Just an update from my side. I had another ultrasound today to check on the growth. I am 31 weeks now. The baby's head is measuring at 32 weeks and tbe legs and abdomen are measuring small at 29 weeks! What does this mean? I hope they catch up. The doctor wasn't concerned and is not scanning me for another 4 weeks. The cord flow is still good so hopefully that continues. He estimated the weight to be a little over 1.5kg. Did you ever have a discrepancy like this? The head seems to measure in the 80th percentile and the rest measures in the 30th percentile.
Big Hugs! I went through all this during my pregnancy to dd. As my obstetrician explained it, a low PAPP-A is associated of slow growth but this doesn't always happen. I ended up getting an amnio, and in the counseling prior to the procedure the nurse said some women get a low papp-a for no identifiable reason. Everything ended up being fine and dd was delivered a week early (her choice not mine) weighing in at 2.956kg. Its hard not to worry, but a low papp-a sometimes means nothing.
Stellasmum - We are all doing very well. Holly is putting on some good weight now which is a great relief. I'm now fully breast feeding her - with the help of a nipple shield coz she still won't open her mouth for feeds but the nipple shield means I can get the nipple into her mouth and then she will suck. She is still very sleepy so I'm waking her every 4hrs for feeds - she would just continue to sleep. So at the moment it is all quite cruisey - I feed her put her back in her bassinette where she falls asleep herself and then I don't hear from her until I wake her for the next feed. I'm sure things will change at some point and she will get demanding.
Pleased to hear you are now at 31 wks. From what my OB told me a larger head measurement than the body meant it was a sign the placenta was not functioning as it should. If growth is being restricted in any way the body will direct growth to the brain (very untechnical but something like that, brain gets priority over all other body parts), hence the head being bigger. But if you are not having another scan for 4wks everything else must be looking good. Are you seeing your Dr before 4wks? My Dr sometimes didn't order a scan but I saw him and then if he had concerns would order another scan.
It wasn't until the last week where we had a discrepency with the measurements - generally she was just small all over. She sat at the 10th% most of pregnancy (from 24wks). The last scan she was in the 2nd%.
Bridee, how is Holly going now? Hope she is feeding well and you are both happy.
I'm having another scan tomorrow so I'm really hoping that the baby has made some good growth. The doctor has bought the scan a week early, only because he is going away for a week in the school holidays. I'll be glad to see her again anyway! I will post an update tomorrow. I looked into the problem of growth restriction that is 'head sparing'. It sounded very familiar to me, but the doctor hasn't mentioned it so I guess i will have to trust him! I'll be 34 weeks on Wednesday so it's certainly getting closer!
Friends of mine had their pregnancy monitored by a lot of scans due to slow growth & they were getting told the head was too big as well. When bub arrived he was small but perfectly normal & all was in proportion.
Stellasmum - Holly is doing exceptional well - she is certainly trying to catch up growth wise. She is putting on about 300gms per week (which is alot, they expect between 20-40gm a day). She is actually at this point the perfect baby just eats and sleeps. I have to wake her for feeds during the day and at night she is going from 4-6 hrs between feeds so I'm really only waking once in the night to feed her.
Good luck with your scan tomorrow I will be looking out to hear how it goes.
I had the scan this afternoon (34 weeks) and am very happy with the results! The head is still measuring larger than the rest of the body, but the abdomen and legs have grown really well. The doctor is happy with her progress and estimates her weight to be 2.25 kg which is average so that sounds good to me!
The blood flow in the cord is good too so hopefully everything goes smoothly from here on.
So glad to hear Holly is doing so well. She sounds like she is putting on good weight which is great. How are you feeling after the caesar?
Great to hear your scan went well. The weight estimate is great sounds like the papp-a isn't going to play a part in this pregnancy which is fantastic.
I'm fine from the c-sect I'm very lucky to recover very well from them. I was happy to drive from 3wks (actually a couple days before 3wks). I was up and going to DD activities within 2 weeks much to most peoples amazement but I was feeling fine and Holly is such an easy baby she will just sleep wherever I put her.
Hmm I'm still undecided. The baby is head down now so I cant use that as an excuse! I will have to think long and hard about it in the next few weeks. Everyone is telling me to go natural. I'm just trying to guage how long the recovery is after a caesar.
Just wanted to say thanks to all who've posted on this subject, especially Bridee and Stella's mum. I also had low papp-a results (very low actually - 1.1 MoM) so it's been really reassuring to follow your progress for the past couple of months. There is so much doom and gloom on the internet about this subject but seeing you both do so well has kept my hopes up. I am in the UK where there seems to generally be a lot less knowledge of papp-a. In fact I went to a 'specialist obstetrician' a couple of weeks ago who had never heard of it!
Had my 20 week scan yesterday and my little girl is looking fine so far. I was half expecting for them to find a single umbilical artery like they did with you two but looks like that's one problem I've avoided!
Stella's Mum - have you had the baby yet? If so hope all went well. And Bridee - hope Holly is feeding well and growing strong. Fingers crossed I'll get as many weeks along as you both did.
Im 37 weeks 3 days now! Had a scan yesterday to check on growth. The head is no longer that much larger than the rest of the body, in fact the legs are now in the 50th centile! Abdominal circumference is still hovering at about the 20th and head just below the 50th. The doctor is happy with the growth and we have decided to have a caesar on the 12th, providing she doesn't show up in the meantime! He estimated her weight to be about 2.85kg so hopefully she'll be around 3kg in 11 days time! Really cant wait to meet her now! Cord flow is still unrestricted so that is good news.
Bridee, hope holly is doing well, keep me updated.
Emma - great to hear you have made it this far and everything is going along perfectly. Holly is doing fabulous she has now put on 2kg in her first 8wks which is really good weight gain. Saw her paed last week and he was happy with the weight gain, he picked up a heart murmur but thinks it is innocent but will check it again in 6mths.
just wanted to ask a question - after your caesar did they give you blood thinning meds? i know most people wear the compression stockings after the surgery, but my doctor said he would be giving me the blood thinning drugs for 5 days also. I was just wanting an opinion on its safety in breastfeeding.
Just letting you know we had our baby girl last Wednesday by c-section. Her name is Holly Bree (sorry Bridee - great minds think alike!) and she is gorgeous. She was 2.7kg so a little smaller than we thought but she is going well. Breastfeeding didn't work out so she is on formula and is taking that well. Loving every moment with her. Like you Bridee, holly sleeps alot and we sometimes have to wake her for feeds, other times she wakes after 3-4 hours.
Congratulations Emma - love the name, hahaha! Enjoy this very special time. Sorry breastfeeding didn't workout for you but it really doesn't matter, maybe next time.
Very pleased everything worked out for you I know how worrying the pregnancy was at times.
Hi Emma and Bridee and everyone else,
Just read this whole thread as I found it so interesting to read about your pregnancies and recent new babies. I have not experienced these issues in pregnancy myself but thouraghly enjoyed stumbling across this thread as it was a stimulating read. You must both pop in and update how your babies are going in say 6-12mths time, please?!
All the best.
I have been reading through your posts and have some hope...I just received my results last night. I don't know my exact #, but the doctor said I was in the 1% and not too clear about what it means- he just said we'll monitor you with more ultrasounds and this could indicate low birt weight, but he was not too clear. He also said not to worry, but how can you not when you have lower #s than 99% of the population. Obviously something is not right! After reading your stories I have more information and I thank you! I have to hope for the best. My 1st son was born with a cancerous tumor so I thought I had paid my dues- I guess this is test #2!
All the best Jackie. Holly is on the small side but is otherwise in good health . I really hope everything works out well for you and your family. Please feel free to ask any questions.
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. I really hope everything works out well for you and your family. Please feel free to ask any questions.
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