Tuesday & Wednesday

Tuesday

It's Tuesday night and I'm posting my follow-up. Not! It's Friday and I'm finally posting. Sorry to all of you out there watching for updates. And, I hope to have time this weekend to get caught up on every one's blogs.

Before I begin with Tuesday's update I have to give a big shout out to Wendy and Karen at 2 Mom's It Can Be Done. They gave birth to baby Kylie on Tuesday. Congrats ladies!!!

And, welcome to two friends of mine to the fun world of blogging. Amy at 3 Kids, 4 Dogs and 1 Cat Later and Kori at Twins and 2 Moms. Both are 2 Mom families from Utah. Can you believe Utah, yes Utah, has so many two mom families?!?

On with Tuesday's update.

We started the day with our Non Stress Test. All went well. Shelly's blood pressure was great. Uterine Irritability has increased a little bit but she's not having consistent contractions so all's good there. Riley's heart beat has been a little lower lately. I guess this happens as they get close to birth. During the NST they get a baseline of the baby's heart rate and then look for it to spike at least 3 times. Well, little miss Riley must have been sleepy because she only spiked twice. They had to stimulate her, with a little buzzer that basically scares her, to get her heart to spike the third time. I guess this is quite common. Her heart rate spiked just as it needed to and we were sent on our way. We have another NST on Tuesday.

Next came the appointment with the Pediatric Surgeon. Every time we go to Primary Children's we have a hard time. It's such a sad place, and a good place, all wrapped up into one. As we were waiting there was a mom sitting next to us with a son who had surgery by the same doctor we were consulting with. We asked her if she liked Dr. Nichol and felt comfortable with him. She said she didn't feel he had a great bed side manner but that her son is doing really well. Needless to say our anxiety level starting rising.

Next we get called back to the room and have to wait over 30 minutes. Our anxiety level continued to rise as we prepared to look for another surgeon. Then we met Dr. Nichol's and LOVED him! We really clicked with him. He has experience with Lymphatic Malformations and seemed quite knowledgeable. We had the 2 Mom talk with him... We're a two mom family. Is he comfortable treating a family of two moms and respecting we are both decision makers? It's okay if he's not because of personal reasons. Every one's entitled to their beliefs just as we are entitled to work with someone who is comfortable with our situation. He passed this test with flying colors! His response was, "I'm not from the local tribe. I'm from Wisconsin. It doesn't matter to me one bit." So far, knock on wood, we've gotten really lucky with the doctors we've met.

He talked to us about the procedure, which is of course dependent on how things look after Riley's born. But, he estimates we'll do an MRI shortly after she's born to know what we're dealing with. Assuming she's stable they'll probably do surgery 2-4 days after she's born. It's important to us that they don't rush her into surgery. If she's stable let's make sure she's as strong as possible before they operate. He said the surgery could take up to 6 hours. Ouch! That may be the worst six hours of our entire life! He didn't have an estimate on how long she'll need to be in the hospital after but did say we can expect to bring her home with drains in for 4-5 weeks.

Next he walked us out to meet his staff and look at his call schedule. We were hoping to coordinate the C-Section when he is on call. At this point we didn't have the confirmed C-section date. Based on his call schedule we're hoping for 5/19. We got the call from our Doctor the next morning that in fact, the big day, is scheduled for 5/19!

Next we went on a tour of the U of U Labor & Delivery and NICU. The people there were wonderful and treated us great. Shelly actually played softball with the NICU Charge Nurse. She took us in the critical area and where the newborns first go. She showed us what we could expect when Riley's born. It's actually quite interesting. The Operating Room where Shelly's C-section will take place actually has a pass through window into the NICU. It totally reminds me of a pass through window at a diner. I can totally imagine them taking Riley, dinging the bell, and shouting, "Order Up!" Once they serve up our order of one Riley, they'll finish taking care of Shelly, and I'll hopefully be able to head into the NICU with Riley. It all depends on how she's doing. Then, once she's stable, Primary will come get her and take her over to their NICU.

All of the people we met on Tuesday were wonderful. We feel very comfortable with everyone and believe that we'll be taken great care of. We ended Tuesday feeling quite happy that we'll be in good care. We finished the day at Shelly's nephew's Lacrosse game. It was a good day. Needless to say Shelly was wore out!

Wednesday

Wednesday is a different story. It was an extremely emotional day for both us. Everything from the previous day caught up to us and we spent a good portion of the day being quite emotional. Several things kept resonating in our heads:

"You're very lucky this baby has survived. Most babies that present with a Cystic Hygroma before 20 weeks don't survive." - Pediatric Surgeon - No shit!!! We've heard this more times than we care to count. She survived! She's a fighter! She's coming to every one's amazement!!!

"We'll put you in a Recovery Room for the No Baby Mom's. That way you won't be kept awake by babies crying." - NICU Social Worker - That's a nice thought, and yes it is better that way. But it SUCKS!!! We want our baby in the room with us. It totally, totally, sucks that she's going to be taken away as soon as she's born.

Those were the two main things that kept going through our heads. I was also feeling quite anxious about Shelly having complications with her C-section. So, we spent most of Wednesday crying. This happens every week. It either hits us on Tuesday afternoon/evening or on Wednesday. But come Thursday we're usually doing much better.

Now it's Friday. We're both doing much better and are looking forward to the weekend. Shelly will work and I'll do chores.

I leave you with two thoughts.

1 - We're 35 weeks tomorrow!!!!
2 - There is a brand spankin' new Starbucks in the lobby of the U of U WITH wireless Internet access. That means, I can post updates!!!! Shelly said if I spend too much time down there she'll bust my lap top. Don't worry dear, I'll only post quick updates, and maybe a few pictures!

Numbers: 5/19, 6:00, 8:00, 5, 2-4, 6

So what in the world does 5/19, 6:00, 8:00, 5, 2-4, 6 mean?

Well, we are scheduled for a planned C-section on 5/19. We have to be at the hospital at 6:00 am with the procedure scheduled for 8:00 am. Shelly will be in the hospital for 5 days. Riley's surgery will take place 2-4 days after she's born and will last approximately 6 hours!

I don't have time to give you the full details right now but I'll have time to sit down and post tonight. I'll also be able to catch up on everyone else's blogs as well!

More to come later...

34 Weeks!

We are 34 weeks today!!! Another major milestone crossed!!!

We celebrated by going to Shelly's sisters to make Baby Shower Invites for Shelly's families Baby Shower. The invites are adorable! Of course they are, I designed them! But, I do have to give kudo's to my buddy Kira Rae because her design inspired my final design. Thanks Kira!

Below is a montage of the invite as well as a preview of Riley's room. If you click on the slideshow it will bring up a microscope where you can look at things closer. Her rooms not a 100% complete. There are still a few things I want to make but I can't keep you waiting on me. Who knows when I'll get her cutesy things done. When I do I'll post pictures. Enjoy the sneak peak!

We hit our official 10 year anniversary Thursday! Wow! 10 years. We've loved every minute of it. Who wouldn't want to spend 10 years with someone who makes you laugh every day!?!

Finally, we have a big day Tuesday. Lots of doctor appointments. I'll post Tuesday night and give you all an update.

Have a great week!

Cool Slideshows

33 Weeks and Today Was a Good D-Day

On Sunday we hit the 33 week mark! Yeah! We're so close to the next big milestone of 34 weeks!

I've posted a beautiful picture of Shelly at 33 weeks. Don't you love the beautiful spring flowers! We took this on Easter Sunday. What a beautiful day! I would also like to take credit for the beautiful yard but it's actually our neighbors across the street. Our flowers haven't come in yet. :(

Today was D-Day (Doctor Day). We met with the Perinatologist, Genetic Counselor, NICU Head, Insurance Case Worker, and had a non-stress test. Sounds like a lot but it was a good day! Today was the most positive appointment we've had since the dreaded 12/29 appointment.

The Perinatologist feels like things are progressing well. There is no Hydrops and there is no blood feeding the Hygroma. It's just fluid. The Hygroma did not get bigger from three weeks ago and Riley is continuing to grow like a weed and is still measuring a week ahead. They estimated her current weight at just over 5 lbs! At this rate, if she went term, and continued to gain a 1/2 lb. a week she'd be close to 9 lbs!

The Genetic Counselor checks in with us when we meet with the Perinatologist to just help answer questions and take care of any follow up appointments. Again, just as a reminder for you all, she has no Chromosomal abnormalities. There are still a couple of Syndromes out there that aren't genetic we'll need to check for but our hope is that it's just a Cystic Hygroma.

Our insurance company has assigned a case worker to follow us. She is wonderful! She comes to see us every week at our appointment. And, she takes care of everything! I don't have to worry about any insurance approvals. She's got it covered! We love her!

The NICU Doctor said that he doesn't expect any complications during Riley's transition from Prenatal to Postnatal. Because the Hygroma is located on the back of her neck he doesn't believe it will cause any issues with her airway. He did recommend that we deliver at the University of Utah which is walking distance from Primary Children's Medical Center. That way, once Riley's born, she can be cared for at Primary's. Plus, we don't want Shelly to deliver at one hospital and then have Riley moved to another hospital several miles away.

Our wonderful insurance case worker has already arranged for us to meet with the NeoNatal unit and Pediatric Surgeons at Primary's. Our appointment is a week from today. She's also arranged for our tour of the U of U Labor and Delivery. And she gave us the number to call so that while we're there the Car Seat people at Primary's can install Riley's car seat. I'm telling you she is on top of it!

On Tuesday, before our appointment at Primary's, we'll go for a Non-stress test. We'll continue with weekly Non-stress Tests and another full Ultrasound scheduled for three weeks, May 1st.

Thursday we have an OB appointment to check on Shelly. We'll also hopefully talk about potential planned C-section days so that they can get us on the OR schedule. Right now, our insurance case worker, submitted the temporary order for May 17th. OMG! May 17th! We're getting soooo close!

So, today was a good day. We're now even thinking of having our family baby shower before Riley's born because we don't know if she'll need surgery right away. I think we'll still wait and have our friend baby shower after she's born.

More to come Thursday after our OB appointment!

Caution: Women at Work

We continue to work on Riley's room. It's definitely been an adventure. Thank God for Shelly's brother Steve! Unfortunately he has to do all of the hard labor, putting up bead board, hanging the blinds, putting up molding, etc. Yesterday and today his big chore was to put the closet organizer in Riley's room. Well, right now he'd be happy if he never heard the term Closet Organizer AGAIN! What a piece of crap. Yes I bought the most basic closet organizer kit at Home Depot. But, for over $100 you think that it would at least come with good instructions and all the right parts. Hell no! It's been a complete nightmare. There have been several times in the past two days that I thought if I said one more word he'd seriously slug me. But, as of tonight, the closet organizer is in!

Meanwhile, I'm washing, washing, washing all of Riley's clothes, bedding and bankets. And, I've even started putting it away, in her new closet organizer! For weeks now I've been worried we didn't buy enough Jammies for her. I must have lost my mind because I've put enough Jammies away to last at least two weeks without doing wash. And that includes extra changes if necessary. So, we're good on Jammies!

Riley's room is getting close to being ready. I've spent quite a bit time the past two days working on her room. Shelly has been helping me whenever possible. We're so close. Soon, very soon, I'll be able to post pictures.

Once we get Riley's room done I can move to the next items on my list. 1) Get the cars detailed before Riley comes and 2) Box up my Scrapbook room. Hopefully in three weeks or so my new and much bigger Scrapbook room downstairs will be ready. Can't wait to post pictures of that! After these "To Do's" are done I have plenty, plenty more.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend!

32 Weeks!

We hit the 32 week mark on Sunday!

We had a super busy weekend with continued celebrations of Shelly's birthday. We also spent time working on Riley's room. We're getting closer. And for those of you asking for pictures there will be no sneak peaks! No pictures until it's done! :)

Today was our weekly non-stress test. Shelly's blood pressure was perfect and the amniotic fluid is right in the normal range.

Riley's heart beat baseline was lower but still fluctuated in the normal range. The concern is Shelly's having what they call "Uterine Irritability". Her uterus is active and showing tightening but it doesn't seem like she's having full contractions. She's supposed to rest more and stay hydrated. It wasn't serious enough that they asked her to come in again this week. So, she needs to take it easy, and I'll keep an eye on her, until our appointment next Tuesday.

Shelly describes it as that she "just feels different" this week. She explains part of it as a tightening feeling below her belly button when she stands up. She's also feeling tightening and pain in her back as well. Anyone out there experience this? Any suggestions? We're just 32 weeks and want to make sure we make it to at least 36 weeks.

Happy Birthday Shelly!

Today is Shelly's Birthday. Happy Birthday Shelly!

On this special day of celebrating all things Shelly I have to say,

"Shelly, you are my love, my life, my everything! I love the sound of your laughter and the fact that you make me laugh, all the time. I love those big blue eyes and your radiant smile. YOU make me a better person. You are the half that makes me whole. You have done a wonderful job carrying our child so that we could share our love with her. I thank you for this. I celebrate you today and everyday!"


Because I couldn't wait until today I gave Shelly her present last week. But, you can't not have presents on your birthday. So this morning Riley gave Shelly a jewelry organizer for her night stand. Very exciting stuff! :) Riley and I both gave her flowers. Tonight she'll be treated to a double layer Cherry Chip cake with white icing. I'm a Funfetti fan but Shelly's a Cherry Chipper. We'll also get take out Mexican for dinner. Shelly loves her Smothered Burritos. This weekend we'll celebrate with her family.

We spent the morning at a an OB appointment and then a meeting with our Lawyer. All went well. She gained two pounds which puts her at a total of 10. She had a little protein in her urine so they're doing a 24-hour urine test to see if she's at risk for Preeclampsia. Hopefully it's fine just like last time. She's still measuring a week ahead.


At the Lawyers we started the process for our Estate and Will planning, but most importantly, our co-Guardianship paperwork. In the state of Utah same sex couples cannot adopt. In fact, I had to sign my rights over and act as just an egg donor for Invitro. We have an amazing lawyer in the State that campaigns and cares, almost exclusively, for rights of same sex couples. She's established the "Co-guardianship Agreement" that helps to protect both our rights as Riley's parents. Also, in order to establish our intent to create a family unit, I'm changing my last name to Shelly's last name. In Utah, any step we can take to show our intent to be a family helps to protect us both. It's too bad we have to take the extra steps to protect ourselves but it's also so important.

Today I leave you with the card Riley put on her Mom's flowers. Pretty amazing given she's still in the womb!