livingwithevan.com

Category: Pregnancy

  • University of MI Appointment #3

    Mom and Evan are in the home stretch now, we’ve got just over a week to go! We have worked out most of the logistics for the birth, at least the ones that we can control, the rest is up to Evan and when he decides that he wants to make his debut.

    The appointment today was very routine and barely worth the drive to Ann Arbor, but that’s ok. They asked how Sarah was feeling, asked if she was experiencing any signs of labor such as contractions, fluids, etc. Nothing to report there. Then the doctor says, “ok, we will scheduled your induction for July 18th.” Huh? This is the first we have heard about being induced. We put the brakes on that… We want to let it be as natural as possible, the longer he stays in there the bigger and stronger he’ll be for the surgery. We informed her that we will be moving to Ann Arbor next week to wait it out and don’t want to induce until the following week if nothing has happened. We’ve talked about this with them before but I guess when you talk to a different OB every time the wires can get crossed. She had no issues with our plan.

    We talked about what to do if she does start having contractions before we get ‘moved’ to Ann Arbor and ran through a few scenarios…

    • Call the U of M Birth Center Triage if we have any questions 24/7  (speed dial added).
    • If her water breaks or she starts to have any bleeding then we go directly to the nearest hospital.
    • If she starts having contractions and they’re regular and strong we can go to the nearest hospital, if when we get there and they check her out, she’s not dilated very much then the best bet is to get back in the car and head to Ann Arbor.
    • If contractions get to be about 8 minutes apart, strong, 1 minute in length, and consistent for an hour then we would head to Ann Arbor.

    I don’t suspect that we’ll need to do any of these, but we’ve got to be thinking about them just in case.

    One concern to us is the possibility of Sarah needing a c-section so we talked about that also. In the event of a c-section Evan would need to be moved to Ann Arbor and mom would be stuck in Kalamazoo until she’s been released from ‘major surgery.’ What scenarios would necessitate a c-section?  We talked about a few of them and the doctor did not express any concern that a c-section would be needed. <fingers crossed>

    They listened to Evan’s heartbeat and sent us on our way. Drive time 3.5 hours, time in waiting room/exam room waiting to be seen 1.0 hours, actual appointment 20 minutes. 🙂 <shrug> oh well, lol.

    We will move to Ann Arbor next week, have 2 appointments in Ann Arbor starting the following week and if Evan has not come by July 25th then they will begin the induction process. They prefer to start the induction early in the week with heart patients so that it’s not happening over the weekend when the hospital and especially the pediatric unit is not at full staff. Good call!

  • Biophysical US @ 33 weeks

    Biophysical US @ 33 weeks

    Last Friday we had our second biophysical ultrasound and non-stress test. As it turns out Friday afternoon is not a good day for appointments. Wow, was it busy. The nurse came by after about 15 minutes, looked at Evan’s non-stress results, said it looked great but she wanted to get 8 more minutes of data. 25+ minutes later they unhooked Sarah from the machine. We went over to the ultrasound area and waited some more. The ultrasound was pretty standard, it’s always great to see him. They didn’t see any issues.

    I am really excited for our next U of M appointment this Friday. They are going to look at his heart again and see how it’s doing but what I am most interested in are his measurements. It has been several weeks now since we have heard anything about his size and we’re anxious to hear.

    The surgeon says, the bigger the better. I think this will play a large role in the delivery. We’ve got some logistics to figure out still. Do we “move” to Ann Arbor early and wait it out? Do we schedule it and induce? Do we wait for labor and drive the 1.5 hours to Ann Arbor (OB’s suggestion)? I think the exams and ultrasounds the last 2-3 weeks will help us make that decision. We would prefer to let it happen naturally but if he’s already a really good size (which at last look was looking good) then maybe it would make more sense to induce for logistical proposes.

  • Biophysical US @ 32 wks

    Biophysical US @ 32 wks

    Continuing since our 30th-week appointment, we are going to have weekly ultrasounds.  Usually this wouldn’t happen until week 36, but seeing as we are a special case we get to go more often.  Starting at this appointment, we also have weekly fetal non-stress tests.  I had no idea what this was but I get to sit in a chair for 20-30 minutes with 2 monitors strapped to my belly.  One is for measuring contractions and one measures the fetal heartbeat.  I am given a button (think Jeopardy-type buzzer) that I have to press every time I feel Evan move.  They are looking for a correlation of Evan moving plus an increase in his heart rate within a set amount of time.  Evan passed with flying colors.  His heart may be bojangled but dammit it works awesome.  Lil fella is going to be alright after all. 🙂

    The ultrasounds we have now are called biophysical ultrasounds.  It just means they are looking at his overall development.  They don’t take any measurements except for amniotic fluid levels.  A couple weeks ago it was suspected that the ventricles in his brain were too large so they also measured these.  We weren’t worried then and it turns out that he is growing into them just fine.  They appear pronounced but measure normally, so there are no other indications of any problems.  He was again head-down facing my right side, which explains why I suddenly get shooting pains on my right side and rib area.  Of course we couldn’t get a profile pic because both his hands and a foot were in front of his face.  Plus it is only getting more and more crowded so the likelihood of getting a nice profile ever again is getting slim.  We did notice his little hand holding onto something and it was the umbilical cord.  When we zoomed back a little bit we could see that he was not only holding onto it but sucking on it like a paci.  We could see his little chin moving and everything.  Very cool.

    Thanks Mom for coming with me to my appointment.  I’m really happy that not only I got to share him with you but also you got to experience your first US.  Only a couple weeks left until we meet him in real life. 🙂

    Here the tech points out the hand, with the fingers on top and it resting in his palm.  Nice fat little arm too. If you squint a little you can see that the dark part in his grip is  the cord itself.

    Zoomed out, to the right you can see the highlighted region of his forehead and start of nose.  The flicker of white in the middle of the image was his little chin moving.  Too bad he was being a little stinker and wouldn’t give us a better shot.

  • Best shape of my life

    I know these are a little old but I thought I would post some belly comparison photos.  Right now I am at 32/40 weeks.  I’ve gained… 30ish pounds… I think.  Turkey weighed 4 of those pounds himself last time we checked.  I absolutely love the round shape he has given me.  I get it now why pregnant woman have said they’ve never felt more confident of their bodies.  While I cannot go that far, I will say I love the way I can’t see my feet. I love the shadow Evan helps me cast.  I just love having him so close to me.  There will definitely be more to update, but for now here is how everything has looked so far.

     

     

  • Baby Shower

    Thanks so much to my sister and mom for hosting a shower for Evan.  Thank you family and friends for showering Evan with so much love and generosity already.  Among you, he will surely find no shortage of your kindness.  We received some adorable clothes, lots of nursery items, and oh-so practical tips and tricks from experienced moms.  Baby stuff is soooo cute and cuddly.  Thanks ladies (and Paulie)! The camera was a little squirrely so sorry the pics are what they are, but I also didn’t need 100 photos of my double chin so maybe it was a blessing in disguise. 🙂 Can’t wait until you all get to meet my little sweetie!  With his morse-code kicks he sends his deepest appreciation and thanks.

     

  • Keep growing baby boy!

    Keep growing baby boy!

     

    Yesterday afternoon we had another doctor’s appointment, just a routine one here in Kalamazoo. As always we had an ultrasound and Evan is growing just like he should be. In fact, in the last week and a half he’s gained 15 ounces! I’ve searched and searched online and I cannot find any decent charts or calculators that would help us predict his birth weight. They say he’s in the 60th percentile, you would think that it would be pretty easy to find a chart that plots that information…maybe you guys will have better luck than me. Obviously the weight can vary quite a bit, but I am still curious. After all, the heart surgeon said “the bigger the better.” We’re hoping for a big ‘ol turkey. 🙂

    From here on out we’ll be having an appointment every week to check on his progress. We’ll be able to fill an entire album with pictures before he even gets here. Yay! Maybe one of these days we’ll be able to get a decent 3D picture of him. I thought yesterday was going to be the day, he was head down and face up. When I asked for a 3D picture… the tech said “this is not a 3D room, and the cord is lying over his face anyway.” C’mon baby boy, don’t be shy.

  • Goodbye Toes.

    Goodbye Toes.

    We took these pictures at 25 weeks but I forgot to post them. Tomorrow starts week 28, I will take some more and post them soon.

  • Boy oh boy

    Boy oh boy

    Dear Evan –

    Yesterday your Dad and I got to see you again during an ultrasound.  It’s amazing how much you have grown in a month.  You used to just take up a little bit of the screen and now your profile takes up the whole thing.  The tech estimated that you weighed 2 lbs 4 oz already at 26 weeks.  Holy cow.  You are going to be a big turkey.  I should have anticipated since I’ve already gained 30 lbs…  😐  As long as you promise to go on long walks with me and I’ll wear those get-your-butt-in-shape shoes, let Mommy know what you want to eat and I’ll get it for you.  I’m worried you are going to grow up too fast and you won’t be our sweet little boy for long.  But I also know that being bigger is good for you and your healing.

    You’re doing a great job exercising lately.  And your saucy attitude while the tech was trying to look at you was priceless.  Hey man, if someone was invading my space I would tell them what’s what too.  Yet you’re so shy when we are trying to get a good look at you.  Hopefully we can be a touch more cooperative when we have our appointments at U of M.  They are the ones who are going to fix your heart and make you feel better.  I’m so looking forward to seeing you again.   In the meantime, keep letting me know you are here. 🙂

    Love,
    Mommy

  • Pictures of Evan and Mom

    Pictures of Evan and Mom

    Here’s a few pictures of the proud momma at 21 weeks.

     

    Happy Mom! And she’s feeling great. Little Evan has been so good to her.

     She can still see her feet, but barely. 🙂

    Let’s see how that tape moves over the next few weeks!

  • First Ultrasound

    First Ultrasound

    19 Weeks - Profile
    19 Weeks – Profile

    On February 22, 2011 we went in for our first ultrasound. We were so excited to finally get to see the baby that Sarah had been feeling grow inside of her. The ultrasound started as anyone would have expected it to, the technician was pointing out all the structures of the baby, taking measurements, etc. We were amazed at how quickly the technician was able to locate and identify things and cracked a sarcastic joke to her about how there must be very little training required for  this.

    My hat’s off to those couples that can wait until he/she comes out to learn the gender. We’re soooooo not those people. I would have been very disappointed if we would not have been able to find out the gender that day. As it turned out we were able to tell the sex of our little 9 ounce, 6 inch long baby. It was pretty obvious when the tech pointed at something…as opposed to nothing, it’s a boy!

    The technician continued looking, measuring, etc. She kept coming back to the heart at different angles and different positions. She made Sarah go to the bathroom and looked at it again. The room got very quiet, the pointing out of structures stopped and the technician said “I can’t tell you about what I see, the doctor will discuss it with you afterwards.” Our hearts stopped, we hadn’t really noticed anything in the ultrasound, but this was our first baby, we barely knew what we were looking at. The ultrasound finished and we sat awaiting the doctor to tell us something.

    The doctor came into the room and told us that the baby’s measurements were good, he’s very active, weight was right on track, heartbeat was good. Then it came… “because he was moving around so much, we were not able to get a good enough look at the heart. There could be a problem but we want to have another ultrasound to make sure. The problem that we are concerned with is called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.” Then she very briefly explained that it means the left ventricle is underdeveloped and would require surgery, most likely at Mott’s Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor (University of Michigan’s Hopspital). That’s honestly the extent of what she told us. Obviously she did it so we would not freak out since it was not confirmed. Although I understand her position, I wish she would have told us a little more. We did plenty of freaking out after about 10 minutes with our best friend Google. We tried to keep our spirits high and thought surely we could not be the 1 in 3000.

    They scheduled another ultrasound with a different technician, different area, and different equipment. Six days later….