Subject: Still here, but not all here yet!

Date: Wed, 04 Sep 2002 21:44:37 -0400

From: Kraig Warnemuende <ad6075@wayne.edu>

Dear all,

Well, we thought we'd be parents by now, but we've discovered that labor and delivery just aren't that formulaic--even planned ones (or especially planned ones?).

We're home again and all is well, but no baby on the outside yet. We went in last night as planned for the overnight Cervidel treatment--had that and only dilated to 1 cm. Figures. So, Dr. F. decided we would start with the alternative inducing drug to Pitocin--it's another drug which is used for women who's cervix is not ripened. It's not an IV one like Pitocin, so it can't be regulated as well, but it was our option at the time. We had about an hour break before I was to get that, and during that our my monitor showed I was having mild contractions (and I felt them too), which then ruled out the unpredictable inducer and gave us only Pitocin as an option. So onto that I went!

Meanwhile, Dr. F. consulted with Dr. B, the high-risk pregnancy specialist, who then came in an talked with Kraig and me for a long time. He was extremely helpful in just kind of confirming things we've talked about with Dr. F and trying to present the big picture of what we can see with Baggins. Dr. B then did another ultrasound--pretty thorough--with listening to the Doppler, checking blood-flow in the placenta, etc. With this he confirmed that the baby IS still growing--still small, but still growing--and shows all the signs of being strong and healthy where she's at. SO, he said, there's really no fear that the placenta is the problem or that she's in danger of stillbirth.

He and Dr. F. consulted some more and basically came to the conclusion that we can still move ahead as we are; watching everything closely, but letting Baggins keep going where she is. The Pitocin had absolutely no effect on me today except mild contractions that didn't go anywhere, and neither doctor sees any point in pushing right now or doing a c-section. They would still like to see that she comes out earlier than later, but we can keep "ripening" me. Now that I've started, I have somewhere to go! We'll go in to Dr. F again next Monday or Tuesday for another gel treatment (short kind) and ultrasound and more decisions will be made at that point. There's also, of course, the possibility that my body will now kick in and start labor anytime on it's own.

I know it sounds a little repetitious and floundering, but we really feel the doctors are doing the best they can. Baggins is just proving to be just as much of a mystery to them as to us! I thought I'd feel really deflated if we were sent home today, but I was so encouraged by what they see with the baby that I don't mind the fact we have to wait longer. For one thing, our prayers are answered concerning Kraig's proposal presentation, and for another, the more Baggins can grow inside, probably the healthier she'll be when she's born. There are still unknowns, of course--the cause for small growth could still be something chromosomal. But the more they see that she's showing strong vital signs, the more we can't help but hope that it's not something severe. We really feel at peace about the whole thing.

So, that's where we're at! Still on the waiting list! At least we can get the baby's room set up now, and I may even be able to get to the church baby shower pre-baby!

Thanks for all your prayers! Keep praying! It's been helping a ton!

Much love, Loren for Kraig and Baggins, too!