Luke

On Monday, December 12th, Joe, Ry and I went in for my weekly OB appt. I was surprised to hear that I had dilated to 4-5. Dr. S said that he would probably see me that night, but if not, to schedule an appt for first thing the next morning. So we scheduled the appt, but I was reluctant to think that he'd come that night because with Rylan I was dilated to 4-5 and lasted another week.

Joe decided that we should have one last nice meal out before that baby came. Rylan chose Olive Garden. After dinner we went to pick up some travel soaps, and other things for our hospital stay. Even if he didn't come that night, he was coming soon.

When we got home, Joe and I spent the evening packing our bags and getting everything ready- just in case. The next morning we took a couple belly pics in front of the Christmas tree, kissed Ry goodbye and told my mom we might see her at the hospital later.

When the doctor checked me, I was fully expecting him to say there was no change, but instead he said that I was a strong 7, almost 8 and that he was sending me to L & D! We made my 6 week appt, and walked to the main hospital, making phone calls on the way.

We were in my room at 9 AM, hooked up and ready to go by 9:30. Grumpy was the first to make it to the room. Granny was shortly after. By 10 my doc broke my water. I was having really good contractions, but not feeling them. I think that I didn't need the epidural this time around, but I got it any way. Before long, all the grandparents and Big Brother were at the hospital.

Around 11:00, my nurse tried to put in a catheter and monitor on his head, but it didn't work and we actually kept losing his heartbeat on the monitor, so they gave me oxygen for a little while.

I think it was around noon that I kept feeling some intense pressure pains, so I told the nurse. She checked me and I was at 9. About 15 minutes later my doctor came in and put the cath in and said that I could start pushing. Within a few minutes, everything was in place and I pushed for about 5-7 minutes and there he was!

Lucas Ethan was born at 12:32 pm on Tuesday, December 13th. Weighing 8lbs, 6oz and 22" long.

The next day we found out that he was jaundiced, so he was placed under the lights and given formula to supplement for almost 24 hours. Day 3 his ped said he was much better and we could go home.

About Luke

After looking back on old posts the lasts few weeks before Rylan was born, I realized that I haven't written much about Baby Brother.

It's been a long, emotional, painful road, but all is looking well with him. He has been measuring big for the past couple of months. Monday, he was measuring 39-40 weeks and actually only 35w3d. We know that he has a big head, and is really long. Two weeks ago he weighed 5,9, but Monday he weighed 7,12, which is 6oz bigger than Rylan. The doctor explained that his weight could be a pound less or a pound bigger.... But, it does make sense if he's measuring 39-40 weeks, then he should weigh 7, 12. I asked the doctor if Luke measuring 39-40 means he could come in another week or so, and he said yes, they are directly related. I'm starting to worry about having a big baby and needing a C-section.

He said he'd do another u/s in 2 weeks (19th) to check Luke's size again, but he said he doubts I'll be pregnant in 2 weeks.

These next few weeks are guaranteed to be stressful. Knowing that Luke could come at any time, Rylan is having surgery next Wed, (14th), my car is scheduled to go in the shop the week before Christmas (which just happens to be when Doc thinks Luke will make his grand appearance).

I will admit the idea of a C-section frightens me. Mostly because I am hoping to have another successful breastfeeding experience with Luke. I have been told by several people that women who have c-sections are less likely to be successful with nursing. I also didn't need to take pain meds with Rylan (other than some ibuprofen), but I imagine pain meds are a must with a c-section.

In the case that Luke does arrive early, I received steroid shots about a month ago- right around the beginning of bed rest, so we are hoping that his lungs will be developed and strong. He has the hiccups several times a day, so he's getting in lots of practice.

I keep thinking of everything that needs done for his arrival. Stupid things, like, we can't find the diaper bag! How did we lose the bag? I need to get some nursing bras, pack our bags, there's still some things that need to be washed- like the swing fabric, the changing table needs organized, I don't know, it just feels like we're still not prepared!

And then there's Ry. I have to admit that his surgery next week has me completely freaked and worried. What's worse is that I'm afraid I won't get to give him all that he needs afterwards, so we've had to ask his grandparents to stay with us the couple of days after as Joe will have to go back to work. We've explained most of the what's going to happen to him, and he just takes it in and tries to understand, but you can tell he's scared. I am just hoping and praying that getting the tubes and removing his adenoids will make him feel better.

Speaking of, I need to get ready to get him from the bus.

Lookin' Good!

We had the repeat level 2 and EKG with the specialist yesterday for Baby Brother (9-12-11). I am so thrilled to say that all looked GREAT with him! No heart problems that they could find, and the brain ventricles looked good as well! He's measuring on average a week ahead, some areas 2 weeks ahead. He didn't formally change my due date, but seemed to think we'd meet the new little fella earlier than expected. I'm just hoping to not be in the hospital over Christmas. :-) I'm sure my friend Bobbie would like the idea though as her bday is Christmas Eve. My friend at work said that if we were in the hospital over Christmas, to give her a call and she'd bring a small tree in, fully decorated. She even offered to stop at our house and pick up some of Rylan's goodies from Santa! :-) Such a sweet girl.

Just feeling so relieved and back to enjoying life! 6 months tomorrow, and I plan to enjoy every last bit of this pregnancy. Back to "normal pregnant lady worries".

I have noticed recently that when Ry is next to me talking, Baby Brother starts moving around. I think he likes his big brother already. Ry is definitely excited about BB, kissing my belly and putting his hands on me as if to play with his little bro. So sweet!

Level 2

Due to the positive triple screen, Joe and I went to see a specialist yesterday for a level 2 u/s. We were able to watch the entire scan on a tv on the wall. It was nice to see the baby so big instead of on a little screen.

Baby Brother measured right at 19w,5d on most everything, give or take a day on others. The only thing that measured differently was his head, measuring at 20w, 4d (I believe). Come to find out later, he must have my head size, because the specialist referred to my head as "bigger and rounder"...

They did an internal u/s to check my cervix. All must have been well, because no one mentioned otherwise.

Then it was time to speak with the specialist. Given the BT, and the positive triple screen, he admitted to overlooking our scans. The scan of the heart was not of good quality. The tech tried at least twice for a good picture, but in the end said that she was not happy with the final product. The 4 chambers looked great, but doc said he thinks there might be a very small hole on the heart. He's not sure that's what he sees, but given our history, he is erring on the side of caution to be safe. Apparently the resolution on the scan was low, and with the baby moving so much, he's not sure that it's even a hole.

He told us that if we were two people without the BT and pos screen, he wouldn't have even paid it any mind. OY.

So, we go back in a few weeks for another scan and consultation with the specialist. He seemed fairly certain the the next scan would prove that he's overlooking and all would be well.

Joe mentioned his heart murmur as a child, and the doc said that it could be something like that as well.

Only time will tell.

The fact that this is the only thing that we {might} have seen gives me hope that it's the low resolution of the picture where Baby Brother wouldn't quit moving.. However, it is a marker for Down's. It could be something.

I was so hoping this saga would be over yesterday.

Baby Brother

On August 2nd, we had our ultrasound. Baby boy measured perfectly in all the areas. Oh yes, and she showed us that Rylan is having a baby brother. After talking with my OB, I found out the my triple screen numbers were incredibly low. He said that I only had a 0.6% chance of having something wrong with our baby. He cut that number in half to 0.3% after having such a great ultrasound. He still suggested that we go to see the specialist at CAMC where they can perform a level 2 u/s. We go this Monday, the 15th.


After our appointment, we bought one little sleeper for baby brother, and some bugs for Ry.

Waiting

On the 19th, we had another check up. The baby's heartbeat was 141. Rylan opted to stay with MawMaw because he didn't want to ride in the car for an hour! Anyway, today was the day for the triple screen blood draw. I had it done with Ry and everything came back fine. So, I had the draw. I honestly think anything about it. I think my head was clouded that the doctor said we could come back in 2 weeks for an ultrasound. I couldn't wait to see the baby again and make sure everything was fine. Not to mention to find out if Ry was having a brother or sister. Stupid me.

This Tuesday (26th) while in Chicago with Joe on a trip for work, my nurse called to tell me the results of the triple screen. I completely forgot that I'd be getting those results this week. She said that I tested positive for Down's. And that's when everything went blurry. I tried to listen to her, standing in the middle of the hotel hallway (cleaning lady was in our room- great timing), listening to Ry cry because he was hungry and I was forcing him to stand and be quiet when he was so uncomfortable, trying to hold it together at least through the phone call. The nurse said that it's probably a false positive. She went on to reassure me that it's a screening process and not diagnostic. Apparently out of her 7 years as a nurse with an OB, she had told many, many, many women that their tests were positive, and only 2 of those had babies with Down's. Seems right, there's obviously not a huge population of people with Down's.

I did exactly what the nurse told me NOT to do, as soon as we were in our room, I ordered room service for Ry, gave him a juice, texted Joe about 60 times, and started googling. I found several sites stating that these tests are notorious for false positives or that a positive can mean other things. For example, a woman carrying a female fetus is more likely to have a pos, also twins can mess with the numbers, if the woman has gestational or type 1 diabetes. It can also be that there's another chromosomal abnormality not related to Down's. There's where it gets tricky for us....

The nurse is making an appointment with a specialist to review my results further and determine what we need to do. However, before that we have our u/s this Tuesday (Aug 2nd) which would most likely show any abnormalities.

After 3 nights of no sleep, recurrent- body trembling heart palpitations, constant worry, even puking in the grocery store yesterday from the stress, I called my OB's office, explained my situation and asked if I could get in yesterday afternoon. I was put on hold for several minutes, and then the receptionist came back on and said that the nurse said I would be fine to wait until Tuesday, and not to worry, that it is most likely nothing. I just wish I knew if she had pulled my chart. That would make a lot of difference to me. I can say that I felt a teensy weensy bit better after hearing that, but if they didn't pull my chart, then I'm just part of the norm to them. So, not much relief.

I'm not sure if it was the date night we had or complete exhaustion, but I actually slept some last night! So, just 3.5 more days and we should know something.......

Rylan Hears The Heartbeat!

On June 28th, we had a check up. Joe and I decided to take Ry along so he could her the baby's heartbeat. Watching his face light up when he heard the heartbeat was amazing! I think hearing made it all that much more real for him. He said he wanted to come again next time so he could hear his baby again.

Nothing new to report, except that the 2nd trimester is a much needed blessing after such a hard 1st trimester. I have more energy and not so sick all the time! The doctor said we will go back in 3 weeks for another check up, then 3 weeks after that we will do another u/s to make sure everything is looking good and hopefully determine the sex of the baby. I would like Ry to go to the u/s, I think it will be a good experience for him.

Since I got rid of everything from before, I am in need of maternity clothes. So, Joe and I surprised Ry with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese, and afterward, Joe surprised me with a trip to Motherhood Maternity. I picked up a few tops for the summer and some for work.

I really can't report many symptoms at this point. I still have the "Death Hunger", which comes on hard and strong. I have had a couple of occasions where my blood sugar drops wicked quick, so my mom and Joe would like to see me start checking it regularly. Probably something I should mention to the doc next time.

Being paged by Future Big Brother!

Forgot to add for later reference: Heartbeat was 144.