actually mommy is just impatient at this point. We headed back to the doctor today....Saw Dr. Kelly-Jones who is my typical OB-GYN....She reviewed everything that was done last week.
She agrees that the bed rest is doing its job. As much as I hate it, bed rest is best until Liam decides to make his arrival...so today she put me on it until he comes....whenever that may be. It's keeping my blood pressure down and keeping the risk of preeclampsia at bay for now.....It does go up dramatically with activity-even taking a shower or trying to get dressed is making it peak to abnormal levels. So stay in bed stay in bed stay in bed!!! That is hard to hear for someone who doesn't stop and is used to working hard and being active. I am also 2 cm dilated at this point and 80% effaced...that is up from 1cm and 50% last Thursday so obviously he's making his way down the way he's supposed to. She definitely agrees he's a big boy but she doesn't want to induce me if medically she can keep him growing in utero for a bit longer. I have to remember we're still 3 weeks out from our due date....while she did sort of hint that she doesn't think he'll go for the full 40 weeks she also mentioned we're just at wait and see at this point. While I was there, she also wanted to do another Non-Stress Test to see where things stood. While I was having the NST, I started showing signs of having contractions....now that I know what they feel like when she pointed them out, I realize this has been happening for a few days now.....they aren't big contractions or following any pattern yet but definitely my body showing signs of progression. The only other thing of concern was that during the NST, Liam showed signs of having an arrhythmia in his heartbeat....basically skipping a beat or two from time to time. She said today that the Ultrasound we had last week showed this as well but they don't feel like it's anything to be really concerned about-just something to keep an eye on. Of course Adam and I are freaked out but they reassured us he was fine and just to be sure we're having yet another ultrasound done tomorrow at noon. If the ultrasound shows any major changes then we'll reassess. Otherwise, we don't go back to the doctor again until NEXT Thursday.....oh my sanity! Unless of course Liam decided to make his debut in the next few days which at this point would be quite alright with me. So, there is the latest....this boy is growing like a weed and mama's body is exhausted but we're confident that God has this all in His mighty plan and we know that Liam will come when he is ready.
With love from bed rest.....M
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
God's opinion....
When Adam's mom, Nancy, found out she was pregnant with him, it was during a crazy time for our country in the late 70's and early 80's. She told me how uneasy she felt about bringing a baby into the world during this time but that one phrase always stood out to her. She found a little wooden plaque that had her favorite phrase engraved on its surface and this plaque has been a part of the family for close to 30 years now. When Adam and I started dating, I remember going to his mom's house for the first time and seeing this little plaque sit in the window of her kitchen. I specifically remember it catching my eye and my heart and I asked her to tell me about it for the first time.
As the years passed in our relationship, that little phrase on the plaque stayed in the kitchen window sill as family events happened, holidays passed and the first grandchild was born. Adam's sister Katie, had little Aiden almost 4 years ago now and Nancy decided to pass the plaque onto Katie. She asked Katie to keep it safe and to promise that it would go to the next sister, Maddie, Izzy, or Sarah, that would have a baby.
Fast forward 4 years.....
Adam's sisters and mother gave Liam his first baby shower at my favorite little french bakery in Charlotte. Surrounded by loved ones, I was completely overwhelmed at the day....it was everything I could have hoped for.....and then Katie brought out one more little bag for me to open. I watched tears well up in her eyes as she handed it to me. There was always a running joke that she wouldn't be able to give it up....and she said to me, I finally got up the courage to pass it on. It's your turn now....you have to take care of this.
I really lost it at that point....I looked over and saw Adam's mom, Nancy, crying too...knowing that I was now a part of this story...that Liam's story would carry this family tradition on and that I was the next "sister" in line just made my heart swell. I always thought it would go to one of the twins first...Adam's biological sisters...but not me, not a girl who met a boy that happened to be in this amazing family. I am blessed beyond belief and this little plaque holds more meaning because of it's tradition then Liam will every comprehend. From his daddy's birth and now onto his.....we're carrying on God's will in our lives......
As we drove back from Raleigh for our 2nd baby shower, we stopped along the way to snap a few pics....Adam and I were so excited to find that a random church in our travels had used this same phrase on their church sign.....we just couldn't resist.
As the years passed in our relationship, that little phrase on the plaque stayed in the kitchen window sill as family events happened, holidays passed and the first grandchild was born. Adam's sister Katie, had little Aiden almost 4 years ago now and Nancy decided to pass the plaque onto Katie. She asked Katie to keep it safe and to promise that it would go to the next sister, Maddie, Izzy, or Sarah, that would have a baby.
Fast forward 4 years.....
Adam's sisters and mother gave Liam his first baby shower at my favorite little french bakery in Charlotte. Surrounded by loved ones, I was completely overwhelmed at the day....it was everything I could have hoped for.....and then Katie brought out one more little bag for me to open. I watched tears well up in her eyes as she handed it to me. There was always a running joke that she wouldn't be able to give it up....and she said to me, I finally got up the courage to pass it on. It's your turn now....you have to take care of this.
I really lost it at that point....I looked over and saw Adam's mom, Nancy, crying too...knowing that I was now a part of this story...that Liam's story would carry this family tradition on and that I was the next "sister" in line just made my heart swell. I always thought it would go to one of the twins first...Adam's biological sisters...but not me, not a girl who met a boy that happened to be in this amazing family. I am blessed beyond belief and this little plaque holds more meaning because of it's tradition then Liam will every comprehend. From his daddy's birth and now onto his.....we're carrying on God's will in our lives......
As we drove back from Raleigh for our 2nd baby shower, we stopped along the way to snap a few pics....Adam and I were so excited to find that a random church in our travels had used this same phrase on their church sign.....we just couldn't resist.
Friday adventures for Liam...
On Friday we headed back to the doctor to see what our next steps would be for our little monkey....
As always, he has proven he's gonna be a wonderfully stubborn child....We know this will be a strong point in his personality and are grateful for it. Because of my blood pressure suddenly being an issue, the doctor first wanted to do an ultrasound to make doubly sure that Liam was growing as he should and was having no complications.
He is already 7lbs 1 oz and his head is measuring 11cm or as the doctors put it...he's a big boy. He is actually measuring at almost 39 weeks or about 2 weeks ahead....we had a 30 min. ultrasound and although his movements were perfect they could not get him to breathe a few times while we were there because he was sleeping. In order to rule out any issues there, I was moved to another room for a Non-Stress test where I was hooked up to monitors for 30 minutes to check the baby and any contractions I might be having. We passed the NST with no issues but the doctor was concerned about my blood work. The signs they have continued to look for with preeclampsia are slowing creeping in and he has said at this point it's just a matter of days before you have it. There is really no way to avoid it at this point. They are keeping a close eye on my kidney function because of high uric acid in my blood work....and my continued high blood pressure even after all this rest the past few days. My swelling is maintaining and not really improving even after a night's rest and I'm starting to get headaches that are not resolved with medicine. I am going back on Wednesday to see what the next steps are and until then just continuing rest at home unless of course anything sudden happens in the meantime.
Here are a few pics of my Non Stress test.....
As always, he has proven he's gonna be a wonderfully stubborn child....We know this will be a strong point in his personality and are grateful for it. Because of my blood pressure suddenly being an issue, the doctor first wanted to do an ultrasound to make doubly sure that Liam was growing as he should and was having no complications.
He is already 7lbs 1 oz and his head is measuring 11cm or as the doctors put it...he's a big boy. He is actually measuring at almost 39 weeks or about 2 weeks ahead....we had a 30 min. ultrasound and although his movements were perfect they could not get him to breathe a few times while we were there because he was sleeping. In order to rule out any issues there, I was moved to another room for a Non-Stress test where I was hooked up to monitors for 30 minutes to check the baby and any contractions I might be having. We passed the NST with no issues but the doctor was concerned about my blood work. The signs they have continued to look for with preeclampsia are slowing creeping in and he has said at this point it's just a matter of days before you have it. There is really no way to avoid it at this point. They are keeping a close eye on my kidney function because of high uric acid in my blood work....and my continued high blood pressure even after all this rest the past few days. My swelling is maintaining and not really improving even after a night's rest and I'm starting to get headaches that are not resolved with medicine. I am going back on Wednesday to see what the next steps are and until then just continuing rest at home unless of course anything sudden happens in the meantime.
Here are a few pics of my Non Stress test.....
Friday, March 26, 2010
Not the update I wanted to post today but......
So I have tons of wonderful updates from the past few weeks-We've had 3 baby showers including a surprise one from my coworkers and our wonderful small group. My best friend, Rebecca, is throwing our last one this weekend and we're so excited!
But today, we have an update from a random doctor's appointment yesterday....I've been noticing some serious swelling just starting this week.....the following text is what I sent out to coworkers and some friends so it's pretty broken in thoughts but it will explain all the details best....
ok so when they are looking for preeclampsia in pregnancy they look for sudden swelling, extra protein in urine and certain bloodwork to come back with signs of distressed kidney and liver function
they also look for higher BP than normal
my BP has been perfect if not lower everytime I've been.....when I got in yesterday is was like 150/95 or something which is really abnormal for me....plus I had gained almost 5 lbs. in one week-obviously not all baby so i'm retaining too much fluid....thus the pain in my legs/ankles and the huge "tree trunks" i'm carrying around-they were also concerned and checking to see if any blood clots are pooling at my feet
I have something called pitting edema-basically you can press on my skin and it doesn't bounce back b/c i'm retaining too much.
so they did bloodwork which should come back today and they checked Liam-
Liam's heartbeat is perfect as always at 140 so they don't think he's in distress....but they are doing an ultrasound today as well to make sure. they just think I am having issue that would cause him to come just a tad early and we want to keep him cooking as long as we can. If he came right now technically he'd be full term but there is always a risk of lungs not being quite developed,etc. and he having to be in the NICU for a bit-we don't want that!
She also measured me and whereas my date says i'm only 36 weeks this weekend, he's actually measuring way ahead at 37 1/2 to 38 weeks....so definitely a growth spurt somewhere.....
They checked me and I'm already 1 centimeter dilated and 50% effaced-which means my cervix is thinned out-that is the most important number-I can sit at a centimeter dilated up until labor but 50% effaced at this point shows things are definitely progressing. She could feel his head yesterday but said he's still got a ways to drop down
So they had me lay down for 20 min and come back and check my BP and when they did it was normal again....thus the bed rest-obviously being on my feet and being too active right now is causing the issue so she wants me on modified bed rest right now in order to hopefully get him to sit tight for a while So basically off my feet all day and laying down-only up long enough to eat and pee-otherwise pray for poor Adam-he's gonna get the brunt of housework,etc. right now. If she sees signs of preeclampsia in my bloodwork today....then they automatically send me to the hospital and he'd have to come out-thus me being induced-not too happy about it but obviously God's plan is way different then our own right now....
The goal is to get me thru next week on bed rest and see if it helps slow down anything and then we'll reassess the induction again. She said this kind of thing happens all the time but if i had waited any longer, it could develop into something called Eclampsia which causes blackout and seizures b/c of all the symptoms. So he is healthy-mama's body is just tired and done-so we have to help support it-is how she described it.....not genetic or anything-can just come out of nowhere...so scary
So a bit of a change....and sudden but hopefully today we will know more....Please continue to pray for patience as we wait to see what our little man decides to do. For strength and patience for Adam as he leads us in a way he's never has before-he's so brave through all of this and his excitement about meeting Liam is infectious! I'll be at home on bedrest all next week-would love visitors if anyone feels the urge to stop by....just give me a call or email!
Love,
Adam, Mandy and hopefully sooner than later, Liam
But today, we have an update from a random doctor's appointment yesterday....I've been noticing some serious swelling just starting this week.....the following text is what I sent out to coworkers and some friends so it's pretty broken in thoughts but it will explain all the details best....
ok so when they are looking for preeclampsia in pregnancy they look for sudden swelling, extra protein in urine and certain bloodwork to come back with signs of distressed kidney and liver function
they also look for higher BP than normal
my BP has been perfect if not lower everytime I've been.....when I got in yesterday is was like 150/95 or something which is really abnormal for me....plus I had gained almost 5 lbs. in one week-obviously not all baby so i'm retaining too much fluid....thus the pain in my legs/ankles and the huge "tree trunks" i'm carrying around-they were also concerned and checking to see if any blood clots are pooling at my feet
I have something called pitting edema-basically you can press on my skin and it doesn't bounce back b/c i'm retaining too much.
so they did bloodwork which should come back today and they checked Liam-
Liam's heartbeat is perfect as always at 140 so they don't think he's in distress....but they are doing an ultrasound today as well to make sure. they just think I am having issue that would cause him to come just a tad early and we want to keep him cooking as long as we can. If he came right now technically he'd be full term but there is always a risk of lungs not being quite developed,etc. and he having to be in the NICU for a bit-we don't want that!
She also measured me and whereas my date says i'm only 36 weeks this weekend, he's actually measuring way ahead at 37 1/2 to 38 weeks....so definitely a growth spurt somewhere.....
They checked me and I'm already 1 centimeter dilated and 50% effaced-which means my cervix is thinned out-that is the most important number-I can sit at a centimeter dilated up until labor but 50% effaced at this point shows things are definitely progressing. She could feel his head yesterday but said he's still got a ways to drop down
So they had me lay down for 20 min and come back and check my BP and when they did it was normal again....thus the bed rest-obviously being on my feet and being too active right now is causing the issue so she wants me on modified bed rest right now in order to hopefully get him to sit tight for a while So basically off my feet all day and laying down-only up long enough to eat and pee-otherwise pray for poor Adam-he's gonna get the brunt of housework,etc. right now. If she sees signs of preeclampsia in my bloodwork today....then they automatically send me to the hospital and he'd have to come out-thus me being induced-not too happy about it but obviously God's plan is way different then our own right now....
The goal is to get me thru next week on bed rest and see if it helps slow down anything and then we'll reassess the induction again. She said this kind of thing happens all the time but if i had waited any longer, it could develop into something called Eclampsia which causes blackout and seizures b/c of all the symptoms. So he is healthy-mama's body is just tired and done-so we have to help support it-is how she described it.....not genetic or anything-can just come out of nowhere...so scary
So a bit of a change....and sudden but hopefully today we will know more....Please continue to pray for patience as we wait to see what our little man decides to do. For strength and patience for Adam as he leads us in a way he's never has before-he's so brave through all of this and his excitement about meeting Liam is infectious! I'll be at home on bedrest all next week-would love visitors if anyone feels the urge to stop by....just give me a call or email!
Love,
Adam, Mandy and hopefully sooner than later, Liam
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Liam's piece of the world....
We're getting close to crunch time with Liam. He's growing like a weed and a very active little boy already. At our 32 week appointment today, he is right on track for his due date and everything is perfect thus far. Over the weekend we headed to our Childbirth Prep Classes and had an awesome experience. Any fears I had are just getting easier the closer I get and Adam has been such a support during this whole process. We are in the process now of working on our birth plan and beginning to prep ourselves mentally, spiritually and emotionally for his arrival. We are both so anxious and excited to meet our little boy.
At our 4-D ultrasound we learned he's got his Grammie's nose (Grandma Stanley) and his daddy's lips. He also loves to have his thumb in his mouth and apparently finds his umbilical cord very soothing by placing it up against his face to feel the pulsating. He pushing the 4 pound mark already-I'm honestly nervously thinking he might be a BIG boy when he's ready to finally make his arrival.
At our 4-D ultrasound we learned he's got his Grammie's nose (Grandma Stanley) and his daddy's lips. He also loves to have his thumb in his mouth and apparently finds his umbilical cord very soothing by placing it up against his face to feel the pulsating. He pushing the 4 pound mark already-I'm honestly nervously thinking he might be a BIG boy when he's ready to finally make his arrival.
We've also been having a great time putting his nursery together.....I can't wait for playtime in this place and rocking my little one to sleep in his chair. I am so in love already........
Sisters in Christ and in mommyhood....
Finally catching up....
Whew......what a whirlwind few weeks we've had....My last posts talked about Adam's hospital stay which I am proud to say is long behind us. We have new doctors working for Adam's care and he is on his way to new treatments and new healings.
In the meantime, we moved into a new home....we're so very happy here! We have wonderful neighbors and dear friends who are also sharing in being new parents with us and we're so looking forward to raising Liam in this place. Maggie and Buster especially love the back porch and being able to stay outside in the yard on sunny days and having more room to run. We couldn't have asked for better circumstances....we are so very blessed and somehow God just kept opening doors to get us here so we know this is where we belong for a long while.
Here are some pics of our progress on the house thus far:
In the meantime, we moved into a new home....we're so very happy here! We have wonderful neighbors and dear friends who are also sharing in being new parents with us and we're so looking forward to raising Liam in this place. Maggie and Buster especially love the back porch and being able to stay outside in the yard on sunny days and having more room to run. We couldn't have asked for better circumstances....we are so very blessed and somehow God just kept opening doors to get us here so we know this is where we belong for a long while.
Here are some pics of our progress on the house thus far:
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