Smaller

When we were at Dr N’s clinic the last time, we found out that for some reason Baby’s abdomen was slightly smaller than the average size. Dr N was a little concerned so he had scheduled an appointment for us to do another scan at Dr C at TMC. So much for being average huh?!

We went for the scan yesterday and the result is not too ideal. Baby is indeed slightly below average when compared to other babies at the same stage. According to Dr C, Baby weighs almost 1.3kg now so he / she is about 200g behind.

During the scan, Dr C paid particular attention to the placenta and the umbilical cord in case there are blockages. However the findings came back with good results. Baby is getting all the oxygen and blood properly to both the heart and brain. So no concerns there.

In fact other than the smaller abdomen, Dr C assured us that Baby is in the pink of health and is getting all the nutrients.

The funny thing is Baby’s limbs, spine and head circumference are all growing fine and by that I mean average. It is only his / her abdomen which probably results in the lighter weight.

As of now Dr C only terms it as Placenta Restricted Growth. Although this can be caused by stress and malnutrition but he has rule it out in this case because the Mrs has to be extremely stressed up in order for it to affect Baby like that.

The only advice he has for now is to continue to eat regularly, have plenty of rest and carry on with the vitamins. We will be back in about a month’s time to see if Baby has grown. By then Baby will be about 33 weeks so the picture will be a lot clearer. They will be able to estimate better how big will Baby roughly be during labour.

I guess the most important thing here is Baby must continue to grow. So long as this is the case then we can still wait for Baby to decide to come out at his / her own time and terms. However if after a month and we found that Baby has not grown by much then we may have to think of the worst and that is to have Baby out via Caesarean Section.

Actually my nephew who was born only this month was quite premature too. He was only about 32 weeks when the Gynae found that he has not grown by much so my SIL went through C-Section and had him out. He is still in the hospital after spending about 2 weeks in ICU. I understand that he has to gain his weight till above 2kg before he can be discharged. The doctors are expecting it to be around December before he can be discharged.

How I felt while waiting to make payment was probably how my parents felt when they found out that my pelvis was dislocated (during child birth by the way) when I was much younger many moons ago (who am I kidding here, its more like many; many; many years ago). Now I truly understand how my parents must have felt when what the doctor had to say was not too positive and encouraging.

While being a little worried I had to be strong for the Mrs and Baby. I know that she is already very disturbed and how she feels will directly affect Baby. I could see her eyes turning red and watery sitting there a little lost and replaying what Dr C had said over and over again in her confused and puzzled mind. I believe she alone has done enough worrying for the 3 of us hence I had to be the positive and encouraging one.

Honestly I am positive to a large extend because Dr C did say that Baby is very healthy and there is nothing wrong with the umbilical cord and placenta. Baby is also getting sufficient blood and oxygen. I suddenly feel like I am in the TV commercial for the radio station where although the tennis coach and driving instructor are really criticizing, the fat boy’s father and the driver can only hear the good words. You couch potatoes will know what I’m referring to.

No, seriously. Dr C has already confirmed that Baby will not be a 3 over kg baby. If everything goes well, Baby will most probably be just below the 3kg mark. Which if you ask me is really not too bad, right? So we will have a slightly smaller baby but surely we can fix that once Baby is out. I’m sure with the right care, love and of course lots of food, Baby will eventually catch up with the rest in terms of size. And with so many people loving him / her around, I wouldn’t be surprised if Baby actually over shoots and ends up weighing a little heavier than the rest. I am not even going to imagine obese here.

Looking at the bright side, by being that bit smaller, maybe Baby is really trying to help mummy goes through a easy, fast and drug free labour. After all we did pay good money for the HypnoBirthing class.