Week 27's Doppler Exam
Hello to you all and thank you for your prayers.
Today's trip to the hospital was surprisingly quick; we were out in less than an hour. Our sonographer had ten years of experience and she knew her way around not only the machine, but she knew how to find the baby!
Our first sight of Xavier this morning was seeing him wiggle around. We had a great view of his spine and got to watch it flex and bend as he wiggled. The hospital does not have any images of Xavier's heart or his lips, so they wanted to get some images of both. (Note, we have already seen his heart and lips clearly at the Platte River facility several weeks back; everything was well formed and working as expected).
We were not able to get a great image of his lips as he kept them pushed up against the uterine wall most of the exam.
We did get a good view of his heart. We saw it through his shoulder blade (the ultrasound technology is impressive in how it can "see through" flesh and bone). We watched his heart beat (147 bpm) and all four chambers pumping away. The arteries leaving/entering the heart are well-formed and functioning properly.
The amniotic fluid was measured again today. On Tuesday, the nurses had difficulty finding decent pockets of the fluid (though they felt there was more there), but today it was very easy to spot. (I had a lot more confidence in today's sonographer than those on Tuesday--they were "in training"). Tuesday's measurement was 2 cm. Today's was 3 cm! Praise God! The pocket measured was still around Xavier's head and face. We learned that good measurements of amnio is between 2 and 8 cm.
The primary purpose of this exam today was the dopplers, which measure the blood flow in and out of the umbilical. All three vessels show strong flow, which is good news to both hear and report. The main measure done on each vessel is similar to a blood pressure measurement. There is a systolic and a diastolic number which are combined into a ratio.
Xavier's ratio, though in the normal range, is on the higher end of the normal scale. Nothing to worry over at this time, but the doctors will be keeping a watch on this. The diastolic value may be growing smaller, which suggests that Xavier is having to work a little harder against the placenta. If the ratio gets too high, it will mean that the placenta cannot keep up with Xavier's demands (perhaps another way of saying that is to say Xavier's growth will exceed the placenta's ability to supply his need)
The placenta is part of Xavier; it's one of his organs. Rebecca and I have started praying over it like we would any other organ or body part that is sick. We are speaking life to it, reading Scripture over it and encouraging it just as we are with Xavier; we've even given it goals of its own.
Though I did not ask the doctor to confirm this (because I didn't think of it until later), but the fact that the doppler ratio has increased suggests Xavier is growing! Rebecca did say yesterday that she feels more "sloshy". Perhaps this is a more weightier Xavier as well as more amniotic fluid?
We have much to be thankful for with today's report. Even the potential concerns are good news in that we now have more information on how to better pray.
Thank you all for your prayers. Today's exam once again confirmed Father's hand on both Rebecca and Xavier Michael.
A picture of Xavier's face; his nose was pressed against the uterine wall, so it looks a little funky. Also, the ultrasound is "slicing" a little below the skin layer. I wanted to get a printout of the dopplers, but did not get a chance to ask for one. Next time, perhaps.