To the hospital we go

So apparently somebody wasn't listening to my "no more drama please" post! :-)
On Tuesday I had my regular appointment for monitoring Baby James' heartbeat patterns, which unfortunately he failed. I guess they look for a certain number/pattern of accelerations and decelerations in the heartrate within 20 minutes and his was apparently too steady. So then I had to get an ultrasound where they looked at my amniotic fluid levels, his muscle tone and movement and practice breathing. He'd been kicking all morning, so apparently he decided the ultrasound was a good time to hunker down and sleep...failed that test too. Next they measured the blood flow in the umbilical cord, his heart and his brain. A new development was that he'd started to shift more blood flow to his brain and less to his abdomen/other organs...a survival mechanism which isn't immediately dangerous, but is a sign that my placenta is probably on its last legs and isn't effectively providing him what he needs anymore.

All these signs added up to doctor's orders for me to head over to Labor and Delivery at Emanuel Hospital for extended monitoring and bedrest. Lucky me! I was admitted Tuesday afternoon and found out today that I'll have to stay at least through Friday (this is the "hurry up and wait" game now). That's when they'll do another ultrasound to check his blood flow and measurements/weight. Two weeks ago he was 1 pound 14 ounces and I just have a feeling that he hasn't gained much since...maybe 6 ounces if we're lucky. (To put this in perspective, most babies at 32 weeks should weigh about 3.5-4 pounds and are gaining 1/2 a pound every week, so James is probably more the size of a 26-27 weeker.) I have been given steroids to develop his lungs faster, so hopefully that will help.

My doctor is being very cautious and my gut feeling is that if the measurements on Friday aren't great, she'll want me to deliver on Friday or Saturday. It's a harrowing thought, but I've had some time to get at least a little bit used to it, so I'm not freaking out just yet. I'm sure the freaking will come after I see him in the NICU. But I am reassured that we're in a great hospital that has one of the top two NICU's in the state...so we are in good hands. Please continue to keep us in your prayers!!

P.S.--Maddie's kidney surgery has been rescheduled to September 21st.