A week and a half until school starts, 3 weeks until the baby is delivered...yikes! Time is slipping by so fast.
Updates -
Kyle: He is still enjoying his science day camps. This morning he told me he does not like that summer and camp are only for another week. Go figure. He asks all the time if we are going on a vacation as we have gone to the Keys for a week the last couple of years. Unfortunately that is just not happening this year. I feel so bad that the boys have to miss out this year but there really is no other choice. Mom may take them for a weekend and Kevin has mentioned it as well. We really want to get them down there so they can go snorkeling and fishing again. Kyle is quite entertaining these days. He is having fewer temper tantrums (thank goodness) and cooperating more each day. He is still very bossy, wants everything to be his way and rarely listens BUT he is pretty consistent with everything else. I really hope he continues this trend and does not revert to old behavior. I think he is starting to show signs of being able to understand the concept of your actions = your consequences. Yea! Can hardly believe he is 4 weeks from turning 6. 6 just sounds so old.
Todd: Just as one boy starts behaving the other starts acting up. Todd has now decided that he is going to tell us what he will and will not be doing. Seriously. How did I get so lucky to have two of the most stubborn, bossiest boys. He really gives Kevin fits, me not so much. He is getting restless with being the younger sibling, being one myself I totally see it. He does not understand that at 4 he cannot do the same things as Kyle and that Kyle was not doing those things at 4 either. I am so proud with his seeming love affair with books. Both the boys really enjoy books and reading but Todd is something else. He wants you to read the book, then let him have it to look at and then sleep with the thing. He is the first one to want to go to the library with me, yea! Kyle has discovered video games, grrr....I try and keep a very tight reign on his play time but the kid just argues with me to no end.
Baby: Still doing very well considering. Extremely active, she moves all around her rapidly diminishing space. She is hiccuping a lot, which I understand from my OB is actually a good sign that all is well. She is also breathing in utero, has been for awhile now. Between the moving, hiccups and the breathing she is not making it easy for the lady doing the fetal echo to get all the info she needs. Gee, another stubborn, bossy child who wants things her way. Is there no end? At last measurement on 7/17 she was approx 18 inches and 5lbs, 4 ozs. So, I am thinking she will be around 7 1/2 lbs on delivery. Not too bad. Apparently she also has quite a head of hair on her. The exact words of the sonographer were..."there is enough thick (not fine wispy) hair to reflect the sound waves." At first I was thinking this was a good thing...at least she will not be bald, but now I am just hoping all the hair is just on her head! I had my last visit before delivery with the fetal cardiologist this past Mon, 7/27. All looks the same as before but he did see some back flow of blood from the pulmonary vein. I am hoping that it is just a very small thing (like a fluke this time) because if that flow is there at birth then we will have no choice but to do the first, shunt surgery. The back flow means the pulmonary vein is too narrow and there is not enough blood getting to the lungs. We did a tour of the hospital I will be in and also got our questions answered for delivery day. Also did a tour of the Ronald McDonald House. Now all we can do is wait and pray that I do not go into labor at home prior to Aug 19.
The boys are starting school the week of August 10. I think Todd is just so excited to be in "real" school. I have gotten must of the stuff they will be needing. Still a few things I need to finish but most is done. Backpacks. Lunchboxes. Rain jackets. School supplies. Uniforms. Tuition. Check, all done. Still need to get some cold weather stuff but that can wait. I am very glad I will be here to navigate the first week of school with them. I will be really upset if the baby does not stay put and I have to go to St. Pete earlier than planned. I really, really want to be with the boys when they start school.
Other than some last preparations I think we are physically ready for delivery. I would be lying if I said we were emotionally stable. Both Kevin and I are scared. There are still so many unanswered questions we get overwhelmed. On top of everything we have with the baby we also have to coordinate home stuff. Making sure the boys are taken care of and that all our normal day to day stuff is taken care of. We have gotten as far as planing the first week after delivery. Now on to the next 100 or so weeks.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Exactly 6 Weeks From Today...
we will welcome our sweet baby girl to this new life...August 19 is the scheduled date for delivery.
As there has to be coordination with numerous people, barring a major catastrophe with one of the doctors who needs to be at delivery, this date will not change. Just to give you an idea...there will be the doctor delivering, another OB to assist as is standard with a c-section delivery, the regular delivery nurses, the anesthesiologist (to place and monitor my spinal block), a team of nicu nurses for baby transport, a neonatologist and his team to asses the baby, an echo tech to do the echo on the baby's heart, etc., etc., etc. I almost feel like Princess Di when she delivered the next heir to the throne, William, except for the whole problem with the baby's heart thing.
Yesterday we visited with Dr. H in St. Pete and also Dr. M at St. Pete MFM. All is a go. Dr. H mentioned yet again that we may be able to avoid the first surgery, placement of the shunt. So, that is good news as apparently the pulmonary stenosis is not narrowing as much as he expected to see. He did however mention a new possibility...doing a balloon into the ASD (node on top of heart in atrium) to make sure there is enough of an opening between the atria to keep the blood going to the lungs. Sounds to me like it will be one or the other of the surgeries, not both...and we may still get away without doing one at all. Obviously I would prefer to have no surgery at all, but if we have to have some sort of surgery and if I get a choice (ha ha) I would chose the balloon procedure as my understanding is this is a much less invasive procedure than the shunt. There is still a tiny bit of fluid under the heart but Dr. H does not believe this has anything to do with heart function or failure. But still only got 9/10 on the heart score because the fluid is in fact there. 9/10 means we have 1 chance on heart failure. Very, very good number. Everything else is moving right along. The baby girl weighs around 4lbs 10oz now. She keeps it up she will be my biggest baby yet. Quite possible an 8 pounder. Dr. M will be doing the delivery and he confirmed that all looks very good with the baby (minus the heart stuff. obviously). He seems very nice and I was quite comfortable with him...which is very good for me as he will be the one cutting me open.
Right now the biggest concern from all the doctors is making sure I keep my sugar very tightly controlled. This is very hard for me as I am super sensitive to any non fruit/veggie carbohydrate (this would include breads, pastas, rice, potatoes, beans). I eat only the approved carbs of whole grains, etc to no avail...they still raise my sugar too high. So, what I am left with is to cut in half the number of carbs I am allowed at each meal (consisting mostly of the fruit/veggie kind) and absolutely no sugar of any kind. Boo hoo. Other than the health benefits for the baby...ie making sure I get this baby to term...I am hoping my weight will stay in check and I won't gain too much more. Easier to lose it that way. Although I have a feeling that may not be as much a problem this time around with all the stress, worry I will be doing. No just sitting around the house all day with a sleeping, nursing infant and endless food around.
The boys are back with us after enjoying a week and a half vacay with Pappi. They had a blast in Alabama. A little hard for them to settle back into normalcy again but they are adjusting. Kyle started going to day camp at the kids science museum, Imaginarium, and I think he is really liking this one. He did not seem very keen on the art day camp I had him go to the week before his vacay. Despite how much he likes to color and draw and how much he likes music, he is a science freak at heart. Todd is still at his same school as he is still considered to be in daycare. He is having fun though as each day is something different and he gets to do cool things like dress up and bring his lunch to school for picnics. I can hardly believe they will both be in real school staring August 10. Todd in K4 and Kyle in K. That is just 5 weeks away. Last night when I checked on the boys after they went to sleep I just stood there looking at them...they still seem so little to me, with their precious faces and small hands. Yet, here we are...both of them such big boys. Awake and running around, they do not even resemble the little boys they were just a few short years ago. Of course they cannot let anything be easy as they ask me at least once EVERY day why they cannot be in the same class at school. They just do not understand the age difference thing.
I am not sure how many more baby updates there will be from this point on. I am seeing at least one doctor each week but have only one more scheduled appointment with Dr. H in St. Pete before the delivery. At this point the visits are more about making sure everything is the same. Of course if something drastic happens we will let everyone know. Right now we are status quo and will try to enjoy the next 6 weeks before our normal lives are turned upside down.
And, we still do not have a name for the baby.
As there has to be coordination with numerous people, barring a major catastrophe with one of the doctors who needs to be at delivery, this date will not change. Just to give you an idea...there will be the doctor delivering, another OB to assist as is standard with a c-section delivery, the regular delivery nurses, the anesthesiologist (to place and monitor my spinal block), a team of nicu nurses for baby transport, a neonatologist and his team to asses the baby, an echo tech to do the echo on the baby's heart, etc., etc., etc. I almost feel like Princess Di when she delivered the next heir to the throne, William, except for the whole problem with the baby's heart thing.
Yesterday we visited with Dr. H in St. Pete and also Dr. M at St. Pete MFM. All is a go. Dr. H mentioned yet again that we may be able to avoid the first surgery, placement of the shunt. So, that is good news as apparently the pulmonary stenosis is not narrowing as much as he expected to see. He did however mention a new possibility...doing a balloon into the ASD (node on top of heart in atrium) to make sure there is enough of an opening between the atria to keep the blood going to the lungs. Sounds to me like it will be one or the other of the surgeries, not both...and we may still get away without doing one at all. Obviously I would prefer to have no surgery at all, but if we have to have some sort of surgery and if I get a choice (ha ha) I would chose the balloon procedure as my understanding is this is a much less invasive procedure than the shunt. There is still a tiny bit of fluid under the heart but Dr. H does not believe this has anything to do with heart function or failure. But still only got 9/10 on the heart score because the fluid is in fact there. 9/10 means we have 1 chance on heart failure. Very, very good number. Everything else is moving right along. The baby girl weighs around 4lbs 10oz now. She keeps it up she will be my biggest baby yet. Quite possible an 8 pounder. Dr. M will be doing the delivery and he confirmed that all looks very good with the baby (minus the heart stuff. obviously). He seems very nice and I was quite comfortable with him...which is very good for me as he will be the one cutting me open.
Right now the biggest concern from all the doctors is making sure I keep my sugar very tightly controlled. This is very hard for me as I am super sensitive to any non fruit/veggie carbohydrate (this would include breads, pastas, rice, potatoes, beans). I eat only the approved carbs of whole grains, etc to no avail...they still raise my sugar too high. So, what I am left with is to cut in half the number of carbs I am allowed at each meal (consisting mostly of the fruit/veggie kind) and absolutely no sugar of any kind. Boo hoo. Other than the health benefits for the baby...ie making sure I get this baby to term...I am hoping my weight will stay in check and I won't gain too much more. Easier to lose it that way. Although I have a feeling that may not be as much a problem this time around with all the stress, worry I will be doing. No just sitting around the house all day with a sleeping, nursing infant and endless food around.
The boys are back with us after enjoying a week and a half vacay with Pappi. They had a blast in Alabama. A little hard for them to settle back into normalcy again but they are adjusting. Kyle started going to day camp at the kids science museum, Imaginarium, and I think he is really liking this one. He did not seem very keen on the art day camp I had him go to the week before his vacay. Despite how much he likes to color and draw and how much he likes music, he is a science freak at heart. Todd is still at his same school as he is still considered to be in daycare. He is having fun though as each day is something different and he gets to do cool things like dress up and bring his lunch to school for picnics. I can hardly believe they will both be in real school staring August 10. Todd in K4 and Kyle in K. That is just 5 weeks away. Last night when I checked on the boys after they went to sleep I just stood there looking at them...they still seem so little to me, with their precious faces and small hands. Yet, here we are...both of them such big boys. Awake and running around, they do not even resemble the little boys they were just a few short years ago. Of course they cannot let anything be easy as they ask me at least once EVERY day why they cannot be in the same class at school. They just do not understand the age difference thing.
I am not sure how many more baby updates there will be from this point on. I am seeing at least one doctor each week but have only one more scheduled appointment with Dr. H in St. Pete before the delivery. At this point the visits are more about making sure everything is the same. Of course if something drastic happens we will let everyone know. Right now we are status quo and will try to enjoy the next 6 weeks before our normal lives are turned upside down.
And, we still do not have a name for the baby.
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