Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Today was my first non-stress test. Unfortunately, the baby took the term literally and would not be stressed. My understanding is that the point of the test is to get the baby's heart rate up at least twice in twenty minutes. The baby moved a lot, but his heart rate never increased enough. I am wondering if our lack of success was due to his heart problems, or the constant noise and chaos that surrounds his home. I spent 3 1/2 hours at the doctor's office and never did get the results they were looking for.

I also found out that I was having contractions. I did not feel them and they are not moving things along, but the doctor wasn't very excited to see them. The bright spot is that the contractions didn't stress the baby. Nothing does!

My next appointment is next Tuesday. Hopefully, we will have better luck and things will look the way they are supposed to.

Countdown: 9 weeks to go

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Today's appointment was another great appointment! Obviously, no one told this little guy that he has a congenital heart defect.

He is measuring right on target for his age. Today he is 29 weeks and his approximate weight is 3 lbs, 2 ozs (based on the ultrasound). His heart rate was 149, which is just fine. I got to see him scrunch up his nose and furrow his eyebrows on the ultrasound. There is no new fluid around his heart and it was looking just like it has been.

Next week will be my last week without a doctor's appointment. After next week, I will start going to my Grand Rapids obstetrician once a week to keep a close eye on everything.

Come to find out, having a baby with a congenital heard defect (CHD) is like having a new car. As soon as you have one, you find out how many other people do too. Today, I talked with a guy I have known for years and found out that his son has a CHD and was treated in Ann Arbor. He said that he didn't think there was any better place to go. His son graduated from high school this spring in the top of his class. His Ann Arbor cardiologist even let the boy job shadow him for a school project. If that doesn't give a person a ton of hope and confidence, I don't know what would!

Thanks for all of your prayers and kinds words and thoughts!