Life Is Good: Packed and Ready to Go

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Packed and Ready to Go

Ryan's packed and ready to go...

I just don't know where he's going.

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*Baby* Update
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Things have been going pretty well. I have reached that point in pregnancy where exhaustion is the word of the day. Energy...I have NONE! I haven't had any morning sickness. I have all-day-long nausea. All of my pregnancies have been different in so many ways. Even in these early weeks. With Brandy I had most-of-the-day nausea, but not near as bad as I do now. I also had a major aversion to chicken and with just the smell of it...raw, cooked or otherwise...I was running to the toilet. With Ryan I don't really remember any nausea/morning sickness however I craved Ceasar Salads something crazy and ate one almost every day. With this baby I haven't found any true aversions although sweets just aren't my thing right now. A little bit goes a long way. I am really liking foods with bold flavors...specifically italian with the garlic and other italian seasonings. Pass the garlic bread please.

Unfortunately the one thing that has been true with all three of my pregnancies is spotting early on. I hate seeing it, but it's pretty normal for me. We did have a pretty major scare this past Saturday. I had bleeding and cramping...and lots of it. I was almost certain my worst fears (for early in pregnancy) were happening.

I had an unscheduled appt. with my OB on Monday. I called that morning with my concerns and they "worked me in". I got to see our little "butterfly" on the ultrasound screen. There were even little flutters indicating the start of the heart beat. The doctor measured the baby at 5 weeks 6 days and 2.5 mm long which is smaller than a grain of rice. That is just amazing to me. It's amazing that at only 2-3 weeks past conception the heart is already forming and the size of the entire baby is only the size of a grain of rice (actually smaller). Life is amazing. God is so good. Now as for the bleeding, the only explanation the doctor had was that I could possibly have been pregnant with twins but miscarried one on Saturday. That saddens me a little. All life is sacred from the very beginning. I am truly grateful that my little butterfly was still fluttering and growing safely inside. You stay there, my little butterfly, until at least 36 weeks!

Since the appt. wasn't an official one I still haven't talked to the doc. about the plans. I have a *scheduled* appt. for next Wednesday (day before Thanksgiving) at which time I will have another ultrasound and a complete physical and all questions and plans will be addressed.

2 comments:

Hilary said...: Hate the throwing up part of pregnancy but it'a a good thing too...hang in there :) grow baby grow :) Have a great week and I hope Ryan figures out where he's going hehe; November 18, 2009 at 10:50 AM
twin power mommy ♥ said...: I didn't know you were pregnant...shows you how far behind I am!

YAY!

But the bleeding part...wow...
i remember i bled with Eli for a bit. It scared me.

I remember crying and thinking that i couldn't be losing the baby. I was so nervous, but the ultrasound showed a nice heartbeat.

Some bleeding initially is somewhat normal from what i've read.
Don't worry. Our God is good! He is with you always! :D; November 22, 2009 at 10:13 PM

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Brandy Danielle

Brandy is our firstborn, our precious angel baby girl. Her entry into this world wasn't without excitement. At 26 weeks I started preterm labor with contractions 5 minutes apart. With 10 weeks of strict bedrest, most of which were in the hospital, she made it to 36 weeks.
Brandy was diagnosed with "possible/probable" heart defect around 28-30 weeks gestation. After her birth she was whisked away to the NICU for monitoring and after a few days her defect was formally diagnosed and labeled...atrial septal defect and a cleft mitral valve.
Brandy, upon indications of failure to thrive and pulmonary hypertension, underwent her first of 2 open-heart surgeries at 4 months of age. A week after her surgery on the day of her anticipated discharge home Brandy coded for 13 minutes...a stoke.
From that point on Brandy's life was full of doctor's visits, endless crying, pain and suffering. She underwent another heart surgery, fundoplication and g-tube surgery, treatment for infantile spasms, and a mountain of tests and procedures. Her brain damage was extensive.
Upon counseling of our wonderful, most amazing heart surgeon, Dr. Christopher Knott-Craig, and many hours of prayer, we finally called in hospice and called off all of the extensive medical interventions and surgery needs that would prolong her suffering while possibly prolonging her life. Brandy, our precious baby girl...our angel...passed out of our arms and into the arms of her Saviour, Jesus at the tender age of 17 months.

Ryan Andrew

Ryan, our micro-preemie miracle, is a ball of life. After nearly a year of trying to conceive imagine our delight when we finally knew he was on the way. My pregnancy with Ryan was uneventful at first. It seemed perfect and with all of the precautions for preterm labor being taken and monitored we entered this pregnancy with cautious anticipation covered over by a whole love of naive excitement.
At 20 weeks we discovered our "Baby Peanut" was going to be a little boy. We began to make plans and began dreaming about the day we would meet our son.
Almost 2 weeks later everything changed in our lives. It wa a whirlwind of fear and emtions as I began to bleed, was sent for monitoring in L&D and eventually had an appointment with my OB only to find out that it was serious. I had incompetent cervix with hourglassing membranes. The doctor admitted me to the hospital immediately and an emergency cerclage was placed. The statistics were grim, but the hope was to keep our son inside for at least 10 more weeks. We only made it 10 more days.
Early in the evening of February 11, 2007 our son, Ryan, came into this world in emergency fashion at only 23 weeks 5 days gestation. He weighed 1 pound 8 ounces and was 12 ½ inches long. He was so tiny. All I could think of was “oh my goodness is he really that tiny? And is there any way he could actually make it?” I tried to hold on to hope, but in all honesty I had never met anyone with a baby born that early and that small that ever made it.
Ryan did make it! It was a long, hard road, but in the end he spent 90 days in the NICU. He was on a ventilator for 2 months. Finally on one fine glorious day in May we bundled up our 4 pound 4 ounce baby boy and went home...May 11, 2007.
Ryan is now a spunky, lively, strong-willed little boy. His laughter is contagious and his spirit is compelling. He is our miracle. There are no words strong enough to share our delight and joy that God has blessed us with this little boy.

Evan Alexander