Pursuit of Happiness

It is no secret that this hasn’t been the easiest of pregnancies. It has been filled with lots of anxiety, uncertainty and tears. Though physically I feel like it has been the easiest pregnancy ever (not that I have anything to compare it to), but emotionally and mentally it has been the craziest roller coaster ride. Recently, two very special ladies have given me some very special pregnancy memories that at the beginning of this journey I didn’t know if I would get to have.

First, our good family friend Heather, who grew up with us more like a sister, came into town to take some maternity pictures in-between taking finals and graduating from A&M with her nursing degree (If you listen real close, you can hear that whooping sound those Aggies like to make so bad).  It was a chance to be able to settle back and have some fun with the pregnancy and enjoy it. The pictures turned out beautiful and created a wonderful set of memories for us to look back on and remember the joy that this pregnancy has brought. Thank you Heather for this most special gift.

A few of my favorite

Secondly, my sister Stacy threw me an amazing baby shower. Back at the beginning when we were diagnosed with the Cystic Hygroma, I told her I didn’t want a baby shower because of all the uncertainties.  As the pregnancy progressed, things started to change. We were able to rule out genetic defects which was a huge hurdle and the Cystic Hygroma started to decrease (there isn’t anything there to measure anymore)! Though we are looking at quite a few issues with the heart and basically looking at heart reconstruction at this point, the Dr.s still seem hopeful that though it will be a long journey, it can be a successful one. We went and registered at Babies R US which was a little overwhelming. We don’t know exactly what we are looking at in terms of a hospital stay to know what size diapers to wear and what size clothes we will need, but overall it was fun to get to pick out some of the bigger items we know we will need. My shower was held this past Saturday and it was beautiful. There was green and yellow everywhere which are the colors of our nursery (and coincidently the colors of the Greenbay Packers).  We had a great turnout of family and friends and we received some really great gifts. It’s no secret this is going to be one spoiled little boy. It was a really pleasant day. I was worried leading up to it that I was going to be overwhelmed and emotional the whole time, but I wasn’t. It was a wonderful day full of happiness and joy. The topic of the day didn’t rest on complications or surgeries, but rather how big my belly has gotten. The whole day was another great way for me to sit back and enjoy my pregnancy. Thank you Stacy for an amazing shower full of so much love and excitement.

Both of these events have brought me so much joy and has made me even more excited for our little guy to get here. Thank you again ladies!

Crazy Couple of Days

This has been a whirlwind of a week, and it’s only Wednesday! Monday afternoon I had an appointment for a “basic” ultrasound to check his measurements and overall status of our baby. His measurements are still small, but he is still growing which was good news. The sonographer went to measure his Cystic Hygroma and she said there really wasn’t anything to measure there anymore! Yes! One thing to check off the list. When the Dr. came in to do his part of the ultrasound he was concerned at a new finding of fluid around the lungs. He confirmed and said that though it was a small amount of fluid it will still concerning because with all his heart troubles, this can be a sign of heart failure. He sent me down to Texas Children’s Hospital to have me admitted for observation and to start steroid shots for lung development. The steroid shots are intended for babies who are born prematurely because it helps mature the lungs to reduce the complications once they are born. If they examined his heart and found that it was in fact in great danger of failing they would need to deliver and the steroids would help decrease lung issues. This was really nerve racking and scary. We know that our baby needs to be in there as long as possible for his overall development, but primarily his brain development. Also, we don’t want to add on the complications of being premature with the complications he is already facing. They started me on the steroid shots late Monday night (you do 2 shorts 24 hours a part) and hooked me up to a monitor to check his heart rate. His heart rate was staying steady and they were going to be scheduling me an echo of the heart in the morning.

Needless to say I didn’t sleep very well, if at all, and anxiously awaited my echo appointment. They were able to fit me in at 9 in the morning on Tuesday with one of their fetal cardiologist (not the one I normally see). I was on the table for about 2 hours which isn’t much fun. Those tables aren’t very comfortable and I never know what they are looking at while they are actually doing the ultrasound. The Dr. completed the ultrasound, but said her next patient was there and waiting, so she would come to my room later for the consultation of the findings. More waiting. So much rested on these results and so it was very difficult to sit in a hospital room and just wait. Her day ended up getting very complicated and she was not able to get to me until 5 or 6 that evening. For the most part she had good news. She did not see any changes in his heart condition which was good. The one valve that they have never been able to find that slows down the flow of blood into the heart still wasn’t there, but the effects of it not being there were starting to be seen. She said it is common for those effects to show up about this stage in the pregnancy. She said that she only found a little fluid around one of the lungs (the original ultrasound showed it around both) and that our plan was still in place to keep him in there as long as possible. Sigh of relief.

I next had to wait for my OB to come by. He showed up shortly after and the cardiologist, but her report had not been finalized to where he could access it and review the results himself. We told him basically what we had been told and he re-assured us that they were going to keep him in there as long as possible. They were not going to panic and go to delivery just because they saw something that made them nervous. The only way they will take him out early is if his status greatly changes and his life is in danger if they don’t intervene. I felt so much better after talking to both these Drs. Because my second shot was scheduled for later that night and he didn’t have the report from the echo to review, we had to stay another night. At this point though, I was told I could lose the hospital gown and wear regular cloths. I have never been so excited to get to put underwear on in my life!

Wednesday was pretty uneventful. We basically had to wait for my OB to come by and see me and give me the game plan from here on out. He was able to finally come by around 3 to talk about everything. It looks like we will be adding more appointments to monitor his condition a little more closely. I will have 2 ultrasounds a week from here on out as well as a stress test some at the med center and some locally. I know I will have another echo scheduled next week, but do not know for sure the frequency that those will take place. These appointments won’t be so bad once school is out and I am not trying to coordinate things around work. At this point, I am really not given a say as to when these appointments are scheduled I just hope it doesn’t require me to miss too much school. Luckily, I work with amazingly supportive people and my students have been very supportive and cooperative as well.

Also, I have to give a big shout out to my sister. She came to the hospital and stayed the night with me Monday night, stayed with me all day Tuesday, left to go to her son’s baseball game, came back to stay the night with me Tuesday after the game and left for work from the hospital on Wednesday. I am so lucky to have her. Trey’s work schedule has been crazy this week, but he came and worked from the hospital each evening. With all the appointments we have had he is quickly running out of vacation days so we are trying to save his days as much as possible for when the baby actually makes his arrival. He is an amazing husband doing everything thing he can for me and our child.

With all this being said, please continue to pray for our little guy. Pray that he continues to grow, that his heart does not show further signs of complications and that he is able to stay in my belly as long as possible. I am always praying for the miracle that his heart condition improves and he has an easier treatment plan and recovery once he is here. As of right now, he is looking at the more complicated route of treatment where they basically reconstruct his heart. They will use things that are there to make things that aren’t there and he will not have a typical heart with all the same structures as everyone else. He would be looking at a much longer stay in the hospital of about 3-4 months. I have said all along, I don’t care what they have to do; I just want him to be ok. We are so blessed to have so many people praying for him and supporting us through all this. Words could not begin to be able to express our gratitude to everyone.

Here are the 3D pictures we were able to get at our ultrasound- 31 weeks

Hello Third Trimester

Entering the third trimester has really brought a wave of excitement and sense of reality that things are getting close. We have increased our number of doctor appointments to the point where I am in some kind of office every week (if not multiple offices).

At our last ultrasound we got some new information. We found out that the baby has a dilated kidney. It really looks quite large compared to the other one. They told us that when the baby is born they will do a couple of tests to see why the kidney is dilated and determine from there how they will need to proceed. The problem can either be fixed with antibiotics or might require surgery.

All along the baby has measured about a week behind. As of the last ultrasound, he is now measuring about 2 weeks off. The good thing is that we have already ruled out chromosomal abnormalities with the amnio we did a few months ago. The issue could be tied to one of his complications or it could just mean that he will be on the small side. The big thing we need to do at this point is monitor to make sure he is still growing.  It’s ok if he grows a little slower, but if he stops completely that is a problem.  They won’t check his measurements for another 2 weeks, so we have to keep praying that he grows.

They continue to measure his cystic hygroma. They don’t even mention it anymore which is a good sign. I usually forget to ask about it because I get so side tracked with everything else, but I make a point while they are doing the ultrasound to look at the measurement. It is still continuing to decrease in size which is awesome. I am hoping that it completely goes away by the time he is born so we can cross that off our to-do list.

They have started monitoring his lungs (maybe they have all along, but we have talked about it at his last 2 appointments). During the ultrasound they watch his diaphragm to make sure it inflates once in a 30 minute period. This shows that the lungs are functioning and practicing for life on the outside. At this last ultrasound they were having trouble getting the shot they needed. They had me rotate a couple of different ways and they had this sound zapper that didn’t phase him at all. We had about 4 minutes to go and I was getting really nervous. Finally in that last moment, they saw the diaphragm inflate. Talk about a sigh of relief. Seems like he is a bit of a procrastinator like his Daddy. I don’t know what that would have meant for us at this point, but glad that was one less thing to worry about right now.

The doctor has told me to monitor his movements and make sure I feel him at least 10 times in 2 hours. This normally is not an issue for him. We know all along how much he likes to move and dance around in there, but there is just a little added stress to know I have to keep such a close eye and count. Normally I can sit down and count 10 kicks in a matter of 15 minutes. I will continue with these ultrasounds every week until he is born to monitor his growth and make sure organs are functioning properly.

I also had my first appointment with my new OB at Texas Children’s. Trey and I both really liked him. He gave us a lot of good information and made us feel really comfortable. He said that he usually likes to induce his patients at 39 weeks, so that things can be as organized and planned as possible which I am completely ok with. My OB appointments at this point are going to be every two weeks. On a side note, my new OB reminds me of Steve Carell. When I look at him that’s all I seem to focus on; my baby is going to be delivered by the 40 year-old virgin. It kinda makes for a less stressful appointment in my head.

I go back for my echo of the heart on Monday. I don’t know for sure how often we will be going for those, but I only have a month left of school and then I won’t be as concerned about appointments because I won’t have to worry about scheduling them around work. My schedule of appointments sounds a bit stressful, but at the same time they make me a little excited. I like that I get to check on him every week now and it makes me excited to know that all these appointments means he is that much closer to being here. With the excitement come the nerves. I am excited that he is so close to being here, but very nervous because at the same time, once he is here it is go time. That’s when everything starts happening and decisions about care really start being made and surgeries and treatments begin.

We continue to pray for his protection and healing. God has brought us so far with our little one and we know that he will continue to guide us through this process. Please continue to keep Baby Bish in your prayers. They have done so much for us thus far and continue to provide us a tremendous amount of comfort.

Baby Bish at 28 weeks