Jocey, Aimee, or Ben?
Am I a boy or a girl?
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
So I went to the ultrasound the other day and was completely reassured. The baby looks great, actually remarkably adorable!, and we couldn't see anything that wasn't just the way it should be. The baby has almost caught up to my due date, just two weeks behind now, so I'll have to try to wait until closer to March 15 if I can. Which might be easier said than done, I mean mentally-- I sorta get a little grouchy the last week or two, not that any of you can relate to that at all! But I have tons to do to keep me busy. The fun thing about having the ultrasound this late in my pregnancy is we were able to get some amazing pictures of the baby's face. That's why I haven't posted about the u/s until now--I've been trying to figure out my scanner so I can post the pics (working a toaster is technologically a challenge for me at times, don't laugh, I often have to ask Jocey to help me figure out the Blue Ray, the cell phone, or the IPod. With each year I think I am regressing mentally...) So I will try to get those up tonight, because they are so darn cute I have to show everyone!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Baby news...
Well lots of people have been asking for updates on the new baby. Yes I'm still prego, but I haven't posted about it in a while. Mostly everything's been going fine, I feel prego, which isn't always fabulous but that's okay.
So to answer the most popular questions, no, we don't know the baby's gender. We actually decided to be surprised this time around. It's pretty exciting having that surprise to look forward to and in fact we haven't even thought of the name possibilities yet. It's not that we don't care about the baby or even that we don't have time to think about it. I just have this picture in my mind of how fun it will be for Cody and I to have this little moment together when the baby's born. You know, it kinda feels a little routine for us, the fourth pregnancy, and he doesn't ask as many questions or carry around the "What To Expect When You're Expecting" book all the time like he had in the past and I haven't decorated the baby's room or anything like that yet. So I think it gives a sense of suspense to a road already traveled.
The other thing everyone asks is when is my due date and that's a tricky-er question. Technically it is March 5, but the dr's said they want me to hold off as long as I can up to March 15 because the baby has been measuring really small (I've been going every two weeks for several months to track the baby's growth and for a while it seemed to stop altogether) and they've been a bit concerned. I had my mega ultrasound at 22 weeks and a fetal echo at Primary's and both looked pretty great, but they are concerned enough that I have to repeat my mega ultrasound, tomorrow actually, to make sure the baby really is okay and doesn't have some form of birth defect or that it is still thriving inside me. My last dr's visit was a little more hopeful, so we'll just have to see how it goes tomorrow. I anticipate everything will be fine; I don't have any crazy "mom intuition" type feelings like I did with Benny. But really, one of my dr's main concerns is that I might have to deliver early and I seriously am not ready for that. I've been crazy busy in January and February looks really stressful too, but those things aren't important. We just have to make sure that the baby is doin' fine and I am sure everything will work out just according to plan (I mean Heavenly Father's plan, I learned a while ago that my plans never really work out Ü).
So that's about it. I am going to make a blankie for the baby in the next few weeks and we'll go through the kids clothes and pull out any that we can reuse and I'll get busy on this massive "To Be Done Before The Baby Comes" list and I'll let ya know when I know more.
So to answer the most popular questions, no, we don't know the baby's gender. We actually decided to be surprised this time around. It's pretty exciting having that surprise to look forward to and in fact we haven't even thought of the name possibilities yet. It's not that we don't care about the baby or even that we don't have time to think about it. I just have this picture in my mind of how fun it will be for Cody and I to have this little moment together when the baby's born. You know, it kinda feels a little routine for us, the fourth pregnancy, and he doesn't ask as many questions or carry around the "What To Expect When You're Expecting" book all the time like he had in the past and I haven't decorated the baby's room or anything like that yet. So I think it gives a sense of suspense to a road already traveled.
The other thing everyone asks is when is my due date and that's a tricky-er question. Technically it is March 5, but the dr's said they want me to hold off as long as I can up to March 15 because the baby has been measuring really small (I've been going every two weeks for several months to track the baby's growth and for a while it seemed to stop altogether) and they've been a bit concerned. I had my mega ultrasound at 22 weeks and a fetal echo at Primary's and both looked pretty great, but they are concerned enough that I have to repeat my mega ultrasound, tomorrow actually, to make sure the baby really is okay and doesn't have some form of birth defect or that it is still thriving inside me. My last dr's visit was a little more hopeful, so we'll just have to see how it goes tomorrow. I anticipate everything will be fine; I don't have any crazy "mom intuition" type feelings like I did with Benny. But really, one of my dr's main concerns is that I might have to deliver early and I seriously am not ready for that. I've been crazy busy in January and February looks really stressful too, but those things aren't important. We just have to make sure that the baby is doin' fine and I am sure everything will work out just according to plan (I mean Heavenly Father's plan, I learned a while ago that my plans never really work out Ü).
So that's about it. I am going to make a blankie for the baby in the next few weeks and we'll go through the kids clothes and pull out any that we can reuse and I'll get busy on this massive "To Be Done Before The Baby Comes" list and I'll let ya know when I know more.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Repeating the past?
I am not a very speedy blogger these days, well ever really, and there are so many things I never posted about. Gradually, as I think of them, I guess I'll go back and share some memories and pictures if I have them too. Here are two experiences from last year that are on my mind lately probably because we're close to reliving them again.
The first was when Benny had his G-tube put in last June. We knew it was really important for him, because he just wasn't getting enough nutrition and he couldn't have the tubes in his nose forever. But still it was a bummer to need another surgery, another hole in his body, another tube hanging out all of the time and of course, another stay at the hospital. I was trying to be positive the whole day but I was pretty bummed. Until...
...it was all over and he'd done great, didn't seem to mind it too much and really it did make life soooo much easier for him. He started gaining weight pretty soon and with occupational therapy coming every month he started eating on his own little by little and was actually making so much progress that the tube came OUT in December!!! Yeah! He has had a few set backs since then but overall he's doing great.
This is on my mind because Ben is having surgery next Friday to have his circumcision finally. It is out patient but it does have to be done under full anesthesia at Primary's since he is so grown up now (I guess the docs don't think that little one year old boys would hold very still while they snip around his diaper area.) Poor guy. But it's necessary, especially if you ask Cody!
Also I've been thinking about last June when we had the scariest phone call one afternoon after a long day at clinic. I had been told everything looked good while we were at the hospital, but that afternoon, we got the dreaded call that the cardiologists were pretty sure he was beginning to reject his heart. Aaaahhhh!!! I was shaking so much while they were explaining it to me on the phone...they'd looked over his last few echos and seen increasing changes...they'd been monitoring his blood work...but it all boiled down to the bottom line-- they were concerned enough that we would have to go back at 6am the next morning for an emergency heart cath and biopsy (where they take a small chunk of the heart out to test for rejection). You have to realize, those of you that haven't been through a heart cath with your little one (I am SO GLAD about that, I wouldn't wish it on anyone!), but it is SO VERY dangerous. I mean they insert the lines through his groin and push them up through his arteries to his heart, trying not to poke a hole and cause him internal bleeding. They have a camera on one of the lines that takes some amazing pictures and I think it's the second line that has the claw to remove a piece of the heart. They also placed a central line in his neck where they were able to get 17 tubes of blood and give medicines throughout the procedure. It took more than 2 hours to get the lines placed because his veins are so tiny and have been through so much. All during that time we had no clue what was taking so long and were terrified something horrible had happened. This was his first cath since he'd left the hospital and he had had horrible experiences the other times. Several times his heart had stopped completely and they were able to revive him using the paddles when he didn't respond to medication. Also they'd had to do an emergency ballooning of one of his valves once and that was so terrifying--the doctor gently tried to tell us that we may have said our last goodbye to him. It was horrible. But thankfully...
...that wasn't exactly the circumstance this time. It was a REALLY long day, and poor Ben was feeling miserable, but finally the good news came. No trace of rejection! What the doctors had seen on his echos was increasing shadowing and they didn't know if it was Coronary Artery Disease, Cancer or some form of rejection. What they found in the cath, thanks to those amazing pictures, was that somehow, in the few months since his transplant, he had actually grown a second coronary artery with lots of little spidery veins growing around it and it was producing the shadow. It's a little bit of a bizarre phenomenon, but may turn out to be a blessing later. Long story later, he was just fine and we were cleared to go home.
This is on my mind because Ben will be one year post transplant on February 5th and so he will have to have another cath and biopsy that day and then yearly after that. I don't have any reason to believe anything will be wrong, but the procedure itself scares me and tries my faith. Please keep him in your prayers that day if you can.
The first was when Benny had his G-tube put in last June. We knew it was really important for him, because he just wasn't getting enough nutrition and he couldn't have the tubes in his nose forever. But still it was a bummer to need another surgery, another hole in his body, another tube hanging out all of the time and of course, another stay at the hospital. I was trying to be positive the whole day but I was pretty bummed. Until...
...it was all over and he'd done great, didn't seem to mind it too much and really it did make life soooo much easier for him. He started gaining weight pretty soon and with occupational therapy coming every month he started eating on his own little by little and was actually making so much progress that the tube came OUT in December!!! Yeah! He has had a few set backs since then but overall he's doing great.
This is on my mind because Ben is having surgery next Friday to have his circumcision finally. It is out patient but it does have to be done under full anesthesia at Primary's since he is so grown up now (I guess the docs don't think that little one year old boys would hold very still while they snip around his diaper area.) Poor guy. But it's necessary, especially if you ask Cody!
Also I've been thinking about last June when we had the scariest phone call one afternoon after a long day at clinic. I had been told everything looked good while we were at the hospital, but that afternoon, we got the dreaded call that the cardiologists were pretty sure he was beginning to reject his heart. Aaaahhhh!!! I was shaking so much while they were explaining it to me on the phone...they'd looked over his last few echos and seen increasing changes...they'd been monitoring his blood work...but it all boiled down to the bottom line-- they were concerned enough that we would have to go back at 6am the next morning for an emergency heart cath and biopsy (where they take a small chunk of the heart out to test for rejection). You have to realize, those of you that haven't been through a heart cath with your little one (I am SO GLAD about that, I wouldn't wish it on anyone!), but it is SO VERY dangerous. I mean they insert the lines through his groin and push them up through his arteries to his heart, trying not to poke a hole and cause him internal bleeding. They have a camera on one of the lines that takes some amazing pictures and I think it's the second line that has the claw to remove a piece of the heart. They also placed a central line in his neck where they were able to get 17 tubes of blood and give medicines throughout the procedure. It took more than 2 hours to get the lines placed because his veins are so tiny and have been through so much. All during that time we had no clue what was taking so long and were terrified something horrible had happened. This was his first cath since he'd left the hospital and he had had horrible experiences the other times. Several times his heart had stopped completely and they were able to revive him using the paddles when he didn't respond to medication. Also they'd had to do an emergency ballooning of one of his valves once and that was so terrifying--the doctor gently tried to tell us that we may have said our last goodbye to him. It was horrible. But thankfully...
...that wasn't exactly the circumstance this time. It was a REALLY long day, and poor Ben was feeling miserable, but finally the good news came. No trace of rejection! What the doctors had seen on his echos was increasing shadowing and they didn't know if it was Coronary Artery Disease, Cancer or some form of rejection. What they found in the cath, thanks to those amazing pictures, was that somehow, in the few months since his transplant, he had actually grown a second coronary artery with lots of little spidery veins growing around it and it was producing the shadow. It's a little bit of a bizarre phenomenon, but may turn out to be a blessing later. Long story later, he was just fine and we were cleared to go home.
This is on my mind because Ben will be one year post transplant on February 5th and so he will have to have another cath and biopsy that day and then yearly after that. I don't have any reason to believe anything will be wrong, but the procedure itself scares me and tries my faith. Please keep him in your prayers that day if you can.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Ben's new game!
So Ben climbs up to the kitchen railing...
flirts shame-
lessly...
Until I come up and kiss him through the bars. I cannot resist!
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