Friday, May 30, 2008
Updated Pics
Just wanted to share the boys' latest picture together. I've also updated their individual pictures in the sidebar. :-)
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
May 27th - 26 wks
Today was my 26-week appointment with the MFM. Cervical length and MCA measurements both look great!! (Cervical length was 4.28 cm and MCA was a PSV of 34 and an MoM of 1.08). I had my blood drawn and I was able to get those results this evening! :-) My titer is still holding steady at 1:16, which is good! I am so thankful that things are going so smoothly. It looks as if my abnormal pregnancy is turning into a normal one! :-) We still have 13 wks to go so your continued prayers are greatly appreciated - they have no doubt pulled us through so far!
Happy 7th Anniversary!
Yesterday was mine and Andy's 7-year anniversary. Here we are 3.5 kids later, and I love him more and more each day. He has exceeded my expectations as a husband and father and I am constantly amazed that God saw fit to bless me with him as my lifelong companion. We are growing up together and we will grow old together. I look forward to many more years of memories!
Then
Now
Then
Now
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
May 21st - 25 wks
Yesterday was my weekly visit with the MFM. Not really much to report other than everything continues to stay stable. Cervical length is still over 4 cm. Blood flow through baby's brain (MCA) looks good with a PSV of 22 and an MoM of .72. Next week will be my next titer check and again, depending on those results, I could be getting an amnio later in the week. I get these titer checks every 2 weeks now since they can change more rapidly the further along in the pregnancy we get.
Monday, May 19, 2008
A Growing Heart and Graduation
Today was an eventful day!! Evan had his yearly heart checkup with the pediatric cardiologist and he is doing SUPER! Not that I worry about him too much any more, but it is always exciting to go in and hear that everything is functioning as if he was never born with a heart defect. :-) His doctor said that the reduction in the size of the hole from birth until now is quite remarkable. Definitely not something you see every day! But we will take it, lol! Evan was so well-behaved during his appointment - he amazes me. He sat very still during the echo and just grinned at his doctor while she listened to his heart. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful group of pediatric cardiologists and the doctor we saw today is my favorite. She is always so thorough and is more than happy to answer all of my questions. Evan will continue to get yearly heart checkups. Because of the location of the hole being so close to another valve, there is a minute chance that it could cause pulling and leakage in that adjacent valve, so we just have to check on that every once in a while, but should in all likelihood never be a concern. Here is a picture of my smiley little guy. He brings so much joy to our lives. And Mommy finally got one that looks just like me!! :-)
Clayton had his last day of preschool and graduation today! This was his second year of preschool and he will still have one more year of it before starting kindergarten in the fall of 2009. His school and teacher are so wonderful and always manage to exceed my expectations. We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to take advantage of such an excellent preschool program!
Our graduate:
Clayton had his last day of preschool and graduation today! This was his second year of preschool and he will still have one more year of it before starting kindergarten in the fall of 2009. His school and teacher are so wonderful and always manage to exceed my expectations. We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to take advantage of such an excellent preschool program!
Our graduate:
Thursday, May 15, 2008
May 15th - 24 wks!!
Today was another great appointment! I really do have an awesome doctor (my MFM) who am I so pleased with! Remember how I mentioned that we were waiting on the results of blood tests from both Andy and me this week? Well, the good news is that Andy is heterozygous, meaning that the baby only has a 50% chance (instead of 100%) of being affected by the antibody issue during this pregnancy. The frustrating news is that MY blood test came back with a result that seemed very inaccurate (saying I was negative for the antibody, when that is not possible since once you test positve, you are always positive) and was more than likely a lab error. We were waiting on this number (my titer) to determine whether or not to perform an amnio today. So I had to wait until today's appointment to have my blood drawn again (at a different lab), which meant more waiting to know about the amnio. Luckily, I have a wonderful doctor who makes herself very available and was told I could call her this evening at the hospital for the results of today's blood work. So the GREAT news is that my titer came back as 1:16, which is still below the value in which we would need to monitor the baby by doing an amnio (that value is 1:32). So for now, we are still avoiding the amnio, and the baby looks very good on ultrasound, showing no signs of anemia or fluid build-up. For those interested, his PSV was 34.2, giving us an MoM of 1.11, still well below the critical value of 1.5.
I have been much more wrapped up in the antibody issue lately, so I wanted to address that first. As far as the cervical incompetence, it is seemingly becoming less and less of an issue with every week that passes! :-) Today's cervical length measurements were again over 4 cm, and I have been given even more liberty in my activity. I can be up and about for no more than 20-minute increments every 2 hours. I can do more light activities, but still no lifting or walking the mall, lol. I am so pleased with all the progress that has been made and the confidence I have in my care! I am so blessed!
Well, since yesterday marked 24 weeks into this pregnancy, a very important milestone, I took the suggestion of some good friends and had a celebration know as a "viability party." This basically meant a special dessert after dinner to celebrate the occasion, lol. And since I'm not supposed to be up baking anyway, I decided Betty Crocker wouldn't do, and instead opted for one of my absolute favorites - a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake!! Here are a few pictures. Boy, was it yummy - mmmmm!!! :-)(By the way, it says 24 weeks in case it is difficult to read. Whoever wrote on it at BR did not do a very good job, lol).
I have been much more wrapped up in the antibody issue lately, so I wanted to address that first. As far as the cervical incompetence, it is seemingly becoming less and less of an issue with every week that passes! :-) Today's cervical length measurements were again over 4 cm, and I have been given even more liberty in my activity. I can be up and about for no more than 20-minute increments every 2 hours. I can do more light activities, but still no lifting or walking the mall, lol. I am so pleased with all the progress that has been made and the confidence I have in my care! I am so blessed!
Well, since yesterday marked 24 weeks into this pregnancy, a very important milestone, I took the suggestion of some good friends and had a celebration know as a "viability party." This basically meant a special dessert after dinner to celebrate the occasion, lol. And since I'm not supposed to be up baking anyway, I decided Betty Crocker wouldn't do, and instead opted for one of my absolute favorites - a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake!! Here are a few pictures. Boy, was it yummy - mmmmm!!! :-)(By the way, it says 24 weeks in case it is difficult to read. Whoever wrote on it at BR did not do a very good job, lol).
Monday, May 12, 2008
Happy 1st Anniversary Mom & Jerry
Jerry, I am so thankful that you have come into my Mom's (and our) life. It is obvious that you love her more than you love yourself. You support her and encourage her and make sure she is always taken care of - that means so much to us! You have readily accepted that her life revolves around her children and grandchildren and have joined her in that ambition. You love and care for my kids like a true grandpa, spoiling them along the way! Thank you for reciprocating the love and goodness that she radiates. You compliment each other. This one's for you...
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Happy Mother's Day!
Happy Mother's Day to all you Mommies out there! I love this special day of being reminded of the blessing of both having a mother and being a mother. Everything to Everyone. This would have to be a fitting description of so many mothers that I know and certainly of my own mother.
I am so lucky to have a mother as loving and devoted as mine. It amazes me how she can split her one person into being the mother, grandmother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and coworker that she is. If you need her, she'll be there - without exception. She subconsciously lives by the motto: "Who can I help today and how?" It's just automatic. What an example to live by!
For me personally, her dedication to motherhood (and grandmotherhood) often leaves me wondering "What would I do without her??" Not everyone gets to have their mother as their newborn baby's first nurse and evaluator - 25+ years of neonatal nursing experience at your beck and call! Who is the one who lets you take your moodiness/bad day out on her and still has nothing but optimism to share with you? My Mom. Who is the one who kills herself to get to any event, no matter how major or minor, that any one of her children or grandchildren are involved in? My Mom. Who is the one who tells you what angels your children were when you KNOW they drove her nuts? My Mom. (Why is it that grandparents get away with LYING, lol). Who was the one who noticed that my precious little Evan was breathing a little too fast on his 6th day of life, and so it was discovered that he had an undetected heart problem? My Mom. And currently... who is the one who drives me to all of my far away appointments, comes over and cleans/does laundry, and helps take care of my kids with every second of free time that she has??? My Mom. Mom, Hallmark wouldn't do today - I hope you don't mind me telling the world how much you mean to me!
Mother of 4, grandmother of 7 (and counting!), so here are just a FEW of her proudest moments.
Nurse/grandma at Clayton's birth
Nurse/grandma at Grant's birth
Nurse/grandma at Evan's birth
I am so lucky to have a mother as loving and devoted as mine. It amazes me how she can split her one person into being the mother, grandmother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and coworker that she is. If you need her, she'll be there - without exception. She subconsciously lives by the motto: "Who can I help today and how?" It's just automatic. What an example to live by!
For me personally, her dedication to motherhood (and grandmotherhood) often leaves me wondering "What would I do without her??" Not everyone gets to have their mother as their newborn baby's first nurse and evaluator - 25+ years of neonatal nursing experience at your beck and call! Who is the one who lets you take your moodiness/bad day out on her and still has nothing but optimism to share with you? My Mom. Who is the one who kills herself to get to any event, no matter how major or minor, that any one of her children or grandchildren are involved in? My Mom. Who is the one who tells you what angels your children were when you KNOW they drove her nuts? My Mom. (Why is it that grandparents get away with LYING, lol). Who was the one who noticed that my precious little Evan was breathing a little too fast on his 6th day of life, and so it was discovered that he had an undetected heart problem? My Mom. And currently... who is the one who drives me to all of my far away appointments, comes over and cleans/does laundry, and helps take care of my kids with every second of free time that she has??? My Mom. Mom, Hallmark wouldn't do today - I hope you don't mind me telling the world how much you mean to me!
Mother of 4, grandmother of 7 (and counting!), so here are just a FEW of her proudest moments.
Nurse/grandma at Clayton's birth
Nurse/grandma at Grant's birth
Nurse/grandma at Evan's birth
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
May 7 - 23 wks
I had my weekly ultrasound and appointment with my MFM doctor today, and it has been another good week! :-) My cervix is still measuring very long and holding up very well. Every week that I go in and hear good news I feel less "fragile" and so much relief. My next appointment is Thursday May 15th at 8am. Now onto the other half of this battle...
Next week will be that big 24 week mark. This is a milestone because for one it is considered the point at which the baby is "viable" and everything could be done to give him the best chance at life if he were born, and number two, it is the point at which we really start to follow this antibody issue a lot more closely and possibly start to see more changes than we have in the past. Over the next week we will be getting the results of two different blood tests, one from Andy and one from me. Depending on the results of those tests, I could POSSIBLY be having an amniocentesis perfomed at next week's appointment. For you medical nerds (like me, lol) we are looking at Andy's blood to see if he is heterozygous or homogygous (called phenotyping) to determine if the baby has any chance at all of not being positive for the antigen (which is what we want, for the baby to be NEGATIVE). We already know Andy is positive for the antigen (called Duffy), and if he is HOMOzygous then he will undoubtedly pass on the positive to the baby, but if he is HETEROzygous, then the baby has a 50/50 chance of being positive or negative. Since I am negative for it, then we want the baby to be negative so there is not an incompatibility between my blood and the baby's, and therefore my blood would not attack the baby's blood. If there is a chance that the baby is negative, then there is only one way to find out and that is through amnio. However, we are also looking at the level of defense my blood has built up (called a titer) to see how necessary it is to find out more information about the baby's blood type. So far my titers have not gotten too high with the highest result to date being 1:16 (or 16). Depending on the results of my next titer draw, if it rises and by how much, then that will determine the level of need for the amnio. One other aside: Although amnio will give us the baby's blood type and give us other useful information on how well the baby's blood is tolerating being in an oppositional environment (if that is indeed the case), there is another less-invasive way of monitoring any affects on the baby's blood. It is called an MCA (middle cerebral artery) and is done by transabdominal ultrasound, where the blood flow in the baby's brain is measured. This number is called a PSV (peak systolic velocity) and is input into a calculator that measures it against the median (I'm assuming average) number for that gestational age (weeks of pregnancy). I am putting a link into the sidebar for this calculator. Anyway, however far off from the median the PSV is, called MoM (Multiples of Median), is the key number we are looking for. We want for it to stay under a MoM of 1.5. Just FYI, the baby's PSV today was 35.4, giving us a MoM of 1.2. So, as a means of having a less invasive way of testing the baby, we are continuing to do the MCA's every week, and could possibly not need to resort to the amnio if that's what the doctor decides. It will all depend on my titer numbers for the most part, but knowing if the baby has a chance of being negative/is negative for the antigen is very useful, too. I think after this week I will start having my titer drawn every 2 weeks instead of every 4 weeks, as well. Probably way more information than you ever wanted to know about all of that, but I enjoy getting it out there. If I can explain it to someone esle, then I have a better grip on it myself!
Next week will be that big 24 week mark. This is a milestone because for one it is considered the point at which the baby is "viable" and everything could be done to give him the best chance at life if he were born, and number two, it is the point at which we really start to follow this antibody issue a lot more closely and possibly start to see more changes than we have in the past. Over the next week we will be getting the results of two different blood tests, one from Andy and one from me. Depending on the results of those tests, I could POSSIBLY be having an amniocentesis perfomed at next week's appointment. For you medical nerds (like me, lol) we are looking at Andy's blood to see if he is heterozygous or homogygous (called phenotyping) to determine if the baby has any chance at all of not being positive for the antigen (which is what we want, for the baby to be NEGATIVE). We already know Andy is positive for the antigen (called Duffy), and if he is HOMOzygous then he will undoubtedly pass on the positive to the baby, but if he is HETEROzygous, then the baby has a 50/50 chance of being positive or negative. Since I am negative for it, then we want the baby to be negative so there is not an incompatibility between my blood and the baby's, and therefore my blood would not attack the baby's blood. If there is a chance that the baby is negative, then there is only one way to find out and that is through amnio. However, we are also looking at the level of defense my blood has built up (called a titer) to see how necessary it is to find out more information about the baby's blood type. So far my titers have not gotten too high with the highest result to date being 1:16 (or 16). Depending on the results of my next titer draw, if it rises and by how much, then that will determine the level of need for the amnio. One other aside: Although amnio will give us the baby's blood type and give us other useful information on how well the baby's blood is tolerating being in an oppositional environment (if that is indeed the case), there is another less-invasive way of monitoring any affects on the baby's blood. It is called an MCA (middle cerebral artery) and is done by transabdominal ultrasound, where the blood flow in the baby's brain is measured. This number is called a PSV (peak systolic velocity) and is input into a calculator that measures it against the median (I'm assuming average) number for that gestational age (weeks of pregnancy). I am putting a link into the sidebar for this calculator. Anyway, however far off from the median the PSV is, called MoM (Multiples of Median), is the key number we are looking for. We want for it to stay under a MoM of 1.5. Just FYI, the baby's PSV today was 35.4, giving us a MoM of 1.2. So, as a means of having a less invasive way of testing the baby, we are continuing to do the MCA's every week, and could possibly not need to resort to the amnio if that's what the doctor decides. It will all depend on my titer numbers for the most part, but knowing if the baby has a chance of being negative/is negative for the antigen is very useful, too. I think after this week I will start having my titer drawn every 2 weeks instead of every 4 weeks, as well. Probably way more information than you ever wanted to know about all of that, but I enjoy getting it out there. If I can explain it to someone esle, then I have a better grip on it myself!
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