Just a quick note for those of you who check this site on occasion. Last week's MRI prooved to be very good. Little one does indeed have all her brain parts (the cavem septum, specifically). Her fluid measurements were not accurate on the ultrasound. She actually has 2.3 centimeters in one ventricle and .08 in the other. That's good, because one has now moved to the "safer" zone. The other did not get substantially bigger....also a good sign.
We are still waiting to get in with the neurologist. That will be on Thursday, a week from tomorrow ...When I asked what he will tell me, the nurse practitioner said very sweetly, "He's a highly degreed man with alot of intelligence who will most likely say the same thing we have....you'll have to wait until she's born to know for sure." But, I did find out that a vaginal birth is still on the plan so far because the pressure in her tiny head is not that great. Also, found out they will most likely induce when the time comes so that the surgeon and the high risk doc can be there on stand by.
Finally, they want me to carry full term, or as close as I can because a healthy full grown baby is easier to treat than an underdeveloped sick one.
There you have it! I have another ultrasound this friday and will update when I get results.
For those of you who already know this...sorry it took so long for me to type it. 2 concerts in 2 weeks are doing me in!!!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
I'm superwife!
I'm proclaiming myself "superwife" this weekend! Here's why:
My husband, bless his soul, has a one track mind! (no no, before you go there....this is not THAT kind of story.) Memorial Day is a big festive weekend in Grafton. Lots of vets, lots of pride, lots of hamburgers and hotdogs. People in these parts bring in the weekend with events like going to the lake and boating, attending the parade, having cook-outs, going to the drive-in and camping.
Well, I think Jason had a mission to accomplish most, if not all that list this weekend. That's fine with me! Normal ole' Heidi would have been right there with him. But, pregnant Heidi, well that's another story.
"Let's go camping!" says my loving husband. I reply, "..but honey, I have to pee 7 times a night. That's not going to work! Plus, I can barely sleep in a bed...and you want me to lay on the ground?". Hubby rebutts, "I think we have one of those portable camping potties, and I've been wanting to buy a cot." "Oh honey, go ahead and go camping without me! Please, have fun and enjoy yourself!"I sweetly reply... etc..
So then we are in C'burg for a shopping trip, and low and behold.....a cot ends up in the back of the truck. We stop at the barn and POOF....a portable camping toilet! No, no, no I think to myself!!! Please!!!
Long story short: I camped out on Saturday night, the 30 degree night, I might add. Hubby shows up with hotdogs and smores makings, a cot, a potty and a brand new luxury tent (known as the summer home). I only peed three or four times on the cold, wet seat. Not at all comfortable, but I managed. The worse part of it was the all night long heart burn from the camp food and the drive down to the pond on the family farm. The cattle had torn up the road with huge divots and the road down to the pond nearly made me go into labor from the bumping and bouncing.
So, sleepily I woke up the next morning, feeling satisfied that I was the world's best wife. I mean, come on, 7 1/2 months pregnant and sleeping in a tent!! Then came, THE DRIVE-IN. I'm pretty pooped from our camping and hubby says, "HEY, let's go to see Indiana Jones at the drive in." I think to myself, "I can sleep in the truck while he watches!" Then I say, "ok, uh sure honey." What I didn't realize is that he wanted to watch the movie from the back of our pick-up.....in lawn chairs....in the cold. UGHHH! Here we go again! Have you ever tried to climb into the back of a pick up while pregnant? Let's not even talk about the lawn chair. Yet, I did it like a champ! Hubby even brought snacks....Chips and Salsa. That did wonders for the heart burn leftovers from the previous night. OUCH!!! superwife strikes again!!!! (not a great movie I might add!)
Today, I was sitting in those same lawn chairs on the side of the main street of our home town, watching a 2+ hour parade in the hot sun. Oh yeah...we walked to down town from our house and had to climb half way back up to catch a ride home after it was over.
He did carry the chairs.
I am superwife!!!! Enough said!
My husband, bless his soul, has a one track mind! (no no, before you go there....this is not THAT kind of story.) Memorial Day is a big festive weekend in Grafton. Lots of vets, lots of pride, lots of hamburgers and hotdogs. People in these parts bring in the weekend with events like going to the lake and boating, attending the parade, having cook-outs, going to the drive-in and camping.
Well, I think Jason had a mission to accomplish most, if not all that list this weekend. That's fine with me! Normal ole' Heidi would have been right there with him. But, pregnant Heidi, well that's another story.
"Let's go camping!" says my loving husband. I reply, "..but honey, I have to pee 7 times a night. That's not going to work! Plus, I can barely sleep in a bed...and you want me to lay on the ground?". Hubby rebutts, "I think we have one of those portable camping potties, and I've been wanting to buy a cot." "Oh honey, go ahead and go camping without me! Please, have fun and enjoy yourself!"I sweetly reply... etc..
So then we are in C'burg for a shopping trip, and low and behold.....a cot ends up in the back of the truck. We stop at the barn and POOF....a portable camping toilet! No, no, no I think to myself!!! Please!!!
Long story short: I camped out on Saturday night, the 30 degree night, I might add. Hubby shows up with hotdogs and smores makings, a cot, a potty and a brand new luxury tent (known as the summer home). I only peed three or four times on the cold, wet seat. Not at all comfortable, but I managed. The worse part of it was the all night long heart burn from the camp food and the drive down to the pond on the family farm. The cattle had torn up the road with huge divots and the road down to the pond nearly made me go into labor from the bumping and bouncing.
So, sleepily I woke up the next morning, feeling satisfied that I was the world's best wife. I mean, come on, 7 1/2 months pregnant and sleeping in a tent!! Then came, THE DRIVE-IN. I'm pretty pooped from our camping and hubby says, "HEY, let's go to see Indiana Jones at the drive in." I think to myself, "I can sleep in the truck while he watches!" Then I say, "ok, uh sure honey." What I didn't realize is that he wanted to watch the movie from the back of our pick-up.....in lawn chairs....in the cold. UGHHH! Here we go again! Have you ever tried to climb into the back of a pick up while pregnant? Let's not even talk about the lawn chair. Yet, I did it like a champ! Hubby even brought snacks....Chips and Salsa. That did wonders for the heart burn leftovers from the previous night. OUCH!!! superwife strikes again!!!! (not a great movie I might add!)
Today, I was sitting in those same lawn chairs on the side of the main street of our home town, watching a 2+ hour parade in the hot sun. Oh yeah...we walked to down town from our house and had to climb half way back up to catch a ride home after it was over.
He did carry the chairs.
I am superwife!!!! Enough said!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Some information about "Baby Girl" Lucas
Ok folks, here's the scoop. I'm sorry I have not been blogging much lately, but in the last week Jason and I have been on a whirl wind tour of scary events. I think it's time I just post info so I can keep all informed without trying to call all who may be interested. I have good intentions, but to be frankly honest, I'm exhausted and pre-occupied with everything, so I'm missing many of you.
Little one had something show up abnormal on her ultrasound in the doctor's office. Long story short, he referred us to Mon General ASAP....who then sent the report back to him. We then were rushed over to Ruby Memorial for a high risk consult. All are coming back with similar findings, yet none are consistent. Baby Girl has what's known as "hydrosyphaly" (i think I spelled correctly). This is a condition where the ventricles of the brain are enlarged/dialated and filled with spinal fluid. This is something that happens sometimes, but her condition is a little more dis-heartening. Her fluid measurement is 2centimeters in her Right ventricle, and 1.3 centimeters in her left. This asymmetry is highly uncommon and rarely seen. Plus, the non threatening level of this fluid is 10 mm's or under. As you see, she is over in both ventricles.
A good thought is this: This condition did not surface until the last ultrasound 2 weeks ago...so they feel positive that her brain had a chance to form without the pressure there for much of her development. Her head, body, etc....is measuring normally, which means there is no enlargement of her skull, brain, etc. The other good news is she is moving, kicking, waving her arms at the ultrasound machine, yawning, hiccuping, puckering her lips, sucking her thumb and being shy for the camera.....all higher functioning activities and developmentally appropriate. If there was severe damage, these reactions would not be as purposeful. She actually took her baby hand and shoved the ultrasound wand off my belly when the tech pushed too hard. It was very comforting to watch. The resident in the room said, "look at that! That's amazing!"
Normally, this fluid on the brain would be a marker for a chromosonal abnormality (downs syndrome or worse...), however....she's tricky! You see, I've had all the "advanced maternal age" blood tests done that check all those things. She tested negative for everything. NO indicators. Also, hydrosyphalia usually is caused by some sort of blockage or abnormality in the spine.....She has nothing visible. The only other concern is that a part of her brain structure, the cavem septum, has not been seen on the ultrasounds due to her position in my pelvis. In other words, it could be there, but it's hiding. This could be a serious problem if they dectect that it is missing.
So, as a result of all this, I am no longer a patient of Women's Health Care and Mon General. I have become a patient of Dr. Holls, the head of the High Risk clinic at Ruby. Our little one will be recieving an MRI on Monday evening, then we will follow up with a phone call on Tuesday and an appt. on Friday. I'm moving up to once a week appts and ultrasounds until she is due, in order to track the progress of the fluid. It is a possibility that I may have to have a c-section and/or deliver early if her pressure increases. After the MRI appt., I will be meeting with a neo-natal neurosurgeon, to discuss what all this means as far as post birth treatment and effect. It can be as simple as it "goes away"...to the most severe possibilities that I don't need to type about.
So, there's what Jason and I know in a nut shell....Basically, the doc said, "We can't tell you what we don't know. This is rare and hard to detect when the baby is in your belly. We'll have to wait until she gets here to know for sure the level of damage if any." We will at least have a clearer picture of the problem when the MRI results come back.
Jason and I are scared, but optimistic. Afterall, what good is stewing in negative thoughts? We are just hoping for the best, and preparing mentally for the worse. We will let everyone know when we are closer to an answer. Until then, send a prayer her way and hopefully she will be fine! To read more about it, check out this link:
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EM/9339/31382.html
Little one had something show up abnormal on her ultrasound in the doctor's office. Long story short, he referred us to Mon General ASAP....who then sent the report back to him. We then were rushed over to Ruby Memorial for a high risk consult. All are coming back with similar findings, yet none are consistent. Baby Girl has what's known as "hydrosyphaly" (i think I spelled correctly). This is a condition where the ventricles of the brain are enlarged/dialated and filled with spinal fluid. This is something that happens sometimes, but her condition is a little more dis-heartening. Her fluid measurement is 2centimeters in her Right ventricle, and 1.3 centimeters in her left. This asymmetry is highly uncommon and rarely seen. Plus, the non threatening level of this fluid is 10 mm's or under. As you see, she is over in both ventricles.
A good thought is this: This condition did not surface until the last ultrasound 2 weeks ago...so they feel positive that her brain had a chance to form without the pressure there for much of her development. Her head, body, etc....is measuring normally, which means there is no enlargement of her skull, brain, etc. The other good news is she is moving, kicking, waving her arms at the ultrasound machine, yawning, hiccuping, puckering her lips, sucking her thumb and being shy for the camera.....all higher functioning activities and developmentally appropriate. If there was severe damage, these reactions would not be as purposeful. She actually took her baby hand and shoved the ultrasound wand off my belly when the tech pushed too hard. It was very comforting to watch. The resident in the room said, "look at that! That's amazing!"
Normally, this fluid on the brain would be a marker for a chromosonal abnormality (downs syndrome or worse...), however....she's tricky! You see, I've had all the "advanced maternal age" blood tests done that check all those things. She tested negative for everything. NO indicators. Also, hydrosyphalia usually is caused by some sort of blockage or abnormality in the spine.....She has nothing visible. The only other concern is that a part of her brain structure, the cavem septum, has not been seen on the ultrasounds due to her position in my pelvis. In other words, it could be there, but it's hiding. This could be a serious problem if they dectect that it is missing.
So, as a result of all this, I am no longer a patient of Women's Health Care and Mon General. I have become a patient of Dr. Holls, the head of the High Risk clinic at Ruby. Our little one will be recieving an MRI on Monday evening, then we will follow up with a phone call on Tuesday and an appt. on Friday. I'm moving up to once a week appts and ultrasounds until she is due, in order to track the progress of the fluid. It is a possibility that I may have to have a c-section and/or deliver early if her pressure increases. After the MRI appt., I will be meeting with a neo-natal neurosurgeon, to discuss what all this means as far as post birth treatment and effect. It can be as simple as it "goes away"...to the most severe possibilities that I don't need to type about.
So, there's what Jason and I know in a nut shell....Basically, the doc said, "We can't tell you what we don't know. This is rare and hard to detect when the baby is in your belly. We'll have to wait until she gets here to know for sure the level of damage if any." We will at least have a clearer picture of the problem when the MRI results come back.
Jason and I are scared, but optimistic. Afterall, what good is stewing in negative thoughts? We are just hoping for the best, and preparing mentally for the worse. We will let everyone know when we are closer to an answer. Until then, send a prayer her way and hopefully she will be fine! To read more about it, check out this link:
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EM/9339/31382.html
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
Some pics of da chicks!
Hand feeding the "girls". 
This is the "fuzzy butts" rear view.....
The other chicks. Baby and me at 7 months. Jason made me pose this way... I got a bit shy and let the shirt fall a bit, but no doubt what's under there.
This is the "fuzzy butts" rear view.....
The other chicks. Baby and me at 7 months. Jason made me pose this way... I got a bit shy and let the shirt fall a bit, but no doubt what's under there.
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