No Christmas Baby

Well blog followers....here is my Christmas baby to the left. It looks like Harley and Jake get to be the Christmas babies around here once again. I've got another two week check up on Tuesday, Dec. 29th. I had a sono today and everything checks out well and stable so there is no rush to get her outta there without a good enough reason. Her vents stayed stable since two weeks ago (and for many weeks before that too) and her head is measuring right along track. She is at the 54% for head circumference and growth which is right in the middle, not too big and not too small. Her est. weight today was about 6 pounds 13 ounces. I do know she is feeling heavy in there esp. when she squirms around. She takes up every available spot in my torso. Thank goodness I'm a little on the taller side and have a longer torso that can stretch. If not, she would be really cramped and me too! Although some days I would love for her to be out, I think it's best she stay in and bake some more and give me some more time to deal with the impending labor that I have to go through. I'll be 37 weeks tomorrow so my next check up is right before 39 weeks. I never imagined we'd make it to 37 weeks or even 39 weeks! I thought for sure back a couple months ago she'd be here already and probably in the NICU for a little bit. Thank goodness things have remained stable and she is doing well. At this point, I'm not even sure if surgery would take place right after birth or what. I would like to ask that question but as I mentioned before, I'm staying off the neurosurg's radar for the time being. Every time we have an OB/sono appt. I think it's that time and it turns out to be not "that" time. I still haven't packed that hospital bag but I think I need to tomorrow or Thursday. I just want to be prepared since I'm getting down to the wire.

I told the doc today that although it would be great to have baby before Christmas I also don't mind returning the a couple outfits if that means labor is pushed off another week or so. As you can see, it's not something I'm looking forward to. =)

We got some good deals with Babies R Us coupons on our stroller and infant seat so while Jay put it together in the living room tonight I couldn't help but put Jake in for a ride and picture. He was such a good boy sitting there. He didn't even move. If I could mix Harley and Jake together to make 1 dog, it would be the perfect dog however apart they are bad! =) Sorry boys.

As for us... we are just waiting. Things are ready for baby and almost ready for Christmas. I can't believe it's next week already. Crazy how time flies. I was waiting for her arrival for Christmas cards but it seems I should get my Christmas cards out very soon since she probably won't be here. Thanks for reading and I think I covered everything. Have a very Merry Christmas since I probably won't be updating before Christmas unless she makes her entrance into the world before then.

Buying Time...Week 36

I haven't really taken any belly shots during pregnancy or posted any so I figured for those who never see me... here is a picture at 35.5 weeks (this weekend). I made sure to cut my head out of it in case it surfaces anywhere else, ha.
I had my OB appt. today and I think it was a good one. I'm 2 cm dilated, 50 percent effaced and my cervix is soft. Based off that, it seems I could possibly go into labor early on my own. I doubt I would in the next week but I guess you never really know. I've bought another week and 1 day though. I have a sono appt. on Tuesday, Dec. 15th and my next OB appt. directly after it to do another check. They want to see where her head measurements are next week. As I mentioned before, things are stable but her head has been measuring about 2 weeks ahead of schedule as it's been mostly the entire pregnancy. Her head can't get too big though because I wouldn't be able to deliver vaginally. As we were told today, her head measurement can't really get too much past 40 weeks as those babies heads with increased vents/fluid don't really conform through the birth canal like other babies do. So, perhaps next week is looking better than this week. Either way, I'm happy there will be no labor induction this week except if it came on it's own. Although I'd like to avoid it all together (labor-fat chance), I'd be fine with week 37. I'd like to avoid the week of Christmas if possible. Just seeing the signs for the Labor and Delivery unit got my heart rate up today, lol. It's quickly approaching.


Here is a cute picture of Harley that I thought I would post, lol. He is such a rotten dog! I didn't really have too many pictures for this post so I thought I'd throw him on here.

As for all our nesting work... Jay finished the hall bathroom painting last week and we both like it a lot. He touched up some marks and scrapes throughout the entire house. We started painting our bedroom last night. While I was down on the ground cleaning the baseboards I thought to myself I must be insane. I'm almost 36 weeks pregnant, I've got this big belly, my back is sore and I'm cleaning the baseboards when I should have my feet up watching TV, lol. Before we started it sounded like a better idea. However, the room needed this so we'll just continue. One coat of paint is on 3 walls. We'll finish it up tonight and then work on the last wall. I also cut up some cracked caulk up the stairs and re-caulked it. For anyone with a newly built house or maybe just Ryland builders, contractors LOVE to hide their mistakes with caulk. It must be like the "fix it all" material...something like duct tape. I have a lot more to do sooner or later.
I guess that's about it for now with the Cox family. No name for baby. I think we are getting close ha or not!

Approaching 9 Months

Tomorrow, Wednesday will put me at 35 weeks which means I'm one week short of 9 months already. Crazy how time flies. I had my OB appt yesterday and my sono today. Jay had some time to use or lose at work before he takes his "maternity" leave so he was able to join me at both this week. He usually can only make one appt since it's been back to back days the last couple weeks.
I've put him up to a little work around the house during his days off. Since we had the paint supplies out for the baby's room, we bought paint for the hall bathroom so that's now painted. We didn't paint it from the beginning because it was a bathroom not used but now I have the Whale baby tub in there so I figured it's not like we are moving anytime soon...I might as well use the bathroom. I'd also like to do our bedroom too since we bought paint two years ago for it and never got around to doing it. It's almost time to change our decor in the bedroom and we are just getting around to painting! ha! Truly though the problem with our bedroom is the furniture is too heavy for me to help Jay move it away from the wall so we need a second male. It would have been painted a long time ago if I was able to move the furniture.
But anyway, back to the appt. Yesterday's OB appt was the usual... weight, blood pressure, heartbeat check, measurement of the belly... all within normal limits which is great. When I started some swelling I started flipping myself out over my blood pressure. It's still remains my norm.. which is low. I talked to the doc about induction based off Dr. A's thoughts so I have another appt. next Monday to make sure everything remains good with me and check my cervix and see if it's "favorable" for induction. That was pretty much it. Today's sono was good. Everything is stable and the same except her "chunkyness" as Aunt Jennie called it. Per the sono machine and Jen's measurements, she is weighing in about 6 pounds 11 ounces. I find it REALLY hard to believe. I'm estimating a little bit smaller than that, lol. She just can't be that big already but I know it's a good sign since I will be getting induced before 40 weeks. However, I do feel the heaviness in my belly that's now getting bigger. My numbness has moved along my right side now which is probably because she is getting so big and pulling down. We located her foot which is under the right side of my rib cage that continues to get kicked. It's a feeling I just haven't learned to love. It's getting very tight in there with her being so big. I just wonder when it'll be not enough room, lol. At the end of the sono, the doc came in and we discussed a little bit about induction and 36 weeks. He said it's based off my cervix and if it's "favorable" for induction. If it hasn't started to get shorter then labor would be really rough. Since things are stable there is not a hugh rush to even go through all that. I guess basically it's still a waiting game until Monday's appt. I'm happy we *might* not be looking at 36 weeks because I'd like her to be as well developed as possible before coming out but I also wanted to avoid being so close to Christmas and the possibility of not being able to take her home. I'm going to email the neurosurg again for some better information about taking her early and the plan after delivery. It's getting close and I feel completely lost in what will be happening.
That was about it for both my appt. this week. I've washed a lot of blankets, towels, wash clothes, some clothes, socks, and packed the diaper bag in case we can take her home right away. The room is pretty much together. We have done lots of exchanges and buying and seem to be well prepared and just waiting. I'm going through the nesting phase in rapid motion. I don't even seem to stop because there is always things to do... I think next on my list is ripping up calking in the foyer and replacing it. It's starting to split and look a mess. And the bedroom needs painted.. maybe this weekend, lol, lots to do! =)
Like I said earlier, my next OB appt. is next Monday. I'll update afterwards.

Baby's Room

Yes, I'm still calling her Baby! It's her name for right now. I don't even want to say again that we don't have a name but we don't. With about 2 to 2.5 weeks to go it won't be long until we don't have much of a choice anymore. She'll eventually get a name even if it's once she comes out. She likes "baby" though! hehe!

Just to update... I did get an email back from the neurosurg who said delivery would be good about 36 weeks. I turn 36 weeks on December 9th. That's two weeks away from tomorrow, Nov. 26th. That's really close for those don't realize it! Very, very close. I hope she continues to pick up weight nicely so she'll be a nice weight when she comes out. He said he is fine with whichever delivery method the OBs feels comfortable with since her head remains below 40 weeks. That was a plus. I'd like to try vaginally before going for a c-section but I guess we'll see. After realizing it's so close, I'd like to push for 38 weeks but I don't get a say in this matter unfortunately. But at times when my skin doesn't feel like it'll stretch anymore, my ankles are now swelling and I can't hardly sleep for longer than a couple hours, I say...maybe 36 weeks isn't THAT bad, lol. I've finally developed some swelling. I guess I've been rather lucky to just pick it up about 8.5 months along. My ankles get swollen at the end of the day. My face was a little swollen over the weekend after laying in bed for a very long time. It was so nice though because I know those days are coming to an end. My fingers still remain fine which is great.

I wanted to post some pictures of her room. We finally had Stacie finish up.. or at least finish up for now. The picture to the left is above the closet and it has lady bugs across the top. They are super cute and my favorite design in the bedroom.

This picture is the wall with the window (obviously). We painted a shelf and hung it. Stacie painted three flowers above it to match the quilt/bedding. I thought it might look like a flower box. Either way, it's cute, lol. Two more little lady bugs opposite colors are above the window. I've been going back and forth about a valance. I just can't decide.

This next picture is the other side of that wall where the glider goes. Above the glider we found the cutest saying "Some people dream of Angels I hold one in my arms." How cute is that?? I thought it worked perfectly on that wall since we didn't have much to go there.. and it's right above the glider too.

Aunt Jennie bought us this cute saying picture. I hung it above the door. It didn't quite match colors but I had to put it somewhere. Above the door fit perfectly. It says " Life is not a matter of milestones, but of Moments." Considering we have no idea what we are dealing with, I thought it fit us perfectly.

This is a picture of the two butterflies above the crib. I want to put her name rounded above the crib. We have to figure that name out before I can get the letters. Originally i wanted it painted but me and Stacie both realized semi-gloss on semi-gloss isn't the best combo so I'm going to just buy letters. I wanted to be a little more creative since the rest of the room is painted but it looks like store-bought letters it is. They will be white and I'm going to leave them plain white unless they don't stand out enough.

So there you have it.. the room still needs a little work. A couple spots still look bare but I've bugged Stacie enough two weeks in a row. I told her she could have a break and when she comes to see baby, she can throw a couple more butterflies on the wall to fill in bare spots. The Cox family would like to give a great big THANKS to her though for coming two weeks in a row to work on the room.

I have to get the mobile together for the crib. I washed two loads of sheets, blankets, socks, onesies, a couple outfits, receiving blankets, lap pads, bibs, and sleeper to get ready. We have a lot of clothes so I will only take tags off as we go just in case she won't get to wear all of them. I rather exchange for large sizes to get some use out of them.

Today I had a surprise shower given by my co-workers. It was very nice. I was very surprised. I didn't even suspect a thing, see anything suspicious in the morning or anything! Although I walked in on it about 3-5 minutes too early, it still was a shock, haha. We received a Babies R Us gift card that will be put to good use for the odds and ends we still need and diapers and more diapers!!! =)

I'll post again on Tuesday evening to update on my OB appt. and next sono appt. That'll put us 1 day away from 35 weeks. Hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving and good luck in the shopping crowds. I haven't decided if I even feel like venturing out but I know one thing... it won't be at 5 am.

Also, the Kennedy Krieger Festival of Trees is taking place at the fairgrounds and it's very nice event for children and even adults. Visit Friday, Sat or Sunday and support the Institute. We'll be there bright and early on Saturday morning for the Employee Appreciation Event with Jay's parents and niece.

An Ode to Aunt Jennie

This post is dedicated to the lovely woman who does my ultrasound scans every two weeks. She wanted to make sure she is recognized for her work, 3D pictures and patience with patients, lol. Okay, so maybe the first two are correct but those who see her facebook status updates while at work know the third is NOT! The Cox family would like to thank her for all the great pictures and scans. As for today's scan, we are still remaining stable. The vent size has increased about 1 mm since two weeks ago but she has also grown too 2 weeks worth so that's what the docs estimate will happen. We are happy with that and her head continues to measure the same. I had an OB appt. yesterday and asked the doc about a vaginal birth and she doesn't see why it can't happen as long as her head remains within normal limits. I emailed our neurosurg about this question too but I'm waiting for a reply. I just wanted figure out what I should expect. I also asked him what week is he pushing for as I would like to get prepared. The sono machine measurements estimate her weighing about 4 pounds 9 ounces but that's just a rough estimate. She is practicing her breathing Aunt Jennie pointed out so she is at least doing some work in there instead of being lazy, =). She probably knows her mom is all about productivity!

Our next OB visit is Monday, Nov. 30th and sono is Tuesday, Dec. 1st. That sono will put me 1 day away from 35 weeks. That's probably the time I will start to panic as it's almost time for her to come out then. Help me!

We finished the painting in her room and Stacie has started painting the wall decorations to match the theme (Luv Bug) which are very cute. I only have pictures of the plain walls to post right now. I'll post some decoration pictures soon.

All the furniture is together. The crib mattress came in. The window blind is up. Most baby shower gifts are put away. I have a lot of laundry to get around to soon. We have a couple more items to pick up at Babies R Us to get ready and then I think we are good to go.

Thanks for the continued concern, support and prayers as I'm still as worried as ever about this whole thing. As much as stable vents and head growth sounds fantastic, it still doesn't mean everything is fine. The unknown is very scary still and constantly on my mind.

Baby Shower

No updates on baby right now but I wanted to post some pictures of our baby shower we had this past weekend. I'd have to say it was a success and we have to thank our parents, grandparents, family and friends who helped put the entire shower together. It was very nice and thoughtful to help us on our way. Not too much longer. I turn 32 weeks tomorrow (8 months) and I'm really feeling this belly pop out... it might not be a big belly but it sure feels like to me and my skin that doesn't feel it can stretch anymore! I guess the plus about delivering early is that I don't have an extra 3 weeks (week 38-39-40) of stretching to go, hehe. She is rather active in there. Last night before I feel asleep I thought there was a party going on. The 3rd trimester tiredness has really kicked in. Some days are worse than others. Last week in the morning I thought I needed a nap already and I was only up for 1 hour so far. It was a rough drive to work and I got a full 8 hours of sleep. Someone help me once she actually gets here and I have to keep waking up for diaper changes and feedings! Back to the shower... she has lots of cute clothes that I hope she can wear before she grows out of them. I have no idea how big she'll be when she comes out and gets to come home but hopefully she hasn't out grown the newborn clothes by then since she has very cute newborn outfits! We also have a bunch of 0-3, 3-6 and 6 months clothes. Plus, I can't forget all the clothes we have picked up in the last couple months. I've tried to contain myself and limit the amount of clothes bought as I know they grow fast and never get to wear everything but sometimes it's just too hard to resist. Thanks to Jen who made the cute diaper cake at the top of the post. Very nicely done. She was just trying to out-do my diaper cake I made her. We also got a high chair, booster chair/seat (for traveling), diaper bags, boppy seat, bouncy gym, floor gym/play yard, co-sleeper for our room, diapers, wipes, tons of blankets, bath accessories, video & sound baby monitor, bottles, nipples, socks, shoes, infant toys, ninnies (nuks/pacifiers), and more that I can't remember right now. Our living room is still a diaster. Jay started putting the furniture together so I was able to put some things away or at least store them in the chest and dresser to free some floor space up. The room has been painted. I just have a couple touch ups from where some paint slipped under the trim tape and it's ready for decorations! I want her name painted on the wall but we are still nameless! I guess I'll just map out the area for her name and go from there. There are still lots of things we need to get to be prepared for baby like an infant seat and bases, video camera and stroller snap and go (fits the infant seat). The rest of things I think can wait until she is a little bigger like the regular car seat. We'll have to get those things in the next couple weeks. There should be more pictures to come but they are on different camera.

We visited the pediatricians office last night for a meet and greet with one of the docs and the medical assistants supervisor. We'll be taking her to JH Community Physicians in White Marsh which is where our primary care docs are located. It's actually right across waiting rooms. It's pretty close to home...only about 5-10 minute drive. It's a group so although we pick a primary doc for her, for sick calls, we could see anyone. I actually like groups because I feel you can get an appt. faster. I know the single doc practices are probably more personable and they probably know you and baby better but I like to make sure I can get in when I need to so I'm okay with a group practice. Some parents were there last night doing their "interviews" and had been around the Baltimore area looking already. That's not us! We'll be fine there unless an issue turns up that we need to leave and find someone else.

Almost 31 Weeks Update

There weren't really any pictures from today's sono so I put this one up that looks like she is picking her nose. Perhaps boogies in utero are a problem? Not sure =)
Things look the same, which is a plus. I always have fingers crossed for dramatic improvement but we are both happy with stable vents, which means no increasing. Head size is fine as well. We'll measure her growth next sono Jen said.
Next sono scheduled for two weeks, Nov. 17th. Next OB appt. Nov. 16th. That'll put me a day before 33 weeks (for the sono).
At this weeks OB appt. I brought up my numbness issue and there wasn't much to go on besides it's most likely not a big issue. It's actually felt alright today but I think probably toward the end of the day, gravity starts to take its toll on the muscle that attaches to the rib cage. Either way, it's bothering me right now and it's uncomfortable.
Jay is upstairs painting right now. We picked out two colors that fit perfectly with the bedding and perfectly together until we got both colors on the walls. Unfortunately, I'll be returning back to Home Depot this evening to buy another gallon of paint hoping we get the right color. I hate to be wasteful and waste money of course but I just can't keep this one shade of purple on the wall. It's not cute at all!

Home from Vacation

We returned from vacation yesterday (Friday) back to the lovely clouds and chills of Baltimore. Although I was ready to get home as we had a packed weekend head of us, I certainly didn't want to leave the weather. It was a little hotter (some days) than I would have liked but it was still better than this! Overall the weather was great and we both got a little tan to carry us for a month or so before winter begins. Key West was having their annual Fantasy Fest and boy was it a sight. Quite the craziness going on down there for 10 days around Halloween. It was great entertainment as we didn't have too much to do except relax. I'm glad Jay found himself amused so I hope it made up for the times I made him sit at the pool or beach, lol.

We had a Halloween party last night at Missi and Ryan's house. They have started hosting an annual Halloween Party and it was a fun time even though we didn't get to partake in adult beverages. We got home at 2 a.m. and it was pretty much the latest I had been out and up in a very, very long time. Probably Jay too. I looked down at my phone at 1:20 a.m. and thought I have to get out of here. It's past my bed time. How times have changed and I don't even have a child yet, lol. Our costumes weren't anything crazy or great but cheap and good enough, lol. We were a little mix of ghetto/gangster white folks. We didn't get the best picture as I had a baby prop I carried for awhile too dressed in our actual babies clothes. Jay actually fit the part too well, lol. He seemed to be a natural, hehe. As for me, I busted out the gold jewelry and the all time favorite "Golden Names" gold "CASEY" charm along with my herring bone necklace, pack of cigs on my bra strap (since pregnancy and cigs go well together), a mini jean skirt that didn't button around my belly, a black bra with a lovely "wife beater" tank and a little extra heavy eye liner complete with Nike tennis shoes. I had a couple fake tattoos too. Jay had a tat on his neck of a skull, big bling fake diamond earrings, white tshirt, do-rag under his cap, jean shorts down low, high white socks paired with camel colored Timberland's. He also had a big puffy black vest but he was too hot to wear it.


As for baby, we discussed names on vacation and have two to choose from. I hate making decisions of any kind and this is a serious one too! I wish she came out of the womb with a name around her neck or they assigned her a name at the hospital (within reason, lol). We'll decide soon! Her furniture is in so today we'll pick that up. We also visited Home Depot for paint. Jay thinks he'll get that done this weekend but we'll see. We got a couple outfits while on vacation that were on clearance. I love cheap stuff! =)

I hit 30 weeks on our 3 year anniversary, Oct. 28th. I think it's safe to say I've finally popped and now starting the uncomfortable stage. Sleeping and positioning is now becoming an issue. I also developed this numbness that comes and goes on my left side, top of the abdomen. I read it's pretty common in a lot of other ladies out there in the internet world. Most docs say (I've read) it's from stretching of the nerves, compression inside, etc... Either way, it's really annoying. It's usually relieved by sitting completely upright for awhile for the feeling to come back to normal. I can't really complain too much as I've had it physically rather easy up until now.
I got my H1N1 shot. I just took the leap of faith and so far so good! It's been two weeks and I'm still alive, lol. I knew it was the best thing for me, paired with my seasonal flu vaccine too. Now I'm on the watch for sick people around me. I've got my hand sanitizer with me at all times! I'm paranoid about catching it because I don't want to personally find out the effects of H1N1-influenza A on a pregnant woman. Plus, with the baby being too young for all those vaccines when she comes (flu/H1N1), this was the best way to protect her too. I can at least pass along my antibodies.
Our next OB appt. is this Monday and follow up sono again on Tuesday. It'll be two weeks since the last so fingers crossed and prayers being said, we'll continue to stay stable. Although in my weekly email update I get (for 30 weeks), it did say this was a time of brain growth where it gets that wavy look to it so I hope with the extra fluid and growth, her head doesn't make a big jump but obviously we need that growth! I guess we'll see on Tuesday but I can still worry in the meantime.

Chubby Cheeks

So, she is chubby and slightly uncooperative for her pictures but it's okay. I had a sono today compliments of Aunt Jennie. She didn't give us worse news so we'll keep her around until next time. Actually, she gave us pretty decent news. Her vents are stable, yay! It's been a little over 2 weeks since I was last scanned. Oct 1st to be exact. It's now 19 days later and we are holding around 21 mm I believe was the measurement. That's a slight decrease but it's all just a slight movement of the mouse but it's stable so that is what is good. I do believe her head might have increased a couple days but nothing to worry about. We are still in the normal range for that. As for her weight, well... she is a little big. Pushed past the 3 pound mark already but I can't remember exactly what Dr. Henderson told me. Jen might be able to chime in and refresh my memory. I have no idea how the chic has picked up so much weight since I've only gained about 10 pound or so the entire pregnancy but she has. As you can see, she holds most of her weight in her cheeks, lol. I'll be 29 weeks on Wednesday. Dr. Henderson would like to hold off for delivery at least 36-37 and I am fine with that. Although she already knows Dr. Ahn is pushing for something much earlier. I'll let them battle it out and I'll just show up when they tell me to. I have a repeat sono in two weeks which will now be my regular routine. Be on the look out for another update on Tuesday evening Nov. 3rd. I hope to continue to have good news to post that evening too!
As for us, we are going on vacation leaving Friday for 1 entire week! Yay! I think I might have mentioned something about it but I am not sure. I'll talk about it again though. We are heading to Key West where there is sunshine, water, and warm weather. Most of you know our vacation plans had to be cancelled the beginning of September because of all the doctors appointments we had to take care of. I was worried I wouldn't be able to get in a vacation because of the craziness going on at work but I am able to so I'm so thankful for that. It'll be nuts trying to catch up when I return but at least I'll be refreshed. There are no direct flights into Key West by Airtrain yet (Dec they start!) so we are flying into Miami and driving into Key West. I'm also fine with that!
My mom found my bedding set at Sears and it was so much cheaper than Baby Depot and Amazon. We'll get to paint sooner than expected but still not until we return from vacation. Well, I guess I can say Jay will get to paint sooner than expected. Sears doesn't carry many accessories so I kept a few things on the amazon.com registry but at least the big item is out of the way. It's very cute and hopefully she likes purple!
Other than that... I guess I'm out of updates. It's 7:30 p.m. and I already completed 8.5 hours of work today but I had to bring some things home with me to finish up on. It's the life of the Employee Health Nurse during flu and PPD season with added chaos of H1N1.

Progress in the Making

It's been a rather productive week and weekend so far. Last Tuesday night we started clearing out her room. Yes, just her as no name as been discussed. I guess that is so permanent that neither one of us has brought it up. We'll concentrate on the easy things right now. We didn't have too much in the room we designated as hers. It was Jay's old bedroom stuff from his parents house. We cleared out his dresser and another small dresser and gave it away to friends. We'll be giving Jay's parents the bed as they would like to down grade from a king to a queen. Yesterday Jay and I spent the majority of the day rearranging clothes and getting rid of some too. We both had to part with a couple memories and things we didn't want to throw away but you can really ONLY keep so much of that stuff. I had tons of stuff that I brought from my parents house 3 years ago and I just keep moving but never using. The trash men will love us tomorrow morning.
Cleaning out her closet was a big job as we didn't know where in the world all our clothes would go. After pulling out summer clothes and getting rid of some clothes too, we managed to get everything either into drawers or closets and not leaving anything except wedding/bridesmaids dresses in her closet (and 1 luggage set!). I still don't know what I'll do with them but I'm not too concerned right now.
We ordered her furniture off JC Penny website and a glider from Walmart. I sat in the most comfortable gliders at Babies R Us however, they were a little pricey. We went with a smaller version that had 3-4 stars at Walmart. It also matches the wood in her furniture. Hopefully it'll hold up and get the job done. And most of you know my motto...if it doesn't work or do the trick.. return it!
We won't paint until we get the bedding set since I'm rather particular and the paint has to match the bedding exactly. My girlfriend from work said she'd paint some decorations on the walls. I hope she remembers saying this because I'm holding her to her word, hehe. Thanks Stacie, in advance!!
On another note... I thought she would trying to get out last night. Now, she is really active at times... like every single night I lay down to sleep she decides it's time to wake up. She kicks and does whatever it is babies do in there but I had never experienced this... I was sitting on the couch last night watching TV in a strange kind of half crooked position, leaning back and I just happened to look down at the same time my whole entire stomach poked out. Jay was getting ready to walk into the kitchen for a snack but I stopped him and said "OMG, did you see that? Did you see that?" He said no, but he waited and within 10 seconds later, my whole entire stomach pushed over to the left, through my tank top and fleece top. It was the freakiest thing I'd ever seen. I immediately moved positions and stopped watching as it was rather strange... like the Friday 13th movie where the teenagers are inside Freddy's torso screaming and scratching to get out, lol. Just thought I'd share.
As for the rest of the weekend, I have to figure out how to fill out FMLA/STD paperwork for Human Resources. You would think with a masters degree I'd understand forms but this looks like it's written in a foreign language. It's a little hard to fill out because it keeps talking about the illness/injury, where you were first treated, who treated you, when can you work again, did you work a full day the day of the injury, lol. I'm like I don't really know when the "injury" happened... it was sometime in mid-April and I can't really say if I worked that day either! LOL Anyway, silly questions for STD pregnancy.

Our World: August and September 2009

Grab a cup of coffee because this is a long one... oh where to begin...
I became pregnant in April and had a funny feeling it was a girl. Maybe that was because I was wishing for a girl. However, Jay was wishing for a boy. Either way, we were excited for the news. We held off telling everyone until 12 weeks. That is approx. around the "weekage" where my rate of miscarriage dramatically decreases. We felt pretty comfortable at this point to tell close friends and family. Plus, sooner or later I couldn't keep up my non-alcoholic lifestyle. My friends would certainly start questioning it. I kept quiet at work until about 15 weeks and I finally told my boss and a couple close co-workers. I figured what is another week before I told anyone else so I kept quiet and just let the weeks pass by. I had scheduled my 18-20 week anatomy scan for 19 weeks. I thought by 19 weeks they could get a nice look at her to make sure everything checked out. I definitely was planning on letting the news out after this sono. At 18 weeks my friend Jen came back from maternity leave and I asked for a quick heart beat check to ease my anxiety. So, at some point on Wednesday, August 5th, I walked over to her unit and she took a peek. Our baby girl's brain ventricle was increased but not beyond normal but something certainly to keep track of. I was starting my last two weeks of my masters in nursing program on Tuesday, August 11th so I didn't need anything to get me worked up. I understood I should be aware of this issue but not flip out, yet! Me and Jay went to our sono appointment through Advanced Radiology at Franklin Square Hospital on Wednesday morning, August 12th. Everything looked beautiful but her ventricle was still high normal at 10 mm. The tech told me it was still measuring high normal, which was the same so I didn't completely freak out yet. I just started into my first week of my last class so I needed to stay focused. After 2 long, hard years of school, I couldn't screw it up now being so close to the finish line.
On Thursday, August 20th (Mamaw's Birthday!), we had our 5 month OB appointment. It was the usual appointment of blood pressure, urine sample, weight, check the fetal heart beat and speak with the doc. I explained my slight concern about her vents being enlarged to high normal. The doc wasn't too concerned but I explained to her what the JHH doc who spoke to Jen said so my doc though, what the heck, let's send you over to the main hospital to get a another detailed sono and consult with a Fetal Maternal Specialist. We made the appointment for Thursday, August 27th. Close to the worst day ever!
I had another 'off the record' scan on Friday, August 21st by Jen which showed her vent increased from 10 mm to 15 mm, not good. Needless to say, it was by far the worst weekend ever. I sat on the computer researching this issue and everything I could find related to it. I did laundry and research. I ate some food and researched some more.
Thursday, August 27th came and I took off work just in case I couldn't pull it together to go back into work. Good thought because I certainly couldn't have gone into work. The sono showed another slight increase from 15 mm to 17 mm. Everything else seemed to be fine, perfect. She had everything she was supposed to her in head but this increase vent size which was filled with fluid. We spoke with the doctor after the sono and he explained he was sure it was a diagnosis of aqueductal stenosis, which is a form of hydrocephalus. I had already researched this and was pretty familiar with it before meeting with him. He explained the prognosis is poor and he would have loved to be able to catch this at 16 weeks which would make termination a little easier. He suggested an amino to find out if it's chromosomal related but it wasn't like I really needed it because termination was close to the only option. I suggested a fetal MRI because I had read other stories about this diagnosis and a fetal MRI really shows if there is other anomalies and what could be the cause. He said he wouldn't really suggest it and is not sure where I could get it done. Basically... I could do whatever I wanted to do but it wouldn't change what is going on. I decided I was done with the conversation, I said thank you and I leave the building as quickly as possible. Not only did I want to run away from him but I wanted to run away from all of this like it was bad dream. Needless to say the rest of the day was not good in our world, mine especially. I felt pretty confident in what the doc told me but for some reason I wanted to just get another consult and further information so I scheduled another consult through JH High Risk OB where Somewhere in the week we were able to get an appointment with the pediatric neurosurg at JHH named Dr. Ahn. There was a cancellation and we got the spot right away. Dr. Ahn was down to earth and straight forward, which was great. I didn't want sugar coating but I also didn't want to talk termination either. I wanted the facts about this diagnosis and what we could expect if we continued the pregnancy. I wanted to know what others have went through, how they progressed, prognosis, etc... Unfortunately, we are dealing with a diagnosis that is rather rare, so rare only 1 in 1000 births have this complication. The research is poor. The journal articles are dated. The information on the net isn't enough. I explained I wanted a fetal MRI and he said good though. He would get us in as soon as possible which could mean a couple weeks. We left the office thinking we didn't have a couple weeks. I was soon to be 22 weeks pregnant and we had to make a decision about the future of this pregnany. Thank goodness for my connections at Kennedy Krieger (my job!) and a lovely doc I used to work with pulled some strings along with another nurse I think and got my fetal MRI scheduled fast. I guess somethings to actually come together. I have already typed a book so I won't go into how my first MRI was but let's just say baby girl cox better thank her mom when she is older and understands everything I went through for her. =)
Jen works, across the street from where I work. We had our next appointment on Thursday, September 3rd. We had a vacation scheduled for Friday, September 4th to see my family in Georgia and then fly to Miami to go on a cruise before I reached 24 weeks. Cruise lines or at least Royal Caribbean doesn't allow pregnant women who are 24 weeks and beyond. We were very excited for this trip as it would be our last vacation as just a couple. Unfortunately, with everything going on, we decided to cancel. There were too many unanswered questions and decisions that had to be made and I didn't want to push it off any further. So, as I said, we had our other consult scheduled. We first met with Cathy, the genetic counselor. She explained what we were dealing with and she explained a journal article about our baby's diagnosis giving us some prognosis information and looks into the future. We had a chance to talk about the situation and what our feelings were about it, something that had been hard for me and Jay to do because who really wants to discuss terminating your baby, no matter how far along you are. We explained we'd like as many answers as possible and would do whatever she recommends. She also had the results of the fetal MRI and she didn't go into detail but she did explain our baby had everything she was supposed to have in her brain, no other anomalies were noted except her vents are increased to now approx. 18.4 mm, bilaterally. That leads everyone to believe this diagnosis is aqueductal stenosis, like our first consult suggested. Cathy recommended an amino to test for infection that could have caused this or genetic issues. I was a little bit reserved about an amino as I know it doesn't go without complications. However, when Jay and I discussed it, we thought what else could REALLY go wrong. We might as well do it, so we did. I had a regular sono that looked the baby up and down and an amino. An amino is a needle through my belly and into my uterus to pull out some amino fluid for testing. Cathy said it would take 6-10 days for the results to come in but she'd call asap if she found anything out. I had a funny feeling this wasn't related to infections I picked up or genetic issues. I don't know why but I just felt that way. It was only a feeling so obviously I wanted to know for sure... We also had a fetal ECHO scheduled now to check for any heart abnormalities.
That weekend we found out the first results.. not related to infection and our rapid chromosome test was fine. Was that good? It depends on how you look at it... but I thought it was.
The next week, week of Sept. 6th, we had a follow up appointment with Dr. Ahn to go over our fetal MRI results. Our first meeting was very up lifting and we felt better about continuing the pregnancy rather than terminating. Based off the fetal MRI results, I thought it would be a rather similar follow up meeting. However, our prognosis statistics dropped a little, which made us a little uneasy. It was based off the true, confirmed diagnosis. She still had a good 30-40% of being completely developmental fine with no adverse effects of the extra fluid built up during pregnancy which means she would do everything a "normal" baby would without intervention, extra assistance or being behind at all. I thought that was still a decent percentage however; we still had a major decision to make.
On August 15th, we had a fetal ECHO to check the heart out. Everything looked great and there weren't any heart abnormalities seen on sono. That was another relief although I thought it would be okay, again. We also received our final amino results that day. They weren't as great as I thought they would be. It turns out our baby has a genetic translocation of chromosome 6 and 8. Interesting... because what the heck does that mean? It means that me and Jay had to give blood to be tested for this switch. It would be another full week of waiting, estimated 5 business days. This could be a completely normal finding in one of us and we passed it along.. it could be a new finding in her and it's still okay.. or it could be an issue. Another unknown... another question not answered. By this week my care had been transferred from Franklin Square to JH High Risk OB group. I had my nurse visit and my first OB visit. It was 24 weeks for me. Happy 6 months!
At some point later on we found out that I was the lovely carrier of the translocation of 6 and 8 and I passed it along to her. Isn't she going to love me. This finding in my means that I have a high change of reoccurring miscarriages and birth defects. If I get past 12 weeks with future pregnancies, I will have to get the amino to test for genetic defects. I have a high risk of messed up chromosomes making strange defects in future children. Not really what I wanted to hear because reproductive life for us will just be harder but I guess it's not the end of the world. We do have a nice chance of producing normal babies too and I have the chance of not even passing this along, that is a plus. It's just that it is a small percentage of not passing this along. Cathy suggested a micro array test that is an in-depth chromosomal analysis that will really give us good answers if this complication is genetic/chromosomal related. It's pretty pricey so we didn't decide right away.
On Thursday, September 24th I had another follow up sono. I missed all the sonos in between my typing but just to fill out in... her ventricles continued to increase about 1 mm a week but her head was staying within gestational age range which was great. There was no large fluid jump or head jump which is what we wanted... although we'd love for the vents to stop enlarging but 1 mm a week would be better thn 4-5 mm a week with extra pressure expanding her head. So, on Thursday Sept. 20th, I had a sono to re-measure her vents and head. I spoke with Cathy and she was going to look into insurance coverage with the in-depth test. Jay and I had a long conversation about all of this. We were having trouble coming to a sound decision together that we both felt comfortable with.
On Friday, September 25th, Cathy called to say our insurance covers the entire test. I called Jay and told him about it. We decided together that we'd go for the test. If the test came back normal, no findings, we'd continue the pregnancy. If the test came back funky, we'd end the pregnancy with no more testing or questions asked. I was actually excited for the first time. I felt we made a good decision that both of us would be comfortable with. I gave Cathy the go ahead and we had one last week of waiting. This time it was anywhere from 2-5 business days. Our results would be in anywhere from Tuesday, Sept. 28th through Friday, Oct. 2nd. I was on the edge of my chair everyday starting on Tuesday. The more I thought about it, the more I worried about the results. I didn't have hunch this time because I didn't know how to think. I thought.. okay, think positive, therefore, positive things will happen. But I also thought.. think negative, therefore you won't be let down too far when it doesn't come back good results. Then I thought think negative for reverse psychology, lol. I was a nervous wreck and hated this more than anything. As Friday morning approached I thought I would hurl out the car window since my stomach was in knots. I knew today was the day and we'd know the future of our baby girl. Wouldn't you know it... no results and another long weekend of waiting.
On Monday I just couldn't stand it... I had Jay give Cathy a call and she called back around noon with no results. She called in back about 2 hours later with great news... although she had no official documentation in her hands, she did just speak to the company and everything checks out normal. She'll give a call back if the true documentation doesn't say that. Jay called me right away and I thought I'd cry on the phone. I was so excited but at the same time I thought in my head, "Oh my goodness, are we ready to take this on?"
I explained to Jen that although I REALLY want to peek in on her every week, but I just had to stop. I was driving myself nuts checking on her poor little head and I had to concentrate on other things right now that I could control. So far, so good. Work has been extremely busy and Jay and I have been working on getting things done. We registered at Babies R Us, which was an experience! We also registered on Amazon.com, which Jay might not even know yet. We cleaned out her room, this week, for the most part. We have lots to do in a short amount of time! But, she'll just be a little peanut and have no clue what is done and what isn't done. As long as she gets fed, stays warm and gets her diaper changed, I think she'll be fine with whatever isn't done before she gets here.
Jay and I booked another vacation. We are heading to Key West for a week. I'm very excited to get away and finally have our vacation we were supposed to have the first week in September. I hate to leave work during the craziest flu season ever but I just had to take some time off before she gets here. I haven't saved up 13 weeks of sick/vacation for nothing. I received my annual flu vaccine and I gave in the H1N1 vaccine as I really do need all the protection I can get and pass it on to her while in utero. If she'll be in the NICU after birth for sometime, she has to have some immunity to fight off the germs. For any JHH NICU nurses reading this... I'll be the crazy nurse mom who is watching if you wash your hands and if you have the slightest snotty nose, cough or congestion, I will suggest you wear a mask, lol. I'm not the Employee Health Nurse for nothing.
As for names, she doesn't have a name yet but I'm trying to get to that A.S.A.P. As for delivery... Dr. Ahn said he wants to take her early no matter what... but her head progression will determine when she will come into this world. If her head stays relatively in size, like it has been, he'll push sometime after 34 weeks. If her head makes a large jump with lots of extra fluid, he'll push for right after 32 weeks. Either way, she'll be here in 2009 so we just have to get prepared a little earlier than expected. I hope she is home by Christmas no matter what. It'll be the best Christmas present ever. Stay tuned for more blogs about the progression of our pregnancy, more stories and pictures.
By the way, how many refills did you get reading this? I know my fingers lost about an inch around while typing this. I've included our recent sono pictures of baby. She has some chubby cheeks already. My mom and aunt say her head is shaped like mine when I was a baby. Beats me!