And not in a good way. I'm type 1 diabetic, and take insulin with anything I eat, as well as in the morning and at bedtime. In the last 2-3 weeks, the amount of insulin I've been needing (so that my sugar levels stay "good") has decreased about 10%-15%. This can indicate that something is not working right with the placenta, and my endocrinologist (diabetes doc) suggested I go in to the L&D unit at the hospital for a fetal assessment on Saturday morning. I went in, was put on the monitor for an hour or so, was taken off the monitor (mistakenly so, by a nurse who didn't know what I was in the hospital for), and put back on for 2 more hours. Eventually, I was told I'd be having an ultrasound (Biophysical Profile - BPP) and would be admitted at least overnight. UGH! I hate the hospital, especially when part of the reason I was going to stay was just to monitor my blood sugars, which I can do perfectly well at home. (Did they not believe me when I said my insulin requirement was going down?!?!) Anyways, after the BPP, it turned out that it was a good thing I stayed, since they wanted to monitor the baby a bunch more. The ultrasound had shown an "enlarged bowel", possibly indicating excessive fluid in the bowel, known as Fetal Hydrops (not that he had it, I was told later, but that they "couldn't rule it out"). Of course, I Google-d this term the moment the doctor left. I found that this condition has a 60%-90% mortality rate in the womb, and of those that survive birth, only about half survive being a newborn and the rest are extremely ill. WHAT?!?! How was this just seen now? What can we do about it? Am I going to deliver today?! Fortunately, it was "just" a radiologist (not a perinatologist who specializes in babies) that thought she saw this fluid. After the perinatologist reviewed it, she said I should be rescanned soon, but that she thought it was fat, not fluid. I was rescanned this morning and the perinatologist confirmed it was just fat. This is suuuper fantastic. Of course, there are still risks for being so large (estimated to weigh 8 lbs, and I'm only 33w6d) but to have ruled out the Fetal Hydrops made me feel so much better. But wait, what about the original reason I went to the hospital: decreased insulin requirements? I asked the doctors about this, and made sure it was explored on the ultrasound today. Turns out, the placenta is showing a bit of a breakdown and won't last to the original c-section date I've scheduled of December 30th (38w2d). Instead, I am to closely monitor his movements, have weekly ultrasounds, have non-stress tests three times a week, and possibly an amniocentesis next week to see if the lungs are developed enough to deliver. Yup, according to my doctor, the best case scenario is the ultrasound looks good, the amnio shows developed lungs, and we deliver by next Friday, December 10th. HOLY CRAP. That's soon. We've got a ton of stuff to finish and get ready for Jackson's delivery, and we've got a lot less time to do it in than we'd originally planned. (I never really thought I'd make it to Dec 30th, but I thought for sure I'd make it past Dec 13th.) However, I am eternally grateful he does not have Fetal Hydrops and wasn't delivered yesterday.
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