Our Little Guy Came a Bit Early!!!

I am off to bed, but just wanted to let you know our little guy made his grand arrival into the world last night! He was born at 11:03 pm, at 36 weeks and 4 days. He weighed 7 pounds even and is kind of a little solid chunk. He has blond, blond hair and although he came out screaming with APGARS of 8 and 9, he still needed some C-PAP. Will post more tomorrow! Just so excited to meet our cute boy!

Down to a Week

It is unfathomable to be that next week this time we will be holding our little guy!!! Still no name, so I think we will just have to wait and see him before we decide. I have been on bed rest (something I am not always the best at) and it has been a bit hard to try and stay down. I think my doctor very nearly came close to having me deliver yesterday, something I did not want to happen since it was Lilly's Birthday. So understandably I was pretty adamant about not having another baby that day. My blood pressures were pretty high, and the doctor was worried since I started spilling protein again.  The only reason I even got to go home was agreeing to strict bed rest and pretty much a fluke blood pressure (the ones before were 130-140 over the 100's) when we got one reading of 100/47. I did not say anything and the midwife working triage knew my feelings and knew that  I would be compliant. Tomorrow, the lab that makes the most difference will be finished and will dictate what happens (or doesn't.) I would like to wait till next Tuesday, because these are my last days of feeling our little baby wiggle inside, get hiccups, and just enjoying the little moments I get to have with him. Hopefully the lab will come back fine, and there will be no changes in the plan.

I am scheduled to have another amniocentesis on Monday, but my OB and his partner (who is covering while my OB is out of town) both agree the amnio should not even be done and they should just go straight to the c-section that is scheduled. They feel like with the preelampsia and than my "morning sickness" ( I have lost 4 pounds int he last week) that it is time to just deliver. I am okay with that. I have had enough of big needles and have had my fill of them. Not for me to decide, but if they want to know my opinion, I will happily share it. That is about it. Collin turns 20 months this week, and we will be celebrating Lilly's birthday tomorrow (since Monday was not the best day.) Cannot wait to share pictures of our little miracle!

The Great/Crumby Update

We had our second to last ultrasound today. Our little guy is doing amazing! He has no fluid around his lungs (with still no shunt to be seen or found.) His heart looks pretty good and he is measuring a week ahead (I am 34+ weeks and he is measuring 35+ weeks!) He is estimated to weigh 5 1/2 pounds, which if I can carry until the scheduled c-section means he will probably be right around his brothers' weights (and yes I said brothers' because Ryker and Collin were both 6 pounds 15 ounces at birth.) He was wiggling all over and sucking his little fist. And probably the best part (besides no fluid) was that he breathing up a storm in there. The perinatologist was actually impressed with how much he was breathing (really it is more practicing breathing since he is swimming in amniotic fluid) but his lungs were moving just like they will be once he is born.

The crumby part of the appointment was being diagnosed with preeclampsia. I have had a high heart rate for at least the last week. I probably have had the higher heart rate for about 2 1/2-3 weeks but did not really pick it up. So Friday, while at work, my heart started racing. I had my blood pressure taken (I work at a local hospital) and it was pretty high, 152/103. I sat down for 20 minutes and took it again, and it was 136/98. It was not high after that, but I talked to another perinatologist and she ordered some labs. My labs came back okay, with my protein levels high. I have had some more high blood pressures, so I talked to the perinatologist and he is really concerned. He wants me to go on moderate rest, to not work, and to rest as much as possible (I laughed at that one.)  He is worried that the preeclampsia could easily turn severe and our little guy would have to come out. So they will probably not perform the amnio, just go for the scheduled c-section on the 26th, and sooner if needed.

The good news is that Friday marks 35 weeks, our little guy is not dealing with the fluid anymore, he is measuring larger for his age, has had the steroids shots, and is practicing breathing. I do not want him here early, but I am thankful for those blessings/miracles. I told Mike that I wished I could be done, but while I say that I am not ready either. I am not trying to be selfish, but I have not felt good (not just the end of pregnancy blah) but a 9-day headache mixed with a high heart rate/blood pressure makes me literally feel like crap. I have been so emotional, just crying and crying. I am ready to be back to my normal self. So please do not think me selfish for wishing to be done. I am just taking things one day and one moment at a time.

Our Little Update

I know I have not updated lately, and I do apologize. Sometimes life just gets busy. We are down to 26 days until my c-section. I contract and all that fun stuff, and try to take it easy, but not always possible. I am still working about two days a week, sometimes three, and after 12 hours on my feet I crash and burn when I get home. Mike is busy, with being a husband and dad, working, and anatomy. And Collin is as fun and crazy as ever. He is truly fearless, sometimes causing our hearts to jump through our chests and Collin to gain more bumps and bruises. But every day he learns new words, and understands more and more. That with the cute kisses, hugs, and loves just makes us love him more and more.

Our little no-namer seems to be behaving himself. I did not have to go to perinatology this week, but had an appointment up at Primary's for the last fetal echo. I know I mentioned last week that we could see the coarctation of the aorta during the ultrasound. So it was no surprise to see it very clearly during the echo. The doctor says they will still perform an echo after he is born, and than will most likely transfer him to Primary Children's to the CVICU. He will probably have surgery the first week, and they hopefully will be able to perform the surgery through the left side, and not have to do open heart surgery. I told my best friend (a CVICU nurse there, which is wonderful to be able to have someone who understands both the emotional and medical sides here) that I can handle a few weeks at the hospital, but that I need this to be a different experience. She told me I need to keep reminding myself that this will not be Ryker again. This is a different experience, and we be able to enjoy our little baby.

The one reassurance that was kind of funny from the doctor was when we were asking who the surgeons were now. He made this comment "the surgeons, they are very good. They have not lost a coarc patient yet." Imagine this in an Indian accent. I laughed actually, because it was just funny how it was put, and thinking that my children never do what they are supposed to. Hopefully this little boy will behave himself.

I am hoping the pleural effusions will not be an issue with our baby. Even with the shunt pulled, our little boy has just a tiny pocket on the left side. My hope is that the fluid will no longer be an issue even after he is born, that maybe we will be able to get a lot of hugging and love in before they have to do anything. I held Ryker three times before he passed away, ever. I do not want that again. So this has to be a different experience.

My only complaint right now is my pulse. It stays about 115-130, and that is even sitting and doing nothing. It races up to 160-190 without any exertion. I know your pulse can be higher during pregnancy, but I have never had this. It scares me when it goes up high, because sometimes it is when I am sleeping and wakes me up. And I feel like I cannot breathe or I wake up choking. My doctor does not seem concerned, but my one concern is that when it raced up tonight, my chest actually hurt. I am just putting this out there, because I am wondering if anyone has had this problem or maybe has any ideas. So there you go. I have some more pictures to post, but I will post those next time. Hopefully this little boy grows and stays baking for another 4 weeks. We see perinatology Monday, so I will update than.

*P.S. What we are specifically praying for is that this little boy will not have to have open heart surgery and that the fluid around the chest will be a non-issue. Thank-you for the prayers!

Getting Excited

I think I need to take some pictures because apparently Mike needs something to break up all the "word" posts. :) So I promise to work on that. We had a celebration dinner tonight. What were we celebrating, might you ask? Getting to move to one-a-week appointments! Our appointment went really great today. We even had Collin with us (we were pretty nervous since this was the first time he tagged along with us!) He was cute and was on his best behavior. Our baby is stable, with the same teeny little pocket on the right side of the chest and the same amount on the left. The shunt is still in place, and everything looks pretty good (all things considered!) The tech took some semi-cute pictures of our little guy in 4-D (cute because he is ours  but I still think ultrasound pictures are just not that cute) and I will have to scan them when Collin is awake, since the printer/scanner is in his room. And whatever-his-name-will-be looks a lot like his big brother Ryker. It is pretty cute to see such strong similarities. They have the same little nose, the same frown lines, and are just both so cute! The doctors are just astounded at how things look, considering how sick he was and how much fluid there was. Our perinatologist is funny because he keps calling in his colleagues to show off how great our baby looks. He is one proud doc. I go next week for a fetal echo at Primary's, and our doctor told us to tell our way funny cardiologist that he needs to tell us exactly what is happening and how this has all happened. And we seriously will, since we love to give our cardiologist a good laugh. I love being on the positive side of things, and living the miracle. Because even with the fluid, we can actually start to make plans for our baby. What a miracle to be able think and plan the "little" things, about how we will layout Collin's room (since he will be sharing with his little brother, or the blankets/bottles/outfits/etc. It makes us smile. He still has a journey, but knowing that we can make plans for him brings us a lot of peace. I know that we could never be where we are without the prayers and fasting for our baby from our friends, family, and all of you. Love befuddling the doctors in a good way.

Our Appointment

We had our biweekly appointment today with maternal fetal medicine. Our regular doctor will be back in the office Thursday, and another appointment is set for than. I actually really liked the doctor that I met Thursday and that we saw again today. She is very kind and seems firm on getting a plan in place. She was going to call all of the other doctors today, and set up a care conference for later this week. She talked with our doctor on Friday, and even talked again with both of the fetal surgeons also. She wants everyone to meet together (some of that will be via conference calls) so that we can work out a plan and have everyone on the same page. She said the goal is to get me to 32 weeks. Later would be great, but with Hydrops, you just never know. She is worried that with me hitting 28 weeks this week, that we could need a plan in place in the event they have to take the baby before the optimal 32 weeks (shall I add here that 32 weeks plus would be optimal of course?) So she wants a plan for what to do in different scenarios if something changes before the 32 weeks mark. Do we place another shunt, do we drain fluid, do we deliver the baby? The problems with placing more shunts is that anytime you do something that punctures through the amniotic sac, you risk labor. And the more pokes, the greater the risk for rupturing, labor, infection, etc. And when they drain fluid, it seems to come back almost by the next day. The doctor told us today that the point of getting fluid is not to give more room for the lungs, but to keep the hydrops from further spreading because of the pressure it places on the heart, thus impairing optimal heart function. I hope this little guy can cook longer and be healthy until 32 weeks, but we have many unknowns.

So what did we see with our little guy today? He looked pretty good last Thursday, and we were hoping to see the same picture again. Things could have looked worse (and we saw him looking pretty blah last Monday) but things did not look as good as last Thursday. The fluid on the right has stayed about the same. But there was a small pocket of fluid on the left. The shunt was still in place, which is good, but there is some edema on the skin again. Still, not as bad as it has been. This is one of the reasons I go in twice a week, to monitor how things look. We are still optimistic, and the doctor was really positive. Seeing her felt something remotely close to our doctor, just that she really seemed on the same page as he has been with us and she was sincere. But we are anxious to see Dr. S. back, because really he is truly the best. The technician wanted to show us some fun things, so without even asking her, she did some 3-D pictures. Now I am not one of those Moms to say the ultrasounds are cute and they look like so and so. I love seeing my children, but really and truly I think ultrasound pictures make the babies look like little aliens. Hope I did not offend anyone with that, just a personal opinion. But it was cute seeing him with skin and just seeing him almost cuddling against the wall of the placenta. So I guess you could say he was cute as you can be without being seen in person. He had hiccups again, which thrilled the doctor. And he was drinking the fluid again. I think that is about it.  Sorry for the novels, it is just a lot of information to take in and this is the best way to keep everyone updated.