Not my most favorite visit

December 22, 2010
Starting off, last week I had my first Non Stress Test at Dr Wells' office which went great. We're doing weekly Non Stress Tests now to make sure Ripplet is moving like he should and his heart rate fluctuates correctly. They also monitor my uterine contractions to make sure they don't interfere with baby's heart beat. I've been only having Braxton Hicks contrations for a month or so, but they still check.

A Non Stress Test is where I'm in a recliner with a monitor on my belly to track his heart and another on my belly to track any contractions. They have me hooked up for about 20 minutes and I have to hit a button every time I feel baby move. They look to make sure his heart rate fluctuates through out the test between 130-170 and that he moves enough.

He gets very wiggly when he firsts gets strapped and causes the technician some trouble as she has to keep adjusting the monitor so it'll either pick up his heart or so he'll stop hitting it causing a false reading. Squirmy little guy! His test came out great so everything is good!

Then we had our usual high risk appointment today- we met with Dr Throp again. I was down after the appointment because the intestines have more than doubled in size since the last visit. He's now at 12mm internal and 14 mm external in dilation. I was worried this meant they would want to get him out sooner, but Dr Throp said the intestines still looked healthy enough- they were just getting bigger is all. It's better for him to stay in and develop more at this point so I guess that was good news. It's hard not being able to do anything to make the swelling stop or go down.
Ripplet had another Non Stress Test (NST) that same day and did great again. So he's feeling great, his organs are developing nicely (except his intestines of course) so we have a lot to be thankful for I guess.

Still getting good news!

December 8, 2010
I can't believe time is flying by! Updates will be coming a lot more frequently as I'm getting seen every week now until Ripplet is born.

We saw the high risk dr again today, but it was Dr Dobak's senior partner Dr Thorp. Dr Thorp is extremely well-respected in his field and has been published numerous times so I was happy he was looking over our chart. We continue to get good news. I am moved to tears every time we get a good report!

Ripplet is STILL weighing in on track- especially his noggin!! He is measuring in at the 39th percentile, but is actually higher than that. The measurement of his abdomen is lower since his bowels are out thus making the circumference measurement smaller. His head is above average (I'm sure Steve claims it's from his side of the family) and his bone length is right close to 50th percentile. His estimated weight is 2lbs 13oz.

As you know the two things that are most important to us (besides all of his organ development being great- which it is) is his continue to put on weight and his intestines receive minimal damage. The weight gain will allow him to bounce better from surgery and stave off other complications. Of course minimal intestine damage will allow for a simpler surgery and less ramifications down the road.

His intestines are doing amazing as well!!! NO CHANGE in the dilation (ie damage) from 3 weeks ago. AMAZING!!
He's head down again (with feet knocking into my ribs!), very active, and snug in a nice little bubble!

We went on a tour of the NICU today and got a lot of questions answered. Everyone was so sweet, the place looked comforting instead of sterile and cold. I'll be writing more about the NICU once we're admitted.

Last week I also with my Florida OB that will be doing my C-section. Even though I still see Dr Wells, I had to get referred to an OB in Florida to do my surgery since we're delivering in a different state. Dr Dobak suggested Dr Duke because she has a similar demeanor and philosophy to that of Dr Wells. I like her a lot and feel much more comfortable about the surgery now. It was only midway through the month and she had already delivered a few gastro babies so I was encouraged by experience with this.

A few weeks ago we met with my old childbirth coach from when I had Riley to go over C-section information. I wanted to hear from someone other than a doctor about what to expect during and after surgery from the patient point of view. I was really apprehensive about the surgery but Jamie gave us a a great private class. It's hard to find C-section classes at hospitals since most are emergency C-sections; first-time planned ones aren't the norm. Jamie from Mobile Infirmary (where I delivered Riley) showed us a great video (not gorey!) about C-sections, went over ideas for a birth plan, discussed tips to make recovery go smoothly, and talked with Steve about his role in the whole event.

I felt so much better about the whole procedure after talking with her and identifying what things we have control over during the surgery so we can still feel like it's "our" birth. She even gave us a coloring book for Riley about his baby brother being in the NICU called Come Home Soon Baby Brother! It's a great way for him to understand what's going on with his brother while he's in the hospital and how he can help play a part even though he's not allowed to visit his brother during the hospital stay.

We got news too about the pediatric surgeon situation. Dr Kimmel is moving out of state so that leaves Dr Lewis as the only pediatric surgeon on staff. Lucky for us her specialty is in gastro-intestinal so we believe we're in good hands. We don't meet with Dr Lewis until the week before baby is due out, not ideal but she's a great doctor so we will take what we can get!

Next up are non-stress tests and the weekly visits!!

26 week pics

Not sure where my entry is for 26 weeks, but here are some more pics!

Working on the nursery!

Steve picked out the surfboard theme for the baby's room and did a fantastic job! Here's some pics of us getting the room ready. Still has a ways to go, but we've got some time!

Second Trimester has been a little hard- for me!

October 21, 2010
Another high risk meeting today- Ripplet is growing so much!! He's 1 lb (on track!) and made it to the age of viability so I can breathe a sigh of relief! His heart looks great, brain and other organs look as they should. He is completely stretched out in my stomach with his head waaay low and his feet up between my ribs- yikes! Probably why I've been sick a lot. His intestines look the same (no more coming out, no organs coming out). The main thing we watch from this point on is the dilation of the intestines. This is measured each visit as anything over 17mm indicates damage from the amniotic fluid that they will have to cut out in another surgery when he gets out (ie can have more digestive complications). So far the intestines external look great, but there's a spot internal that's 8mm. We want to stay below 11mm so he stays healthy and growing.

He was kicking up a storm and moving lots so he's happy as can be! Momma has been having a hard time though. I kept getting sicker and sicker and I was nervous about how many doses of meds I was taking to stave off vomiting (and the meds would wipe me out too), so I turned to acupuncture. It's been great! I hadn't thrown up in 3wks which was awesome!

Until today. Ugh. We've gotten some lab work back that shows my nutrition levels are way off so we're reformulating my supplements and I'm getting back on Paleo eating(got off due to food aversions). Hopefully that will help!

I had gotten so sick 3 weeks ago I got dehydrated, had uterine contractions, and was admitted to the ER for fluids and meds. That's when we first found out some of my mineral levels had bottomed out. Hopefully my nutritionist's plan will help!! Maybe baby's feet can stop jabbing my stomach too! :)

We meet with the high risk dr, pediatric surgeons, delivering OB, and see the NICU in Nov. Then we just get through the holidays and go get baby out in mid Jan! Can't believe it'll be here so fast! Nursery work is underway with gusto!!

Finding out what "it" is!

September 2, 2010
Met with Dr Dobak today and got another ultrasound. The little thing is soooo wiggly which is a great sign of being active and feeling good. Heart pumped away as it should and growth was still on track. The opening still looks like it only has intestines out and no other organs are getting pulled out. As a side note- there's another defect called omphalocele which is much more serious because other organs are also external causing a lot more difficulty post delivery so it was crucial that we made sure only interstines were out.

We also found out what we're having today!! It's a boy! So Riley will have a baby brother to run around with soon and I will be completely outnumbered by boys!

First High Risk Doctor Appointment

Aug 17, 2010
We got news at our 13 week ultrasound that "Ripplet" (as the baby has been dubbed!) has gastroschisis. Gastroschisis is where the abdominal wall doesn't fully close so some of the intestines come out of a hole to the right of the umbillical cord and are external to the body. Research hasn't found a reason as to why this happens and there is nothing that can be done to reverse or reduce the condition. Here is a great link with more info about what's going on now and what we can expect after delivery.

http://www.chop.edu/service/fetal-diagnosis-and-treatment/fetal-diagnoses/gastroschisis.html

Most of the action and recovery will take place after the baby is born. We should get more information about this as we have more appointments with the doctors.

My regular OB Dr Mary Wells in Fairhope referred us to a Maternal-Fetal Medicine doctor (high risk) named Dr Dobak in Pensacola, FL. We'll be seeing both Dr Dobak and Dr Wells throughout the pregnancy.

At our first high risk appointment everything went as expected! No surprises, baby looks to be holding its own for now (heart rate and size on target).

We had a good long chat with Dr Dobak. He answered all of our questions and was very reassuring. They are very comfortable with treating this issue and they have great outcomes for the kids. At this point we progress like a normal pregnancy and as we get to the latter part of the pregnancy we will go weekly for testing and monitoring to see how the baby's heartbeat and weight gain is looking.

If we do Sacred Heart the Pediatric Surgeons will probably be Dr Kimmel (looks super good on paper, did a friend's baby's operation) and Dr Lewis (she specializes in Gastro-intestinal).

They will probably have me deliver around 36 wks if baby can hang that long so it'll be "preemie". We're to expect lung and feeding issues (due to early delivery and needing a tube to feed for a bit) and a lower birthweight (Riley was 7lb1oz at 40 wks to give you an idea). If there are no complications with the intestines, baby should be in NICU for around a month and should be "normal" from there. No long-term GI specialist will be needed as long as there's no twisting or bowel obstruction. Dr Dobak said they have very good results with their surgeries and they treat on average 3 patients with gastroschisis (Gastro-skee-sis) at any given time (one is in the NICU right now).

No other indications anything else is going wrong so that's great news. The kid will just have a scar where the hole was but other than that- pretty normal (complete with belly button!).

Next appt is 2 Sept with Dr Dobak again and 8 Sept with Dr Wells

Good news!

After nearly a year of trying to have a baby, countless injections, switching OBs, and taking meds- we finally had a little Ripplet on our hands! Due date 17 Feb 2011.

The Belly Progress

Pics of how this belly has grown over the months!