Diagnosed with IUGR at 36 weeks. Update in birth announcements!

Gingermom15

Had a growth scan today, a brand new policy implemented a couple weeks ago my OB's office. Fundal height measures perfect but his body is measuring disproportionate to his head. Head measures 36 weeks and body measures 32. Fluid levels, heart rate and activity are good and NST went well. OB suspects the placenta is beginning to deteriorate, is monitoring me closely and instructed me to go to L&D for any slight change in movement. I'm scheduled for an induction next Monday at 37 weeks 2 days unless she decides he needs to be taken at one of the next two appointments between now and then. I'm having two more NST's and ultrasounds because she wants him to go at least another week.
Has anyone had a baby with IUGR? It worries me to death that he isn't developed enough and will have difficulties breathing, breastfeeding, regulating body heat and blood sugar, etc. Obviously he is better on the outside at this point, though. I'm not concerned at all with the induction or how he gets out, I just want him out safe.

spottedginger

No advice, but I will be thinking about you and your little one. Please keep us updated.

RSB1982

Same here no advice, but I hope everything is okay. Thoughts and prayers for you and LO.

keiragann

I have no experience but I am thinking about you and your little one. 

ammnam14

No advice but I'll keep you and LO in my prayers!

navyblueladybug

My DD's abdomen is measuring small too, with everything else the right size for gestation. My OB said as long as the abdomen keeps on the same growth curve they won't do anything. She might just be a small skinny baby. I have NST's too and all is well so far! Good luck... I hope your LO can stay in a while longer.

Mother0fDragons

No advice or experience, but you both are in my thoughts and prayers! (((hugs)))

Gingermom15

navyblueladybug said:

My DD's abdomen is measuring small too, with everything else the right size for gestation. My OB said as long as the abdomen keeps on the same growth curve they won't do anything. She might just be a small skinny baby. I have NST's too and all is well so far! Good luck... I hope your LO can stay in a while longer.

Thanks everyone. I know his chances are still pretty great but it's scary nonetheless.
His head is the only part that's right on for gestational age, so they aren't sure why my abdomen isn't measuring small. They watched him practice breathing during the ultrasound and he had a good rhythmic pattern going. Everything looks ok so far. Hopefully he's just a little baby like my brothers and his dad were with his dad's big head.

april172010U

I had this with my first two and this one. I have two normal healthy babies. Hoping this one follows suit.

suchaglencoco

No advice or experience but just want to send you good vibes. I'm glad they're being safe and monitoring you both.

blended10

It's so scary how everything just swims along & then -whammo- something to worry about.
No advice just want to say I'll be thinking of you. Please keep us posted. I'm so glad they caught it & you are being monitored. ❤️❤️

thatgirlree24

No experience but you will be in my thoughts & prayers. Please keep us updated!

mrsnuchereno

I got diagnosed with IUGR at 30 weeks. It's mainly because her abdomen is in the 2% and her head is small too but it's not super accurate they said Bc she is so low and her femur is small but in the normal category at 17%. We go twice weekly for biophysical ultrasounds and then one for blood flow and growth scans every 14 days and all is always good. She is growing along the same growth curve since 30 weeks we are now at 34 weeks. So as long as they continue to grow at a normal rate all is good. The ultrasound tech told me I might just being growing a super model with a long skinny waist haha Don't worry! I know finding out something is wrong with your baby puts a mama into a panic trust me I have been there for 4 weeks. But after every scan I feel better. Don't worry your baby will be just fine!

Beckah31

When diagnosed with this last pregnancy, I was told to spend part of my day resting on my left side. It seemed to help.

Bombmom3

No experience with this but wanted to send positive thoughts and energy to you and your LO. I hope the NSTs show baby is happy and healthy in there and that he can hang out until the 37 week mark (or as long as he can).

kristen2b

@sarahgn how are things?

Gingermom15

kristen2b said:

@sarahgn how are things?

They are good. Still no change in movements from him and he still gets the hiccups several times a day, which I was told is a good sign. Just waiting things out until my NST on Thursday unless his movements decrease. If it's true IUGR I'm kind of hoping they will opt for a c-section if it will be less stressful for him.

Gingermom15

blended10 said:

It's so scary how everything just swims along & then -whammo- something to worry about.
No advice just want to say I'll be thinking of you. Please keep us posted. I'm so glad they caught it & you are being monitored. ❤️❤️

Right? It's poopy but I'm thankful they caught. It might not have been noticed for a couple more weeks if my OB's office hadn't started their 36 weeks growth scans recently. Now I understand why it's reccomended to be done.

Gingermom15

He is going absolutely crazy this morning like he usually does. He has never been a slow baby so change in movement would be easy to tell. Two more days of work then maternity leave starts on Thursday incase they need to take him then. I wasn't instructed with bed rest or light duty because everything else looked great but my manager has forbidden me from working the floor and put me on light duty herself.

Vonie01

Bare in mind I don't have IUGR, I got sick and DS was only in the 27th weight percentile after only growing 4 oz one week.. so IDK how much this will help but here's my fetal weight gain story/advice:
At 32 weeks: 3lbs 13 (small but normal)
33 weeks: 4lbs 6oz (small but normal)
34 weeks: 4lbs 10 oz (27th percentile)
I started to freak out after i realized my protein intake was a little low. So I started to drink 2 Whey Protein (Isolate) shakes a day with 1% milk to attain minimum 60 grams of protein (but was striving for 80)
35 weeks: he jumped almost a full pound, 5 lbs 9oz
It is possible he had a natural growth spurt or whatever, but I feel like my experience was significant enough to pass on the info so you can make your own decision. As I understand IUGR can benefit from up to 100 grams of protein but the research finds it inconclusive (especially for this with specific issues like placental problems) I say hey, if it's not going to hurt you or LO, lean protein and low fat milk seems like a great place to start. Good luck!!
PS: Even more beautiful: the only weight I gained that week was the 1 pound he gained! SCORE!! LoL

Gingermom15

Vonie01 said:

Bare in mind I don't have IUGR, I got sick and DS started only growing 4 oz and was only in the 27th weight percentile so IDK how much this will help but here's my fetal weight gain story/advice:
At 32 weeks: 3lbs 13
33 weeks: 4lbs
34 weeks: 4lbs 10 oz
Freaked out and started drink 2 Whey Protein (Isolate) shakes a day with 1% milk to attain minimum 60 grams of protein (but was striving for 80)
35 weeks: he jumped almost a full pound, 5 lbs 9oz
It is possible he had a natural growth spurt or whatever, but I feel like my experience was significant enough to pass on the info so you can make your own decision. As I understand IUGR can benefit from up to 100 grams of protein but the research finds it inconclusive (especially for this with specific issues like placental problems) I say hey, if it's not going to hurt you or LO, lean protein and low fat milk seems like a great place to start. Good luck!!

I'm glad to hear he gained some weight I am 36 weeks and he's estimated at 4 lbs 6 oz with asymmetrical growth, meaning his head is 36 weeks and his body is 32 weeks in growth. Unfortunately I'm not so sure more protein would do much for him I've eaten protein like crazy the entire pregnancy. I've also gained gained 20 lbs the last 3 weeks, which they attributed to swelling but now they're thinking it is due to problems with the placenta. My blood pressure has been elevated, too but not abnormally high.

lnbk1215

At 33 weeks, I had a growth scan because of a fundal height measurement on the lower side. They told me some of the baby's measurements are in the 32nd percentile, but her abdomen is only the 11th percentile. However, because fluids, heart rate, activity level were normal, the doctors weren't concerned about IUGR. I'm having another growth scan tomorrow. Hopefully yours -- and mine -- are just smallish babies!

Gingermom15

lnbk1215 said:

At 33 weeks, I had a growth scan because of a fundal height measurement on the lower side. They told me some of the baby's measurements are in the 32nd percentile, but her abdomen is only the 11th percentile. However, because fluids, heart rate, activity level were normal, the doctors weren't concerned about IUGR. I'm having another growth scan tomorrow. Hopefully yours -- and mine -- are just smallish babies!

My little guy had been 30th percentile which is small but babies in my family tend to be. Now he's 9th percentile, definitely fits into IUGR category. I hope yours stays on track to where she should be

Edited because I forgot how to proofread

tralalablah

A friend in my Jan'13 group delivered early due to IUGR and her daughter developed perfectly normally, just had to come out on the early side.

rxredhead

My LO is IUGR (1st percentile on almost all measurements) and I was scheduled for induction yesterday (37+2) but she came on her own at 35+2. She's still in the hospital, but it's only to help her maintain her temperature (which she's doing without the warmer now!) and to take her feeds by mouth, she still gets super tired when she eats. She was born at 3lb11oz, hit a low of 3lb6oz last week and has been steadily gaining since then and is 3lb14.8oz right now. As soon as she gets the hang of eating she can come home. It's rough and terrifying and having a baby in the hospital when you go home sucks so hard, but it's survivable. You focus on each new milestone they have to meet and celebrate each little success and IUGR babies are fighters, Cora has tons of personality and opinions already, she cracks me up on a daily basis

BostonBaby1

No advice but I just wanted to let you know I am sending you my thoughts and prayers and all the good juju

spottedginger

Hey lady, if I remember correctly, I think I saw you post on another thread that you have an appt today? If so good luck! If not, I am sorry- my brain is muddled. Either way, I've been thinking about you.

Edited for autocorrect.

Gingermom15

My appointment for an ultrasound and another NST are at 10:00. If he doesn't do well during the NST they are taking him today, I will definitely update as soon as I am able to.
I appreciate everybody's thoughts and prayers tremendously. It has been very nerve wracking not knowing how my baby is going in there, but soon he will be on the outside getting everything he needs. Just hoping he isn't too stressed out in there and can make it to 37 weeks on Monday.

navyblueladybug

sarahgn said:

My appointment for an ultrasound and another NST are at 10:00. If he doesn't do well during the NST they are taking him today, I will definitely update as soon as I am able to.
I appreciate everybody's thoughts and prayers tremendously. It has been very nerve wracking not knowing how my baby is going in there, but soon he will be on the outside getting everything he needs. Just hoping he isn't too stressed out in there and can make it to 37 weeks on Monday.

@sarahgn Good luck today! I hope LO can stay in longer. I have an NST today too... Always a little more nerve wracking now that it's getting so close that they'll see something and decide to induce. Eek! We are all so close!

Gingermom15

NST and ultrasound went great. No signs of distress and he is still happily practicing his breathing and sucking. He is estimated to have gained about an oz, which is still far too low to normal weight gain. I'm also apparently having legit contractions that I don't feel, but they are too far apart and irregular to worry about. Also now a score of 10 on the Bradley scale, so she suspects it won't take much to get labor going and plans to withhold pitocin If the cervidil gets things started. Baby gets to stay put until Monday now I get to shop for some preemie clothes and try to enjoy the few days of maternity leave before Monday.

spottedginger

Great news! I'm so glad you and little are both doing well and that things look conducive to induction on Monday.

blended10

Fantastic! Hope you have fun shopping & good luck on Monday.
Thinking of you all

Mother0fDragons

Great news!!

keiragann

That's awesome news!

spottedginger

Hey @sarahgn - how are you doing? I'm thinking about you a lot today. My lo measured at 10%ile at our 36 week appointment today and I think I am on a similar path as you but it all depends on his twice weekly tests. His iugr is fairly symmetric though with head abdomen and femur all measuring small.

Anyways, I hope you are doing well!

Gingermom15

spottedginger said:

Hey @sarahgn - how are you doing? I'm thinking about you a lot today. My lo measured at 10%ile at our 36 week appointment today and I think I am on a similar path as you but it all depends on his twice weekly tests. His iugr is fairly symmetric though with head abdomen and femur all measuring small.

Anyways, I hope you are doing well!

I'm doing well and baby is as active as ever, he even dropped a little further getting ready. I think IUGR is diagnosed when they fall below the 10th percentile or are growing asymmetrical, but don't take my word for it. He has done well with his NST's and he is expected to do well after birth. Mine is 9th percentile with his head measuring on track and his body 3-4 weeks behind.
I hope you get good news about your LO. Just remember the prognoses of IUGR is very good and they catch up in a matter of months. I was told to expect issues with their ability to control their body temp and blood sugar, they may become jaundiced and have problems staying awake to eat and/or have a poor suck for a little bit. My OB expects if he has these issues that they usually resolve in a few days after receiving nutrients. Feel free to update here on how you and your baby are doing when you know more I'm sorry you find yourself in the same boat as me but our babies will do great.

spottedginger

Thanks! Yes, not technically iugr at 10% but they are treating it as such to be as proactive as possible. I'm glad your little guy is getting ready for his entrance on Monday and it sounds like you are as ready as possible, too!

Gingermom15

spottedginger said:

Thanks! Yes, not technically iugr at 10% but they are treating it as such to be as proactive as possible. I'm glad your little guy is getting ready for his entrance on Monday and it sounds like you are as ready as possible, too!

Maybe you will just have a tiny baby, but I'm glad they are being proactive and monitoring you both. It sounds like you are in good hands

spottedginger

Thanks, Sara! Fingers crossed.

Mother0fDragons

Positive growth vibes for both of you @sarahgn and @spottedginger

spottedginger

@sarahgn I'm thinking about you! Good luck tomorrow. Please keep us posted when you are able. Sending you vibes for healthy baby and speedy recovery.