Dialysis Day 51

Bad News?

I had an ultrasound and OB appointment on Wednesday. The news wasn't terrible, but not great either. They take certain measurements (head, abdomen, femur, humorous) and a couple of them were a bit smaller than we'd like. The baby's head and abdomen are measuring small. Baby is are supposed to gain around 400 grams in a month, but this one only gained over 300 grams. Given the fact that I'm not gaining weight and my kidney issues, they aren't completely surprised by all of this. The nurse practitioner said that if all of the measurements were small she'd have me in the hospital. I'm not sure if that means in the hospital to deliver or in the hospital until I deliver.

In the meantime, we're going to have a growth ultrasound every two weeks instead of every four weeks. I'll also have a fluid test every week.

Good News

The good news is that today we are at 28 weeks! We're all really excited down here in the Unit. The baby is almost 2 pounds (1 pound 15 ounces). The NP said that we should expect her to be in the 20th percentile for weight when she's born. That means around 5 pounds. Alli was 7 pounds 15 ounces...not a chance this time! We still have all of Alli's newborn clothes, but we had to go out and buy preemie things this week. We bought one pack of diapers that are for babies up to 6 pounds. I can't believe how tiny they are. They are even too small for some of Alli's baby dolls.

No Pain, However...

The pain in my side is gone after my dry weight was raised one kilo. That means they raised my weight 2 pounds. Exciting! But, when they raise my dry weight I have trouble breathing at night. That's exactly what happened last night and this morning. It was a rough night. I had to be sitting exactly straight up in order to breath fully. I don't normally sleep during dialysis, but I might just need to today.

When I had the pain in my side on Wednesday they decided to send me for another chest x-ray. The results last time said that I had plural effusions (fluid around my lungs) but not enough to worry about. The result this time said that the effusion around my left lung has gotten bigger. Makes me think that they shouldn't be raising my dry weight...more weight = more fluid to gather around my lungs.

My nephrologist did say that I could be having this trouble because I'm not eating enough protein. My BUN levels are really low. They are normally low in pregnant women, but he said they are REALLY low. He offered protein supplements, but I declined and decided instead to go shopping for some high protein foods. The best things I could eat are meats and eggs. I've never really eaten much of either. So, I got some Carnation Instant Breakfast (more protein than eggs), whole wheat bread, Greek yogurt, and deli turkey and ham without nitrates. Surprise, surprise...most of those things raise my blood sugar. Great. That's something I need to worry about now.

The NP said that my sugar looked good EXCEPT for after lunch when it was high. I'm sure it's because I'm running around so much after dialysis and before other doctors appointments. I have to grab something to eat on the run and it's hard to find something really healthy. We're going to look at my sugar for another week and if things don't improve then I'll be giving myself insulin shots at lunch-time. This pregnancy thing is not easy!