Big Updates for 33 & 34 Weeks!

Ronix decided he wanted to be in the pictures as well!  :-)  We LOVE our doberman!  

I think James becomes more and more handsome each day.  I just look at this picture and think "Goh, how did I become so blessed by this not only sexy but God loving and fearing man?!?"  Thank you Jesus! 

How far along? 33/34 Weeks

Total weight:  I'm about 166.6 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?  Praising God for this answer to still be a NO!  But James informed me last night that my linea nigra (that darkened line from the belly button down) is "dark".  He stated, and I quote, "I can see it from across the room, it's dark!"  That was not what I wanted to hear.  I can't see it unless I look in the mirror, so I insist that it's still minimal.  I'm ridiculous but I know I've seen pictures of women's bellys where the line really is DARK!  He just hasn't seen what a dark line really is. haha.

Sleep:  This depends on the day.  Sometimes I can't get to sleep and sometimes I wake up and get back to sleep for hours (again, I am praising God for not working right now) and other nights I fall asleep fast, sleep hard and wake up refreshed.  :-) 

Best moment this week:  Having family in town, staying at our house and being honored with a shower by great friends!  Thank you to everyone who was able to come and pour on the love!  :-)  We also had a fabulous Maternity Photo Shoot with the talented Andi Stubblefield.  (The pictures from above are her sneak peak to us!  I linked her facebook page if you're in the DFW area and need a really good photographer- contact her!  I've known her through church for years and she is a godly and loving lady!)

Miss Anything?  Energy! and consistant sleep.

Movement:  He is running out of room for sure.  My ribs are getting kicked and my sides are taking the punches.  All worth it.  I am going to miss all his movements but also look forward to holding him in my arms one day.  

Food cravings: SWEETS!!!  Yesterday, i tried to convince myself that some ice cream was okay because it would be comforting... I should NOT let food "comfort" me.  Oh my! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not quesay or sick but I will say that I got my first bit of heart burn this weekend.  It was awful.  I haven't had to watch what or how much I eat of anything (other than normal being healthy for the baby) but let me tell you- sausage, spicy pei wei chicken salad eaten probably too fast and some of James' Diet Dr. Pepper... OUCH!!  I was hurting. Trying to sleep was just a lost cause.  It felt like someone cracked open my sternum and it was on FIRE!!  Needless to say, I didn't eat much yesterday, I was too scared I was going to feel like I had again.  I prayed for just about every bit I took. 

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

Symptoms:  Just being swollen and sleepy!  See above!

Belly Button in or out?   Still in.  It is starting to look a little bit flat though... 

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'm pretty happy.

Looking forward to:  Wyatt being here.  

UPDATES

So, we'll begin with the MRI that we had on Thursday, June 14th with Dr. Twickler.  I'll just bullet it all to make it easy:

• She doesn't see any left lung at all.  
• Left lung could just be compressed or flattened but we won't know until they get in there for surgery.
• He can live with 1 lung.
• His lung can develop after surgery still.
• We don't know what will happen once the lungs actually fill with air after birth.
• Part of the liver IS in the chest, in front of his stomach with his small intestines.
• His right lung looks "good".
• We should be encouraged by the amount of the right lung.
• His head and the rest of his anatomy look good.  

If his lungs have a % greater than 20, it's good, Wyatt's are measuring 33%!  (Praise God!)

If his liver have a % less than 20, it's good.  Wyatt's is measuring 15%! (again, Praise God!)

With these numbers, based on a study Dr. Twickler did 5 years ago on 15 CDH kiddos, Wyatt has a 1 in 8 chance of death, 1 in 4 chance of going on ECMO and 2 out of 3 chance of needing ventilation.  

We look at those numbers just for what they are... numbers.  James and I truly believe God is in complete control of this whole situation regardless of any doctor's numbers and percentages.  

Information from the MRI, echocardiograms and sonograms per a "Family Meeting":

• Test results show positive numbers that they feel he will survive.
• They will get a breathing tube in quickly after birth.
• Wyatt will not be able to cry with the tube in.
• There will be a tube to get the air out of his stomach.
• We need his heart rate to be around 100 beats per minute and for him to turn pink to be considered in "good shape".
• There will be IVs that go in through his belly button.
• Once he is settled in, if his lungs are measuring good then they will let him be that way a couple of days and then go in for surgery.  If they aren't stable, they might call in the ECMO team.  
• If Wyatt does not need much help breathing and has stable numbers, he should be able to have surgery 3 or 4 days after birth.
• Apparently, our intestines are actually attached in place in our body in some way and his obviously aren't because they are up in his chest, so again, if he is stable enough, they will attach them when they are in moving everything down into his belly area.  If not, then that will happen another day. 
• If he has pulmonary hypertension (= high blood pressure in the lungs), ECMO will be a possibility.
• His left lung can still grow after the surgery.  

Questions Asked w/ Answers:

Can me having a cerclage change any of the natural birthing/laboring process?

No, I can still begin natural labor before the stitch is removed.

Should we bank Wyatt's cord blood?

Pretty much that was an unanimous "No" from the doctors.  And there are no donating places in the Dallas area.  

Should be buy an air purifier for change anything with out beloved dog because of Wyatt's lungs?

No.  We're good to go.

How do we find a pediatrician that will be sensitive to Wyatt's situation and hopefully close to home?

A case manager will help us with that at the hospital.  Also, Wyatt will be followed closely for a long time by our team of doctors for his lungs and heart.  

Do we buy a breast pump or rent on from the hospital?

They suggested renting since they are "hospital grade" and we can try different ones out if one doesn't work like we need it to.  

I came 4 weeks and 1 day early and my sister came 2 weeks early.  Can that effect or predict anything with Wyatt?

There's a chance.  We honestly don't know. 

What are my chances of actually getting to breast feed after the hospital?

There's a chance but again, we won't know until we get home and try. 

So, about this Ronald McDonald House?  Is that really an option?

It is not for us.  You have to live at least 50 miles from the hospital.  We live around 30 miles or so.  Bummer!

My blood pressure:  116 over 72

My prego belly measurement:  33cm  (= good)


My thyroid:  Numbers came back low so they upped my synthroid from 112mg to 150mg.  I haven't had a problem the entire pregnancy but they said this is normal for the end of the road.  

After our appointment with Dr. Lo and our "Family Meeting" we were given a tour of Children's NICU area.  It looked like how I imagined it to look for a NICU.  A small room or pod with a baby bed in the middle (equipped with wires and tubes galore), and a recliner and/or couch-bed.  There are waiting rooms, laundry and showers for us to use while there.  

Then we went on over to Parkland's NICU.  I am going to try and be completely honest and transparent here and say that God is working on my heart in this area.  I am praying to not be in a negative place with Parkland's facilities.  There is a reason Parkland is building new buildings.  The NICU is old and cramped.  There are several different rooms, each representing different levels of care needed.  But it's not comfortable and does not cater to families being around much.  I have no doubt in my mind that Wyatt is going to be taken care of better there than anywhere else he could be by the doctors and nurses but it is not pretty.  We aren't allowed to be there from 9-noon each day so the doctors can come through.  We just don't know what this will look like?  How will I be able to be there each day to spend time with my little boy.  I can't imagine not going down every day but it's also hard to see me sitting on a stool for hours a day next to his bed in a room with 7 other babies.... I don't know if I can describe it on here.  I want to be there and hold his hand,  talk and read to him and pump my milk so that as soon as he is able to, he can drink.   The longer he is in Parkland, the better.  That means he is stable and doing well so we hope no Children's but man, again, Parkland is not comfortable.  

After looking at NICU, our new Village friend and L&D nurse, Catherine Harvey gave us a tour of Labor and Delivery.  This is another place my heart needs some work.  There are 2 sides, west and east.  The west side is a coffin box of a room with no windows.  I really don't understand how me, james, a nurse and a doctor will fit in the room at the same time....   You labor in there, then when it's time for delivery you get wheeled down to a delivery/operating room and you do your thing.  I didn't get to see one of those.  Then there is a different recovery area.  In this area you could get lucky and be in a room alone or you're out in the open with a curtain with other women recovering too.  I don't have a clue where you go once you've recovered and where you spend the 2 to 4 days???   Then we looked at the East side.  Here the rooms are way more like what I've seen in other hospitals.  You're in the same room for labor, delivery and recovery.  The room I saw had a window, space and everything.  I am hoping this is where Dr. Lo has us.  I know we are going to be well taken care of by nurses and doctors no matter what but I am telling you, that west side seems so shady and uncomfortable.  I know I am not better or above anyone else in the world nor do I deserve special treatment in any way for any reason.  I know all of these things and I do feel snobby being so put out by the discomfort of everything but it was uncomfortable and discouraging.  My biggest concern is for Wyatt's health and care and again, I can't tell you enough about my confidence in what's to come.  So, please join me in praying for my heart in these areas.  


__________________________________________________________


I wrote everything above the line (with just a couple of additions in the "weekly update" part) last Wesnesday.  I didn't post it right away for editing purposes but decided not to go back and edit.  It's raw and real emotion.  It's scrambled and choppy but it's how I felt and I'm leaving it as is to try to be humble and transparent.  


It's now Monday morning (I basically woke up around 5 with James and haven't gone back to sleep- who does that with no work to go to?!?) and God has been so faithful in answering prayers.  Here's how the rest of the week went.


Wednesday morning, on my way to work, I was overwhelmed with emotions about Parkland's facilities.  I was fighting back tears about it.  So, I decided to call Dr. Lo's nurse to request the "east" side of Labor & Delivery.  She responded with sure, I'll let her know and then preceeded to inform me about how I'm not going to remember what the L&D rooms look like and it'll all be about Wyatt and blah blah blah.  That's about what I heard because I felt patrionized.  I'm in this situation, on the verge of tears (and I do not like to cry) with no control over anything and I just want to request one thing, one!  All I wanted to hear her say was, "Yes, Casey, I will let Dr. Lo know you've made that request."  Just let me control this one thing.  I'm not upset with her in any way.  She doesn't know my heart or my hurts.  It's just not what I wanted to hear at the moment.  I let her say her thing and thanked her and hung up, still fighting the tears.  At that point, I knew I needed to let others know I was struggling so I sent a text out to my faithful home girl groupies asking for their prayers. 


While I was at work with the girls, I was distracted so I didn't have to think about it at all that much.  It made the day fly by, thankfully.  I got home around 4ish or so and James was already home.  I think he'd been since lunch.  He had a "push to production" at work the night before and had been there since midnight.  My poor hubby was exhausted.  I made dinner, we watched a movie (I slept through most of it) and called it a night early.  As we were about to fall asleep, I just confessed to James that I'd been fighting back tears all day and needed to cry... and I did.  I honestly hadn't cried since Spring Break when we got Wyatt's CDH diagnosis.  James, even in his pure exhaustion and sleep deprived state just held me and comforted me.  Oh, how I love that man.  One of the things he said to me that stood out was "I was wondering when you'd break down, you've been a rock this whole time."  Sad that it took Parkland's lack of prettiness to bring it all out but I"m thankful something did and put it all in front of my face.  I've been carrying around all these things that are unfinished, waiting patiently and/or lack of control things and I finally just blurted it all to him through my tears.  It felt so good to just say it all out loud.  


Anyway, with all that said, God has been so good.  I am in a much better place today.  I just needed to weep to God.  It reminded me that He fills me up and He is enough.  On my own, I cannot handle it all, I cannot do it all and I cannot be in control.  He is.  He loves.  He sustains.  He is my rock.  He is good.  


Thank you so much to everyone for your love, support and prayers.  We just ask that you continue to pray for Wyatt's complete healing and our faith to trust that God heals and is in control.  


(I will post baby shower pictures and a small keepin' it real moment later on... I figured this post was long enough and overdue!)

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!  :-) 

Wyatt Update

There really isn't much to report.  James and I went to see Dr. Hickman yesterday (Tuesday) for an update.  They checked my cervix- all is well there and looked at Wyatt.  His stomach is still in his chest and so are his small intestines.  I don't think that is new, we just didn't realize.  We saw his diaphragm.  It looks like a fingernail clipping on the screen.  She said it's not missing part so it must be a hole but you can't see it.  His liver is still where it needs to be.  She said she couldn't tell what was lung on the left side and what was small intestine so this could be good.  His lung could be a good size.  We just don't know yet.

Here is the timeline we have right now.  I'm assuming these things could change or not...

• Thursday, April 5 we will have a fetal echocardiography.
• Tuesday, April 10 we see Dr. Hickman again.  At this appointment she will take more measurements of Wyatt and I am hoping we'll have the results from the echo explained.  We will also schedule a fetal MRI.  The MRI should be done at 24 or 25 weeks.  
• Around 32 weeks we will meet with all the doctors for our "family meeting".  
• At 37 weeks my stitch will be taken out (I think this is staying the same, nothing else has been mentioned).
• At 38 weeks we will be educed to ensure our team of doctors will be there and hopefully as close to Monday as possible so that they are there all week for me and Wyatt before the weekend crew comes in.  

Right now we looking the doctor options and are going to request some instead of just taking whomever.  James spent time doing that last night.  We will also request to begin seeing our new obgyn that will actually deliver Wyatt so that we can go ahead and get to know her.

We just beg that you continue to pray for our hearts, God using us to bring light into this dark world, Wyatt's development, God's miracles in him, and our doctors and the directions they are pointing us in!

Thank you so much for everyone's love and support.  We feel overwhelmed with all your kind words and prayers.

18 Weeks

This is my 18 week post but it's on the last day of the 18th week!  I wrote the post on Sunday (it's now Wednesday) but all the info is still true and the picture was taken on Sunday night!  :-)  


Well, my post surgery doctors appointment went well.  She gave me the go ahead to return to work.  So, I did.  I was hard returning, getting back into that schedule as well as very good.  I enjoy my kiddos.  They mean the world to me.  :-)  What's next you ask- well, 2 week check ups at Dr. Hickman's office (the specialist) and my monthly check ups at Dr. Watkins.  

My dad, sister and niece came in town Friday night for the North Texas Irish Festival.  Dad has been a part of that for the entire 30 years it's been happening.  He got his 30 year pin and everything.  James and I went Saturday afternoon.  We took Ronix.  He was SOOO excited.  Dogs and people everywhere.  He didn't know what to do with himself.  Sounds like we need to take him out more so he gets used to it and doesn't freak out with excitement!!! 

James and I figured out what color to paint the nursery.  I'll post once we actually buy the paint and get it on the walls.  We did put the crib together today.  That was really exciting.  Our only blunder is that we put it together then realized we should have done in the baby's room because with the door on the hinges.  So, we'll have to take one side off and then get it in the room. We decided not to do that today.  We'll wait until we've painted. :-)  

Here are some pictures from the week:

Weekly Update:

How far along? 18 weeks and counting

Total weight gain: about 140.  I'm climbing back on up the scale.  I've been tracking my food intake very carefully to make sure I am getting what I need.  I'm not perfect but I know exactly where I am. 

Maternity clothes?  I ordered some maternity pants for work.  I'll start in those tomorrow.  My yoga pants are even beginning to be a little tight around the hips.  Booo! These are my favorites.  I also have a pair of maternity jeans that I am loving.  

Stretch marks? nope.  Praise be to God! 

Sleep: Lately I've been waking up in the middle of the night or not able to fall asleep and so my default is to roll over on my stomach when that happens but even that is starting to get uncomfortable.  But once I am asleep, I'm out like a light!!  

Best moment this week: I love, love, loved getting to see 2 good friends in the same day.  One Tuesday, Brenna came over in the morning and Sarah came over in the afternoon.  Both with kids in tow!  :-)  

Miss Anything?  working out.  I went up to 24 Hour Fitness today and freeze my membership.  

Movement: So, I've been getting these weird feelings and pretty often and I'm thinking those are this little boy taking out my insides!  Just sharp bits of "pain" but not really pain here and there all the time.

Food cravings: pizza and sonic breakfast burritos... man, those things are YUMMY!

Anything making you queasy or sick: It's been good for a while now.  Thank the Lord! 

Gender: A BOY!!!  Still working on a name.  I don't know if we'll ever come up with one.  How do you people do it?  I mean it's so permanent. 

Symptoms:  My stomach is getting tighter.  I feel full and hungry like all the time now.  

Belly Button in or out? still in

Wedding rings on or off? on of course

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

Looking forward to:  Figuring out this naming thing and decorating the nursery.  I've got a pretty good idea of what I want the end result to be... now it's just getting there... and for CHEAP!  :-)