Today was another good appointment. The baby is right on track for growth. The ultrasound measured him at 23 weeks and he is 23 weeks, 1 day. There are no new issues with his heart. There is no additional fluid and it is functioning the same as it has been. As far as can be seen, all of the parts of the heart and necessary vessels are there, just in the wrong place or too small and not functioning properly. At least we aren't missing pieces!
My doctor is now going to refer us to Ann Arbor so we can meet with the pediatric cardiologist. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to get an appointment. Hopefully, then we will be able to get some information on what surgeries would be possible, possible outcomes, what to expect and all of those other unknowns we have only been guessing at.
I am feeling great. The baby is moving a lot and his movements are getting noticeably stronger. After our previous losses, movement is a very wonderful thing!
Neither Phil nor I have thought far enough into the future to consider bringing this baby home, but we are hopeful and know that we will be able to handle whatever happens. We are heading to Ann Arbor and we really didn't think we would make it this far, so who knows!
Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers. We couldn't make it through this without them.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
We had our doctor's appointment today. We had an ultrasound and the baby looks fine with the exception of his heart. His heart rate was 158, which is right where it is supposed to be. There is no additional fluid around his heart, which is one of the things that I was very worried about. Everything was as good as we could have hoped!
Our next appointment is April 27th to check on the heart again and assess his growth. He will be 23 weeks at this time. If everything looks good at this appointment, the doctor will get us connected with the pediatric cardiologists at the University of Michigan.
I have been doing some research on the pediatric cardiology program at U of M. It is amazing and we are very lucky to be so close. The surgeon at U of M has pioneered a lot of the work that surgeons all over the world are performing for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. In the early 1980's, this condition was nearly always fatal. Now the surgeon has a success rate of 80% to 85%.
Our baby has Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome, which is much less common and therefore does not have the track record with successful procedures. At least we are in the right place and will not have to travel halfway across the country to get to a qualified hospital.
Thank you for all of your prayers and I will keep you posted on any new information!
Our next appointment is April 27th to check on the heart again and assess his growth. He will be 23 weeks at this time. If everything looks good at this appointment, the doctor will get us connected with the pediatric cardiologists at the University of Michigan.
I have been doing some research on the pediatric cardiology program at U of M. It is amazing and we are very lucky to be so close. The surgeon at U of M has pioneered a lot of the work that surgeons all over the world are performing for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. In the early 1980's, this condition was nearly always fatal. Now the surgeon has a success rate of 80% to 85%.
Our baby has Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome, which is much less common and therefore does not have the track record with successful procedures. At least we are in the right place and will not have to travel halfway across the country to get to a qualified hospital.
Thank you for all of your prayers and I will keep you posted on any new information!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
If you would like me to send you an email notice when I create a new blog post, please send me an email at doughertyjennifer@att.net.
I am sure that there is a better way to do this, but my skills in this area are VERY limited. Thanks!
I am sure that there is a better way to do this, but my skills in this area are VERY limited. Thanks!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
We got the news on the complete amniocentesis results and everything looks good. That makes two pieces of good news in a row.
The baby is moving around a lot now. I don't have to sit still and concentrate to feel him. You would think this was my first pregnancy by how exciting it is!
The baby is moving around a lot now. I don't have to sit still and concentrate to feel him. You would think this was my first pregnancy by how exciting it is!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Beware! This is a long post - but there is no bad news!
I had my doctor's appointment this morning. It was just a simple check, but the baby's heart rate was fine and they gave me the go ahead to get out of the chair. I don't think I have ever been as happy to do housework as I was tonight. It was just in time because now Phil has whatever Maeve has and he is feeling miserable.
I did have a chance to ask the doctor all of my questions that have come up since we have started absorbing all of this. The stuff I learned:
1. The preliminary results for the amniocentesis covered the standard chromosomal abnormalities. The final results check for the more unusual abnormalities.
2. The next step if things keep progressing properly is to go to Ann Arbor to meet with the heart specialist when the baby reaches 25 weeks or so. We are at 19 weeks now.
3. Hypoplastic right heart syndrome is less common than hypoplastic left heart syndrome, so there is not as much data and we are dealing with more unknowns.
4. We have double confirmation that the baby is a boy. He has Y chromosomes and a penis!
5. The fluid around the baby's heart is not uncommon and may increase or decrease. The fluid around the heart is an indication of the heart not working properly. We will know that the situation is critical if the fluid moves into the abdominal cavity.
The most important thing that I learned today is that I am going to the right doctors. The two obstretricians that are in the practice are husband and wife. I chose them before I got pregnant with Ella because they accepted my insurance. Later, I found out they specialize in high risk pregnancies (the office is covered with photos of multiples). It has been wonderful not to have to switch doctors when things got ugly.
The wife is my normal doctor, but she was on vacation last week, so her husband was in charge. Today, I found out that he called her while she was on vacation to let her know what had happened. When she walked into the exam room, she gave me a hug and told me how sorry she was. These are definitely not people that treat their patients like a good way to make money.
I explained that we tried to let as many people know last week as possible. I told her how awkward it is to explain the situation when people ask how the twins are. Her response was "And now there are that many more people praying for you".
We are truly blessed to have such wonderful care. There is no way this little boy could be in any better hands!
The next doctor's appointment is April 9. I will post if anything new happens before then. Thanks again for all of your prayers!
I had my doctor's appointment this morning. It was just a simple check, but the baby's heart rate was fine and they gave me the go ahead to get out of the chair. I don't think I have ever been as happy to do housework as I was tonight. It was just in time because now Phil has whatever Maeve has and he is feeling miserable.
I did have a chance to ask the doctor all of my questions that have come up since we have started absorbing all of this. The stuff I learned:
1. The preliminary results for the amniocentesis covered the standard chromosomal abnormalities. The final results check for the more unusual abnormalities.
2. The next step if things keep progressing properly is to go to Ann Arbor to meet with the heart specialist when the baby reaches 25 weeks or so. We are at 19 weeks now.
3. Hypoplastic right heart syndrome is less common than hypoplastic left heart syndrome, so there is not as much data and we are dealing with more unknowns.
4. We have double confirmation that the baby is a boy. He has Y chromosomes and a penis!
5. The fluid around the baby's heart is not uncommon and may increase or decrease. The fluid around the heart is an indication of the heart not working properly. We will know that the situation is critical if the fluid moves into the abdominal cavity.
The most important thing that I learned today is that I am going to the right doctors. The two obstretricians that are in the practice are husband and wife. I chose them before I got pregnant with Ella because they accepted my insurance. Later, I found out they specialize in high risk pregnancies (the office is covered with photos of multiples). It has been wonderful not to have to switch doctors when things got ugly.
The wife is my normal doctor, but she was on vacation last week, so her husband was in charge. Today, I found out that he called her while she was on vacation to let her know what had happened. When she walked into the exam room, she gave me a hug and told me how sorry she was. These are definitely not people that treat their patients like a good way to make money.
I explained that we tried to let as many people know last week as possible. I told her how awkward it is to explain the situation when people ask how the twins are. Her response was "And now there are that many more people praying for you".
We are truly blessed to have such wonderful care. There is no way this little boy could be in any better hands!
The next doctor's appointment is April 9. I will post if anything new happens before then. Thanks again for all of your prayers!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Today I got good news regarding work. I was in the midst of a two week bridge inspection class last week when all of this happened. I missed Monday and Tuesday afternoon for doctor's appointments and the rest of the week with the bed rest. I was afraid that I would have to take the entire two week class over again and pay another $1500. I was hoping that I could take the class again and just attend for the second week. This morning I got a phone call telling me that they were going to let me take the exam for the class. If I pass, I will have the certification and will not have to take two more weeks off of work. I was ecstatic!
I also got notification that I picked up another bridge project. I am pretty close to having enough work for this year. Now it it just a matter of getting everything timed properly with baby stuff.
Maeve and I hung out here and I worked on engineering stuff today. We ran to the office for a few minutes to meet a client. Maeve is feeling better and I had no problems today, so it was a wonderful day!
Hopefully we will have more information after the doctor's appointment tomorrow.
I also got notification that I picked up another bridge project. I am pretty close to having enough work for this year. Now it it just a matter of getting everything timed properly with baby stuff.
Maeve and I hung out here and I worked on engineering stuff today. We ran to the office for a few minutes to meet a client. Maeve is feeling better and I had no problems today, so it was a wonderful day!
Hopefully we will have more information after the doctor's appointment tomorrow.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Another day in the Lazy Boy. I am not sure if yelling at the television while watching the Michigan State game counts as bed rest, but it was the best I could do.
I did sneak out to go to Dad and Diane's for pizza. We just sat and talked, nothing that involved physical exertion.
Maeve still has a fever, so she wasn't able to go to lunch or pizza. I do think that she is on the mend. Hopefully she will be 100% tomorrow because she has a field trip for preschool.
No new leaks today and hoping for the best on Tuesday.
I did sneak out to go to Dad and Diane's for pizza. We just sat and talked, nothing that involved physical exertion.
Maeve still has a fever, so she wasn't able to go to lunch or pizza. I do think that she is on the mend. Hopefully she will be 100% tomorrow because she has a field trip for preschool.
No new leaks today and hoping for the best on Tuesday.
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