Not Much Going On

I've been trying to think what to post as an update. So, here's a pretty boring update from our week.

This week was BUSY at work. I got a lot accomplished yesterday and am going to spend more time today getting caught up today.

Shelly's finally gaining weight. She's not super happy about it but it MUST be done. She's also working this weekend.

We ordered a beautiful new bedroom set. Well, just the bed and nightstands. The furniture is so big that's about all that will fit in the bedroom. We're also going to get a great chair, see picture below, for those late night feedings. Plus, we've got to save room for the bassinet.

Lois and Holly, over at http://loeysbaby.blogspot.com/, welcomed beautiful baby Andrew on Thursday. Andrew is Riley's biological half sibling. Congrats Lois and Holly!

I got a stupid ticket yesterday for "failure to follow a traffic device". Here's the full story. Thursday night I was feeling like I NEEDED some retail therapy. Well, I've done such a POOR job at managing my finances over the years that we've now decided Shelly should be in charge of our finances and I basically get an allowance. It's too bad it's come to this but it's my own dang fault because I rely on way too much retail therapy.

Anyway, I decided I wanted to stop at Barnes and Noble on my way home from work. I love to book shop. Shelly's take was there is nothing we need, we just ordered a new bedroom set, so a stop at B&N wasn't necessary. I gave in and came home. Well, Friday morning I still needed my B&N fix. I decided I'd stop on my way to work so that I could shop and get a Starbucks.

The road in front of B&N is under construction and they've removed the turning lane. But hey, no one was coming, so I turned any way. Then I saw the red lights.

Stupid cop was sitting in the parking lot just waiting for me. I pull over, he comes to my window, and asks if I know why he stopped me. Immediately all those episodes of COPS Shelly makes me watch comes flashing into my mind. The thing that irritates me the most is those idiots NEVER accept responsibility! It's always, "I don't know how it got there.", "I don't understand what I did wrong.", "I don't know how this joint found it's way into my mouth.", and on and on. So, now that I'm a criminal, and likely to appear on the next episode of Utah COPS, I decided to tell the truth! "Yes sir, I know why you pulled me over." In the back of my mind I'm thinking this will some how get me out of the ticket. He simply says, "Thank you for being honest. I'll be right back." He comes back with a damn ticket! Stupid cop. Then, while I was in B&N he proceeded to ticket four more brazen criminals turning into the parking lot. Isn't there something else our tax dollars could go towards? I understand you've got to meet a stupid quota or something. But really, let's target real criminals!

In the end, it's the universe's way of telling me I should have listened to Shelly in the first place. I left with only buying a coffee because instead of a new book I ended up with a ticket. Oh, and Shelly, loved saying, "I told you a B&N trip wasn't necessary."

Enough ranting. Time to get busy catching up on work email. We have an OB appointment on Tuesday. Let's see if Shelly's really gained weight this month!

Another Hurdle Crossed

As many hurdles as Riley keeps crossing we think she just might grow up to be a track star. Something like the 400 meter hurdles maybe?

The good news is she's crossed another hurdle. Her heart is normal! Did you get that? NORMAL!!!!

The Cardiologist spent quite a bit of time meeting with us, reviewing the Ultrasound, and thoroughly explaining everything. Besides her heart being normal, the blood flow to and from the heart and major organs looks normal as well.

The Hygroma is still there. Because he has never seen us before he had no frame of reference to tell whether it was smaller, larger, or the same. Both Shelly and I, with our infinite medical wisdom (yeah right), agreed that proportionally it looked the same, about 1/3 to 1/2 the size of her head. The Cardiologist did not see any veins or arteries in the Hygroma which is GREAT news! He also did not see any Hydrops (fluid anywhere else in the body) which is EXCELLENT!!!

What does all of this mean? It means Riley still has a Cystic Hygroma which is moderate in size and located on the back of her neck/shoulder. It's good that it's on the back of her neck versus the front. If located on the front of her neck it could restrict her airway. It doesn't look as if the Hygroma is causing any stress to any major organs. We've also ruled out any Chromosomal abnormalities. It means we should continue to move forward with guarded optimism. We'll still need to check on her via Ultrasound every three to four weeks to make sure that she's doing okay and that there is no hydrops (fluid build up anywhere else in her body). The Cardiologist feels that with a normal heart she should carry to term and hopefully deliver normally, without C-section. She'll most likely require surgery within a few hours/days of being born to remove the Hygroma.

Riley's heart being normal is FANTASTIC news, and we'll take it! 30 weeks is the key turning point. Once we hit 30 weeks her chances of surviving go way up. We'll be 30 weeks on March 18th. The countdown continues.

24 Weeks!

Yeah! Yesterday we hit 24 weeks! And, Shelly's agreed to post belly shots. So read on for Riley's 24 week update and fun photos.

And, just TWO DAYS until the Fetal Echo appointment.

Riley's 24 Week Update:

• Bring on the bulk! Riley gains about 6 ounces this week. The weight is in muscle, bone mass, and organs.
• Her body begins to fill out with her appearance increasingly becoming more like a newborn.
• Taste buds begin to form. If Shelly drinks something strange or bitter, Riley could be observed showing her distaste. No Wine for Mama Shelly!
• Little creases have appeared on her palms. The muscular coordination of her hands has improved as she sucks her thumb.
• Over the next seven days the sweat glands will be forming in her skin.
• Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily.
• This week she is officially considered viable with medical assistance to survive outside the womb.
• She weighs approximately 1.3 pound and is approximately 11.8 inches long.