Nursery Sneak Peak and 29 week update

Here's a quick update:

23 Weeks

Baby Girl is moving a lot now, and occasionally I can see her head sticking out. Her kicks are much stronger now too. Today on the ultrasound we saw more hair and she waved at us; it's so cute. I also think it's really neat to see what she is doing on the ultrasound and feel her move at the same time. Every other week my OB is ordering an umbilical ultrasound to check and make sure that the blood is still flowing through the umbilical cord. So far, its doing fine but since it reversed with Malakai so quickly we want to make sure we know when things start to look bad. He said that right now things are looking perfect, but it doesn't take long for them to turn. The most amazing part of it all is that she had a big growth spurt! She is now at 44% on the growth charts, I asked him why she dropped so much and is now coming up and he said he really doesn't know and it's very unexpected that things would have improved. When her growth dropped drastically it was a sign the placenta was not doing well, but now that she is actually growing and coming up on the growth charts my placenta is working better. Well, he might not have the answer, but I know that there are so many people praying for us, cheering us on, and that's what's making the difference! She now weights nearly 3 pounds!

Prayer Request/ Praise: Continue to pray that the blood flow remains strong and steady. I had lots of lab work to check on my kidneys today, pray they are still doing well with no decrease in function and for healing. Praise that she had a miraculous growth spurt, my blood pressure is still under control, and that the blood flow is still great.

Please also pray for my friend and her family, her baby (Hippo Baby is her nickname) was born with a blockage in her kidney and it was removed with no problems but now she has a horrible kidney infection and she has been in children's hospital receiving antibiotics for several days now.  I know they would appreciate your thoughts and prayers for Hippo Baby.

Here is a sneak peak at the nursery:

 Moses is really excited!

26 and 27 week update

It's so amazing that we have made it this far, farther than any other pregnancy. It's even more amazing that we have not had any problems either. We had expected that my blood pressure would rise during the pregnancy, the blood flow would be bad, pre-eclampsia would set in, I would get all swollen; the list of what could have happened could just keep going, but it doesn't. It's really a miracle and I love and thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers for us.

How Far Along: We have now reached 27 weeks and 4 days! We had planned to do steroid shots for her lungs next week but since everything is going so well we are going to wait at least another week. They are the most helpful if the baby is delivered within 7 days so I think this is a good sign we won't be delivering any time soon.

Total weight gain: 18 pounds

Movement: Last night I could feel her moving positions. During the ultrasound she was head up again, so maybe last night she flipped back head down. It was pretty funny to feel what I think was her little bottom move across my belly. We also played a little game for a few minutes where I would push my belly and then she would kick my hand. I'm not sure she thought it was fun so I didn't want to do it too long.

Food Cravings: Jelly Beans and chocolate milk

Symptoms: Is walking like a duck considered a symptom? Or several trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night? 

Praise/ Prayer Requests: Baby Girl has maintained her growth curve for the last two weeks! We were worried that since she had fallen behind that she would continue to fall but it looks like she is maintaining her current growth pattern. Continue to pray that the blood flow remains steady and strong so that she can continue to grow and that we make it full term. Also pray that my blood pressure remains controlled and my kidneys continue to maintain their function and improve.

25 Weeks

Today, I am 25 weeks and 5 days, I delivered Malakai at 25 weeks 4 days.It feels so good to finally make it this far.What's even better is that things are going really well. I feel great, and so its weird to be taking it easy and resting so much. I know that the more I rest the better though because she is so active on the days or don't do much and just rest.

How Far Along: 25 weeks 5 days. My OBGYN said that things are looking great and our biggest goal is to make it to 28 weeks but if things continue to go this well we should easily be able to make it to 32 weeks and further.

Baby Size: We didn't measure her at the last ultrasound but at 24 weeks she weighed about 1 pound 4 ounces. She is starting to grow a little slower, that may just be because I am pretty small and she is also going to be small. Her blood flow is looking great, its still in normal range although its starting to creep toward the bad side of normal range.

Total Weight Gain: 10 pounds. I've had the hardest time gaining weight, my OB said to keep eating brownies to pack it on. I'm also trying really hard to eat a lot of protein because that is supposed to help her grow more. I've read that in the next week or so she should have a growth spurt and I should get really big.




Movement: I feel her a lot. Sometime I think she is jumping around in there. During the ultrasound we saw her yawning and it was the cutest thing. It's so neat to feel her move and see what she is doing on the ultrasound.

Food Cravings: Lots of lemonade. Hamburgers and french fries.

Symptoms: Saturday night I had the worst leg cramps. I also have been getting heart burn and I hope that's a sign her hair is growing. Worst of all is this horrible gas I have had.

Praise/ Prayer Request: Praise that her blood flow looked great last week, it was even better than the week before. Also, my blood pressure was great even at the appointment. Pray that her blood flow continues to be normal, that she grows a lot, and that my blood pressure stays normal so that we can make it FULL TERM.

24 Week Appointment

Well, my appointment yesterday didn’t quite go as I had hoped. There was a lot of good news, but also some disappointing news too.  

To start, I had an ultrasound and Baby Girl is so cute. She is breech, but I don’t think that really matters since I’m going to have a scheduled c-section.  I love looking at the ultrasound pictures and trying to guess what she will look like when she gets here. I think she will look more like Matt simply because I don’t think she is going to be born with the head full of brown hair I had as a baby. We checked her size and she is now at 28%, and 5 weeks ago with the same ultrasound tech we were at 56%. I'm so disappointed that she is falling behind on her growth. The blood flow is still looking great and she still has lots of fluid too. My Dr. said that blood flow and fluid are the two most important things we will be checking and as long as they are at good levels we are ok. 

After my ultrasound I went to see my Doctor. My blood pressure was better than last week at the office and my protein check was trace. We were both really excited that my protein is so low! This means no pre-eclampsia symptoms. I would love to know if this improvement in my protein also equals an improvement in my kidney function, but at the same time I’m nervous to find out. Next week, we will check again to make sure that she still has good blood flow to her and lots of fluid.  We will also see if she stays around 26%, and if she does then that would be great, she would just be a small baby. From now until delivery I will be seen weekly to make sure no problems creep up. We still don’t know when delivery will be, as long as things continue to look good we will keep her inside, my due date is August 7.

Thanks for all your sweet messages and comments and most of all your prayers. I’m thrilled that we have made it this far and things are still going well. I’m so thankful that my kidney’s seem to be doing great and in May I will find out my function. Please continue to pray that she continues to grow and that she does not fall further behind.  Our God is Powerful and able to do Miracles.

Hydrangea Wreath Under $10

With all the time I spend on Pinterest, I finally decided I needed to start making some of the cute things I was seeing. I did a search for hydrangea wreath and here is what I found: http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=HYDRANGEA%20WREATH

There are a lot of really cute wreaths out there. My friend and I went out shopping for the supplies and the next day we put together our wreaths. I am very pleased with the finished  wreath and most of all that it was done for under $10.

Here is what I needed:

1 cardboard wreath. I found mine at Michael's near the foam wreaths, but the cardboard wreath is much cheaper. You could also cut your own out, but I think this will be more weather resistant. ($2.50 maybe)

2 bunches of hydrangeas. Michael's was having a 60% off sale. ($6.00)

Ribbon. I found this at Hobby Lobby 50% off. The whole spool was $5.00 but I only used about 2 of the 30 feet that is on it.

Hot Glue Gun

Scissors

Here is how I did it:

First: pull the leaves and flowers off your bunch. Cut the stems off the leaves.

Second: Glue leaves around the wreath.

Third: Space the flowers evenly around the wreath and glue them on. Leave a small space for your ribbon.

Fourth: Tie a cute bow with the ribbon. Nothing fancy, simple will do.

Fifth: Take down the Easter Wreath that's been up there a few weeks after Easter has already passed. Quickly hang up your new wreath before wiping the pollen off the door.

Maybe one day I will show you the entire front porch, but for now your not missing much. It is really calling for a fresh coat of paint, but that is going to have to wait until after Baby Girl gets here.

23 weeks and Good News

Yesterday, I had an appointment with my OBGYN. He said that he and my MFM are very happy with the way things are going. It was nice to chat about being pregnant a few months from now, and reassuring that we would make it that far. My blood pressure was still a little high in the office, but I told him that it had gone back to normal when I saw the MFM and they did not want to change the dose. I’ve also gained a total of 8 pounds this pregnancy, and he was happy about that. I’m working to gain more because I’m still a little behind. There have been several stops for Chicken Biscuits and Milkshakes to help make it happen.

21 weeks

Every week I have to give a urine sample to be tested for protein, it’s something all pregnant women do. It’s been a little high every time since I have kidney disease and I already spill a little protein, but yesterday it was the lowest it has ever been this entire pregnancy and back to normal for my kidneys. That was great news.

We also talked about steroid shots and decided we would do them at 28 weeks and then a booster if we have to deliver before 34 weeks. I was so happy to hear that he thinks there will be no problems before 28 weeks and even later.  

At my ultrasound last week at the MFM office, baby girl was measuring at 46% on the scan and at 18 weeks she was 61%. My OB said that this is probable an indication that she is starting to fall behind on growth but because she started out big she has a long ways she can fall behind before it becomes an issue. He said with my high blood pressure, and the anti-bodies it was very unlikely that this would not happen, but at least it has happened later. Next week I have another ultrasound and we will make sure there are no clots in the placenta and the umbilical cord is still providing her with enough nourishment. Right now, she weighs over a pound, and more than Malakai when he was born.

23 weeks

Overall, it was a good appointment. Praise that my protein was lower this time. Please be praying for her growth, my blood pressure to remain normal, continued improvement and restoration of my kidneys, full-term delivery, and wisdom for the doctors.

Half-Way There, 20 weeks

Last week, I had an appointment with my OB and MFM. They both went fine and Baby Girl is still growing great. My ob said that I need to rest more now that we are 20 weeks, and suggested 6 hours a day of lounging around. So far, that’s been pretty hard to achieve.  He also mentioned hospital bed rest at some point as a precaution. While I was at the office my blood pressure was 140/90, a little high but not stroke high. That night I checked it at home and it was a perfect 120/80. It seems I have a real anxiety problem when I go to the doctor. I had the same problem when I went to my MFM appointment but I told them that I check it regularly at home and it is always between 110/70 and 120/80. It’s really mind boggling that it gets so high because I don’t stress a lot before I go. The MFM didn’t seem worried about it. I also asked him about bed rest and he said that we don’t even need to be thinking about that right now because everything is going really well. I’m worried that if I did have to go to the hospital because of my blood pressure, it would not come down if it doesn’t come down at the doctor’s office. 

The MFM is over an hour away and while I was there I was able to go meet a friend from my on-line support group for women with FSGS. She just had a baby girl a few months ago after an experience similar to mine with Malakai. 

I guess some of the nervousness of this pregnancy is starting to subside since we have made it past 18 weeks when we delivered Teddy still-born. Now I don’t worry so much that we might not find a heartbeat, but I am concerned that we might not make it full-term.  We are staying positive and planning for a full-term, bring home baby. We have started stocking up on all the things we will need and I have found a lot of cute baby clothes at consignment sales. Matt ordered her Travel System and put together the stroller. We also moved the boxes out of the nursery that didn’t belong in there.  I have a sweet aunt that has sent me several packages of knitted booties, sweaters, hats and bonnets. She also made some really cute bonnets from my great- grandmother’s hankies and they are so cute.

I started to feel flutters from baby girl around 16 weeks, but last night they were really big kicks. On the ultrasound she is always very active. It’s so cute to watch her get comfy and roll around.  We still have not settled on a name yet, but we have a few ideas we are tossing around.

Please continue to pray for this pregnancy, specifically that my blood pressure does not get higher or uncontrollable, and that she continues to grow on target and does not fall behind. I am very thankful that we have made it this far without any problems and that my kidney function has even improved, we are praying that things continue to go this way.