Mt.Sinai Visit #3

First good thing, only having to miss a half day, my appointment was for 1pm.  I left school just after noon and made it in plenty of time (parking at Yorkdale again).  Second good thing, within five minutes of getting to the hospital I already had my blood taken, and then by 1:22 the ultrasound was finished too.  I was so excited thinking that I might actually be out of the hospital by 2, maybe 2:30...

Okay so I didn't get out of there until after 3, but whatever!  The doctors and nurses in the high-risk clinic are awesome.  Dr. Windrim was who I saw today and he was so great.  Both doctors that I've seen are really concerned that you as the patient know what's going on.  They take time to explain things clearly and they have both been very reassuring.

Today's appointment will mostly likely be my second last at the clinic, as long as my titer levels remain so low.  He suggested I come back at 36 weeks for the final stamp of approval.  Comforting things that I've learned along the way: a first affected pregnancy doesn't pose that great a risk to the baby,  the possibility of an intrauterine blood transfusion for the baby is very, very low, and the possibility of a blood transfusion for baby after birth is also very low. 

Dr. Windrim and I did talk for a bit about jaundice and the possible implications.  He said that having a plan before hand to make sure that we leave the hospital knowing that the bilirubin has peaked and is declining is essential.  I didn't realize that severe jaundice left untreated can lead to lifelong deafness.  EEK!  Babies born early are more likely to be jaundiced because their liver is too immature to deal with the breakdown of the bilirubin. 

Which reminds me that since the appointment I have felt prompted to pray that the baby won't be jaundiced.  I feel the spirit as I type this, even though I feel like it's too much.  We've been too blessed through all of this.  There have been scary what ifs but there are have been so many blessings and so much reassurance. 

So the next steps... I need to talk to the nurse at the clinic on Monday and get the results of my blood work.  If my titer levels are indeed still really low then I won't go back to the high risk clinic until I'm 36 weeks.  I will then continue to see my OB in Newmarket.  I will continue to have bi-weekly ultrasounds and blood work to keep tabs on things.  I'm to look into the possibility of my blood going to the lab at Mt. Sinai for testing.  And I think that's it!