Today I had two different appointments and I am happy to report that both went really well!! First, was my cervical length, which was back up to measuring around 4cm. This is fantastic because that length is what you would see in a normal pregnancy! :-) I will continue to have weekly ultrasounds until around 28 weeks when my doctor will feel more comfortable about spacing them out to every 2 weeks. We know how quickly things can change (I went from everything looking great one week to being 75% effaced the next between weeks 16 and 17, hence the reason for the cerclage surgery), so we are not going to take the risk of not keeping a close eye on everything. I have been granted more privileges with my activity and am looking forward to getting out a little more. I still have to be very careful not to overdo it. The boys have their first t-ball game on Saturday and I get to go! Things like that are okay as long as there is not a lot of walking involved. No going to the grocery by myself and definitely no lugging toddlers around still, lol. ;-) I am anxious to do a little more but thankful that I have the reassurance of these weekly checkups to let me know everything is okay.
My other appointment today was with the pediatric cardiologist to have a fetal echo on the baby. This appointment was also good news because at this point there is no evidence of any heart defect. We won't even need to follow up until after the little guy gets here, when he will have another echo perfomed sometime soon after he is born.
It has been a good day and I am thanking God for it. Thank you, too, for all your thoughts and prayers - they are greatly appreciated! :-)
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
The Party
Here are a few pics from his party on Saturday. Thank you everyone who came and made it a wonderful time! Grant had a blast!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Happy 3rd Birthday Grant!
Wow! I can't believe you are 3! You are always full of giggles and bring so much laughter into our family. Your antics keep us smiling, as well as shaking our heads. You are so loveable, kind, and generous. You are so much like your Daddy! We love you so much and are blessed to have you in our lives.
Some of your favorite things...
*Your thumb and blanket
*Making people laugh
*Movies/Television
*FOOD!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
April 23rd appointment - 21 Wks
Today I had my weekly ultrasound and appointment and thankfully there has been no change since last week! This is always good news and a sigh of welcomed relief. At least for another week. I have had very little pain over the last few days and that really helps me stay focused on the positive, as well. I have been promoted back to being able to sit up at the table for meals and she said I could also get out and go to church this week! I am looking forward to that! I go back again in a week, as usual. My fetal echocardiogram was supposed to be tomorrow, but for the sake of convenience (and gas prices since we are driving over an hour one-way for these appointments!) we have rescheduled it to be after my ultrasound appointment next week. Thank you so much for your continued support and prayers!
On another note, it is always so hard to leave the kids when I have appointments to go to. I guess since Mommy has left and not come back before, they fear that that might happen again (and unfortunately that is still a possibility since I could be readmitted at any time if things started to look bad). So there is definitely some separation anxiety (for both me and the kids!) when it's time for Mommy to go. Today, Evan could easily sense that I was leaving (before I even got near my shoes) and so he reached for my hand to hold and I gave him my finger. His clasp was firm as if he were trying to say "Wherever you go Mommy, I'm going with you." The emotion I felt from his tiny touch was almost overwhelming and I decided to snap a picture to be able to keep a memory of this moment.
As I gave Grant a kiss and hug goodbye and told him that Mommy had to go to the doctor he said, "Okay. Are you coming back home? When you're done at the doctor?"
Then, as I was walking out the door Clayton yells "Mommy!" (as if saying "Wait!"). So I turned to him, sort of expecting a similar response as his brothers gave me over my leaving, and he says "Do I have school today???" Can you tell he is the most independent of the boys, lol?!
So Evan finally looks at me in defeat and gives me my finger back to allow me to leave. He immediately frowns and starts to well up with tears in a purely brokenhearted fashion and reaches for the babysitter for comfort. So with some tears on both our parts I was able to get out the door and on to take care of the child who needs it most at the moment. That certainly has to be one of the biggest challenges of motherhood!
On another note, it is always so hard to leave the kids when I have appointments to go to. I guess since Mommy has left and not come back before, they fear that that might happen again (and unfortunately that is still a possibility since I could be readmitted at any time if things started to look bad). So there is definitely some separation anxiety (for both me and the kids!) when it's time for Mommy to go. Today, Evan could easily sense that I was leaving (before I even got near my shoes) and so he reached for my hand to hold and I gave him my finger. His clasp was firm as if he were trying to say "Wherever you go Mommy, I'm going with you." The emotion I felt from his tiny touch was almost overwhelming and I decided to snap a picture to be able to keep a memory of this moment.
As I gave Grant a kiss and hug goodbye and told him that Mommy had to go to the doctor he said, "Okay. Are you coming back home? When you're done at the doctor?"
Then, as I was walking out the door Clayton yells "Mommy!" (as if saying "Wait!"). So I turned to him, sort of expecting a similar response as his brothers gave me over my leaving, and he says "Do I have school today???" Can you tell he is the most independent of the boys, lol?!
So Evan finally looks at me in defeat and gives me my finger back to allow me to leave. He immediately frowns and starts to well up with tears in a purely brokenhearted fashion and reaches for the babysitter for comfort. So with some tears on both our parts I was able to get out the door and on to take care of the child who needs it most at the moment. That certainly has to be one of the biggest challenges of motherhood!
Friday, April 18, 2008
It's That Time of Year...
Baseball season!! Tonight was "Opening Ceremonies" where all the teams show up and they throw out a ceremonial first pitch of the season. Afterwards, our team had their team picture made. Daddy managed to get it all accomplished with some assistance from Coach Mommy at home on the sidelines:
(Phone call #1)
Mommy: "Are the boys keeping their clothes clean until picture time?"
Daddy:"Oh yeah! I forgot! They're playing in a rock pile right now."
(Phone call #2)
Daddy:"Honey, what pictures do you want me to order?"
(Phone call #1)
Mommy: "Are the boys keeping their clothes clean until picture time?"
Daddy:"Oh yeah! I forgot! They're playing in a rock pile right now."
(Phone call #2)
Daddy:"Honey, what pictures do you want me to order?"
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
How I loved those locks...
Sad but true: I have an emotional attachment to my youngest son, Evan's, curly locks of hair. They go right along with his irresistible personality. ;-) Here are some pictures:
So yesterday, when I sent him for a haircut, I was quite shocked when he returned home with a cut that looked nothing like I wanted it to. It was not the hairdresser's fault - she just cut it like she was told. Apparently, there was a "miscommunication" about what I wanted between my mother and I. So here is his new 'do.
Like one of my friends said, part of the sadness is not being able to be there for the event in the first place.
So yesterday, when I sent him for a haircut, I was quite shocked when he returned home with a cut that looked nothing like I wanted it to. It was not the hairdresser's fault - she just cut it like she was told. Apparently, there was a "miscommunication" about what I wanted between my mother and I. So here is his new 'do.
Like one of my friends said, part of the sadness is not being able to be there for the event in the first place.
Update
I need to update about my latest appointment/ultrasound, which was yesterday.
Most everything that we looked at cervix-wise was good, but there was a little bit of concern because my cervix was soft. I had been having a little pain over the weekend and although the doctor does not like that, we are doing everything we can possibly do to give us the best outcome. I am to remain on complete bed rest and to stay as flat as possible. Today I am feeling some fear because the pain is mild, but there, and is just a constant reminder that we are nowhere near past the risk of losing this baby. All we can do is take it a week at a time and hope and pray for the best.
We also went over the results of my antibody titer. It has gone up from 4 to 16, which I was really concerned about. The doctor discussed her plan of treatment with me and actually gave me a copy of the page out of the text book of the plan she intends on following. According to it, we will not do an amniocentesis until my titer reaches 32. The amnio will determine what the baby's blood type is and if he is positive or negative for the antigen. If he is negative, then we should have nothing to worry about because my titer will not affect him. If he is positive, then we will continue to monitor him with amniocentesis and/or ultrasound to see if he is becoming anemic. If he eventually gets a certain degree of anemia, then he will need an intrauterine blood transfusion. That is a lot of information to take in, yet it really seems to be on the back burner at this point. Our main concern at this point is that my cervix is able to keep my baby in until he can survive on his own outside the womb.
On a bit of a side note, I also got my fetal echocardiogram scheduled for Thursday of next week. For those who don't know, my youngest, Evan, was born with a heart defect called a VSD (ventral septal defect). He ended up narrowly avoiding surgery and after getting past some medication issues in the beginning, all has been looking great since! Today, you would never even know he ever had/has a heart problem! We see his heart doctor once a year for a checkup and that is it - he's not on medication or anything. So because we now have a child who was born with a congenital heart defect, we want to take a closer look at this baby in utero and check out his heart. With Evan, his heart defect was not discovered until he was 6 days old. So as a precaution we are taking a closer look than the regular 20 wk ultraound would provide. We expect everything to be fine, but it will be nice to have that reassurance.
Most everything that we looked at cervix-wise was good, but there was a little bit of concern because my cervix was soft. I had been having a little pain over the weekend and although the doctor does not like that, we are doing everything we can possibly do to give us the best outcome. I am to remain on complete bed rest and to stay as flat as possible. Today I am feeling some fear because the pain is mild, but there, and is just a constant reminder that we are nowhere near past the risk of losing this baby. All we can do is take it a week at a time and hope and pray for the best.
We also went over the results of my antibody titer. It has gone up from 4 to 16, which I was really concerned about. The doctor discussed her plan of treatment with me and actually gave me a copy of the page out of the text book of the plan she intends on following. According to it, we will not do an amniocentesis until my titer reaches 32. The amnio will determine what the baby's blood type is and if he is positive or negative for the antigen. If he is negative, then we should have nothing to worry about because my titer will not affect him. If he is positive, then we will continue to monitor him with amniocentesis and/or ultrasound to see if he is becoming anemic. If he eventually gets a certain degree of anemia, then he will need an intrauterine blood transfusion. That is a lot of information to take in, yet it really seems to be on the back burner at this point. Our main concern at this point is that my cervix is able to keep my baby in until he can survive on his own outside the womb.
On a bit of a side note, I also got my fetal echocardiogram scheduled for Thursday of next week. For those who don't know, my youngest, Evan, was born with a heart defect called a VSD (ventral septal defect). He ended up narrowly avoiding surgery and after getting past some medication issues in the beginning, all has been looking great since! Today, you would never even know he ever had/has a heart problem! We see his heart doctor once a year for a checkup and that is it - he's not on medication or anything. So because we now have a child who was born with a congenital heart defect, we want to take a closer look at this baby in utero and check out his heart. With Evan, his heart defect was not discovered until he was 6 days old. So as a precaution we are taking a closer look than the regular 20 wk ultraound would provide. We expect everything to be fine, but it will be nice to have that reassurance.
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