I Can't Stand Your Voice Anymore

I worked from home today because my conference calls started at 7:00 am and we had a contractor coming to give us a bid on finishing the basement. Because we're wireless at home I typically work from the couch with a TV Tray serving as my makeshift desk. I get a lot done this way. I'm comfy, the dogs get to sit by me and I work, work, work. I do have a desk in the other room but I'd rather work from my couch. Anyway, that's not the point of the story.

My day consisted of 5 hours of conference calls. Three of those hours I was the chair and spent a majority of the time talking. Keep in mind, my sweet, pregnant, wife is right around the corner working in her office. When my last call finished at 4:00 she came in and said, "I can't stand your voice anymore. You've got to stop talking AND go into another room for awhile. I've heard you talking non-stop today and I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Believe it or not, I thought this was cute. She was actually laughing while saying this to me. Her hormones have gone on a rampage and today my non stop talking was the latest thing to put her over the edge. Yesterday she was extremely emotional and every little thing said to her made her cry. Something tells me I should expect this for the next three months. That's okay. I can deal with it. I just make her laugh and all is well.

Yesterday we had our appointment to check on Riley. This consists of an Ultrasound at Maternal Fetal Medicine and a review with the Perinatologist. Riley looks good. She's growing as she should and is measuring about 13-14 inches and weighs about 2 lbs. Her heartbeat was 132 bpm. There is no Hydrops which is the most important thing! Everything else, heart, stomach, brain, etc. all look good. The Cystic Hygroma is still there. It is measuring the same as it did 6 weeks ago. We asked for the measurements this time. It measures 4cm x 4cm x 2 cm and proportionally is half the size of her head. This means Riley's grown but the Hygroma hasn't. That doesn't mean it still may not grow with her as she continues to get bigger. Of course the hope is that it goes away but that is highly unlikely.

We asked if we could start getting ready since Riley seems to be doing okay. The answer was a big fat no! For those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile now you know how excited I was to start shopping, painting and getting ready. I have a list a mile long of things I want to do to prep for our new baby. Don't all new Mom's dream of this?!? I was almost counting down the minutes to the end of the first trimester in order to start the "prepping for baby" process. That lasted for about 30 days and then was put on hold. Put on hold December 29th to be exact. The Perinatologist feels we should wait and reevaluate at our next appointment on March 20th which puts us at 30 weeks. The reason for this is not that they're as concerned Riley won't survive the pregnancy but if she was born prematurely for any reason the Hygroma could complicate her medical treatment. He feels we should hold off until at least 30 weeks. Then, the next big hurdle after that, is 34 weeks. Once we get to 34 weeks the risk of complications goe way down. So, besides our weekly countdown, which are mini hurdles, the big hurdles are 30 and 34 weeks.

Speaking of mini hurdles we hit the 26 week mark on Sunday. Yeah! Here's a 26 week update:

• Riley should weigh about two pounds now (average is 1.7 pound, 760gm) and should be about 14 inches (35.6cm) in length.
• To support her growing body, the spine is getting stronger and more supple. Though no longer than the span of the average adult hand, it is now made up of 150 joints, 33 rings, and some 1,000 ligaments.
• Air sacs in her lungs form now.
• Lungs begin to secrete a greasy substance called surfactant. Without surfactant the fetal lungs would stick together and couldn't expand after she is born.
• Although they've been sealed shut for the last few months, her eyes are opening and beginning to blink this week. Depending on ethnicity, some babies will be born with blue or gray-blue eyes (which may change color in the first 6 months of life) and some will be born with brown or dark eyes.
• Retinas begin to form.
• Brain wave activity for hearing and sight begins to be detectable.
• Fetal brain scans show response to touch. If we shine a light on Shelly's abdomen, Riley would probably turn her head, which according to researchers, means her optic nerve is working.

At 16 weeks, during our 30 day "prepping for baby" phase, we went to Fetal Foto. Mainly so I could know the sex of our Little One as early as possible. The anticipation was way too much for me. At that time Riley was in love with the Placenta. She treated it like a giant Yoga ball and had herself wrapped around it bouncing and playing. Because of this, and how small the baby is at 16 weeks, the 3D imaging didn't work well. They gave us a certificate to come back once she got a little bigger and put on some baby fat. We think we're going to do this around 28 weeks. This gives us a chance to check on her in two weeks versus waiting until 30 weeks. During the Ultrasound yesterday they tried 3D but, again, our little girl was being stubborn and kept her hands in front of her face. She's so sassy! But just when we didn't think we could love her anymore we realize we in fact love her so much more!

Finally, we're still asking for prayers, well wishes, positive energy, good karma, etc. Whatever you believe in we'll take it! Anything to help our sweet baby pull through this. I know there are a lot of you out there doing just that. So, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

Now that I've rambled on for awhile, I must run. Shelly and I want to watch last nights episode of Dirt. Anyone out there watching Dirt? We love it!!! Courtney Cox rocks in it!

Double Digits!!!

We hit Double Digits today! Only 99 days to go! Yeah! I thought this day was racing towards us like a dang turtle race but it's finally here. This may not be a big day for some people but it is for us. It means we're getting closer, and, knock on wood, Riley's still doing okay. Yeah!

We watched Tate yesterday afternoon so her Mommie's could go to a big girl movie. They saw "Music and Lyrics" which they said was okay. LB was miserable most of the time which made the movie not as enjoyable. I guess the chairs at movie theaters aren't really designed to keep a six month pregnant woman comfortable.

Playing with Tate was fun as always. She's getting so big. And talk, talk, talk. She loves to talk. I love hearing that adorable voice. Although I do have a hard time fully understanding her sometimes. She's got quite the vocabulary for a 2 1/2 year old. We read books, took turns throwing things into a bucket, ate pizza, and her favorite, played with colored paper clips. I showed her how to paper clip two pieces of paper together, we sorted the paper clips by color, we made paper clip necklaces, we counted paper clips, and then we but them back into their bucket one color at a time. It's amazing how something as simple, and cheap, as paper clips, kept her entertained for an entire hour! I love that little girl! We're going to dinner tonight for LB's birthday so I'll get to play with her again.

We got our bed this week and it's gorgeous. We love it! Yesterday we splurged again and bought a 32" LCD TV for the Master Bedroom. We also bought the wall mount package that allows you to pull the TV out on an arm in order to move it in multiple positions. Love it! This morning Shelly had to get up early for a hair appointment. I decided to lay in bed and enjoy the new bed and TV while she was getting ready. That way we could talk as she was prepping herself. She brought up coffee and Oatmeal Scotchies (my favorite cookie) for me to enjoy in bed this morning while we visited. What a great way to start a day!

On Thursday I got together with my family to make cards. It's girls craft night out once a month. I ended up holding my cousins six week old baby boy most of the night. He was adorable and such a good baby. He really didn't whimper or make a sound in the 2+ plus hours we were there. I love that new baby smell. I found myself just staring at all of his amazing little features. Tiny ears, nose, fingers, toes. I can't wait to do the same with our sweet Riley. I'm sure I'll spend hours just staring at her.

I'll post a Riley 26 week update tomorrow.

She's Finally Packing on the Pounds

Shelly's finally packin' on the pregnancy pounds. And she's not too happy about it. We had an OB appointment yesterday and she gained 6 pounds this month. That puts her up 2 1/2 pounds total for the pregnancy. Our Doctor says she usually sees people have a big jump around 24 to 26 weeks then it slows down a little again. Although the weight gain should start piling on during this last trimester.

Shelly had a touch of protein in her urine which she has had at every appointment since week 16. Our doctor hasn't been too worried about it but now that we're heading into the third trimester she wants to make sure it's not a problem. Shelly has to do a 24 urine sample. She has to catch her pee for 24 hours and then take it into the lab. She hates this kind of stuff but she'll do anything for Riley.

Although we're 25 weeks pregnant she's measuring 27 weeks. Maybe we've got a chubby little girl on our hands. We'll have more details about Riley on Tuesday. We have another Ultrasound appointment at Maternal Fetal Medicine to check on Riley and the status of the Hygroma.

We got an exciting Valentine surprise today. Riley's biological half sibling, Riley Elizabeth, was born today! Yeah!!! Congrats to Stacey and Angele who are home resting already with their little baby girl. Check them out at http://stacey-angele.blogspot.com/.

We had something very shocking happen in SLC this week. On Monday night an 18 year old male/boy went on a shooting spree in one of our downtown malls, Trolley Square. He killed 5 people and critically injured 4 others. We still don't know the motive behind his rampage. This one hits just way too close to home. The past couple of days my mind has been struggling with thoughts about how we are going to keep Riley safe in the current world we live in. I want to protect her and keep her as far away from harm as possible. But she's also got to live and experience life. A 16 year old girl was killed in the attack. She was at the mall with her mother who was critical injured. A father and son were also at the mall. The father was killed and the son critically injured. It's so damn sad and makes me angry, scared, confused, and terrified. Do we move to the middle of no where, never leave our house, and home school Riley. Absolutely not. That's not who we are. We must find a way to keep her as safe as possible in this crazy world we live in. It's just so damn scary.

I don't want to leave you all on such a sobering subject. So, don't forget to check out pictures of Riley's half siblings at the following blogs:

http://loeysbaby.blogspot.com/
http://stacey-angele.blogspot.com/

Happy Valentines Day to everyone!

25 Weeks!

Yesterday we hit 25 weeks!

We have an OB appointment tomorrow to check and see how Mama Shelly's doing. Then we're going out for Valentines Dinner at Ruth Chris. Next week we have another Ultrasound at Maternal Fetal Medicine to check on Riley as well as what is happening with the Hygroma.

Riley's been crazy today. She went through a couple days of being a little mellow. Then today she's gone nuts. Kicking, swimming, punching, and dancing. She must be back in training for her Triathlon.

Read on for Riley's 25 Week Update:

• The structures of the spine begins to form -- joints, ligaments and rings. These will protect the all important spinal cord which serves as the information transmitter for her body.
• Blood vessels of the lungs develop.
• Her nostrils begin to open. There is a study out of Belfast that suggests babies at this stage have the capability of scent preferences!
• The nerves around the mouth and lip area are showing more sensitivity now. When she is rooting for food later on, these will be valuable!
• Her swallowing reflexes are developing.
• Dexterity is improving. She can make a fist and would clasp objects placed in her palm.
• She has now obtained an approximate length of 13.6 inches (34.6cm) and weighs approximately 1.46 pound (660gm).

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.