60 Day Dance!

We're doin' the 60 day dance! 60 Days to go! Yeah!!!

First Non Stress Test

Today was our first Non Stress Test (NST).

The first part of the test consists of doing a brief ultrasound to measure the amniotic fluid (AF) levels. Last week the AF was slightly higher than normal. This week it was normal! First test passed!

As the nurse was checking the fluid we caught a glimpse of Riley practicing swallowing. It was the coolest thing! It looked as if someone was squeezing her ribs in and out. The nurse told us that it was good that she was doing this because if she didn't pass the NST then there were several additional things they would measure. One of which is to monitor her to see if she's swallowing for 30 seconds. So, although this wasn't a required part of the NST today she passed!
Next they good hooked up the blue and pink belts around Shelly's belly. One for monitoring Riley's heart (pink) and one for monitoring contractions (blue). Riley's heart beat did just as they wanted it to do. They establish a baseline and then monitor that her heart rate fluctuates at least 15 beats higher than the baseline at least 2-3 times in twenty minutes. At least that's how we understood it. We could be completely off. We'll learn more each week. Anyway, she passed this test as well!

Finally, the last piece, is to monitor contractions. At this point she is having little to no contractions. Final test passed! So, we've got an A+ student on our hands beside being a great hurdle jumper!

Park City was fun but we came home a day early. We decided would rather be home getting Riley's room ready. We're totally nesting! So, we came back into the valley, shopped for the rest of our bare necessities, and worked on Riley's room. We have a few things to finish up and then we can get the furniture moved in and get everything set up and put away.

Now, both of us are SICK!!! Again!!! We're both miserable! At least I can take cold medicine. Poor Shelly has to just suffer through it. I hope we feel much, much better tomorrow.

Thursday we have an OB appointment. More updates then.

I've Got A Lot to Say Today

I'm posting a novel today. I have several items to cover so I'm breaking it down into sections. If you get bored take a coffee break and come back to finish after your eyes have uncrossed!

===== Section 1 - I'm a Winner! =====

I need to win something, anything. All I can think about lately, besides Riley arriving safely, is gambling. Maybe being selected for a "Thinking Blogger Award" will fill that winning itch of mine that needs scratching.

My great blogger friend Tiffany, at Uncommon Nonsense, nominated me for a Thinking Blogger Award. Her direct quote is below:

3 dogs 2 moms 1 baby – This blog is so special for so many reasons. Dee and Shelly are about to be first time mommies. Their soon-to-be daughter, Riley, will be born with a hygoma and will need surgery to remove it after she is born. I admire Dee and Shelly’s strength and courage and feel honored to share in their journey.

Well, Tiff, I'm honored and you are so sweet! Thank you, thank you!

When you've been tagged as a Thinking Blogger you're supposed to award the Thinking Blogger to five blogs that make you think. I've also read that you can't duplicate blogs that you know have already been nominated. This is hard because I have MANY blogs I frequent and some of my favorites have already been tagged. I'm therefore choosing blogs that I love to haunt and have not, to my knowledge, been tagged. But if I haven't included you below frequent haunts know I'm not playing favorites because I love keeping up with you all!

1 - Backyard Musings - Although I've just recently found Rae at Backyard Musings I've got to give a shout out to her. She's a 29 year old ovarian cancer survivor. She's the mother of a beautiful little girl. Her and her partner are trying to expand their family which is going to be a difficult process because of Rae's medical history. Plus Rae's a scrapbooker! Girl after my own heart!

2 - Arcane Matters - I love keeping up with the New York girls and their soon to be born twin girls. They've had a long and difficult Trying to Conceive journey and I'm so glad they're getting close to bringing their little girls into this world.

3 - Lois & Holly's Baby Story - Lois and Holly's new baby boy Andrew is actually Riley's biological half sibling (same donor). I love keeping up with their adventures of bringing a new little one into their family. It's also exciting to see pictures of Andrew and wonder if Riley will share any of his features.

4 & 5 - Uterus x 2 and Infertile Pediatrician - Two separate blogs from the same couple. They also have had an incredibly difficult Trying to Conceive journey. Because of the numerous failed attempts they decided they should both begin trying in hopes that eventually one of them would become pregnant. We'll one of them is now pregnant! And the other is going to try again soon!

===== Section 2 - Thanks to ALL OF YOU! =====

Thank you all for your comments, thoughts, prayers, and well wishes as we're going through an incredibly difficult journey. We're back on the mend after this weeks doctors appointment. We're keeping the reality of "possible worst case" in the back of our minds while trying to focus on the "best case" scenario and sending lots of positive energy to Riley!

You're all right. She's a fighter!!! I know she's going to fight once she's born as well. Things won't be perfect. We'll have hurdles to overcome once she's born but she's a fighter and I know she can't wait to prove to the doctors that she is ONE INCREDIBLE LITTLE GIRL!

Again, THANK YOU ALL for your comments. They really helped me get through the day yesterday. Thank you!

===== Section 3 - Shelly's B-day Present =====

I'm the worst present giver in the world! I can't wait until the big day to give people their gifts. I don't think I've ever actually given Shelly a gift on her birthday. This year is no exception. Her birthday is next Thursday. We'll, I just HAD to give her her gift today. And now I have to share it with all of you.

I bought her an IPOD. Pretty boring, but a fun gift to get because it's not something you need. But, I took it a step further. I created a playlist for her called "Riley's Mix". My intention was to give her something to keep her calm, relaxed, and focused on Riley at the hospital. The compilation is actually quite the tear jerker. As I was downloading the songs I welled up with Alligator tears several times! So, here's the list. I'm so proud of myself I just had to share it with you.

At Last - Etta James
I Knew I Love You - Savage Garden
A Mother's Prayer - Celine Dion
Blessed Be - Alison Krauss
Baby Mine - Bette Midler
In My Daughter's Eyes - Martina McBride
Close to You - The Carpenters
A Mother's Prayer - Carnie Wilson
Beautiful Child - Eurythmics
Child of Mine - Carole King
A New Day Has Come - Celine Dion
My Little Girl - Tim McGraw
Isn't She Lovely - Stevie Wonder
Blessed - Elton John
Have a Little Faith in Me - John Hiatt
You'll Be in My Heart - Phil Collins
Angel's Lullaby - Richard Marx
Forever Young - Rod Stewart
I Could Not Ask For More - Sara Evans
Precious - Annie Lenox
Ooh Child - Donnie McClurkin
With Arms Wide Open - Creed
Thank God for Kids - Oak Ridge Boys (This one was a stretch but I just had to include it.)

There are several songs on this CD that remind me of name that tune. Except it goes like this, "I can cry in just three notes." Total tear jerkers! But, I love the mix and have thoroughly enjoyed listening to it over and over.

===== Section 4 - Riley's IPOD Experience =====

Tonight we hooked up two sets of head phones to Shelly's IPOD so both her and Riley could listen. She started off with a little Gwen Stefani. Well, Riley LOVED IT! She was kicking and moving like she has never done before. Keep in mind she's a very ACTIVE baby. At one point she actually punched so hard it really hurt. That was enough Gwen. I think Riley might have a little crush.

We moved to a little Fleetwood Mac, Toto, and Cat Stevens (strange combo, I know) which again she loved. She was seriously punching where we had the headphones positioned. If we moved the headphones she would start punching (or kicking) in their new position. It was crazy! We think she definitely likes music and are going to have a ball sharing more and more music with her.

There is one song that I couldn't find on iTunes to add to her list. It's been Riley's song since we new we had a bun in the oven. It's "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles. It's my fav! I love the Beatles and love, love this song. I can't wait to get it downloaded and play it for her.

===== Section 5 - FINALLY, WE'RE OFF! =====

We're off to Park City for the weekend! Yeah!!! We're going to enjoy great food, clean mountain air, and lots of shopping.

Hope you all have a GREAT weekend!

30 Week Reality Check

Yesterday we had another Ultrasound. I'm beginning to hate these appointments. On one hand we're always excited to see Riley, and how she's doing, but they also serve as a BIG DAMN REALITY CHECK that not everything is peachy.

Riley is doing well. She's measuring about a week ahead and weighs approximately 3 lbs 13 oz. Her heart, stomach, kidneys, etc. all seem to be doing fine. There is no appearance of hydrops (excess fluid around the heart, brain, etc.) which is wonderful. The Hygroma appears to be larger, approximately 8x8x7 centimeters. The amniotic fluid is a little high. Because of the hygroma, the excess amniotic fluid, and the fact that we've made it to 30 weeks, they're going to begin doing weekly Non Stress Tests (NST). The NST will monitor Riley's heart, contractions, and amniotic fluid levels. We'll follow up with another full Ultrasound in three weeks.

Yesterday the doctors began the tough conversations with us. We realize they held off on these conversations until we hit the 30 week mark because they really didn't know if Riley was going to make it this far. Now the conversation switches to what is going to happen when she's born. Their first major concern is that the Hygroma is not obstructing her airway. Then, if it's not, but she needs to be resuscitated, the Hygroma could impact resuscitation efforts. Once we get past her being able to survive outside the womb, the next hurdle is to figure out why the Hygroma is there. Hopefully it's improper drainage of the lymphatic system and the Hygroma can be drained or extracted at some point. This may not happen immediately because the doctors may want to wait until she is stronger before performing surgery. There could also be something wrong with her physically, such as an organ not functioning properly. She could still have a syndrome that cannot be found via the Amniocentesis such as Noonan's syndrome. IT'S ALL A BIG UNKNOWN! And it sucks! We just want answers!!!! Which we know we won't get until she's born. We just want her to be okay. We don't want her to be in any pain. We'll deal with whatever cards we're dealt but it is so DAMN hard!

After the mood yesterday's appointment left us in, we decided we need some cheering up and to find a way celebrate our little Riley. So we went to Babies R Us and registered. We had a ball and it got our mind off of everything for awhile. But reality hit again today. We've now decided to hold off having any baby showers until after she's born. We don't know what's going to happen and she could end up staying in the hospital for awhile. We'd hate to have our friends and family spend money on gifts and then have something horrible happen. We're going to focus on getting the bare essentials to get us by. Then, assuming everything goes wonderfully (I've got to start getting positive energy out there) we'll have showers and give everyone the chance to meet our little angel.

For now, I'm asking for two things from all of you:
1) Lots and lots of prayers, thoughts, and positive energy.
2) What are the necessities? Not wants but just the needs to get us by when she first comes home?

We're 30 Weeks!!!!

We're thirty weeks, we're thirty weeks, we're thirty weeks!!!! I have to keep saying this out loud. This was the next major hurdle to be crossed and WE JUST CROSSED IT!!!

Here's a cute picture of Shelly at 30 WEEKS!!!

Today was our big Disney on Ice Date with Tate and her Mommies. It started off with us having a nice Sunday drive downtown. Then, as we're sitting at a red light, waiting to turn, all of a sudden, BAM, we were rear ended! First I look over at Shelly to make sure she's okay. Then I look in the rear view mirror and see the girl backing way. I tried to hurry and memorize her license plate number because it looked as if she may take off.

Shelly stays in the truck and calls 911. I get out to talk to the girl. Her car is barely running. She's done some major damage to it. She's just a young thing, maybe 17, and is freaking out. She kept saying, "I've got to go. I've got to get back to church. My boyfriends going to kill me." She then says, "There's no damage to your truck. I've got to go." I let her know we need to exchange information in case either one of us has any problems. She was reluctant to do this but I did get a name and number. Who knows if it's really her name and number. I do however, have the license plate number. When she left I was just waiting for her car to stall. I'm pretty sure she totalled her engine.

Then I get back in the truck and start freaking out again. Is Shelly okay? Is Riley okay? Is this going to send her into premature labor? I have developed this MAJOR need to protect them at all times. Both Shelly and Riley are okay and there were no contractions. I on the other hand, proceed to have a little breakdown. It freaked me out a little. We're just hitting 30 weeks and the thought of something going wrong at this point hit me hard.

We proceed to the Arena where Disney on Ice is playing. We all of course need treats and Tate needs a prize. We decide on Popcorn and Hot Dogs. I go to put the condiments on my dog and the slippery little sucker slips right off my bun onto the floor. That's it. I've hit my breaking point over a stupid hot dog and I start to cry. Shelly basically tells me to get a grip, it's supposed to be a fun day, and to take a damn Xanex. I did and felt much, much better.

Tate of course had fun watching the Disney Characters. I've included a couple of cute pictures of our day below.

We finished off the day by going to see LB and Erin's new house. It's very nice and we're super excited for them. Then, we all went for dinner at Chili's. Now we're home ready to watch the Amazing Race and the L Word.

Can you believe Riley's around 3 pounds and more than 15 inches long as of 30 weeks! It becomes more and more real every day!

I'm Starving my Wife and Child

I'm only Shelly's S%&T list today.

Today was our OB appointment and her Glucose Tolerance test. I was 100% sure she needed to fast for the Glucose test. I even called a friend just to make sure. So Shelly was allowed NOTHING but a little water after 10:00 pm last night. We the found out at the lab that there was no need for the fasting. Oops! Word of caution to all non-carrying spouses out there - NEVER STARVE A PREGNANT WOMAN!! Hopefully once the bagel kicks in she'll forgive me.

No results yet on the Glucose or Iron tests. I'm not sure if we'll hear back from the lab today or Monday.

No protein in Shelly's urine! Great news as they we're previously slightly concerned about Preeclampsia.

She gained 4 pounds this past month putting her at a total of just over 7 pounds total for the pregnancy. The doctor's happy with this as she'd like her to keep her weight gain between 10 and 15 pounds.

She's measuring 31 weeks which is a week ahead. This means we could have a big baby.

Shelly's back has REALLY been bothering her. She has a history of back problems and had back surgery about 12-13 years ago. The doctor has finally convinced her to give Physical Therapy a try. She starts that next week.

Next week is our next Ultrasound. They'll most likely talk to us about beginning non-stress tests on the baby which will require a trip to Maternal Fetal Medicine twice a week.

Isn't it odd that in your last weeks of pregnancy you get the least amount of rest. We're going from one OB and one MFM appointments a month to:

• One OB appointment every two weeks
• One Physical Therapy appointment every week
• Two Maternal Fetal Medicine appointments a week

Shelly's not looking forward to this. Her big question is "When will I find time for my nap?". And again she reminds me that it's not easy being 41 (soon to be 42) and pregnant. But it's all going to be worth it when we officially welcome our beautiful baby girl into this world.

Binge Blogger

Hi. My name is Dee and I'm a Blogaholoic. I'm not a daily blogaholic but more of a Binge Blogoholic. Yes, I Binge Blog. I typically Binge on Wednesday's, Thursday's, Friday's and Saturday's. I'd love to Binge Blog Sunday through Tuesday but life is crazy busy on those days. So, to all of you who are also Binge Bloggers, I hope you can relate. :)

So, it's Wednesday, and I'm binging. My wife is watching the Jazz and I'm about to enjoy an hour or so of blogging pleasure. I could experience BBF (Binge Blogger Fingers) tomorrow but it's worth it keeping everyone updated and staying up date on my fellow bloggers.

Shelly is miserable. She's experiencing back pain, heart burn, bruised ribs, and exhaustion. I've also caught her head spinning around several times lately. My response to this is of course to LAUGH which only makes her head spin faster. I'm loving every minute of it knowing we're in the home stretch and I can live with this alien being staying in our home for another eight to ten weeks.

Riley is still active and sassy. We have had a couple of days this week where she wasn't very active. Of course we panicked, got out the Doppler, and quickly reassured ourselves she was just fine. We now think it was just a growth spurt. She seems to have one to two days a week where she's pretty mellow. Then the next two days Shelly feels as if she's run out of space again and BAM, her stomach has popped more.

Friday we have a Doctor appointment with our OB/GYN. Shelly will take the Glucose test. Hopefully we get good results there. After this appointment we start going to the doctor every two weeks. How exciting. We're getting so close. Next week is our next MFM Ultrasound to see how little Riley is doing. Hopefully the Hygroma is staying the same. I'm not sure what the protocol is with Perinatologist at this stage. I wonder if we'll increase the U/S frequency during the last 10 weeks or not. Guess we'll find out next week.

This weekend should be a crazy one. We have to get the basement cleaned out for the contractor to start on Monday. Shelly works all weekend. I'm going to help our friends move. I have to help Steve finish putting Bead Board up in Riley's room. Then, on Sunday, we're going to Disney on Ice with Tate and her Mommies!

Next weekend Shelly and I are spending the weekend in Park City to celebrate her birthday and our 10 year anniversary. We thought we'd be doing lots of shopping. Instead, with the way Shelly's feeling, we may be spending most of the time in the room resting, watching movies, and ordering room service. At least we're out of the city and it's just the two of us.

I'll snap a 30 week belly shot of Shelly this weekend in some of her new Maternity clothes!