Weeks 23-24: Viability

Hello faithful Eph'n Rach fans!  Seems that there's been a little bit of confusion for some on my last post.  Please have faith that this was super unintentional on my part.  Mea Culpa.  Let me make it absolutely clear that Rachel is still gainfully pregnant and that our little Camille is still snug as a bug in a rug (and kicking the heck out of Mommy -- sorry I couldn't find anything that rhymed with 'ug' on that one).

There's heaps to catch you guys up on, so let's fire up the Maniago Babywatch 2010 blog machine!

Latest Baby Stats
Fetal Heart Rate (FHR): 150 BPM
Uterus 24cm above Rach's belly button {editor's note: This measurement is most certainly off, as 24cm above my belly button puts the top of it at about my collar bone! -Rachel}
Cervical Length: ~4cm
During the ultrasound ... Camille crossed her little legs like a prim and proper lady, so dainty!

The Itchy & Scratch Show - FINALE!
Good news on the itchiness front -- the doctor prescribed Rach a medrol pack which is a set of what are essentially steroid pills.  While an image of Rachel with ripped abs and an Adam's apple sounds mildly appealing, the steroids are really meant to boost Rach's antihistamine response to the delivery agent in her weekly progesterone shot (read a couple posts ago for more details on this).  When Rach found out that she had to take 7 pills in one day with her first dose, her itchiness seemed to magically disappear ... imagine that!  Rach eventually stuck it out, and as a result, the pills seem to be working -- no itchiness for a few weeks now, wurd!  And, as a side benefit, the steroids will help develop Camille's soon to be whaling lungs (and maybe rip her abs).   :0)

Baby Care Basics
They say no manuals exist for parenting, and for me especially, one would sure come in handy for the rearing of a newborn girl.  I have a hard time wiping my own behind, let alone a little girls - they have different parts than I do for goodness sakes!  So in lieu of a parenting manual, Rach and I did the next best thing, we signed up for baby classes at Hoag.  About a week ago, we attended the first course of the planned curriculum, Baby Care Basics, which is akin to a 101 class for first time parents.  The class was eye-opening to say the least.

About midway through the class, the instructor cut to a video on calming techniques perfected by Dr. Karp, an assistant professor of pediatrics at USC.  Normally, the dimming of the lights for an informative video would be my queue to dim my mind and take a nap.  I have to tell you though -- this video was freaking amazing.  Dr. Karp is the Cesar Millan of babies - the baby whisperer!  Apparently, babies have a calming reflex that is a veritable 'off' switch for a crying baby.  The reflex is triggered by implementing the '5 S's' when a baby starts crying or getting fussy:

1. Swaddling - wrapping baby tight in a blanket, sort of like a baby burrito (though I prefer carne asada)
2. Shushing - literally saying SHHHH at the biggest decibel level your mouth can must right into the babies ear (according to Dr. Karp, a Mommy's womb is the same decibel level as a vacuum)
3. Swinging - swing the baby in tight rapid movements
4. Side/Stomach - hold the baby on their side or stomach
5. Sucking - put your finger or pacifier in the baby's mouth for some sucky action

All of these techniques are meant to mimic the conditions that the baby just spent the last 9 months lounging in Mommy's womb.  Swaddling is the cornerstone of the 5 S's and is usually good enough to trigger the calming reflex.  You then proceed to implement the rest of the S's, but the baby is usually out before the first couple of S's.  Are you still a doubting Thomas?  So was I.  It needs to be seen to be believed:



I've been told by a few folks that sometimes you need a baby to 'cry it out'.  Already, my paternal instinct is telling me that this seems inherently wrong.  I'm hoping that the 5 S's are going to be a better alternative and I can't wait to try it on young Camille-eon.  Just wondering what will happen when I reach the 5th S and she doesn't stop crying?  Hrmmm ... perhaps the 6th S is for daddy to drink Whiskey - hey there's in S in that isn't there?  I keed, I keed ....

The latter part of the class allowed us to test the diaper changing and swaddling techniques we'd learned on a very errr .... anatomically correct baby mannequin.

Swaddle Me Daddy!

Now I don't want to be bragodocious, but I thought I did a pretty impeccable job with both the diaper change and swaddle (see the approval from my test subject below).  Whether or not I'll have the same sort of success with a kicking/pooping/screaming Camille, remains to be seen.

This baby stuff is a piece of cake!

Viability
On August 13th, Rachel became 24 weeks pregnant where from a medical standpoint, Camille officially became viable.  This means that if Camille were born, she could technically survive outside of the womb.  Her chance for survival goes up about 10% each week, and at the time of writing this blog entry (25 weeks 3 days), Camille has a 70% chance of surviving if she were born today.  Of course, our goal is to get to 36/37 weeks when she's considered full-term, but viability is nonetheless a huge milestone for us.  As a point of reference, Elijah made it to 23 weeks 6 days, just one day short of viability -- the thoughts and memories of this fact were an inspiration for the last post.

I wanted to take a brief moment to thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers which will, I have faith, result in a very loud and fussy Camille come November.  Double thanks go to Ann, Kim, Janet and sis-in-law Genee for throwing us an impromptu celebration for Camille's viability day!

Have a great week everyone!