We went to the OB today for our weekly appointment and non-stress test. Nothing new to report. Baby seems healthy and happy according to the non-stress test. We did discuss my 'birth plan.' Apparently there are some people who know exactly how they want to deliver...even down to what drugs they do and do not want to use. I told our OB that at this point, delivery is really secondary to us. What is much more important is getting Sam to Atlanta for heart treatment. I told her I don't care what drugs go in or what procedures they need to do, the most important thing to us is getting Sam out and to Atlanta. I think she was happy with that to some respect...I know I would totally roll my eyes if some woman came in with a typed up, contract-like birth plan when what is really important is not the mother's experience, but the healthy birth of a baby.
~Kathy
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
NO LSU???!!!
So we went to my OB today to discuss the cardiologist and perinatologist appointment results and how they will affect the rest of the pregnancy. There was good news and bad news.
The bad news...she won't let me travel to Baton Rouge this weekend for the LSU game. What a let down. I've been excited about this game for MONTHS. This will be the first season in 8 years that I will not get to attend a game in the stadium. Sigh.
The good news...we will be scheduled for an induction by the 39th week. So we will get to meet Sam a few days sooner that due date...unless he decided to come on his own earlier than that. I am going to try to work through December 12. December 13 (Saturday) is the beginning of the 39th week and if it were up to me we would schedule for that day. She wants to wait a few more weeks before we break out a schedule book though. Regardless, we will schedule induction for midnight...that gives us the best chance of delivering a baby during daylight hours (which is when the cardiologist will answer his phone...he's rich enough to be able to turn it off without consequence at night). The OB also confirmed that as soon as Sam is born, he will head straight to the NICU until he is transfered to Atlanta. So at least we can prepare for that.
No more appointments with the Cardiologist until after the baby is born (he will come see him in the NICU). No more appointments with the Perinatologist EVER. For now, we keep the weekly OB appointments with weekly non-stress tests to be sure everything is in check.
~Kathy
The bad news...she won't let me travel to Baton Rouge this weekend for the LSU game. What a let down. I've been excited about this game for MONTHS. This will be the first season in 8 years that I will not get to attend a game in the stadium. Sigh.
The good news...we will be scheduled for an induction by the 39th week. So we will get to meet Sam a few days sooner that due date...unless he decided to come on his own earlier than that. I am going to try to work through December 12. December 13 (Saturday) is the beginning of the 39th week and if it were up to me we would schedule for that day. She wants to wait a few more weeks before we break out a schedule book though. Regardless, we will schedule induction for midnight...that gives us the best chance of delivering a baby during daylight hours (which is when the cardiologist will answer his phone...he's rich enough to be able to turn it off without consequence at night). The OB also confirmed that as soon as Sam is born, he will head straight to the NICU until he is transfered to Atlanta. So at least we can prepare for that.
No more appointments with the Cardiologist until after the baby is born (he will come see him in the NICU). No more appointments with the Perinatologist EVER. For now, we keep the weekly OB appointments with weekly non-stress tests to be sure everything is in check.
~Kathy
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
ANOTHER New Diagnosis
We went to our perinatologist today...you know, the guy who's a total jerk. Well we did our ultrasound with the super nice US tech and then waited on the MD. He came in and said that the baby's growth looks good, fluid levels look good, heart looks the same, aaaaaaaand by the way there's a problem with the kidneys. Now, we had a feeling something was wrong last time with the kidneys (if you recall), but at the time it apparently wasn't necessarily a big problem. Unfortunately now it is notably an issue.
What we have now on top of the heart stuff is Hydronephrosis. Basically, the kidneys are retaining fluid. It is apparently totally random (unrelated to either genetics or the heart condition), and it is also rare to have it both kidneys as we do. We just love rackin' up the rareness with this baby. For now, it just has to be monitored. There is potential it will clear up on its own, and there is potential it will need surgical intervention to avoid renal failure. This is a decision that will be made after he is born and growing...so the heart is still our primary concern.
Other than that, the baby weights 5lbs 7oz and has an estimated due date of Dec 15 based on the measurements taken today. Dec 20 is still our official due date per the OB but I'm leaning on Dec 15 as a more likely date. We see the OB tomorrow and we will get to discuss what we learned from the Cardiologist and the Perinatologist since our last meeting, and we'll see what she thinks about induction or natural labor.
~Kathy
What we have now on top of the heart stuff is Hydronephrosis. Basically, the kidneys are retaining fluid. It is apparently totally random (unrelated to either genetics or the heart condition), and it is also rare to have it both kidneys as we do. We just love rackin' up the rareness with this baby. For now, it just has to be monitored. There is potential it will clear up on its own, and there is potential it will need surgical intervention to avoid renal failure. This is a decision that will be made after he is born and growing...so the heart is still our primary concern.
Other than that, the baby weights 5lbs 7oz and has an estimated due date of Dec 15 based on the measurements taken today. Dec 20 is still our official due date per the OB but I'm leaning on Dec 15 as a more likely date. We see the OB tomorrow and we will get to discuss what we learned from the Cardiologist and the Perinatologist since our last meeting, and we'll see what she thinks about induction or natural labor.
~Kathy
Friday, November 7, 2008
Diagnosis Tweak
We went to the Fetal Cardiologist today. He did another echocardiogram to confirm the diagnosis of Tricuspid Hypoplasia with Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome, Pulmonary Hypoplasia, and Ventricular Spetal Defect. Sam's heart has gotten bigger as he has gotten bigger, but the tricuspid valve, right ventricle, and pulmonary artery have not. Our new diagnosis is officially Tricuspid Atresia with Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome, Pulmonary Atresia, and Ventricular Septal Defect. It actually doesn't change anything....either way we would be facing the same surgeries.
The doctor pretty much said he would like me to induce but is going to leave it up to me and the OB to decide. He said what he would really rather is that I deliver during the day time, not in the middle of the night when it is hard to reach specialists both here in Macon and in Atlanta. But since that is not a guarantee even if you induce, he is going to leave it up to the OB I suppose.
I did ask him about long term prognosis and outcomes of the three surgeries we will have. Long story short, Sam has about a 75% chance of surviving each of the surgeries individually, and about a 75% chance of making it to the 5 year mark after the last surgery (so that would put him at age 7-9). Outside of that age, there is really no reliable outcome measure. It sucks to start off life with such a prognosis, but I guess there are worse situations we could be in. We have no choice but to take it one day at a time.
We see the Perinatologist on Tuesday and the OB on Wednesday. Hopefully we will have a final decision on whether or not we are inducing by the end of all of that.
~Kathy
The doctor pretty much said he would like me to induce but is going to leave it up to me and the OB to decide. He said what he would really rather is that I deliver during the day time, not in the middle of the night when it is hard to reach specialists both here in Macon and in Atlanta. But since that is not a guarantee even if you induce, he is going to leave it up to the OB I suppose.
I did ask him about long term prognosis and outcomes of the three surgeries we will have. Long story short, Sam has about a 75% chance of surviving each of the surgeries individually, and about a 75% chance of making it to the 5 year mark after the last surgery (so that would put him at age 7-9). Outside of that age, there is really no reliable outcome measure. It sucks to start off life with such a prognosis, but I guess there are worse situations we could be in. We have no choice but to take it one day at a time.
We see the Perinatologist on Tuesday and the OB on Wednesday. Hopefully we will have a final decision on whether or not we are inducing by the end of all of that.
~Kathy
Monday, November 3, 2008
Showers and Such
It has been a bit since I added to the blog...not much has happened. We started our weekly non-stress testing. It's just a 30 minute heart rate and contraction monitor. So far so good. We are really looking forward to Friday...that is our next Cardiologist appointment.
We drove to Mobile this past weekend for two Baby Showers. One was thrown by my Mom and my friend from PT school, Melanie. It was really fun for me, since the people in attendance were people I have known from all stages of my life (grade school through the present). And two of my friends brought their two precious baby girls which is always highly entertaining! The second was a Wimberly Family Baby Shower. Much like the Wimberly Family Wedding Shower, I didn't know the majority of the people there!! I feel guilty for that, but their family is HUGE! I love that even though most of the people also don't know me, they still love and support their relatives, and sent me away with plenty of goodies to help with the newest member of their ridiculously large family.
Between the two showers we got just about everything we need to bring home a baby! Tons of clothes, car seat, stroller, swing, pack n play, towels, toys, bath stuff...we really are set now. Chris and I spent all night tonight putting things together, pulling off tags, and hanging clothes! We went from having nothing to having so much...we are both so so thankful!
~Kathy
We drove to Mobile this past weekend for two Baby Showers. One was thrown by my Mom and my friend from PT school, Melanie. It was really fun for me, since the people in attendance were people I have known from all stages of my life (grade school through the present). And two of my friends brought their two precious baby girls which is always highly entertaining! The second was a Wimberly Family Baby Shower. Much like the Wimberly Family Wedding Shower, I didn't know the majority of the people there!! I feel guilty for that, but their family is HUGE! I love that even though most of the people also don't know me, they still love and support their relatives, and sent me away with plenty of goodies to help with the newest member of their ridiculously large family.
Between the two showers we got just about everything we need to bring home a baby! Tons of clothes, car seat, stroller, swing, pack n play, towels, toys, bath stuff...we really are set now. Chris and I spent all night tonight putting things together, pulling off tags, and hanging clothes! We went from having nothing to having so much...we are both so so thankful!
~Kathy
Friday, October 10, 2008
Eh...
We went to our OB this past Wednesday. Keep in mind we actually have 4 OBs. It is four women who work in the same practice, and any one of them could deliver me (now that we know we will be delivering here). Because of this, we see any random one of the four at our appointments. Well this time we met one of the OBs we had not met before. She was SUPER nice and spent a ton of time just getting to know us and our situation.
I had gotten a little over excited about asking her when we could induce, since we now know we will be in Macon for the delivery. And naturally, that excitement was shot down. She said she had not received any notification that we would need an induction. She still hadn't received the cardiologist report though, and had not received a number of test results and reports from the perinatologist. She seemed a little angry at that, and she promised us she would get all of those missing pieces together for us. Being part of the medical community, I definitely understand that when too many doctors get involved, communication tends to break down. That is not an excuse...it's just what happens. As a patient you have to be an advocate for your own health care and be vocal about making the doctors pull all of the pieces together.
ANYWAY, according to her, she didn't think we needed to induce unless it was the expressed desire of the cardiologist or perinatologist. I hate that, but only because it essentially ensures that we will be in the Atlanta hospital over Christmas since we won't be able to have him early to avoid that scenario. She said we would wait on reports after our next cardiologist and perinatologist appointments to decide on induction. She also said that after our next regular appointment (at 32 weeks), we would be coming in once a week for non-stress tests. This is something they do with all high risk pregnancies. It is apparently just a 20-30 minute monitoring of the heart rate and movement of the baby. So, starting October 29, we will be in some doctors office at LEAST once a week...should help make the end of the pregnancy go by pretty quick!
Quick story about working while pregnant... I'm starting to show pretty bad now. I got a new patient this week who is a truly spoiled and rude old lady. She has some spinal cord damage and can't stand up or walk by herself. I was helping her move from her wheelchair to a mat table for therapy. She stood up nice and calm, but when I asked her to take a step she started to lose her balance. I was already holding on to her, but I asked her to hold on to my arms (just to steady herself and make her feel like she was more stable). She completely freaked out and started yelling "I can't I can't, I'll hurt your baby!!" Needless to say, she panicked and essentially allowed her knees to buckle so she landed back in her wheelchair...giving my back a good pull and most certainly hurting me much more than if she had just grabbed my arms like I had asked! I was fine, but it gave me some sad insight into how patients are going to view me and trust me as this baby starts stickin' out a little more!
~Kathy
I had gotten a little over excited about asking her when we could induce, since we now know we will be in Macon for the delivery. And naturally, that excitement was shot down. She said she had not received any notification that we would need an induction. She still hadn't received the cardiologist report though, and had not received a number of test results and reports from the perinatologist. She seemed a little angry at that, and she promised us she would get all of those missing pieces together for us. Being part of the medical community, I definitely understand that when too many doctors get involved, communication tends to break down. That is not an excuse...it's just what happens. As a patient you have to be an advocate for your own health care and be vocal about making the doctors pull all of the pieces together.
ANYWAY, according to her, she didn't think we needed to induce unless it was the expressed desire of the cardiologist or perinatologist. I hate that, but only because it essentially ensures that we will be in the Atlanta hospital over Christmas since we won't be able to have him early to avoid that scenario. She said we would wait on reports after our next cardiologist and perinatologist appointments to decide on induction. She also said that after our next regular appointment (at 32 weeks), we would be coming in once a week for non-stress tests. This is something they do with all high risk pregnancies. It is apparently just a 20-30 minute monitoring of the heart rate and movement of the baby. So, starting October 29, we will be in some doctors office at LEAST once a week...should help make the end of the pregnancy go by pretty quick!
Quick story about working while pregnant... I'm starting to show pretty bad now. I got a new patient this week who is a truly spoiled and rude old lady. She has some spinal cord damage and can't stand up or walk by herself. I was helping her move from her wheelchair to a mat table for therapy. She stood up nice and calm, but when I asked her to take a step she started to lose her balance. I was already holding on to her, but I asked her to hold on to my arms (just to steady herself and make her feel like she was more stable). She completely freaked out and started yelling "I can't I can't, I'll hurt your baby!!" Needless to say, she panicked and essentially allowed her knees to buckle so she landed back in her wheelchair...giving my back a good pull and most certainly hurting me much more than if she had just grabbed my arms like I had asked! I was fine, but it gave me some sad insight into how patients are going to view me and trust me as this baby starts stickin' out a little more!
~Kathy
Friday, October 3, 2008
More Photos of the Nursery!
I have been playing with an online photo program called Microsoft Photosynth. Its really neat. It morphs all your pictures to make one big interactive "picture wall". I've uploaded new photos of the nursery into photosynth. If you want to take a gander, go here:
http://photosynth.net/userprofilepage.aspx?user=Chris_Wimberly
But wait, there's a catch! It requires a quick download of the photosynth software to be able to view it. Once you get it up and running, it may take some time to get used to the controls, as they are kind of hokey. But once you get it down its a cool experience. Check it out!
~Chris
http://photosynth.net/userprofilepage.aspx?user=Chris_Wimberly
But wait, there's a catch! It requires a quick download of the photosynth software to be able to view it. Once you get it up and running, it may take some time to get used to the controls, as they are kind of hokey. But once you get it down its a cool experience. Check it out!
~Chris
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