Baby Bridget's Beats - 35 Weeks - Technology

We had another marathon day of appointments yesterday at the University of Utah hospital. Tyson was lucky enough to get the day off work so he could be there with me this time. It was so nice to have him there by my side and not have to be there alone. It helped a lot with my anxiety and the appointments went more smoothly having him there.

7:45 AM
We started with an echo cardiogram of Bridget's heart. She was in a really good position this time and they were able to get some really good and clear readings on how things look. Structurally everything is still looking great. The only thing that was different was that her heart rate was a little lower than it was last time. It was in the high 50s when it has usually been in the mid 60s.

The Dr took us into another room to talk with us. This made me nervous at first because he usually just talks to me in the room that we do the echo in. That, combined with the lowering heart rate I was sure he was going to tell us we were having a baby this week. Then he opened with "Well it looks like we are getting closer to having this baby"....... uhhhh how close doc!?! He went on to explain that things are still stable and he wants me to be monitored a little more often. He is comfortable with our scheduled delivery when I reach 38 weeks and thinks Bridget and I will make it to that date.

He then talked with us about after delivery and the pacemaker. This was the first time we got real solid details on how things will work. We found out that Bridget will get her pacemaker within days of being born. No more wondering if it will be minutes, days or months before she gets it, we now know. He also explained the procedure and how easy recovery time is. If Bridget is eating, sleeping and doing all the other normal baby things then she might only be in the NICU for a week, maybe two. This was music to my ears! I was expecting MONTHS!

Bridget will get a pacemaker inserted into her belly, the wires will be fed up and attached to her heart. She will have a scar on her chest and one on her belly. When she is around 8 she will have that pacemaker taken out and will get a new one inserted in her chest, near her collarbone. They have to wait until she is 8 for the permanent one because her ventricles will not be large enough or strong enough to feed the wires through until that time.

We then went over details on how the pacemaker actually works, the defaults, the battery life, the up keep and all of that jazz. It was really reassuring to know how far this technology has come and to know our little Bridget is going to be able to handle this just fine!

After that appointment Tyson and I had breakfast together in the cafeteria. Then we headed up to meet with my OB.

9:30 AM
We reviewed the echo information with the OB and let her know about the low heart rate. We talked about the contractions I have been having and went through a normal OB visit. Tyson was able to ask questions about the SSa antibodies that I carry with my autoimmune disease and we got an idea of how much risk we might put future children at with heart block.

Everything looked good from my pregnancy point. I am still on bedrest and am to take things easy so these contractions don't lead to labor.

We scheduled more Biophysical Profile (BPP) tests as the cardiologist had suggested. Originally I was going to have these done once a week until Bridget arrives and now I will need to have them twice a week. This is the 30-60 minute scan where Bridget is tested in 4 areas. She gets 2 points for each area. If she scores below a 6 then we will likely deliver her that day.

10:15 AM
I had a BPP done. This went really well this time. She was moving right away and she was in a good position to see everything we needed to see. We even watched her little diaphragm  move as she made the breathing motions. Everything on her little body looks perfect. She is so beautiful already and we just love her.

Anyway, she got 8 out of 8 on her BPP! This was a better score than she got last week and I was so relieved! I will head back on Friday to check again.



All in all, our marathon day was very reassuring. We feel more informed and more prepared for what is to come. For me, knowing that she will get the pacemaker right away helps me get ready for that. In 3 weeks I will be able to hold my baby Bridget in my arms and I am so looking forward to meeting her.