) is part and parcel of the experience....especially the first time.
I'm so glad Jrex will be there Saturday! There's so much exciting stuff going on with the baby that it must be hard to hold off sharing it with him. I'm thinking lots of good thoughts about the kidneys and the baby's size and just all of you in general. It's so exciting and so fun to experience it all unfold.
Re: diaper service, it's so great that you have that option. One thing to consider that if the pickup/return is only weekly, you will need a LOT of diapers and covers, and likely you'll want more than one diaper pail (even if it's nothing fancy). I'm sure you've thought all that through, it's just that my mind immediately conjured up an image of the mountain of diapers that I would have had if I'd saved up a week's worth (granted, twins. But still.) Just something to consider. But not to worry about!
Eight weeks! Wow! Enjoy that reunion with Jrex.
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