Monday, January 30, 2012

Appointments 1/23 and 1/30

Last Monday was a regular OB appointment with the addition of an NST test. They took weight, blood pressure, measured my belly, etc. and the NST test showed that her heart is still having good accelerations.

Today we went to Dr.Stephenson, the maternal fetal specialist, again for our growth check up. Dr. Stephenson said she is still scoring 8 out of 8 on the test that they do, is moving well, and *drum roll* is now at a whopping 7 pounds even. Baby Katherine is going to be a GIANT baby it seems. She is also still measuring a week ahead. The doctor said it looks like we are still planning to induce February 27th and she was overall very happy with how both the baby and I have been doing.

Upcoming plans include a labor support class this coming Saturday, the family baby shower on Sunday, and another OB appointment on Monday. Not too many more appointments to go before the induction! I am both nervous and excited about the upcoming birth. One thing that helps to ease my nervousness is that God has already answered our prayers about growing a big strong baby in preparation for her surgeries. It is such a relief that she is now past the 6 pound mark, which will make it much less challenging during her first surgery. Thank you Lord for a big baby and good doctors' appointments!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Most Recent Appointments

We had a work day last Friday (1/13) and were off Monday for MLK Day so I tried to work some of my appointments in those days. Needless to say, last weekend was busy! My mom-in-law went with me to my Friday appointments so we were able to have some girl time in between as well. We saw the cardiologist, Dr. Bensky, at 10am and he said things were progressing well. He still doesn't see any new surprises and the parts of the heart that are there are growing, so that is good. The next time we see him or one of the cardiologists he works with will be after little Katherine is born.

We then went and had lunch, explored the hospital, and still arrived early for our 2pm appointment at the OB. They did an NST to make sure the heart function still sounded good, and it did. She had good accelerations on the monitor.

Saturday we had another childbirthing class. This was the main one and was long, but informative. We now have breathing techniques and laboring positions to practice to help get ready for birth. Yikes - I'm both scared and excited that its starting to get so close. The weeks seem to be flying by now. I am now 34 weeks with another five to go before they induce on February 27th.

Sunday was Katherine's first party! She had a baby shower at church and I got to show off her ultrasound pics to all the ladies. Still in the womb and already showing off for the camera! She received many useful gifts and clothes. I enjoyed getting to organize everything into her room. I can't wait til she is well enough to come home and try some of them on.

Monday morning I got up bright and early to drive back up for an appointment with the maternal fetal specialist. She didn't do a regular growth checkup, since she had seen us the week before. Instead she examined the ultrasound testing for movement, etc. I forget what the name of the test is called but she said Katherine scored 8 out of 8, so way to go girl! She also said that the membrane that was so worrisome before Christmas is still gone. She seemed very happy overall with little Katherine, which of course made me happy as well.

Phew, that was a busy weekend! We are taking it a little easier this weekend so it will be a good time to catch up on relaxation time. We are also looking forward to having lunch next weekend with our special heart friends. I am glad that we decided to get together once a month as families and look forward to the time when Katherine is big enough to play with Trent and Murphy! In the meantime though, we will take each day as the blessing it is and enjoy our little one while I still get to carry her around with me everywhere in my belly.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Maternal Fetal Specialist Appointment

Monday, Jan. 9th, we had another appointment with Dr. Stephenson, which went great. The membrane that had concerned her last time appears to be gone now. Both her and the ultrasound technician looked for it and could no longer find it, so one less thing to be concerned about. Also, she is getting to be a big girl. She is measuring 33 weeks and 4 days (according to the due date she is 32 weeks and 3 days) and is 5 pounds 2 ounces. Our tentative induction date is Monday, February 27th, so unless something changes she will be here in a little less than 7 weeks. Oh, and we also got some more cute ultrasound pics! Praise the Lord for good news this appointment - I was smiling all the way home.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Pediatrician and New OB

Well, this weeks appointments went smoothly, with no surprise hospital stays. Yay! We met with our pediatrician on Tuesday and he was very professional and extremely nice. He also has experience treating an HLHS baby, as he is also the pediatrician of one of our heart baby friends. This is a huge blessing and relief for us, as not only will Katherine be a heart baby, she is also our first child and it is good to know that her pediatrician has experience with her special type of needs.

Friday was our first appointment with our new OB (we had to switch because my old OB does not deliver at the hospital where Katherine will need to be born at.) It went very smoothly and I am sure we will be in great hands when the time comes. They also did a follow up NST (nonstress test) where they hooked me up to the fetal moniter in order to make sure that she is still doing ok after our pre-Christmas hospital stay. She did great the whole time so we were very pleased with the visit.

Today is the last day we are off for the Christmas holidays, so I will be going back to work tomorrow. This week is free of appointments, but I am sure I will be busy enough with work and getting back into the swing of things. The week after this one with be full of appointments, as we have to see the maternal fetal specialist Monday, the cardiologist Friday, and the OB Friday after our cardiologist appointment. Phew! Keep us in your prayers and continue to pray that Katherine keeps growing and makes it to full term.