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.