31 Weeks

So incredibly happy that I have some good news to report from this week! Since last Wednesday, Jordon and I had been so worried about our little baby boy, but had been trying to put our faith and trust in God that everything would be okay. Well on this past Wednesday, we went into our OB's office for our 3d ultrasound which we had scheduled way in the past. We weren't sure if we even really wanted to have it done considering the circumstances, but the window for getting a good picture of the baby's face before he got too crowded in the womb was closing in, so we figured we just do it and try to enjoy it!

The sonographer was SO nice and worked with us a bunch to get a good picture of Tyler. Unfortunately, he is already stubborn and had a hand in front of this face, along with his umbilical cord, so it was difficult to get a good face shot. I tried drinking soda, drinking cold water, moving around, using the bathroom, and nothing seemed to work. In fact, at one point he had both hands, and a foot in front of his face haha. We managed to get some OK shots, but nothing too great. But what made the experience worth the $ we paid for it was a little reassurance we got. We weren't sure whether to let the know sonographer about the ventriculomegaly (it was a different tech from the one who found it the week before), but we ended up letting her know. She went ahead and scanned his head and from her measurements, his ventricles were only 9.4mm, while measurements of greater than 10mm are needed to diagnose ventriculomegaly. She said she would be surprised if they told us anything was wrong when we went to UVA on Friday. I was pretty relieved, but still nervous that there could be an underlying syndrome which caused whatever the other tech had seen the previous week.

On Friday, we woke up at 5am (although I'll be honest, I don't think I really even slept that night) and took off for UVA. I had been praying long and hard that the appointment would go well and we'd have peace about the situation, and until Thursday night I really had been feeling okay about the situation, but Friday morning I was a wreck. I literally felt nauseous because I was so nervous, but Jordon was amazing helping me through it all.

When we got to our appointment, the sonographer started by looking at Tyler's ventricles. She measured them between 9 and 10 mm and told us she'd seen "normal" ventricles up to 12 mm and some physicians even considered up to 12mm normal. That was definitely reassuring. Then she did all sort of other measurements, especially the size of his head, abdomen, arms and legs.

She had the doctor come in, who went ahead and did another quick ultrasound. She measured his ventricles even smaller, once even at 7mm and at most 9.4mm (the measurements are dependent on the angle of the probe and location of the head so they can definitely vary), so she told us she really wasn't too concerned. Plus she measured some of the other ventricles other than the main 2, and all those weren't even close to being enlarged. She wants us to come in a month from now to make sure they don't progress and swell up, but as far as she was concerned, Tyler probably just has a little larger ventricles. If they do progress any, she said we could think about delivering at UVA in case he needs a shunt put in to drain the fluid after he's born, but again she wasn't too concerned. I asked her about the chance that a syndrome was causing it, and she said she wasn't really concerned about it, but if we wanted we could meet with a genetic counselor we could. We actually had already made the appointment for after our ultrasound, but it was good to hear the doctor didn't even think it was necessary!

We then met with the genetic counselor which made me even more reassured Tyler was healthy. We discussed any possible causes of the swelling, specifically infection, and she said if I had one of the infections that causes this, I would have known. As far as she was concerned it was probably just error in the original measurements at our office and he just had slightly big ventricles, as some boys do. I asked about the possibility of down syndrome, because I had scared myself so much with information about it's association with ventriculomegaly on google, but again she wasn't concerned. She said Tyler was looking perfect other than the slightly bigger ventricles, and with DS you'd seen other things like more skin on the back of the neck, a small stomach, or short arms and legs. She said ventriculomegaly on its own is actually not a strong indicator of DS. She also said if it would be anything genetic, it'd probably be some genetic disorder that only boys get that causes some developmental delay, but because his ventricles are still in the normal range, our case wasn't presenting at all like the syndrome. She said if we really wanted we could do an amniocentesis, but she wouldn't even recommend it at this point. Jordon and I had decided before the appointment that we wouldn't even bother if they recommended it, because we obviously would never terminate if anything was wrong and because we wanted to trust God up to the birth that Tyler was exactly as he was supposed to be, but it was still good to hear even a genetic counselor didn't think it was necessary.

Tyler's head is definitely still big (measuring at the 95th percentile) which makes me a little nervous that I may need a c-section, but I've realized now I'd much rather have a healthy c-section baby than have a baby with any health problems naturally. This whole experience has made me so incredibly grateful for my little man, despite my ever increasing back pain, fatigue, heat intolerance, and peeing haha. I thank God so much for listening and answering our prayers, and I thank everyone who prayed SO MUCH for helping us. It is amazing to know you have people behind you on things like this, and it really helped me to have peace that God was hearing our pleas and looking over Tyler. Jordon and I know that everything will be okay with Tyler, but will continue to be praying for his health, and hope you will too!

Mark 11:22-24
"'Have faith in God,' Jesus answered. 'I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, "Go, throw yourself into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

30 Weeks

Yesterday Jordon and I had our 30 week appointment, and it was by far one of the hardest things we've encountered on this journey. I had to have an ultrasound done because I haven't gained much weight during the pregnancy and they wanted to check that Tyler was still growing alright despite that. Well, he was definitely a big boy. He was measuring far ahead of his due date (they dated him as being due the 12th instead of the 28th of July) and was estimated to weigh 3 lb 14oz.

Unfortunately, his head size was measuring >95th percentile for his gestational age. One issue with that is the possibility that he'll have a big head and I'll need a c-section (which this pro-natural birth mom-to-be would like to avoid), however there were other indications. The ventricles of his brain were measuring large as well, something called ventriculomegaly. Apparently they need to be less than 10 mm and Tyler's were measuring somewhere between 10-15mm (I'm not really sure the number but it classified his case as "moderate"). So this bought us a trip to UVA for a level 2 ultrasound.

The midwife explained what this all meant a little bit, but either she wasn't very familiar with it (it is rare, occurring in only 1 of 1000 babies) or she really just didn't know enough from the ultrasound we had at the office to say anything about our case because she didn't give us much to go on. Long story short we know that there is some swelling, but we don't know a definite on the degree until we get to the next ultrasound. They have no clue what is causing it until we get to UVA, but it COULD be an infection that I fought off but the baby couldn't fight, a virus, a genetic/chromosomal disease, or something that has no known origin. We won't know until we get to UVA where it is going, but it could either resolve on it's own, resolve to a lower classification (so mild ventriculomegaly), or it could progress. Progression (from what I've read on the internet... I know, bad idea) could mean the baby could get hydrocephalus (increased pressure in the brain from increasing fluid), or could have neurological problems. Even if it doesn't progress, there is the chance that he will have developmental delays because of the increase in pressure going on right now, we just don't know if that is something our baby is at risk for.

So it is just awful having all of these uncertainties hanging over our head. Part of me is just sure everything has to be okay because this is my perfect little boy and he's been just fine until now (And with that cute little foot up there, how could something be wrong with him)! The other part of me fears the worse and I'm not sure if I need to start preparing myself for the possibility that Tyler will have something wrong with him when he's born, or for his entire life. The worst part is that we finally had our appointment scheduled, and they couldn't get us in until next Friday (the 27th)! That is 8 long days of worrying. I am trying SO hard to just pray about it and have faith that everything will be just fine. The Bible says, "Faith is being sure of what we hope for..." so I am going to try my hardest to be sure that Tyler is okay!! And whatever comes of the situation, I will be stronger for it and be able to handle it.

Jordon has been the best husband ever through all of this... poor guy has to deal with my crying all the time and still manages to stay positive throughout it all. Even though most my prayers are aimed for Tyler, I still make sure to thank God for really hitting the jackpot when he gave me Jordon as a husband :-)

So if you all could keep our little man in your prayers, we would truly appreciate it. Please pray number 1, that he is okay, and whatever going on in his head resolves without any major complications. Also pray that whatever God's will be with this situation, Jordon and I will be able to handle it and will be stronger for it. Thanks for reading and we will keep you updated!

29 Weeks

This week has been thankfully much more uneventful than the last. Baby has been growing and growing, and as he grows his kicks and punches are getting stronger and stronger. Jordon and I are still amazed whenever we can see his foot clearly move under my skin... talk about crazy!

As I read what is happening inside my belly each week, I am amazed at the process of the growth of a human being. This week, Tyler is getting closer to being 3 lbs, and about the length of a loaf of bread! I can't believe I have that inside me! His brain has developed to the point where he can control his own breathing and body temperature. They say babies "practice" breathing in the womb by breathing in amniotic fluid (um... ew) and can get hiccups from swallowing all that fluid. I know my man must be getting plenty of practice because he gets hiccups all the time! I had always heard stories of babies getting hiccups in the womb, and always wondered what it would feel like, and the other day I felt little movements which I thought were tiny kicks, until they started happening every 2 seconds for a few minutes. I KNEW they had to be hiccups! And he gets them every few days now haha.

And hiccups aren't the only movement I've been feeling. He is still moving around like crazy. I feel kicks, punches, squirms, rolls, tosses and turns all the time in there. Sometimes I swear he is trying to do the worm because I'll feel a rolling/squirming that make my entire belly visibly move. I've read your should start doing "kick counts" twice a day, and count the # of times your little one moves in an hour... if you count less than 10 movements in an hours, there may be some sort of issue in there. Well, I've started to do them, but they only last about 10 minutes or less because he moves SO much and SO often. Jordon and I are a little frightened of how crazy this boy will be when he comes out and learns to walk haha.

Next Wednesday we have an appointment at the OB and an ultrasound to make sure Tyler is growing despite my lack of packing on the pounds. Jordon and I are excited that we get to SEE our little one again! And the next week we're doing a 3D/4D ultrasound, so we'll get to say hello again! We are lucky, lucky parents!

28 Weeks

Wow. What a week it has been. My first official week in the third trimester really showed no mercy.

Like I mentioned last week, I had an awful toothache, which I ended up seeing my dentist for on Friday. Turns out I probably needed a root canal, but made an appointment with an endodontist for Monday to confirm. Monday rolled around and I got a call from the dentist's office that they'd checked with my insurance, and at best they would pay $300 of my $1000 root canal if I had to get one. Plus, they didn't cover the crown that I would need to have put on the tooth afterward, which would run another $1050. Like I really have the money for that?? I went in for the consultation and found out I definitely needed to have a root canal. Or I could have the tooth pulled, but I'd probably need a bridge put in later, or an implant, which would probably end up being even more expensive. They also told me I could wait until the baby was born to get it done if I felt more comfortable that way, but I would be risking it getting worse or infected. I called my mother who graciously offered to pay for my endodontic adventures and decided to go ahead and schedule the procedure for May 19th.

Well, that night I started to have some contractions. They weren't painful, but my belly was super tight and my uterus was definitely contracting. I tried laying on my left side and drinking water like they say to do, but nothing would help. I was having them every 5-7 minutes consistantly so I finally called the midwife on-call at the hospital and she told me to come in. Well one round trip to Harrisonburg and 2 and a half hours later, we found out they were just Braxton Hicks contractions brought on by stress. Hmm I wonder where all that stress came from?? The good thing though was the baby's heart rate was just perfect the whole time and the nurse said she was surprised that such a young baby was responding so well to contractions. Go Tyler!

Anyways, Wednesday rolled around and I went into the dentist for a cleaning. Well, I had swelling around my root canal-doomed tooth, and the dentist said it was the beginning of an infection. They called my endodontist and moved my procedure up to the next day! Plus I had to go on antibiotics. Could the week get worse? Long story short, I had the root canal done yesterday and it actually went really well... I am terrified of the dentist but the guy was great and so nice!! Still cost an arm and a leg (and a couple extra fingers and toes at that), but at least I didn't feel any pain! Plus, although I can't take Ibuprofen for the pain/swelling as normally recommended (since I'm preggers), I'm not in much pain at all today.

We also had an OB appointment yesterday morning. I had to drink the 10 fl oz. of extra sugary orange Hi-C (well, that's what it tasted like) for my glucose tolerance test. Yuck . Then I got my blood drawn when I got into the office(the results came back and I'm gestational-diabetes-free!). I then went in and met with the midwife who was concerned because I had actually lost 1/2 lb since my last visit, so I've only gained 11 lbs overall. She scheduled us for an ultrasound to make sure baby is growing despite my lack of growth on the scale. However, according to the belly measurement, he's growing right on track, so I'm not too concerned. It was pretty funny because when the midwife was measuring my belly, Tyler was kicking and moving like a mad man! She got a little kick and was so surprised! Then he kept on kicking her hands! She loved it haha. I KNEW my baby moved more than the average boy ;-) They also decided to take more blood because I've been feeling extra tired recently, and they wanted to check to make sure my thyroid is still behaving.

So there is my long rant about this week. It definitely was not fun, but it is over and things are getting taken care of. We go back in 2 weeks for another appointment and the growth ultrasound, and then the next week we're doing a 3D/4D ultrasound! We are very excited to see our little boy 2 weeks in a row! We also have an appointment to pre-register at the hospital in 2 weeks, so it is just making everything that much more real!! I cannot wait until this little boy comes to meet us!!