Kidney Update

When I first found out I had kidney problems we had no idea what the cause was and I saw a doctor that was very uninterested in finding out what was causing the problems. I was 16 and he thought I had done drugs and did this to myself. Fast forward to college when I started seeing a new doctor. He was great and right away started doing every test to find out what was causing my problems. After finally finding a doctor that cared I didn't want to have to go through the process again to find a new doctor even after I moved back home. Every appointment I would drive three hours to see him. It's been almost ten years since I started seeing him but I knew it would be hard to travel down there with a baby. When I was in the hospital a local Nephroligist came to see me and scheduled a follow-up for 2 weeks later. I liked him and finally decided to transfer to a local doctor.

Every appointment is scary and I always fear the worst news. I knew my kidney function had dropped when I was in the hospital. There he told me that it was from the loss of blood and that once my body made the blood the levels would get a little better. I had hoped to see improvement at this appointment but he said it would probably take 2 months. He asked if we wanted to have another baby. I was totally surprised that he would ask because he obviously is thinking we could get pregnant again. He said that my kidney need to stabilize first, but we need to do it sooner rather than waiting with the chance my kidneys could get worst. In 5 more months we are going to check and see how things are going.

He said my kidneys are not going to get better, my function will continue to decline. I knew this already but I continue to pray that God performs a miracle. He said that when my creatine gets to 4.5 he would refer me to the transplant team. I really would like to go sooner to find out if someone in my family would be a match. I know that my dad and husband both have O blood, so they might be but there are 2 other blood test they run to know for sure. He said not to worry about it right now though. At this appointment my creatine was 3.03 and when I got pregnant it was right at 2.

I'm going to miss my old doctor, he was great and if I ever had a problem I had his cell number so I could call or text him directly. My new doctor seems really nice and he spent a lot of time in the room with us. We also didn't have to wait very long and that was a plus.

I wrote this during a late night pump/ feeding, please overlook any grammar or spelling errors.

Baby M Arrives

The day of Baby M’s arrival begun very early at 3:30. We both woke and I enjoyed showering knowing that I would not be able to shower again until 24 hours after my c-section.  The car ride to the hospital was long but we were both in a daze and really unable to say much. We just looked at each other and were totally amazed and almost in disbelief that in a few short hours we would be meeting the little girl we had been trying to have for four years now.  We finally reached the hospital forty five minutes later but it seemed like it took forever. Once we were there I think that the excitement started to set in.

Everything started out right on schedule and without a hitch. My IV was started on the first try without any pain and before long I was being wheeled back to the operating room for surgery.  In there I was shocked  at all the equipment that was going to be used and this time, instead of several nurses and doctors ready to take a micro-preemie away to care for, it was just a few nurses, the anesthesiologist, and my ob. After they did the spinal tap, they went and  got my husband and the delivery began. The whole experience was so much better than with Malakai and I enjoyed it so much more. The anesthesiologist talked with me almost the entire time about his little girl that also has kidney disease and it really helped take my mind off the surgery.

The emotions of seeing Baby M for the first time were incredible.  I thought that I would have been worried if something tragic would happen to her to but instead I had an amazing peace that we finally were going to be able to take this baby home. It was utter joy to know that after delivering two other babies, we would be taking one home with us this time. Not once since she has been here has the thought that something bad might happen to her, God has given us a miracle. Matt went with her to be cleaned up and I stayed in the operating room while the doctor finished up the surgery.

It didn’t take too long for us all to be reunited in recovery. The events of the rest of the day are a little fuzzy but I do remember the nurses changing out several bloody pads and thinking, “wow that’s a lot of blood”. She brought me medicine for the bleeding and nausea and later the doctor told me that they were all getting worried about the amount of blood I was losing. It equaled about 2 pints and they had donor blood waiting for me but with my kidney disease they were hoping I would not need it in case I one day needed a donor kidney and the donor blood could complicate the process.

The loss of all that blood caused me to become anemic and I had to have 4 iron transfusions and 2 shots that help your body make more blood while I was in the hospital. When one of the nurses flushed my IV I remember thinking- wow that was so painful. It turns out that when she did it, she did it so fast that it pushed some of the iron through my vein and into my arm and caused my arm to fight it off like an infection. This caused my arm to swell and it was very painful. At least that was the worst part of the entire experience.

Since I had to have the iron every day for four days, we had to stay an extra night. I was so excited to bring Baby M home and start our life together as a family. She has been such a good baby, hardly ever crying and only fussy when she is hungry.    It has been wonderful being her mom and watching my husband take care of us both. I am so thankful that God answered our prayers and the prayers of so many others.

I wrote this late at night after a feeding, please overlook any errors.

35 Weeks

I find myself looking at the calendar to make sure this is real, that I’m really still pregnant at 35 weeks. It’s absolutely a miracle we have made it this far. We definitely had a scare in the second trimester when her growth continued to drop, remember- when it got down to 20%? Now, it’s back to normal at 46%! I still can’t get over when my doctor told me he had never seen a baby’s growth curve turn back the other way after dropping so much. I call that a miracle.

Yesterday, we went to our check-up and got a great look at Baby Girl on the 4D ultrasound. Before, I didn’t really see what all the fuss was about, especially since I have had ultrasounds nearly every week. Now that I have seen it for myself, I can say that it is pretty awesome. I hope you will agree that the one of her smiling is so amazing! I wonder what she was thinking?

How far along? We are now 35 weeks and 1 day.

How is she doing? She is continuing to grow and we estimate that she weighs over 5 ½ pounds. I’m so excited to meet her! We can see her hair on the ultrasound and I can’t wait to find out what color it is.

How is mom? I’m doing great. Still no blood pressure worries. I’ve had several cramps in my legs at night, but otherwise I’m sleeping pretty well.  

Praise/Prayer Request: We continue to praise God that he has blessed us with this pregnancy. He has heard our prayers, and yours too. We have scheduled the delivery/c-section and ask for prayers that everything goes well and recovery is a breeze. For Baby Girl, we pray that she is born with fully developed lungs.


I want to thank my friend for taking these maternity pictures for me. Please visit her here to see more of her work: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cara-Brashier-Photography/117759824942094?fref=ts

Nursery Reveal

 I've had a lot of fun decorating the nursery as we anticipate the arrival of Baby Girl. Since we started trying to have a baby four years ago, I already had several big items that we needed. 

Here's a list of most of the items in the nursery, where we got them, and how much we paid.

Crib- given to me from my sister 
Mattress- Ordered on Amazon, $30
Picture above crib- Hobby Lobby, clearance $20
Elephants- Free, they were looking for new homes
Quilt- made just for Baby Girl by my Aunt
Door Jammer- made by me, Estimate $2 for materials
Storytime Glider- bought off craigslist, $85
Quilt on Glider- my dad's baby blanket from his mom
Bookshelf- my husbands from when he was a child
Various books- mostly given to us or from Thrift Stores

 Blankets- made by my Aunt
Frogs- mine from childhood
Baby Sweater- made by my Aunt
Curtains- $20 for the curtains + $20 for the trim= $40
Antique Stool being used as small table- from my childhood
Pottery Barn Rug- craigslist, $20
Dresser- moved from our bed room. 
Changing Pad- Amazon, $20
Changing Pad Cover- Target, gift
Collage above Dresser- mostly things I already had, but with paint and other stuff, $20 

Add it all up and our nursery cost about $237

33 Week Update

How Far Along: 33 weeks. It feels great that we have made it this far. I know that if we were to have to deliver at any point now, she would do fine. At 33 weeks she would have a short NICU stay, but because she has made it this far she should not have any long term problems.

How is she doing? She is doing great. At the last 2 ultrasounds she has measured above 40% and her growth curve continues to move up! It is so amazing that our Baby Girl that was once measuring in the low 20^th percentile and falling behind every week is now average. We estimate that she already weighs over 4 pounds, and I can also agree that she is getting bigger because my belly is getting bigger.

How is mom doing? My protein is still hovering at +2 or less than 1 gram. Not too bad for a kidney disease patient. My blood pressure is still under control and looking great.

On Friday I started to feel a little off, like I was getting a UTI. I started taking cranberry supplements to try and make it go away but by Monday it was getting worst so I went to the doctor and got antibiotics.

I'm slowly getting everything ready for her to get here. Her nursery is almost complete, but I need to organize all her clothes and put away the new stuff we got at our baby shower and that we have picked up at consignment stores and yard sales.  We plan to cloth diaper and here is a picture of my newborn diapers. 

Praise/Prayer Requests: Praise that she is growing and everything is looking great, no concerns or worries that we may have to deliver anytime soon. Thank you for all your prayers for us, it is really amazing that things continue to go so well.

Pray for my UTI to heal and that this does not cause any trauma to my kidneys. Continue to pray for healing for my kidneys. During the first trimester I saw some improvement in my kidney function but it has now gone back to where it was before I got pregnant (around 30%).

31 week update

How Far Along 31 weeks and 4 days and I’m still amazed we have made it this far and even more amazing is that we have not had any major problems. Last week, I had an appointment with my MFM and he said that things are looking great and I don’t see him again until 34 weeks.

Total Weight Gain 22 pounds so far. I think in the next few weeks we will put on a lot as Baby Girl starts gaining weight pretty fast in these last weeks.

Movement Her movements are fewer but much more powerful. Sometimes my entire stomach moves when she kicks.

Food Cravings Hamburgers and French Fries, lemonade

Symptoms I was waking up several times during the night with horrible leg cramps but these last few nights have been much better. I've also had indigestion that makes sleeping harder.

http://jonandbethany.blogspot.ca/2011/10/free-printable-for-this-child-i-prayed.html

Praise/Prayer Request We are very thankful that we have made it this far. This week the protein in my urine was +2, last week it was +3, I’m glad it came down and I’m praying it continues to remain low.  Overall things have been going amazing, my kidney function is remaining stable and she is growing great. No swelling, increase in blood pressure, or growth problems. I’m so grateful that she is doing so well. 

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!