Once again, late pregnancy has brought me to the land of oligohydramnios—the fancy-pants way to say “low amnionic fluid.” Nobody knows why my body or my babies suddenly decide to replicate The Sahara inside, but this is my fifth time battling it away. This past Tuesday, I had a routine OB appointment. They do an ultrasound at every visit to check my AFI, or Amnionic Fluid Index. Two weeks ago, it was at 13cm. On Tuesday, it was 3.8cm. This is a significant, drastic drop to a dangerous level. Had I been 36 weeks, Mr. Baby would have been delivered. But I fall short of that mark, so the doctor said she wanted to squeak out more time for him by putting me on strict, at-home bedrest.
Before she made that decision, she made sure to perform a Biophysical Profile (BPP) and do a doppler study on the bloodflow from placenta to baby. If he wasn’t looking good, I would have found myself at the hospital, either delivering or on hospital bedrest. But he looked good, aside from having practically no fluid. So I drove home and drove myself between two sheets. I was a good girl and did nothing, aside from get up for bathroom trips. Also, I easily drank over a gallon of fluid each of the past two days.
Something must have worked, because I had a follow up on Thursday morning which showed a marked improvement in my fluid level. It shot up to almost 11! The question the doctor had was if it was a normal, albeit dramatic, fluctuation or if the bedrest did the trick. Erring on the side of caution, she put me on modified bedrest for the next week. I can be up and about, but can’t do housework, driving, shopping, and have to avoid using stairs too often. But I can sit up, shower, wander around my house, and tend to the kiddos in non-physical ways. Then, if the fluid is steady at my next appointment, I can add a little more activity. If it drops too much, I’m doing too much and it’s back to full bedrest…or delivery if Mr. Baby is showing other signs of stress.
Hopefully, this go-round will be much more simple and easy to manage than it was with Teddy. I was on bedrest with him for four very long weeks. While my body seems to be prone to oligohydramnios, every baby is different.
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I am proud to announce I am now a contributing writer at A Deeper Story’s Family channel. I am humbled to be associated with so many fantastic writers and authors. Reading through their posts gives me a serious case of Lowly Worm. Am I up for the challenge? I hope so, because my first post is up today. I would love it if you’d pop over and say hello.
His right hand was balled in a fist. I suspected the wasp was held inside. I grabbed his forearm and shook, telling him to open, open, open your hand! He seemed to clutch tighter. I had to pry his fingers open. A single yellow jacket flew up and away. It escaped being crushed. I examined his palm and saw a bright red marks on the fatty pad just below his thumb. It was swelling rapidly.
As you might suspect, being posted at a group blog called A Deeper Family means there is more to the story…
With such a big family, we love having opportunities to spend time with just a few. We got to take our three youngest kiddos to a Day out with Thomas. None of them are as foaming-at-the-mouth, obsessive fans as our older boys were, but they are happily familiar with Thomas and his friends. The little guys like watching episodes and playing with our train table, but they don’t swoon over Thomas bedsheets, dishes, backpacks, and undies. Yet.
They were excited to get to know him a bit better.
Archie, on the shuttle taking us to A Day out with Thomas ~ He's slightly excited
Looking grim, only because my camera and I were standing between them and TRAINS
The Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden has many trains to explore
Tats for Tots
Even a casual train fan, like Beatrix, found something cool to play with
Little red caboose
In the roundhouse...
1800s-era engines abounded ~ climbing on history, literally
Finally! Time to ride!
It was a perfect late-summer day out with Thomas
On loop 3 out of 3 loops around the Colorado Railroad Museum property ~ We saw a family of deer!
1. Acknowledge everyone has seen the movie being reviewed. In this case, it’s Pixar’s Finding Nemo 3D.
2. Add personal touch.Finding Nemo was first released on May 30, 2003. It was the first movie Sam saw in a theater and it scared the ever-living snot bubbles out of his core. The worst scene happens in the first 5 minutes. After that, it was mostly smooth sailing. Joel was born in October 2003, so that means Finding Nemo is as old as a third grader.
3. Promise there is something new.Finding Nemo 3D looks like it was soaked in Oxyclean. The animation was already stunning. The 3D version is brighter, fresher, with depth and it lends itself well to being re-rendered in 3D. For some movies, it makes no sense. I’m thinking Beauty in the Beast: Mrs. Potts…IN YOUR FACE. Lumiere…IN YOUR FACE. Yellow ball gown…IN YOUR FACE. But with Nemo, the undersea-scape, the action sequences, the colors. It’s all just wow and it actually makes sense.
4. Excitedly announce the 3D is so well-done, you won’t get a headache from watching it. I’ve been to several 3D movies. Many left me feeling like I just spent 2 hours hitting myself on the head with a meat tenderizer. No headache from Nemo!
5. Tempt potential theatergoers with a rave review of the Pixar short which airs before the main event. Oh my word! It’s called Partysaurus Rex and it’s joyous, boisterous, funny, clever—everything you’d expect from a Pixar short. You’ll see familiar faces from the Toy Story franchise, but the real stars are Rex and his new friends. The cost of a 3D ticket is worth it alone for the short.
6. Appeal to the movie buff and savvy media consumer in all of us. Finding Nemo, in 3D or not, is just a good, tight, well-done, poignant story. You probably own the DVD. But seeing it on the big screen gives it a sort of majesty. It’s place on the scroll of animated classics is sealed. Give your younger kids the chance to see it on a grand scale. It’s something special.
Finding Nemo 3D opens on Friday, September 14, 2012.
(I was given tickets to a screening. The opinions are mine, all mine.)
