Nearly 22 weeks and another sonogram

Tomorrow marks week 22. 18 weeks left!

Yesterday we trekked into town for our follow-up with the specialist at the hospital. Basically the word was "no change" and continued bed rest for mom. By no change, she meant that the amniotic fluids have not increased. They actually have decreased a bit, but not enough for her to worry any more. She is calling it a stable environment for now, but suggested that Ty and I start considering the worst case scenario she laid out for us. She suggested that we start considering a date in which we agree to do a c-section and put the baby on medical life support until she is ready to come home. My answer to her was 40 weeks. I'm not sure she a) took me seriously, or b) believed my conviction when I assured her that through all our positive support, love, prayers, and my positive thinking and actions this baby will outdo their expectations. I hold to the firm belief that this little girl will be just as strong as her parents and family and she will continue to grow strong and healthy.

I'm pretty sure the doc walked away thinking I was a naive and silly girl for not listening to her warnings. Truth is I know the possibilities of being wrong. I know what to expect of the future if I am wrong and I appreciate her straightforwardness, but I also believe in the power of positive thinking and the strength of all your prayers. I believe in the strength of our families and I believe this child will prevail! In our efforts to try everything in our power to better the chances the docs have given us, we spoke with a spiritual healer over the weekend. She thought that this child's soul was very strong and destined for greatness. She suggested that there was similarities in this child's soul to that of Quan Yin, the Chinese Bodhisattva of Compassion or Goddess of Mercy. While I don't necessarily believe in all this healer's methods and proclamations, I do believe that she was on to something here. I feel that this child is definitely no ordinary being and deserves the faith I have in her proving the doctors wrong!

So keep your positive thoughts and prayers coming and we will keep you updated. We can expect follow up visits every two weeks and I will keep adding to this blog to let you all know what is going on.

Week 21...Or an oh, so long week.

Two weeks ago we had an ultrasound done which revealed a couple of things to us. First the good news...

A brief glimpse told us that the baby was most likely a girl developing well and true to medical standards.

And now for the not so good news...

In the ultrasound a couple of dark spots were seen in the placenta. Ty spotted them before the doctor, or at least said something long before the doctor did. These spots, commonly called placental lakes can be no big deal and are often very common. Despite the baby's apparent good growth the OB still wanted me to see a specialist over at the hospital to make certain they were nothing to worry about. The hospital has better equipment and at least two doctors that specialize in taking excellent pictures of babies. I had already been there once for the screening that determines likelihood of Downs Syndrome.

So last week, at our halfway point of the pregnancy, we went to see the specialist (cue daunting music). The utrasound concluded 100% that the baby is indeed a girl. What great, clear pictures this ultrasound can take!! Not only is it a girl, but she is developing well and is right on target with her "age" in every measurement. "So what about those spots," you ask? Well, the doctor there saw only one placental lake and after several angles and slightly painful prods with the ultrasound wand determined that it is, in fact in the placenta and not something else blocking a portion of the placenta from view. This alone isn't much to write home about. However, this is not the only thing that the doctor found. She also determined that the amniotic fluid surrounding the baby is considered low for this stage in the pregnancy. Still, not too big of a concern on it's own. Finally, she listened to my uterine arteries and discovered a wonderfully strong and healthy sound from the right side, but not such a good sound from the left. Put these three things together and you are looking at a not so encouraging picture anymore. Despite the baby meeting her targeted growth there is some concern that the lack of maternal blood through the artery may be causing the placenta to potentially not function properly, therefore causing the decrease in amniotic fluid. What does this all mean?

Well, for starters it could mean that the baby is not getting enough amniotic fluid surrounding it which could cramp her style a bit. This could lead to clubbed or webbed feet. It could mean not enough cushioning and floating room. On the more dire side, it could mean that the lack of fluids available for her to swallow could impede her lung cell growth. And most dire of all is that without the appropriate fluids, will the baby be able to survive until the safety zone of 28-32 weeks when she can be prematurely c-sectioned? Are there any real answers in medicine? No, of course not, there are no definites in this fine art of practice we heavily rely upon that we call medical care.

So the specialist's answer to all my questions and concerns is "BED REST". My personal doctor put me on bed rest and a baby aspirin a day to thin my blood to help get better blood flow. He has also okayed an increase in Iron and Magnesium supplements (suggestions from Ty and a friend who did some medical research on what hospitals and doctors do for preeclampsia). I've had many people ask to what extent is this bed rest. Well, it isn't total confinement. I can still fix my own meals and take baths or showers, but no exercise, no house work and NO work. I don't even have to be in a supine or laying position (thank heavens or my second cold of January would probably suffocate me!), which means I can sit on the couch and knit, or sit at the table and scrapbook or make cards...maybe I will actually get a head start on all of my card needs for 2008! Drivng is limited to necessity (meaning only to the doctors appointments), but I can still get out of the house as long as I am mostly off my feet, no running errands. I'm to avoid stairs as much as possible as well.

So I sit here, take my vitamins and aspirin, drink mounds of water and await the next appointment (1/28/08) in hopes of better news. Meanwhile, both Ty and I will continue to accept the mountains prayers, well wishing, and positive thoughts and generous offers for companionship, help, shopping trips, etc. from family and the friends we have made within the fire department as well as all our other friends. We'll keep up the positive thoughts and do uttmost our best to bring forth a very desired and anticipated little beauty into this world and hopefully on her own schedule!

Merry Christmas

Well, its two days after Christmas and "The BIG Announcement" to my family. Mom seemed genuinely surprised, which is absolutely what I was going for. All seems to be going well, with one little exception...I really hate not being able to do things that I was able to do just a few short months ago. Sleep seems almost impossible. I cannot seem to get comfortable no matter what I try. The belly is starting to bulge out now, not that anyone can see yet, but it is definitely taking on the shape of a pregnant belly.

We had our Down's Syndrome test a few weeks back and the results were excellent. Despite being in the "at risk" age group, I slid right into the normal range for the chances of Down's or its next of kin which they also tested. Every ultrasound we have take has shown good progress in the growth and health of Little Lucan(ne). We are very much looking forward to finding out whether it will be a boy or a girl and will hopefully know on January 3. It's a little early (only 18 weeks), but we are still hopeful that we will be able to tell. Just as soon as we find out we will let everyone know.

Now that the cat is out of the bag I feel that I can finally share some of my plans for the baby's room. The "green room" that was originally the nursery for the previous owners will be painted/stenciled with a magical/fairytale/camelot/celtic theme, regardless of the sex of the baby. I have the stencils already for the castle walls, Sugar Plum Dragon Head, a Unicorn Head, suits of Armor and gargoyles. Once I get the skim coating done on the walls I will be able to start stenciling and then I can see if I need to add anything else. I'm very excited to get started!! If only someone could get this snow to stop so I can open the windows up to do the skim coating! :)

That's all for now. More after the doc's appointment next week!

Nothing is easy...

Today has already been a really hard day for me. But in spite of it all, this unborn child is already such a gift that just the promise of its arrival helps me move on. I am very blessed.

A couple of weeks ago, Karna was told she could go off the prometrium. The result has been fantastic, she has been doing great, with the notable exception of yesterday and the day and night before it. From Tuesday afternoon until this morning, she's had a hard time keeping anything down. She's a bit shaky today, but I think it has passed. I don't think was the baby, I think it was the Colorado River Trout she had for dinner Monday night, but I could be wrong. Other than that, and her beginning to feel the pangs of growth and stretching, she's doing great!

I will try to do better with this little column, I hope to hear from you all soon. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

With much Love,
Ty

Dodging a Bullet - Because I'm an Idiot

Let me preface this post with some advice to all - DON'T use the Internet as THE source for ANYTHING!!

So last week I was watching the creepy spinning fetus to the right here and I clicked on the little thing to see what was going on with it. It is a very cool website, it will tell you what is growing this week and what Mom is going through and what Dad has to deal with. I like it a lot. But last week there was a red bubble about miscarriage (queue the Dragnet music).

It said, "The signs of the beginnings of a miscarriage are loss of blood, cramps in your abdomen and pain in your lower back."

So over the weekend I heard Karna say that her back was hurting. On Sunday she was having some pretty bad cramps. My idiot brain says "OH S#!T, 2 out of 3!!!" and without mentioning it to Karna, I have been thinking she's on the edge of a miscarriage and I was STRESSED about it all week.

So we went to her 10 week appointment today and I am praying for the heartbeat so I can breathe again. The Doc started with the sound only ultrasound device - it's for hearing the heartbeat - nothing - now I am really panicking. Karna noticed the look on my face and asked me what was going on, but I just half smiled and we all went to the room with the visual ultrasound. He immediately found the kid, but it took a few seconds to get a good angle on the heart. More freaking suspense and tension, but then I saw it (even before the Doc) - the pulsing cloud of white light on the monitor - WHEW!! I smiled and damn near cried.

The baby is doing great! It has knees already and kicked a couple of times. It had a heart beat of 158 BPM and it was moving around a lot.

What my mind failed to grasp here was that ALL pregnant women have back pain. And ALL pregnant women have stomach cramps. What a frigging moron I can be. But its because this child is very much wanted and welcome in our lives.

Next is the diagnostic ultrasound and blood test - this will tell us about birth defects like Down's Syndrome and such. If it's good, we'll know immediately. If it's questionable, there will be more tests.

This one is on my birthday, can you guess how I'll be doing until then? Better than the last couple of days to be sure, but I think I won't relax with this kid until...well probably until it's an adult...actually not, I'll relax when I'm dead.

The reality is this is a pretty cool ride to be on, today was a thrill after the car climbed to the top of the track over the last few days and started plunging down when I saw the heart beating.

I love Karna, and I love this child. I am damn near giddy with anticipation to meet it and hold it and love it and teach it and watch it grow and make mistakes and succeed.

Just keep that heart beating kid, I'll see you in a few months. Then we'll have some really great times - you, your mother and me.

Love to all,
Ty

Ok, this is the sucky part! I promise not to complain too much during the first trimester! The prometrium the doctor put me on for increasing my levels of progesterone as an at-risk pregnancy is making this a most inconvenient and miserable time. The nausea alone is nearly a deal breaker. In less than 24 hours I went from barely noticing my nausea to having every smell, every taste, not to mention water making me want to puke. I found that only two things don't make me want to vomit...Chick'fil'a sandwiches and bean/cheese burritos...not super healthy, I know! For the first 4 days I'd get super dizzy after taking my medication. So dizzy I couldn't turn my head without wanting to pass out! Thankfully, I have either adjusted to the meds or eliminated the symptom by not taking them on an empty stomach. When water isn't making my tastebuds feel/taste like they have a coating of burnt plastic over them it makes me bloat up like I'm 7 months not 7 weeks! Everything I consume makes me want to belch, but cannot, and causes all my clothes to make me feel like a tied off sausage. For over a week now I have been pretty uncomfortable, but I did manage to make a new bestest friend in Maalox! Boy does that help with all the above discomforts!!!!

Next week we go back to the doctor and hopefully Ty will be able to hear the heart beat of this little bugger.

Despite Uncle Dr. Chris' assurances of a little girl, I think this one will be a boy. Just a little family history that gives me the feeling. Boys are dominant in my family (11 boys/7 girls, and those are just the first cousins, nevermind the 13 male second cousins that I have never even met) and statistics like that mean more to me than those Chris gave us last week (no offense!). Ty wants to know the sex right away so as soon as we find out we will let you know...Frankly I don't care, I just like to make Ty squirm with thoughts of a teenage girl!!!

Hope you are all well...or at least doing better than me!

Love ya all!

K.

A Hint on DemonSpawn's Real Name

OK, so we'll tease a bit. The name for our child can be found here - WikiPedia Link. The name is on this list, regardless of gender (no "sir" is not part of the name). Can you find it? Do you have an idea? Leave a comment and tell us!

Oh yeah, we're going to "George Forman" all our kid's middle names - for boys it will be Christopher, for girls, some feminine variant of Christopher. Hit the poll to vote for your favorite girl version*.

Love to all,
Ty

* Please note your vote won't count for s#!t in the end, but it's nice to see what everyone thinks.