Appointment day....

So on top of celebrating 2 birthdays yesterday, (mine and Bella's) I managed to squeeze in another doctors/ultrasound appointment. Ultrasound went great he was very busy running away from the tech and luckily she got a chance to check the ventricle dilation in between him bouncing around.  Again no change in the ventricle which is awesome so we're around 1.9cm which isn't perfect but I'm happy as long as their not increasing a ton! He scored an 8/8 on his BPP (bio physical profile) which is great! We even got some more adorable 3D pics of those pouty lips and cute face. After that I went to my doctor's appointment where for the first time in a few weeks I had an exam to check for dilation and all that.  To our surprise and our doctors I was 80% effaced and still 2cm dilated. Then she made a joke about possibly having a baby that day.... NOT FUNNY! No more Jan 30th babies! I'm changing my birthday! In all seriousness though being 80% effaced means I may not make it to Feb 14th. Eddie says I'm crazy and I'll definitely make it but I'm not as sure. I think he's forgot I've actually done this before. If all these daily contractions don't stop there's no way I'll make it that far! So this week will consist of getting this house ready for our little guy and Eddie working as much as possible so we can put some money aside for when he's out of work (and sooner or later I'll actually buy a pack of diapers).  I'll keep everyone posted more often as the next two weeks progress. Next week is our last appointment before the scheduled c-section which makes this all so real and soon! Getting excited to see our little man!

Here's a pic of Bella and her friends attacking the cake while no one was watching last night! I love it!

A letter to baby Eddie....

As the date is fast approaching, like any mother I am a bag of mixed emotions. Excited, scared, nervous and many more.  Tonight I sat and thought about where my head is at and realized through all the hormones and emotions flooding through me more than anything I am ready.  I never thought when we first got baby Eddie's diagnosis that I'd ever be ready for the days to come. Knowing the difficulties the next month or so will bring and the possible difficulties he may face from day one on. Now though, I'm ready. I realize that no matter what we we're lucky enough to have this perfect little guy in our lives. He has taught us so much already and I can't even begin to imagine how much he will teach us in the future. I've learned to appreciate all in my life especially my relationship with my husband and daughter.  I never would have thought my life would be this amazing and how lucky I'd get. I couldn't have asked for anything more.  So tonight I've decided to write a letter to baby Eddie....


Dear Eddie,
As your arrival approaches I sit and think about the ups and downs of the past 9 months and what your future may hold.  I have no idea what's in store for you or what types of difficulties you will face. I do know that you will face difficulties probably many.  You will enter this world being forced to be a strong little guy who will have to fight from minute one, but with this comes the knowing that you will be strong!  You will fight, I know this because Daddy and I made you and we have fought for you since day one and will never stop.  You may have difficult times and you may have it harder at times than others around you, but know that no matter what you are the most special, brave, strong little boy in the world! Daddy and I will love you more than imaginable and will fight along side you the whole way.  We haven't let fear dictate a single decision we've made these past 9 months and promise you that we will continue to keep that frame of mind throughout your life. We will teach you to never let fear get in the way of your amazing and bright future.  You may at times feel different than those around you but know that EVERYONE is different and even though you may feel at times that you are more different than others know that the more different you are the more special you are. We are the luckiest parents in the world, we have been blessed with two amazing, inspirational and wonderful children.  I know this and haven't even met you yet. Thank you for choosing us as your family! I love you and can't wait to meet you perfect face in a couple of weeks!



"In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." ~Albert Schweitzer

Sigh!

Appointment day was today and I'm feeling much better emotionally today then the rest of this week.  Earlier in the week I was kind of a mess. I think a combination of Eddie and I both being worn out, tired and pregnancy.  Eddie has been working a ton which wears on him and with me being on bed rest I'm feeling a bit useless around here.  He's so helpful but I hate that he's working like crazy and then coming home and having to bring laundry up and down, help with dishes and pick up the house.  I'm not the best at asking for what I need help with and I think that causes a bit of irritation between us.  Things are much better today.  I think I have figured out better communication skills and so has Eddie.  I don't think we're at a perfect point but we have to learn not to keep things to ourselves so not to bother the other person with our stress and start leaning a bit more on each other.  The next couple of months are going to get a lot more stressful and communication is going to be key to getting through it.  That along with trusting that the other is strong enough to be leaned on.  So on to the appointment...

Unfortunately Eddie had to work this morning so he couldn't come to the appointment with me.  Luckily my mom got to come with me! I'm glad that she got to come and see the baby on the ultrasound.  The tech gave us a 2D pic of the babies profile so I gave one to my mom to keep.. I mean we do have a photo album full of ultrasound pics.  We even got a 3D pic today too. Now that he's so far along we can see his face perfectly!  He looks so much like Bella it's crazy.  Also he has a little mohawk of hair on top of his head! I can't wait to see it in person! He's 5lbs 10oz at this point, 34 percentile. Tiny but no one seems worried and to be honest I was a tiny baby at 5lbs 14oz so he'll at least be bigger than I was! His ventricles seem to have shrunk. The one that was 2.2 is 1.9 this week and at this point the other one is too hard to measure. So fingers crossed that one has shrunk also.  At first I was so concerned about ventricle size but I was reading another SB mommies blog and her little guy's we're at 20mm and had to be delivered early.  This makes 1.9 look like nothing.

So we are still on for Valentine's Day which I'm totally pumped about! Only 2 more appointments before our little guy makes his way into our beautiful family! At this point I'm totally excited to see him and hold him! I can't even handle it! So my agenda for this week is to get as much rest and relax as much as possible since next week is Bella & my birthday and the week after will be full of finishing touches for baby Eddie to get here!


*****Update:  So, just found out that 1.9 means 19mm and is 1.9cm lol I guess that's not much different. Either way shrinking makes me happy! :)A normal ventricle should be between 1cm or 10mm and 1.5cm or 15mm. Anything over 1.5cm is considered hydrocephalus and may need shunts.

Hospital Visits, Sick kids and Bedrest... OH MY!!

Well this has shaped up to be quite a busy week!  Poor Eddie spent last week sick from an ulcer and made his own special trip to the hospital.  I felt so bad my "bed-resting" self stayed here waiting and texting every 5 min trying to find out how everything was going.  Thursday night we spent some more time at the hospital thanks to my fun-filled contractions.  Luckily this time no dilation.  Down side is that there isn't much they can do. I just have to suck up the contractions and take it easy. Easy for them to say.. they should try being in labor for months! NOT FUN. Every time we have to make a fun trip to the WETU (the maternity ER) I find myself telling Eddie this is the LAST time I get pregnant! I had early labor with Bella too and went in 3 times to have contractions stopped and was on bed-rest also. So as we walked out of the WETU Thursday night we joked we'd probably see the nurses one more time since with us 3rd times a charm!

Also on Thursday Bella woke up with a fever and horrible cough that made her vomit! I felt so bad for her she couldn't say a word without coughing, which you'd think would be nice since she talks so much but on the contrary! Between the coughing fits and me cleaning vomit up she somehow managed to Mommy this and Mommy that me all day! BTW docs, doesn't make for an easy bed-rest. Let's just say it's been quiet a tiring week. Poor kiddo is still pretty sick with a fever and nasty cough/congestion.  I'm one of those lucky moms whose kids get a 103 degree fever for 5-6 days for even the smallest cold.  It's a chore in itself balancing Motrin and Tylenol all day trying to keep it away! I curse the cold medicine gods that couldn't just put a safe cough/congestion med on the market! 

So while watching the laundry pile up (and wearing Eddie's clothes since the 2 pairs of pants I own are no longer clean and my shirts don't fit anymore. Yes even the maternity ones!) Dishes reaching the sky I've decided to try to find a way today to balance it all.  I figure do a little, rest a little, do a little and rest a little.... We'll see how that goes!

Love those boring appointments!!!!

So not too much to report today but I thought I'd update about our appointment today.  Little Eddie looked adorable as usual in his ultrasound today!  His ventricles haven't changed at all his numbers were 2.0 and 2.1 so either one shrunk or it was a difference of where the tech put the cursor on the screen.  wither way good news.  We also got to see his little toes move on the ultrasound which is a great sign of movement in his lower extremities.  I could have told the doctors that though seeing that I have about 4 bruised ribs that can attest to his leg/foot strength and movement.  Still on "bed rest" but I call it "taking it easy" it helps me justify doing a bit around the house.  We have finally confirmed the date and time for the c-section..... drum roll please....... Feb. 14 at 7:30am! The babies surgery will follow an hour later. So I was very clear NO DOPE ME UP MEDS until after I see my little guy go off to surgery. I don't care how bad the pain is I will see him before he goes in!

We had our "sprinkle" this weekend, it was the perfect shower for me. No goofy games, lots of food (desserts... sorry Hannah for the sprite explosion lol) and lots of great family and friends.  We got so much great stuff and I've already gotten it all washed and put away.  So I think with the exception of a few things we're ready for this little guy! 

Thursday we meet with the plastic surgeon who will be doing the final closure.  Our neurosurgeon will do all the muscle/nerve etc and the plastic surgeon will finish it all off nice and pretty.  So hopefully he'll have a barely noticeable scar as he grows. 

So that's about it, another nice and boring appointment. Which also only lasted about an hour, amazing seeing the last 2 took about 3! Hopefully the rest of them go as quick and smooth since they will all be on Mondays at 8 from now on. 

Getting comfy at home... :/

So another appointment yesterday. Relatively boring :). Again our c-section date has been changed to Feb 14th again. It sounds like this is a definite date as long as baby Eddie stays puts! So Feb 14th around 11:30 our little guy will be here.  They will take him into surgery a couple of hours later as soon as I'm out of recovery and am able to go see him and after the doctors have evaluated him.  It sounds like it's about a 6 hour surgery which I would assume will be the hardest part. Maybe not for me since I'll probably be pretty drugged up and out of it but for Eddie I'm sure all that waiting will be tough. 

Our ultrasound yesterday went well baby Eddie scored an 8/8 again!! YAY! We even got to watch him kick his legs and feet around a ton. It really helped reassure us even though we know that it really doesn't mean anything in utero. From what we've been told leg movement can happen in utero but maybe not after the surgery. That's ok, I've been with this little guy for 8 months and trust me he''ll be kicking like a soccer star! My bruised ribs and kidneys can attest to that!  His ventricles were at 2.0 and 2.2, last week they were at 1.8 and 2.2 so she said that they're probably the same last week she had trouble measuring good and since it's just a matter of a slight hand movement from the tech this sounds great! I will be ecstatic if they stay around 2.0 until he gets here but again nothing is certain until after the surgery.  They can decrease when the closure is done or they can increase even days after.  Either way shunts won't be put in until a couple of days after he's born to give time for his body to respond.  So again, a ton of info with no real answers. That's ok though if little things like legs kicking or ventricles unchanged lets us leave an appointment smiling instead of crying I'm ok with that!

We discussed my fun trip to the Emergency Labor and Delivery Friday night and my ob checked my cervix again (which is a hysterical story within itself but not appropriate for a blog) and I was about 1.5-2 cm dilated.  She said that it looks to her like I may be dilated on the outside but not the inside. Which is a great sign. My cervix is also wicked high still (which is kind of funny seeing how I'm carrying so much lower than I did with Bella).  Unfortunately I'm still having contractions and pretty frequently during the day and very painful sometimes so she decided to put me on bed rest. Bed rest! Doesn't she know I have a baby to get ready for and a 4 year old to take care of?  I then told her she was crazy and laughed. This didn't go over well and I was scolded and told it was bed rest for me except for the baby shower on Sunday. :( So back to my favorite task, list making and stressing that things aren't going to get done. Don't get me wrong I have an awesome husband to help out but he does work 2 jobs and is exhausted when he gets home.  I feel bad asking him to take on all the household crap too.  He's been so good he just said, "Give me a list of what needs to get done before the baby gets here and we'll figure it out!" What a good hubby! I was a little annoyed this am when Bella popped up to get ready for school with him like it was the easiest thing and everyday I get her up to go with me it's a fight to the death. Oh well at least it was a whine free am (well sort of).  Best part of this bed rest thing is I'm going to get a ton of work done for my job and really get to catch up on all my crappy reality TV and soaps. Can't complain about that!

Happy crazy busy New Year!

What a weekend this started out as. So Friday morning I woke up with killer contractions that lasted all day. By Friday evening they were strong and 4-5 min apart. Ironically Eddie was at work at the restaurant and waiting on my doctor.  He advised we go into the emergency labor and delivery.  We headed in about 10:30. After being hooked up to monitors I was having them about 4 min apart. They checked my cervix and I was 1-1.5 cm dilated. Then they gave me a shot of Terbutaline to stop the contractions. This this helped calm them but didn't stop them. After that Med wore off they came back strong again. Around 1:00 they decided to give me a different med Ketorolac.  Around 1:30 I had fallen asleep for a bit. At 3 the nurse came in to discharge me even though I had had contractions the whole time they were much more mild and 6 min apart. Lucky me at this point they suddenly got much stronger and painful. They checked my cervix again and I was still the same thank God! Seeing as we live 2 seconds away they sent us home with a happy dose of Ambian.
So I see my doctor again on Tue and as of now it sounds like if I have dilated anymore they will give me a steroid treatment to strengthen the babies lungs and figure out a c-section date ASAP. I also received my official paperwork for a date for my section as long as things clam down. We were hoping for Feb 14 but it looks like Feb 15.
So needless to say this New Year started out pretty busy and uncomfortable.  Let's hope that's not a sign of the year to come. I'll keep everyone updated on what's going on as soon as I hear. Hope you all had an awesome New Years!