Me at 37 weeks

Here's me at 37 weeks.

Lovely, hmmmm?

Saturday Fun

This morning, we drove to our friends home in a nearby town where they were participating in the "National Walk for Epilepsy". Instead of walking in the national walk in downtown D.C.. they organized a local team and walked their neighborhood with family and friends. We got there a bit late, but did participate in part of the walk. The morning weather wasn't the greatest - a slight cold drizzle has been falling throughout the day. Andrew wore his purple epilepsy walk t-shirt - which he's wearing in the photo above. As most of you know, Andrew has seizures which occur daily and do interfere with his life, growth and development. For the girls.....their minds were not on participating in the walk, they were more interested in what was coming next.........

About four times per year, a church in our community holds a respite day for families with kids with special needs and their siblings. We found out about these great days about a year ago and have signed up for every one since. The girls play for four straight hours...moon bounce, toys, crafts, food, nail painting, hair cuts and so on with the same two girls who have assisted them this whole time. Amelia and Ava talk about these girls and their day quite a lot. Andrew is also assigned a helper and also participates in the activities set up. Today he went on the moon bounce, ate and hung out with friends from his school. Dave and I ran errands and had lunch at a new BBQ place in downtown Frederick. Our whole family always looks forward to these respite days. This one happened to fall on quite an appropriate weekend. :)

One week countdown

I'm in my 36th week of pregnancy! Anxiously awaiting next Thursday.....

I wanted to post a bit about how I feel and how I look now that the pregnancy is almost finished.....

In the beginning, I couldn't even imagine a baby here with us. Now over the course of this month, we have gotten the room ready, bought diapers, washed clothes and so on, but things aren't as organized and as "perfect" as they were 10 years ago with our first baby- but I guess that's typical.

I was getting Andrew ready for school yesterday - my big old self on the floor changing all 80lbs of him and realized just then how months ago I was certain that either the baby would have been here by now, or I would be stuck in a bed, or I would have had to hire someone to help me care for Andrew and the girls, but no. YEAH!! I am moving around (not as usual) but definately able to take care of my kids, husband and home - so for that I am really happy and grateful. Everyone has been wishing me well and checking in with us and telling us it will all be okay. For this I am also grateful. Friends and family are asking about plans once the baby is home, but to be honest I can't get past next Thursday and meeting Jenna and seeing if she is okay. Friends have told me that "lightening doesn't strike twice" well it has already for us - no explanations whatsoever. I can only hope that the constant monitoring of this pregnancy and my taking lovenox will make all the difference this time around.

From my updates, everyone knows I am over 180lbs. Yikes! If I do say so, my weight though is mostly in my belly, but now I am starting to see it in my legs and face a bit. I am still able to wear my rings, so my hands are the same size. The baby moves, or should I say rolls around a lot. I feel movement into my ribs and my upper torso the most. Sleeping has been a nightmare. I don't even want to go to bed at night, because I just toss and turn and am very restless. I definately have periods of sleep and then wakefulness - maybe this will be the baby's kind of schedule....???... The lack of sleep is a mixture of being uncomfortable and my constant thinking about what I need to do the next day and in the weeks ahead. For the lack of sleep I am having, I have a good amount of energy in the day. My left leg has always been sore, but now I describe the pain as a fiery pins and needles. My skin isn't hot to touch or anything like that, just sore and is a shooting pain at times. I believe this is my uterus expanding into my sciatic nerve. This leg has also been affected by vericose veins. Pretty gross to look at. I can't seem to find a comfortable position - whether it be sleeping, sitting, standing...it all is tough. These aren't complaints, just wanted to document how my body has responded to being pregnant at age 38 - a month shy of 39.

I thought Dave and the kids might be realizing my discomfort...I know Dave does...not so sure of the kids though. Amelia told me recently she didn't want to cross her fingers anymore (we've been crossing our fingers for Jenna to be okay this whole pregnancy). I asked why, thinking she was being sympathetic. Her answer was this.... "she didn't want another baby after this one, just a dog".

Tomorrow two of my brothers go to Sanibel, Florida for our annual family vacation. Just so happens Jenna will be born the week of our annual trip we've been taking for most of my life, so we along with my mom are here! Don't really want to remind the kids that they are missing their happy beach/Sanibel time. :)

Doctor Appointment Update

Doctor visit today, all was good. BP was good, weight was 183lbs. Sonogram showed baby's heartrate fine, breathing motions, amniotic fluid levels the same. The baby was laying head down with her hand to her mouth. The bio-physical profile was all normal.

I recieved a call out of the blue on Monday from one of my OB doctors. Turns out the NICU doctor I met with last week sent a note to some doctors who he would like to have come look at the baby once she is born, one of the doctors being the pediatric hematologist. Well......my OB spoke with him on the phone Monday and this doctor didn't feel too comfortable discussing our case with her in great detail, so she asked me to call him. I did yesterday. He wanted to meet with me yesterday. I couldn't. So, we set up a meeting time next week. I was hoping there would be no more doctor visits, but of course I would do anything to make sure everything is good for the baby, but once again on the other hand, I don't want to drive and explain our case once again, when it has been explained to doctors at Hopkins, Kennedy Krieger, Shady Grove, Children's and Georgetown. I don't feel that there is much more to learn at this point and even if there was the baby would be here two days later. I do understand the doctor is probably just requesting this visit to be 100% professional. Today, I did ask my OB what he thought about me having to meet the doctor in person, instead of just a phone consultation. He also thought that this was excessive. The hematologist did say that he would visit the baby in the hospital anyway - no matter what. So, I think I may cancel this visit telling him it's just too much of a drive. My doctors were to fax important records to him. I also offered this doctor my records by fax so that he could see what was going on.

With regards to the c-section, I confirmed with the doctor that I would be stopping the Lovenox injections Tuesday morning, no food after midnight on Wednesday and off to the hospital for a 6:30am arrival on Thursday. The doctor who is performing the c-section is away this week on vacation. I do have an appt. to see the OB one more time next Wed. We're getting very, very CLOSE.........................

Doctor Appointment Update

A couple of doctor visits today...

First: at 11am - met with the NICU doctors at Shady Grove Hospital. I was told to meet the doctor at the NICU. Looked the same as it did 10 years ago. Wasn't too comfortable sitting there - brought back very scary, sad times. On the flip side though, the doctor I met with was very kind and was eager to listen. He had pulled Andrew's records and received some from my doctors now on this pregnancy. Routinely, a doctor from the NICU is at all c-sections. If the baby is born and is in any kind of distress they will take her immediately to the NICU, otherwise she will stay with me. The doctor also said if she was fine he would like to run a few more blood tests as well as an ultrasound scan of her head. The doctor looked over my fetal MRI findings which were normal and the fact that I am almost at term and carrying a girl, he thought this was all good.

Second: Went right to my weekly OB appt. All was good. BP 107/56, weight 181lbs. The baby is now measuring 6lbs 11oz ( an ounce shy of Andrew's birth weight) and everything looks good. The baby is even measuring ahead of schedule on some of the formulas which brings me to worry that my water will break before April 2nd and throw off the whole plan! The doctor said it was of course a possibilty, but no worries. The amniotic fluid levels were about the same at 25, heartbeat and breathing motions all were normal. Also the strep B test was done on me.

So, next week I'll see them on Wednesday.

Happy St. Patrick's Day today. We all wore our green today!!

Ode to Lovenox

Back in August at that first surprising OB visit, I was given the direction to start Lovenox injections (30mg shots twice per day). These syringes come pre-filled and are very easy to administer.

Since that time....... let me see....... I've injected myself everyday, twice a day (some 200 days = 400 injections). At first I was nervous- not knowing what side effects there would be, or how painful it would be. Now, after all these months, I can say it's just part of my day (but I have to say, I won't miss this part of my day after the baby comes!!). I give myself a shot at 8am and 8pm - around the time Andrew is given his daily seizure medicines. At first the shots were administered inches from my belly button into a fat fold, now that my belly has explanded and there are no fat folds, I have been injecting myself further out of my belly by my hips. Some days the shot sting and other days I feel nothing. In the beginning, I was experiencing a bruise at the injection site, but for the most part now, no bruises - just a tiny needle mark.

The lovenox is a low weight molecular heparin that does not transfer accross to the baby. Lovenox is used to treat blood clotting disorders. Although, I have not been diagnosed with any blood disorders, it was decided years ago, that if I were to be pregnant again, lovenox was the treatment that I would be given. I am not sure at this point if I will continue the lovenox shots after the baby comes for a month or so, or if I stop the shots the 2 required days before the c-section for good. We will see.

So.... now we have gotten this far - 35 weeks today and everything is looking good. Only a few more weeks and keeping my fingers crossed.

Quick Update

Saw the kidney specialist here in Frederick today. All was fine. Yes, I have abnormal findings in my urine, but I have had them most of my life. If there was a signifcant problem, I would have lost my kidney function by now, so he advised to have my general practioner follow me once a year and if anything unusual is found, then back to the kidney doctor, but he doesn't need to see me otherwise. I have been told this by nephrologists in the past. The protein in my urine is of concern and should be followed given my history of pre-ecclampsia, but at this time the elevated protein, but good kidney function with no other symptoms can be explained by my body working harder than normal for the pregnancy.

Off to buy paint for the baby's room!!

Doctor Visit

Doctor's visit was yesterday. All is good. I am 34 weeks pregnant! My vitals: BP 121/61, Weight 180lbs.

The sonogram tech. did a biophysical profile - just checking heartbeat, amniotic fluid and general wellness of the baby. All was good. The baby had her arms crossed over her face again. The technician measured several different times for amniotic fluid levels (a concern at the last visit). One was at 30 and the other still at 24. Met with Dr. Matia. She was the first doctor I saw on that very first appt. back in August. The four doctors of the practice have all been working together following my case, but it was nice to see her in person again. Seeing her reminded me of those feelings of shock and disbelief that I had from that very first appt. Dr. Matia also measured the amniotic fluid level and came up with 24 - which is high-norm and the same as last week. So, no worries.

Dr. Matia answered a lot of questions regarding the c-section. I asked about possibly discussing our case with a NICU doctor ahead of time. Dr. Matia thought this was a very good idea and would set that up. If there are any troubles at delivery, the doctors would have an understanding ahead of time of our past circumstances.

I return to the doctor next Wednesday. The photo at the top is of Ava finally being "doctored" (a dream of hers).....

The ever changing week

What was the last line in my last post earlier today? Something along the lines of a quiet Friday at home?

Well......., no............... Got a call from my OB office around 10:30 am. The doctors there feel that I should go ahead and get the lung steroid shots (which strengthen the baby's lungs) for the baby right away in case I go into pre-term labor or develop pre-ecclampsia in the next few weeks. So, for this to happen I had to call and ask Dave to come home early for the kids, go down to Shady Grove Hospital, be admitted, and go to labor and delivery for 20 minutes of monitoring the baby's heartbeat and then a BETA steroid shot. And I get to go back tomorrow for the same thing! Cheeeezz.... I was a bit nervous this morning after this news wondering why the tone had changed with my care, but I should be happy the doctors are keeping a close watch on me and the baby. This shot is supposed to be a miracle for those who have had a baby born too early. After the shots, I believe there needs to be a day or so for the shot to take it's full effect.

Good news though, the baby looked great on the heartrate monitor and it was nice to actually hear that "thump-thump" which I don't get to hear being everything with me and the baby has been followed through ultrasound scans. I also got to scout out the labor and delivery floor which is all different from when Andrew was born in 1999.

More urine test results came back today. I do not have a urinary tract infection (which I was pretty sure I didn't). I have an appt. with a nephrologist next Saturday just to get an opinion from a kidney specialist.

Our Bumpy Week

The week started off different than I had planned. Andrew woke Sunday morning with a head cold. Monday, March 2nd we had a significant amount of snow fall which closed schools and kept Dave home from work. While home on Monday, Andrew had zero cold symptoms (in terms of runny nose, cough, sneezing), but was breathing very rapidly and sleeping constantly. By 3:00pm Dave brought Andrew to the local urgent care clinic. After hours of testing they diagnosed Andrew with an ear infection and sent him home with an antibiotic. By night time Andrew was sleeping, but was breathing so hard he looked as if he was running a marathon in his sleep. Very scary. We called his pediatrician who said she would call in nebulizer breathing medicine, so out Dave went to the 24 hour pharmacy to pick them up. We gave Andrew two treatments throughout the night, now his nose was running a bit and he was making gurgly breathing noises, but still very rapid breathing. Tuesday, I brought Andrew to the pediatrician where his oxygen levels in his blood were measuring 84-88%. They should be 95% or higher. Our doctor said to go to the emergency room and said when she called the hospital that they indicated he should be taken by ambulance. I did not want to leave him in the ambulance alone, so I said I would drive him over (a quick drive). Dave was already on his way to meet me, as well as Grandma to pick up the girls and take them home.

Andrew was admitted to the hospital Tuesday and needed oxygen and continuous breathing treatments. Doctors said he was wheezing badly and would need to be put in the PICU because he would need those continuous treatments. After many pokes and tests, it was determined that Andrew had an upper respiratory infection - not pneumonia or RSV or the flu. Dave spent the night with Andrew. Dave slept on the floor, because he is way to big for those pull out chairs. By morning, Andrew was not needing oxygen anymore and the breathing treatments were moved to an hourly schedule. Doctors released Andrew about 3:00pm on Wed. Pheew!! I thought for sure it would be a several day stay. It usually is. Andrew hasn't been in the hospital since around age 2, but things at the ol' hospital were very much the same. Andrew's been home from school yesterday and will stay home today. He looks much better.

Wednesday was my weekly doctor appt. The office is within walking distance from the hospital. So, Dave stayed with Andrew while I went to my appt. My vitals were fine. All was okay, except my amniotic fluid level is measuring the high end of normal (24). My usual is 16-18. The doctor said not to worry. The nurse also found a level of blood in my urine (which actually is my norm) - indicating a possible bladder infection. I told her I had no symptoms of one. So, I was asked to give a sample for a more detailed urinalysis and blood was also drawn. The nurse called yesterday with the results to tell me my urine did show more than a trace of blood in it and they want me to see a kidney specialist now. Uuuughhh! So, I have an appt. with a doctor here in Frederick next Sat. to discuss my kidneys. I return to the OB next Tuesday for my routine exam.

The girls started back up again Wed. & Thurs. with their morning pre-school programs. They have been waiting and waiting and waiting for their school day to come for months now. So, happy Amelia off to her 4 year old class, and you know she's 5 now :) and for happy Ava to go back and play with her friend Kendall with the braids. :)

Today is Friday and it's the morning. Hopefully the day will be an easy one.

ONE Month Countdown....

Along with our doctors, Dave and I have scheduled a c-section date for April 2, 2009, 8:30 a.m. at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville. If I make this date, I will be 37 weeks, 3 days pregnant. Delivering the baby a few weeks early was always the original plan. The plan was to schedule a c-section in the 36 or 37th week for many reasons. Reasons....... - I've had a previous c-section, the placenta has been either low lying or actually covering my cervix this entire time, I have been giving myself Lovenox shots daily which thin out my blood and if not addressed properly by surgery time could cause complications. The doctor said she could set up the c-section for either April 1st or 2nd. Dave preferred not to have the baby born on April Fools Day, so April 2nd it is! Here's to one more month of smooth sailing.....

And now the other exciting news...... (many of you already know this)

We've decided on naming our baby girl - Jenna Danielle. Of course with me, there are reasons for everything. First off - no, we did not choose another "A" name. Our intention 10 years ago wasn't to go crazy with "A" names - it kind of just worked out that way.

We chose Jenna one night back in October while watching "The Office" on TV (goofy yes). One of the actresses is named Jenna. We both looked at each other and decided that was it and we haven't thought of any other name since.

We had trouble choosing a middle name until Dave's brother Steve helped us out. Sorry Steve!! On Thanksgiving night, Dave's brother and sister in law Heather asked if we had thought of names, we said we were still thinking. Steve mentioned he loved the name Danielle and that was a name he wanted to use. I didn't think much of it until the drive home when we both discussed that that name worked very well with Jenna and also honored our Jacob Daniel. So, one month later during our Christmas celebration we asked Steve if it was okay to use the name..... we got the okay. It's been Jenna Danielle ever since. We've seen her weekly on ultrasound and I've felt her move for months now, but now we just need to meet her, see her and hold her.