Biophysical Profile & Fetal Well Being Test

Milo was once again playing hard to get this morning when it was time for his NST (Non-Stress Test). After 20 minutes and two nurses trying to find his heartbeat (not just the echos of his cord or the placenta) they ordered another ultra sound and a Biophysical Profile. The ultra sound showed he was right where he usually was so we have no idea why he wasn't found earlier (we assume he was trying to make the nurses look bad). The Biophysical Profile/Fetal Well Being Test assess different variables to determine how well the baby is progressing. They are typically done a bit later in the pregnancy but my doctor figured with all this trouble locating him why not just make sure he is doing ok. The test looks at the following: Fetal breathing movement (or pratice breathing), fetal movement of body/limbs, fetal extension and felxion of limbs, and amniotic fluid volume. Each is worth 2 points for a score out of 8. I still had no fluid, so he lost 2 points for that but did well on the limb movement and flexing (big surprise). The tech then said we would wait up to 30 minutes to see if there were any signs of practice breathing. She reassured me that even for normal pregnancies babies  don't always start practice breathing until 27+ weeks so we may not see anything.She also said that sometimes they practice breathe but they don't do it in a long enough  to count for the test. I asked if hiccups count because we had seen those before and she said yes, but he would have to hiccup during the test for it to count. Then a few moments later he starting practice breathing :D He kept going even after she said he did it long enough to count! Practice breathing just meant that he was working out his diaphram; she said that combined with hiccups is a very good sign especially  seeing them both so early.

All in all he seems to be doing extremely well; he is very active despite the limited space, he gets good scores during his NSTs and now a 6/8 on his wellness profile! We are so blessed to have so many positives things to focus on despite the lack of fluid. Each day we just feel more and more reassured that God is watching over us and protecting us throught this difficult time. We are so encouraged by this news and are looking forward to seeing how he thrives in the weeks to come.