Last Ultrasound...

I went to Dr. Katz today for our last ultrasound (its so close to delivery, that they don't schedule another one unless there are further complications). It ended up taking about two hours! My mom came with me. First a student did a whole ultrasound and then the tech. came in and did a lot more and then the Dr. came in to answer any questions.

Gabriel weighs about 2 lbs. 13 oz. right now. His feet are 2 1/2 inches long. :-) He is head down (still good news for delivery). My amniotic fluid was at 30. I guess higher than 20 is more than normal and 5 weeks ago my fluid was at 28... So, overall, it hasn't increased that much and isn't enough of a concern to take action unless I start to feel really uncomfortable.

The blood flow between baby and the umbilical cord is very stressed. When they listen to it, it sounds like a whoosh and I guess its not supposed to sound like that, more of a clear sounding flow. Gabriel's heart is compromised and cannot respond to stress. He also has a diaphragmatic hernia, so his lower organs are in his upper chest cavity making it impossible for his lungs to expand or develop in order to support life. Dr. Katz said that the longer I carry Gabriel, the more likely it becomes that he will be still born because the placenta is not doing a very good job of supporting his little body, so the bigger he gets, the more he requires and the less he's getting.

My mom asked what the best chance of seeing him alive was and Dr. said we could take him by Cesarean tomorrow and we could have him alive for maybe an hour. Somewhat tempting, but this goes against what Todd and I originally decided and what I'm comfortable with. Or we could induce, but induced labors usually last three days or so and are hard on mom and baby. So, I'm back to the waiting game of "Am I In Labor?" The last two days or so, I've felt Gabriel kick a bit more. Since I'm waiting to go into labor naturally, its comforting to feel those little kicks to know he's still with me.

If you haven't seen 3D Ultra-sound Pictures before, they are a little freaky... When you see the pictures below, know that Gabriel looks just like a healthy baby would from the outside; its his internal organs that aren't working correctly.