Waverly's Journey-The Beginning

Background:
Everything in this pregnancy had progressed normally. I noticed that I was starting to measure big as it was turning warmer outside, and at my appointment on April 1st, the doctor noted the same thing. I was 32 weeks pregnant. She scheduled me for an ultrasound two weeks after that to take a look and make sure everything looked ok. At that ultrasound, they saw that I had extra amniotic fluid, and they mentioned it seemed like the baby had extra fluid in the ventricles of the brain. They had me schedule another ultrasound with a high risk doctor. That appointment was made for just two days later. Given the speed of that appointment being scheduled, I started to think that maybe we were dealing with something more than "just" a little extra fluid.

At that appointment, they saw several things of concern. They confirmed the extra amount of amniotic fluid as well as the fluid in the brain. They also said they were concerned about the size of the baby and its abdomen (both measuring small), the eyes appeared close together, the chin appeared recessed, and a possible club foot (which they later dismissed). We were told it was likely that something was going on with the baby, but we just weren't sure what. Such things as chromosomal issues, genetic issues, neurological issues, and prenatal infection were mentioned. I was to have twice weekly appointments with ultrasounds and non-stress tests to follow and monitor baby, and they suggested I get an amniocentesis (which I did the following week).

Long story short, my fluid levels continued to remain high, and although they couldn't pinpoint one specific thing that was going on with baby, my doctor suggested we induce labor at 37 weeks (considered full term) since the baby was measuring small and they had so many concerns. I will save the birth story for another post, but Waverly was born at 37 weeks and 1 day on May 8, 2011. And that is the beginning of her journey...