Today you are three weeks old and I thought it was time to tell you the story of your birth while it is still fresh in my memory. As much as mommy and daddy were ready for your impending arrival, things did not go as planned. There was no mad dash to the hospital like what you see in the movies. My water didn't suddenly break in public (one of the things I was apprehensive about!) nor did I feel the onslaught of contractions prior to getting to the hospital. But before I begin your story, I should provide some of the background...
At your 20 weeks anatomy scan when we found out you were a girl, Dr. S. mentioned that you were measuring small. Your femur, head, and abdomen were consistently several weeks behind your gestational age (at 20 weeks you were measuring as though you were 17 weeks). Dr. S. wasn't overly concerned but said we would keep an eye on your growth. We continued to do growth scans every three weeks from that point on. At 32 weeks, Dr. S. noted that you had slipped to the 4th percentile when compared to other babies at 32 weeks which was low enough that she was referring mommy to a high risk Dr.
From 33 weeks on, mommy was going to two doctors appointments every week where growth scans and NSTs (Non-Stress Tests) were performed. Each time both doctors noted that you were very active and that they weren't overly concerned, you were just a small baby... after all both mommy and daddy are small(er) people compared to the national average, but they still wanted to keep an eye on you and were considering inducing once you reached term at 37 weeks. Officially you were diagnosed as SGA (Small for Gestational Age) which means you were just constitutionally small (genetically predetermined to be small since both mommy and daddy aren't huge people). At this point mommy was eating and packing on the protein on Dr's orders (oh, the sacrifices mothers make for their kids!), needless to say we were doing all that we could to encourage you to grow. Mommy even received the green light from my OB to dive into second and third helpings for Thanksgiving dinner. Grow baby, grow! became a daily mantra.
37 weeks came around and you still showed no sign of wanting out, mommy's OB deferred to Dr. G. (the high risk Dr.) who said we'll give you another week to see if we could get you to grow any more, but by this time both doctors were comfortable with your lungs and overall development that if you did decide to come out on your own they wouldn't try to stop it. That said, he was suggesting induction at 38 weeks. Well, 38 weeks rolled around and you remained consistently small all around, although there was some growth you were still measuring several weeks behind.. at 38 weeks you were measuring in at 34 and growth scans estimated your weight at 5lbs 10 oz. but doctors were careful to explain that this number was just a guesstimate, give or take a pound. We were all hoping that you'd break 5lbs by the time of delivery so mommy felt somewhat comforted that you had done so. Not wanting you to go past full term (40 weeks) and deciding that you'll do better on the outside where we can monitor your growth with feedings and intensive care if needed, both doctors decided on induction at 7pm on Thursday, December 15, putting your gestational age at 39 weeks and 4 days. Mommy's OB said no matter what your birthday was going to be December 16, 2011, just six days after daddy's birthday and nine days before Christmas!
I will have to continue your birth story in part two since I can hear you stirring from your nap ready for your next feeding. Below is one of the last ultrasound images we have of you:
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