Here's a profile shot of her face from the sonogram:
Monday, September 27, 2010
Week 23 Sonogram
We had our Week 23 Sonogram back on September 27th (obviously I'm behind on blogging). This was a follow up to our previous sonogram to make sure that little girl's brain cysts had dissappeared and to check up on the mild kidney dialation she had on her left kidney. Overall the sonogram was good. The cysts were completely gone which was what the doctor was expecting to find as they usually resolve themselves. This time both kidneys were dialated. However, her bladder was full and her amniotic fluid levels were good which indicates that the kidneys are still working although slower (similar to how traffic goes slower when you narrow the highway from 3 lanes down to 2). We have another sonogram on October 25th to re-check her kidneys and make sure that they are still working. Praying that all her mini plumbing is still flowing okay.
Here's a profile shot of her face from the sonogram:
Here's a profile shot of her face from the sonogram:
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Round Rock Donuts
This weekend Brian and I headed down to Austin to watch the UT vs UCLA game. Other than the whole losing thing, we enjoyed going to the game. Luckily our seats were in the shade, had cushiony chair backs, and were only steps away from the bathroom and the water fountain - thanks to my MIL. My feet still swelled up huge, but that's pretty much how that goes these days.
On the way out of town, we decided to stop by Round Rock Donuts. I've been wanting to go for a while having seen it on Man vs. Food and in a column on MSN about the best donuts in the country. Typically I try to stay away from nutritionally devoid calorie bombs like donuts, but I must admit that I have used the pregnancy as an excuse to occassionally (not too often) indulge some cravings.
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| The Round Rock Donuts Shop |
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| Famous "Texas Sized" Donut (we snagged a pic of some little boy's donut) |
Friday, September 3, 2010
19 Week Ultrasound Update
On Wednesday, September 1, we had our 19 week ultrasound. First of all, IT'S A GIRL! It's nice to start referring to the baby with she and her pronouns instead of it. We're privately trying out our top choice for name and once we're certain, we'll tell everyone. So onto the details (boys may want to skip the next paragraph about lady stuff although it's all very clinical).
The first part of the ultrasound was a trans-vaginal ultrasound to measure my cervix to make sure I'm not having any issues with cervical insufficiency. As I had a LEEP procedure done about 8 or 10 years ago, this can be an issue. Good news in that area - measurements were good and there was no dilation with pressure. Hopefully I'll continue to hold up well on that front. She also looked at the placenta and umbilical cord. Everything looked good although she did see some extra placental tissue (I forget what she called it), but as the cord flow was good and the extra tissue is not in a bad location (i.e. not over the cervix) she didn't seem concerned.
The bulk of the ultrasound was measuring and looking at all of baby's major organs and parts. This ultrasound was done with the perinatologist so I believe it is what they call a Level II Ultrasound although I never really asked. It is amazing what all we could see, especially when you think that right now the baby is only about the size of my palm and weighs a mere 9 ounces. We also got a DVD of the ultrasound which is really cool.
The heart looked good - all 4 chambers pumping away with all the appropriate separating walls and portals. It's totally amazing and crazy to think that inside my body is a second little bitty heart pounding away at 147 bpm even as I type this. The bladder and kidneys were next; the left kidney was a little enlarged and seemed to have a bit of a "back-up" (I forget the medical term she used), but the doctor didn't seem very concerned about this and told us not to worry either. We saw our baby's spine, ribs, and arm and leg bones. Those all looked good and measured fine. Her little hands were amazing; 4 fingers and a thumb on each hand and we got to watch her make a fist and then spread her little hand out (good measurements here as well). The doctor measured the transnuchal fold (a marker for Down’s syndrome) and it measured fine and looked normal. Last, but not least, is baby's little brain. This is where we had a couple anomalies. Basic structure was okay - two hemispheres, different lobes present, and correct size for gestational age. She found a couple of choroid plexus cysts (fluid filled sacks on the brain). These are not completely uncommon and usually resolve themselves by the third trimester; however they are considered a soft marker of Down’s syndrome. This actually doesn't tell you a lot because it basically means that it can be present or not present in fetuses with chromosomal abnormalities and it can be present in completely normal healthy fetuses and mean absolutely nothing. Helpful, huh? The other anomaly the doctor saw was the shape of baby’s head. There were a couple of spots where it was a little concave. I'm still not sure what to make of that one, but I'm hoping it all works itself out.
The end result of all the measurements and inspection was that our risk of down’s went up a bit more to somewhere around 1 in 82ish which is still only about 1.2%. So, then we had the conversation with the doctor about how we wanted to proceed - i.e. amniocentesis or not. She asked us what we would do if we had a baby with down’s to which Brian said (and I nodded in agreement), "We'd have a baby with down’s syndrome". Do I want that for my child? Of course not, but we'll love the baby God gives us, period. She then gave us her completely unscientific (but based on years of experience, etc) gut feeling about our baby. She doesn't really get the feeling that our baby has down’s although of course there is no way to be certain of that other than amnio and she can't point to any specific medical evidence. I did get this impression from her throughout the ultrasound though - she would find a little something here or there and never seemed overly concerned about it and she didn't find anything "lethal". We discussed amnio, the risks, benefits, etc. Bottom line, Brian and I elected not to do an amnio. We don't want to mess with baby's happy little home since medically nothing would be done differently either way.
We go back to the perinatologist in a month to see if the cysts have resolved. Please pray that the cysts resolve, the brain continues developing normally, the head becomes less concave, the left kidney gets cleaned out, and that baby stays healthy overall. That's all for now. :)
The first part of the ultrasound was a trans-vaginal ultrasound to measure my cervix to make sure I'm not having any issues with cervical insufficiency. As I had a LEEP procedure done about 8 or 10 years ago, this can be an issue. Good news in that area - measurements were good and there was no dilation with pressure. Hopefully I'll continue to hold up well on that front. She also looked at the placenta and umbilical cord. Everything looked good although she did see some extra placental tissue (I forget what she called it), but as the cord flow was good and the extra tissue is not in a bad location (i.e. not over the cervix) she didn't seem concerned.
The bulk of the ultrasound was measuring and looking at all of baby's major organs and parts. This ultrasound was done with the perinatologist so I believe it is what they call a Level II Ultrasound although I never really asked. It is amazing what all we could see, especially when you think that right now the baby is only about the size of my palm and weighs a mere 9 ounces. We also got a DVD of the ultrasound which is really cool.
The heart looked good - all 4 chambers pumping away with all the appropriate separating walls and portals. It's totally amazing and crazy to think that inside my body is a second little bitty heart pounding away at 147 bpm even as I type this. The bladder and kidneys were next; the left kidney was a little enlarged and seemed to have a bit of a "back-up" (I forget the medical term she used), but the doctor didn't seem very concerned about this and told us not to worry either. We saw our baby's spine, ribs, and arm and leg bones. Those all looked good and measured fine. Her little hands were amazing; 4 fingers and a thumb on each hand and we got to watch her make a fist and then spread her little hand out (good measurements here as well). The doctor measured the transnuchal fold (a marker for Down’s syndrome) and it measured fine and looked normal. Last, but not least, is baby's little brain. This is where we had a couple anomalies. Basic structure was okay - two hemispheres, different lobes present, and correct size for gestational age. She found a couple of choroid plexus cysts (fluid filled sacks on the brain). These are not completely uncommon and usually resolve themselves by the third trimester; however they are considered a soft marker of Down’s syndrome. This actually doesn't tell you a lot because it basically means that it can be present or not present in fetuses with chromosomal abnormalities and it can be present in completely normal healthy fetuses and mean absolutely nothing. Helpful, huh? The other anomaly the doctor saw was the shape of baby’s head. There were a couple of spots where it was a little concave. I'm still not sure what to make of that one, but I'm hoping it all works itself out.
The end result of all the measurements and inspection was that our risk of down’s went up a bit more to somewhere around 1 in 82ish which is still only about 1.2%. So, then we had the conversation with the doctor about how we wanted to proceed - i.e. amniocentesis or not. She asked us what we would do if we had a baby with down’s to which Brian said (and I nodded in agreement), "We'd have a baby with down’s syndrome". Do I want that for my child? Of course not, but we'll love the baby God gives us, period. She then gave us her completely unscientific (but based on years of experience, etc) gut feeling about our baby. She doesn't really get the feeling that our baby has down’s although of course there is no way to be certain of that other than amnio and she can't point to any specific medical evidence. I did get this impression from her throughout the ultrasound though - she would find a little something here or there and never seemed overly concerned about it and she didn't find anything "lethal". We discussed amnio, the risks, benefits, etc. Bottom line, Brian and I elected not to do an amnio. We don't want to mess with baby's happy little home since medically nothing would be done differently either way.
We go back to the perinatologist in a month to see if the cysts have resolved. Please pray that the cysts resolve, the brain continues developing normally, the head becomes less concave, the left kidney gets cleaned out, and that baby stays healthy overall. That's all for now. :)
Friday, August 6, 2010
Brian's Surgery
Brian will be having surgery on Friday, August 13th and here's a little background. At Brian's annual physical last year, he tested as being a little anemic. They did a couple of FOBTs and didn't find anything. Neither Brian or the doctor really pursued it after that. Again this year at his annual physical around February, he tested anemic again. Again, they did a couple of FOBTs and still didn't find anything. This time the doctor recommended an Upper GI (endoscopy) to see if there was something going on there that might be affecting his iron absorption especially given that he'd previously had a Nissan Fundoplication to help with acid reflux. After an initial consultation with the GI doc and a test to rule out celiac's disease / gluten allergies, we scheduled the procedure.
So, on July 14th, we took Brian in to have the Upper GI. We ended up being at the hospital a little longer than we had anticipated. While I was sitting with Brian in recovery as he came out of his sedation fog, they told us that the doc wanted to send us down to radiology for Upper GI x-rays with barium contrast. Before we headed down the doc came to discuss what he had found. Primarily, he saw evidence of a para-esophogeal hiatal hernia and wanted to confirm that and get a better picture of it with the x-ray. Additionally, he saw several Cameron Ulcers, resulting from the hernia, which cause GI bleeding and consequently anemia. So, we have our culprit. We headed down to radiology, Brian drank the flavored chalk (aka barium) and they took pictures of his insides. Basically, his stomach looked a bit like an hour glass. Half of it is herniated up through his diaphragm. Needless to say the GI doc then referred us to a surgeon.
The end result is Brian will be having surgery to correct this. They will undo the fundoplication, then pull the herniated part of the stomach through the diaphragm back where it belongs, and then re-do the fundoplication. If the hole in the diaphragm is significant, they may have to place biological netting to reinforce it while it heals. So, please pray for the surgery to go well and for a speedy recovery. Although this is a somewhat "routine" surgery, having a baby on the way has made both of us a little extra nervous.
So, on July 14th, we took Brian in to have the Upper GI. We ended up being at the hospital a little longer than we had anticipated. While I was sitting with Brian in recovery as he came out of his sedation fog, they told us that the doc wanted to send us down to radiology for Upper GI x-rays with barium contrast. Before we headed down the doc came to discuss what he had found. Primarily, he saw evidence of a para-esophogeal hiatal hernia and wanted to confirm that and get a better picture of it with the x-ray. Additionally, he saw several Cameron Ulcers, resulting from the hernia, which cause GI bleeding and consequently anemia. So, we have our culprit. We headed down to radiology, Brian drank the flavored chalk (aka barium) and they took pictures of his insides. Basically, his stomach looked a bit like an hour glass. Half of it is herniated up through his diaphragm. Needless to say the GI doc then referred us to a surgeon.
The end result is Brian will be having surgery to correct this. They will undo the fundoplication, then pull the herniated part of the stomach through the diaphragm back where it belongs, and then re-do the fundoplication. If the hole in the diaphragm is significant, they may have to place biological netting to reinforce it while it heals. So, please pray for the surgery to go well and for a speedy recovery. Although this is a somewhat "routine" surgery, having a baby on the way has made both of us a little extra nervous.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Early Screen Exam
On Monday, July 19th we had our Early Screen exam with the perinatologist. It consists of a blood test and an ultrasound to assess your risk of having a child with Downs Syndrome, Trisomy 13-16-18, and some other chromosomal abnormalities. It's not diagnostic, but can help you in deciding whether you feel it's necessary to do more invasive diagnostic tests such as CVS or amniocentesis. Just to be clear, we are definitely in the camp of people that would never terminate the pregnancy based on the results of any of these tests, but we do like to be prepared.
The ultrasound part of this was super cool and a real joy for the two of us. This time, our baby actually looked like a baby and not just a tadpole. There were arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, a tiny nose, bitty lips, etc. The baby was moving around a lot. We watched it push off with it's legs and go flying across the screen and then slowly float back into view. When the baby didn't move where the doctor needed it to move for measurements, she would jab at us with the ultrasound wand to try to get the baby to reposition. Honestly, it just made me giggle. She floated over lots of different parts and pointed them out and labeled them on her screen for her records. She asked us if we wanted to know if she had any indication of the gender. We said yes, we can't wait. She pointed out 3 white lines (aka the hamburger) on the ultrasound and said that would seem to indicate girl. Of course, she said it's still early so don't go painting rooms or buying stuff yet, but it's nice to have some idea. She gave us some of the sonogram shots and I've inserted the best one below. Naturally, she didn't give me any of the ones that she labeled, but this profile shot is a pretty obvious one.
Since it's been a few weeks, we've already gotten the results of the screening and it looks like I'm twice as likely as another woman my age to have a child with Downs Syndrome. Still the odds are really small - 1 in 247, so less than a 1% chance. We've elected not to do amnio or CVS at this point. We'll have an ultrasound around 16-20 weeks. If the baby shows no physical abnormalities at that point then my risk will be reduced back down to that of every other gal my age (around 1 in 500). At that ultrasound we'll also get a final ruling on the gender and they'll measure some of my parts to make sure I'm holding up okay. More on all of this later!
The ultrasound part of this was super cool and a real joy for the two of us. This time, our baby actually looked like a baby and not just a tadpole. There were arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, a tiny nose, bitty lips, etc. The baby was moving around a lot. We watched it push off with it's legs and go flying across the screen and then slowly float back into view. When the baby didn't move where the doctor needed it to move for measurements, she would jab at us with the ultrasound wand to try to get the baby to reposition. Honestly, it just made me giggle. She floated over lots of different parts and pointed them out and labeled them on her screen for her records. She asked us if we wanted to know if she had any indication of the gender. We said yes, we can't wait. She pointed out 3 white lines (aka the hamburger) on the ultrasound and said that would seem to indicate girl. Of course, she said it's still early so don't go painting rooms or buying stuff yet, but it's nice to have some idea. She gave us some of the sonogram shots and I've inserted the best one below. Naturally, she didn't give me any of the ones that she labeled, but this profile shot is a pretty obvious one.
Since it's been a few weeks, we've already gotten the results of the screening and it looks like I'm twice as likely as another woman my age to have a child with Downs Syndrome. Still the odds are really small - 1 in 247, so less than a 1% chance. We've elected not to do amnio or CVS at this point. We'll have an ultrasound around 16-20 weeks. If the baby shows no physical abnormalities at that point then my risk will be reduced back down to that of every other gal my age (around 1 in 500). At that ultrasound we'll also get a final ruling on the gender and they'll measure some of my parts to make sure I'm holding up okay. More on all of this later!
Friday, July 16, 2010
12 Week Check-up
I still need to blog about JAF, but for now, I've just got a quick update from my 12 week check-up with the OB. Everything went well. All my lab work is good. After a bit of rolling around with the doppler, she found the baby's heartbeat and it was going strong at 160 BPM. She said that next time, it will be louder and easier to find which will be nice. We discussed our pre-natal testing options and decided to go ahead with an early screen test. Although we wouldn't do anything differently based on the results, I'm not too big on surprises and like to be prepared. So, we are scheduled to go on Monday for the blood test and ultrasound that are the early screen.
As for me, I need to post my first bump picture, but that will have to wait (as I'm at work on my lunch break now). As my doctor kindly put it this week, I'm not having any trouble gaining weight. I've been feeling better - less nausea and more energy. Some of the energy boost could be from my endocrinologist upping my thyroid medication dosage a couple weeks ago. With the added weight gain and the baby sapping some of the thyroid, most women on meds have to increase their dosage in pregnancy. Now, I'm hoping I'll feel more inclined to workout. Mostly at this point, I'm just hungry all the time. I never thought I'd say it but I'm tired of eating (and I'm a girl who LOVES to eat). Well, that's about all for now. Back to work!
As for me, I need to post my first bump picture, but that will have to wait (as I'm at work on my lunch break now). As my doctor kindly put it this week, I'm not having any trouble gaining weight. I've been feeling better - less nausea and more energy. Some of the energy boost could be from my endocrinologist upping my thyroid medication dosage a couple weeks ago. With the added weight gain and the baby sapping some of the thyroid, most women on meds have to increase their dosage in pregnancy. Now, I'm hoping I'll feel more inclined to workout. Mostly at this point, I'm just hungry all the time. I never thought I'd say it but I'm tired of eating (and I'm a girl who LOVES to eat). Well, that's about all for now. Back to work!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Quick Note - More to Follow
Hi all! Just a quick note since I'm recovering from an AMAZING week at camp. I'll be blogging about my experience at Joni and Friends Family Retreat shortly (as soon as I catch up on rest and laundry).
Pregnancy wise, I was blessed with several good days at camp (I had really prayed for this) - I had very little nausea and my nap during break time plus the constant activity helped combat the sleepies. The first few days of this week were almost like payback though. Monday I could barely drag myself out of bed, but it's been getting better each day as I get back to a more normal routine and get some sleep. Today was a pretty good day.
I'm off to eat a handful of cereal and go to bed. Night ya'll!
Pregnancy wise, I was blessed with several good days at camp (I had really prayed for this) - I had very little nausea and my nap during break time plus the constant activity helped combat the sleepies. The first few days of this week were almost like payback though. Monday I could barely drag myself out of bed, but it's been getting better each day as I get back to a more normal routine and get some sleep. Today was a pretty good day.
I'm off to eat a handful of cereal and go to bed. Night ya'll!
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