The picture this week is of a blanket that was handmade by a fellow co-worker of Antoinette's named Nikki. This was the first blanket that Nikki has ever made and she has spent months working on it. For a first attempt at blanket making, this looks fantastic. Looks like Nikki knows exactly what little Billy's Dad wants his little boy wrapped up in. Footballs, baseballs, and basketballs, right? What Father would complain about that? Anyway, you can look at this blanket and know how much care went into its creation and for that, I want to take a minute to thank Nikki for all of her hard work. Thank you. Little Billy will love it, I'm sure.
Speaking of the little guy, he's kicking up a storm. Clearly, he's reached his limit in terms of being smashed in there. The question is when Antoinette will feel its the right time to let him out. He's kicking and rolling and punching and really just going crazy in there. Tonight's little episode looked like a scene out of the movie Alien and Antoinette and I just sat back and enjoyed it, knowing that we only have a few more days of experiencing this part of parenthood for a few years. Plus, he can do everything that a real baby can do except scream, so that part is enjoyable, too.
Tomorrow is the next step in the process. We should know a whole lot more about what's going on and what's likely to happen on our next visit to the doctor. On this visit, Antoinette will have a procedure known as a Biophysical Profile completed. This is routinely done in pregnant women who have passed their due date. It is essentially a test that consists of a non-stress test and an ultrasound procedure designed to measure fetal health. The test measures heart rate, muscle tone, movement, breathing, and the amniotic fluid level around the baby. This test will detect normal ranges for these categories using a scoring system to determine overall baby health.
During a BPP (Biophysical Profile), the non-stress test is typically done first. During this test, the baby's heart rate is tracked by an external fetal heart monitor during periods of rest and periods of increased activity. Two flat devices are held in place by elastic bands around the belly. Antoinette had this done when she fell down a couple weeks ago. One uses reflected sound waves (ultrasound) to measure the heart rate and the other measures the frequency and intensity of Antoinette's contractions. This part of the test takes about 30 minutes.
The next portion of the exam is the ultrasound. This part uses a gel which is spread over the abdomen and then a transducer is drawn across the belly to peek inside. This ultrasound can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes. While the ultrasound tech (if one performs the ultrasound) can gather images from the ultrasound, they cannot answer questions about the test. Only the doctor can after they review the images.
This five component test is scored on a two point per component system. For a completely healthy baby, you are looking for a score of 8-10 points. So how do you earn these points? During the heart rate test, you are looking for two or more instances of heart rate increases of 15 beats per minute over resting heart rate when the baby is moving. For breathing, they are looking for one or more "breathing movements" lasting 30 seconds or longer. On the baby movement category, we are looking for three or more movements of the arms, legs, or body (based on tonight, he should get extra credit on that one). On muscle tone, we want to see a head resting on the chest, arms and legs flexed, and at least one hand movement (opening and closing). For amniotic fluid, we are looking for at least one pocket of 2 cms or more of amniotic fluid in the uterus. On Saturday's update (which hopefully includes a belly pic), I will get out the results of the BPP. I also anticipate that Antoinette may have another check done to determine the dilation of the cervix and we should be briefed in detail on the process for preparing her to be induced on Wednesday, should the need arise.
On a final note, we were able to swap out Antoinette's Mom's visit to coincide with a potential inducing of the baby on Wednesday. Now she will be arriving on Tuesday morning so that she can be here for the birth of her first grandchild if Antoinette holds out that long. We're both very excited to have her down here. Antoinette was all smiles talking about how excited her Mom was when she told her she wanted her here for the birth. I can only imagine how exciting it will be for her.
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