James and I began this blog at the very beginning of our pregnancy with Wyatt to share and update our new adventures as we became pregnant and start the new season of parenthood. Sixteen weeks into pregnancy, I had to go into surgery to ensure our son would not come too early and shortly after, we found out Wyatt has Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH). This is our humble attempt at being transparent and hopefully sharing the joys and love of Christ through this roller coaster ride we're on. And now to share even more with the new miracle on the way.
Showing posts with label Chalkboard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chalkboard. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

35 Weeks and some Emergency Room Time


I bought some bistro paint pens... what do you think?!?


How far along? 35 Weeks

Total weight:  I'm still about 166 lbs.  

Maternity clothes?  Yes and Yes!  I have a couple of skirts and tank tops I can wear but shorts and pants must be maternity wear!    

Stretch marks?  I still get to say nope! :-)

Sleep:  This is not the week to ask me!!!  I will explain more below! :-) 

Best moment this week:  It's been a rough week but God has still been good.  Getting no bad news at the doctors office was good.  James and I getting Wyatt's dresser finally and his car seat/stroller travel system.  The morphine was awesome... see story below! 

Miss Anything?  NORMAL food and eating schedule!

Movement:  I'm telling you this boy can move and shake!  :-) 

Food cravings:  Everything that hurts me! 

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Not "queasy" but sick- almost everything. 

Gender: A BOY!!!  Mr. Wyatt James Davis

Symptoms:  Heartburn!

Belly Button in or out?   It's an inny! 

Wedding rings on or off?  I'm in my wedding band only because it's a tiny bit bigger than my engagement ring.  

Happy or Moody most of the time:  I've been kind of cranky this week but I still have been happy and joyful!  

Looking forward to:  Wyatt being here and no more heartburn! 

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This week has defiantly been one with it's ups and downs.  As I wrote about last week, I've had a bit of heartburn- I think Saturday night was bad, Monday night wasn't the best, Tuesday was fine, Wednesday was bad, Friday was the worst.  James came home Monday from work with some Tums for me to take.  I ate a couple of them and absolutely nothing helped.  So, I took a couple more.  I was thinking maybe I just need the max dose.  But nope, nothing.  Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep.  I'd start by laying down with James some but felt bad for moving around so much so I'd move to the couch.  He needs his sleep, he's got a 40 mile drive at 6am and work to do.  Then the couch would get uncomfy so I'd move to the recliner upstairs, James' desk chair and back to the couch.  Once I'd finally fall asleep on the couch for a while and wake up, I'd try our bed again.  (We have a really comfy bed and I miss it when we don't get to sleep in it!).  I think it was about 3 or 4 once I got back into bed and could sleep.  As you can imagine, my Tuesday was a bust.  I spent the day back on the couch napping on and off all day long.  I barely ate or drank anything for fear of being in that kind of pain again.  I tried all the things friends posted on Facebook but nothing was helping in any way.  

Tuesday night was fine and so was Wednesday morning.  Again, I hadn't eaten or had much to drink at all.  James and I had an appointment with Dr. Lo right after lunch.  We told her about the heartburn and she suggested the 150mg of Zantac, twice a day and if that didn't help, let her know.  Of course, on the way home, we stopped.  It was glorious!  I felt so much better.  I even had some couscous for dinner and strawberry ice cream for dessert.  Hmmmm... well, that lasted for a whole 6 hours.  A pill that should last 12-24 hours just lasted me 6.  Great!  So, I took another Zantac... nothing.  It did nothing.  I basically was up all night again!  Torture.  (By the way, I am fully aware that this is what life can/will look like soon with a new baby in the house.  I can handle the sleeplessness but not the sleeplessness and immense pain!)  So, once again, I'm roaming around the house trying to find places to get comfy and try to get some rest.  Again, about 4 or so, I get back into bed and fall asleep.  

Thursday morning I call Dr. Lo's office to say, "Zantac doesn't work!  Please, I need something stronger!"  I speak to the nurse.  She gives me a list of foods to avoid and other over the counter medications I am allowed to take and says she'll talk to the doctor and get back to me.  Well, I didn't hear from her.  Thursday wasn't bad.  I avoided napping so that hopefully, I'd be sooo tired that no matter pain or not, I would be able to sleep.  I stuck to the list of foods I can have and stayed super clear of the ones on the list of high acidic foods.  And Thursday night, I slept great.  

Friday during the day was okay as well.  Again, I tried to stick to the right foods, sitting up and not laying down for a while after eating.  All the while, still taking my Zantac twice a day.  Friday night was the worst.  I was in so much pain and so tired from the week that I was inconsolable.  I was up and down and no where worked.  The only thing that even lightened any pain was James rubbing my back.  He was awesome but he couldn't do it all night long.  Showers helped some.  I think I ended up taking 3 long showers, just letting the water hit my neck and back.  (That doesn't include the one I take to actually get clean before bed!)  I was sobbing and my mind was going crazy.  I think at one point I even tried to lay down with Ronix... Poor James didn't get much sleep.  He probably got the most rest while I was in the shower.  I toyed with the idea of going to the ER all night long.  I didn't know what to do.  Finally about 6 am, I could not take it any more.  I was beyond reasoning, I felt horrible for keeping James up all night, I couldn't sleep, usually by this point the pain had stopped enough for me to be able to lay down and go to sleep and nothing.  It was as bad as it was at 9pm the night before.  I called into Dr. Lo's office.  I felt horrible waking up Dr. Santiago (Dr. Lo's partner- she was on call this weekend) but I had to know what to do.  She said this much pain and lack of sleep warrants a trip to the ER to get some relief.  So, James and head on over to the closest one.  I'm still hysterical at this point because I feel like James is thinking I'm crazy (he wasn't, I just wasn't comprehending anything properly) and I didn't want him to be upset with me.  

We get to the ER and thankfully no one is there.  They heard 35 weeks pregnant and chest pains and got me back right away to make sure I wasn't having a heart attack.  I think immediately there were like 4 different people in the room hooking me up, sticking me with needles and asking me questions.  I had an IV line put into my arm, an EKG to check my heart (which was fine), the oxygen thingy put on my finger and blood pressure band on my arm (which was super HIGH for me, mine is always great).  It was a whirl wind but all worth it in the end.  I got some prescription heartburn meds put through the IV.  They said it usually takes about an hour or so to feel a difference.  I think at about 30 - 45 minutes after that, they asked about my pain and I said it's not much better so they came in with some morphine.  I don't think I've ever had morphine before but let me tell you, I can see why people get addicted!  It was awesome.  She wasn't even finished giving it to me and all my pain went away.  I could lay down and rest.  In fact, I had to lay down right away because my head was like whoa!  And I had some totally crazy images pass through too.  

Anyway, they kind of argued with us about sending up by ambulance to their other location so that Wyatt could be monitored.  They had already taken his heart rate- it was great, as usual and we weren't concerned.  Apparently this ER is not equipped to handle deliveries.  I didn't have any signs of labor so James and I signed an "Against Medical Advisement" to not be transported over.  The doctor gave me a prescription of Lansoprazole to be taken once a day with the Zantac, hydrocodone for any more pain, some anti nausea medicine because the hydrocodone can make you feel sick, and some Nitrofurantn for the beginning of a UTI they found in my urine sample.  Oh my!  We went ahead a filled the heartburn and UTI meds but not the other 2.  If the prescription works like it should and I watch what and how I eat, I should not need the heavy narcotics.  And so far, I haven't needed them.  I have however taken some Tylenol here and there.  Some of the side effects include headaches and such.  

Saturday, after the ER, James and I came home- I slept, he went and got my prescriptions filled and worked some.  I got up here and there to get some food and water in me.  James would make me sit on the couch and sleep sitting up so that I didn't lay down too soon.  He loves and cares about me but I also think he doesn't ever want to go through a night like that again.  I got up up mid afternoon so that I would be able to sleep that night.  And boy, did we both sleep!  It was so amazing.  Yesterday (Sunday) we still just kind of laid around taking it easy most of the day.  I took a shower and had really good intentions of getting ready but I ended up back in bed.  Finally we got up and went to Ikea to get Wyatt's dresser and BuyBuy Baby for his stroller/car seat travel system.  We got that for free.  I'm a gift card hoarder and I had like $200 saved up to Bed Bath & Beyond (thanks to a couple of years of my mom, James' mom and g-ma) so we just used that.  I like to use them on "rainy days" and that was perfect!  

James was hungry so we stopped by Fudrucker's (a hamburger place).  He ate a yummy looking turkey burger with sweet potato fries while I had some graham crackers and cantaloupe.  Talk about a sucky dinner compared to his but my heart didn't hurt so it was worth it.  

By the time we got home though, something was wrong... I had a low grade fever.  Where in the heck did this come from?  It's not often I get a fever and I hadn't had one since I'd become pregnant.  It only got up to 100.2 and it was gone by the time we went to bed at about 9:30.  I was freaking out that this was going to be emergency room visit #2 for the weekend.  I think I stuck that thermometer in my mouth every 5 minutes.  I also didn't want to call the on call doc again.  I already felt bad enough doing it at 6am on a Saturday morning and I knew we'd have to go on down to Parkland for this trip, if needed.  But like I said it's been gone since 9:30 last night and it's now 9 in the morning.  

That's a long weekend story!  I'm just happy we seem to have the heartburn under control and Wyatt is doing well.  I just wanted to leave you with a song that's been stuck in my head for a couple of weeks.  If you remember the show Ally McBeal, it's kind of been my "theme song".  I like to sing it and think about fighting for the Lord and how no matter what my path or story looks like, I am going to fight for Him and his glory and find joy in all situations.  He will not give me more then I can handle.  I could listen to this song all day long!  God is good no matter what!!! 




James and I go in tomorrow to see Dr. Lo tomorrow morning for our weekly check up!  Then I think I'm going to work with James and/or hanging out with a long time friend I haven't seen in forever!  :-)  

Friday, June 8, 2012

31 Weeks & Doctor Updates





How far along? 31 Weeks

Total weight:  I'm about 165 lbs.  

Maternity clothes?  Oh yes.  I don't have much of a choice when it comes to my pants but most tops I can squeeze into maternity or not.  T-shirts come from James' side of the closet though.  :-)   

Stretch marks?  Still none to date that I've seen.  :-) 

Sleep:  It's been hit or miss here.  A couple of nights ago, I laid in bed until 2:30am but last night I fell asleep pretty quickly.  This sweet little man of mine likes to stretch out about the time I lay down to sleep though.  

Best moment this week:  Getting to meet our new doctor, Dr. Julie Lo.  She will actually be the one to deliver Wyatt.  She is very nice.  I was nervous and as James puts it, she "charmed" me and calmed my nerves.  

Miss Anything?  Normal swimsuits  

Movement:  ALL the stinkin' time.  He's reaching places he's never stretched to before.  

Food cravings:  I've been wanting a slice of pizza since Tuesday.  I passed a local italian place that serves by the slice... Hmm... to give in or to not give in. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.  All is well!

Gender: A BOY!!!  Mr. Wyatt James Davis

Symptoms:  I'm trying really hard to stay off anything with too much salt because I DO NOT like being swollen.   That sucks.  

Belly Button in or out? It's still in.  I don't think it'll pop out.  If it does I will be surprised.  I've got a really deep belly button.

Wedding rings on or off? I've had a couple of "swollen" days so I've just taken my rings off and put them on my necklace. 

Happy or Moody most of the time:  I'm pretty happy.

Looking forward to:  Getting our induce date!!!  We've scheduled all appointments leading up to his DUE WEEK but we don't have a due date!  AHHHH!!!



UPDATES:


On Monday, James and I trucked it on down to the medical district in Dallas to meet our delivering OB, Dr. Julie Lo.  Her office is at St. Paul, right next to Parkland.  The office takes the entire floor, so in other words- it's gigantic! :-)  Craziness!!!  We walked in, were welcomed with a smile and waited a little bit.  It's a different feel than what I am used to- the population definitely more diverse and there are a lot more people. 


 We get called back and taken to the sono room.  The lady was nice but I wouldn't use the word friendly.  She asked if we knew what sex the baby is and I quickly answered with excitement that we're having a boy.  But throughout the sono she'd use the word "it" instead of him or the baby.  A little discouraging.  She also wasn't willing even try to get a good look at his face.  And when she measured the heartbeat she didn't turn on the sound!  Our 2 (yes, only 2) pictures included one where I really can't even see anything but a blurry blob and the other one is the stinkin' heart beat monitor.  I know most people get 3 sonos and 3 only- if that, so I should be grateful and I am but I will say we are paying for each and every one of these stinking things and I want my moneys worth.  Not to mention, I've been spoiled by Dr. Hickman's office with these fantastic 3D images of our son!  I'm thinking I'll be more comfortable next time and willing to voice what I want some more, in a very polite and nice way of course.  :-) 


Next they took us back out to the waiting room to do some more waiting.  Shocker, right?!?  Then a medical assistant came to get us to take my urine sample, weight and blood pressure.  All was great.  Then she escorted us back to yet another room to wait on Dr. Lo.  This gave me just enough time to sit and dwell on how unfamiliar I am with this office, their staff and how little they know me.  Dr. Lo walked in and could see it in my face.  She offered me a tissue but I declined because if I had picked one up, I actually would have tears.  She was very comforting.  She sat down and took as much time as it took us to answer all the questions we had.  James said she "charmed" me and I needed to be charmed.  It was nice.  


Here are updates and some of the questions we asked with Dr. Lo's answers for us.  :-) 


Blood Pressure:  110 over 70
Weight:  164.4
Measuring 31 Weeks and 1 Day
Wyatt is measuring 31 weeks = 27th percentile. 


Natural delivery vs. C-section?  She's all for natural.  She eased some questions I had about not having an epidural.  She said the point of no return for requesting the dreaded needle is when she sees the head.  That was nice to know.  Recovery time, longest to shortest, goes c-section, natural with epidural and then natural with no epidural.  I really would like to try to go at it naturally with no epidural so that I can be with Wyatt as soon as possible and recover as quickly as possible.  We will have a complete open mind though and the second the doctor says something different is best for our son, we are on board.  


NST's:  She feels that with 3 great results and the baby measuring where he is I can stop coming in for those.  I think this is awesome.  


Do we still need to see Dr. Watkins or Dr. Hickman?  (In my head I'm secretly hoping the answer is "yes") but the answer is no.  


Who all will be in our "Family Meeting"?  
Dr. Twickler, radiologist- MRI results
Parkland's NICU Doctor & Charge Nurse
Children's NICU Doctor & Charge Nurse
ECMO Team
Pediatric NICU Team 
Surgery Team


How long will we have with Wyatt following his birth?  A very short amount of time.  If we end up with a C-section, I probably won't be able hold him at all until later.  


Visitors?  2 people are allowed to be in the room with me.  James is obviously #1 and we probably won't have anyone else in there with us.  


Information Received:
NICU has a small couch to lay on.


Doc says anyone planning on being around the baby needs to get a Tdap shot for whooping cough.  (I got one in the arm and James will go in for a physical soon and get one then.)  And we ARE asking family and friends to get one if they haven't already.  A BIG thanks to everyone we've already mentioned this to for looking into it and being patient with us but this is Wyatt's lungs we are talking about and they could be very weak.


All upcoming appointments we have scheduled:


June
9th- Prepared Childbirth Class (all stinking day long!)


14th- 8:00am MRI with Dr. Twickler
3:00pm Echocardiograph with Dr. Gibbin


16th- Baby Shower


19th - 10:00am Dr. Lo, sono
1:00 "Family Meeting"


27th- Dr. Lo, sono


July
3rd- 10:00am Dr. Lo, sono


11th- Dr. Lo, sono


18th- Dr. Lo, sono


25th- Dr. Lo, sono


Week of July 30th:  WYATT'S DELIVERY WEEK ...if he doesn't come early.  :-)  We don't have a date and time just yet but I am working on getting that information!  :-) 

Monday, May 28, 2012

29 Weeks



How far along? 29 Weeks
Total weight:  I'm about 163 lbs.  That's about 22 pounds or so.  I'm going back and forth between 2 doctor office scales so I'm thinking they're not "perfectly" the same.  :-) At 28 weeks I was weighing in at 161 lbs.  Either way, both doctors are happy about my progress. 
Maternity clothes?  Oh yes.  I am loving maxi dresses right now.  James thinks they look like moo-moos.  haha.  I'm large, it's hot and they are comfy so I'm happy.  I'm also having to borrow James' t-shirts.  Mine are too tight.  I need to make 3 more days and I can live in tank tops and yoga pants!  Oh the life... 
Stretch marks?  Still none to date that I've seen.  :-) 
Sleep:  Sleep has been better.  It's not bad though.  I'm super hot most of the time so half the time it's no covers for me- which I hate.  I'm the girl that sleeps with a comforter in the middle of summer, not because I'm cold but because I like the weight of it.  I've also been getting the awful legs cramps.  One night they were so bad, the next day my calf muscles were sore.  I couldn't figure it out for the life of me.  I now know!  I'm also thinking a king size bed would be perfect right about now.  Too bad that's not in our house plans any time soon.  Maybe once Wyatt moves into a big boy bed! 
Best moment this week: Hearing the doctor say she doesn't think Wyatt's liver is up at all.  Also, James has worked hard this week- painting, moving a dresser twice, mowing, ect... he's such a hard worker. 
Miss Anything?  Going to the lake.  
Movement:  He's moving ALL the time.  It's awesome.  Just makes believe even more that God is building a STRONG little boy inside my right now and preparing him for what's to come. 
Food cravings:  I really wanted the sushi I got eat on Friday.  (Yes, it was ALL cooked!)  I will say all the sodium I took in with the sushi sucked!  My feet, legs and hands swelled like crazy and it hurt!  
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.  All's well!
Gender: A BOY!!!  Mr. Wyatt James Davis
Symptoms:  Swollen feet and leg crams at night. 
Belly Button in or out? It's still in.  I don't think it'll pop out.  If it does I will be surprised.  I've got a really deep belly button.
Wedding rings on or off? on but with my temp going up, I have to take it off some. 
Happy or Moody most of the time:  I'm pretty happy.
Looking forward to:  Putting together Wyatt's room little by little.  


More updates:  
I'm getting weekly nonstress test (NST) now.  We've had two.  Basically I lay down with a heart monitor hooked up to my belly for 30 minutes.  At Dr. Watkins' office, I have to press a button every time Wyatt moves and at Dr. Hickman's office I just lay there and watch TV.  Both places keep me hooked up for 30 minutes.  Both test have come back great.  

Dr. Hickman (Zink) was trying to get a close look at Wyatt's liver.  Last time she thought maybe a tip of it was up above his diaphragm but this time she doesn't think so! Yippie!  Again, our MRI will tell us more.  My cervix is still holding strong.  
Two weeks ago, I had my gestational glucose test.  I had to drink a sugary kool-aid type drink in 5 minutes and have blood drawn exactly an hour later.  That came back perfect, praise God.  I thought the juice was good.  I'm not used to that much sweetness at once so after I chugged it down, it left a bit of an after taste but still not bad.  I thought it was going to be worse from the way people talked about it.  :-) 


I also had blood taken for my thyroid- that came back perfect as well!  Yeah!