Almost 38 weeks!

OMG!!!!

I cannot believe I'm this close to finally holding my beautiful baby boy!!! I've had an overwhelming sense of relaxation over the last 24hrs. Well maybe not physically lol! I've been getting some fairly intense contractions but nothing to set me into labor. Went to the dr again today which was a much more pleasant visit. I'm 3 cm, almost 100% thinned! WOW!! She also mentioned if I have not had him by the 20th they would want to do an induction. I've been tossing the idea around but I'm completely comfortable with this now!! I still hope to go into labor naturally. This is the week to be pulling all those strings lol! I plan on working through Wednesday.

On another note. I met a very nice lady from the Baby Center Down Syndrome preganancy board. She lives in Columbus. Her daughter Madison was born back in May with T21 and the same heart defect as Ethan. Her surgery was today and the last update was her survey was done and they were able to fix the repair. She is doing very well, waiting for her to wake up. Please say a few prayers for baby Madison and her family.

36 Weeks

36 weeks and 4 days to be exact :)

This week has been filled with emotions... My last OB appointment with Dr. Barnhart was on Monday. We had our last anatomy scan today, but we started our weekly "high risk" clinic visits at Riverside. The place was pretty creepy to be honest. I even asked if we were in the right place, the idea of a "community clinic" was not very inviting. Not predjudice by any means, but out of 10 other mothers we were the only ones who did not have an interpreter. I had to remind myself we were in the big city, an hour from home. Then our name was called to go back. Even the nurse checking us in didn't speak very good english. I had our records in hand, which she did even bother to look at. She kept asking us why we were there. She was not very personable. I could feel myself losing control of my emotions. When she left to see if there was room clean. Matt said, alright this place is a joke...... That was it, enough said and I completely lost it. Tears were like a waterfall streaming down my face. The nurse took us to a room, she didn't make eye contact which was the best thing at that moment I suppose, told me to undress and shut the door. I could not get a hold of myself. Here we were in a completely different place, I was way out of my comfort zone, I had not idea what to expect, or who was going to see me. So after sitting there for quite some time, a nurse came in and introduced herself- she was over the high risk pregnancy department. She was reassuring and explained the process to us. I was more upset of not knowing what to expect ahead of time. Then a 4th year resident came in. I cannot remember her name for the life of me, but thankfully she will be there the next 2 weeks and I will continue to see her. She was so nice and made me feel 100% at ease. She knew about Ethan prior to coming in to see us, so there was no need to re-explain anything. So things are still the same I'm 2cm and 75%. I will continue weekly appts and plan for an induction the week of August 20th.

Next we went on to meet Dawn to have our last anatomy scan done. She is always so happy and such a wonderful person to talk with. He was being a little stubborn, but then again if I couldn't spread out I would be also lol! Thankfully everything has checked out normal besides the things we already know (complete AVSD and Trisomy 21). He weighs 7 lbs!!!!! He is in the 98th percentile. Crazy I could potentially be pregnant for another 3 weeks!?!?!?  He has gained 2.5 lbs in the last 4 weeks. Dr. Matt said these u/s are within 10% of actual weight, so pretty anxious to see how much longer he wants to cook in there!

When we were all finished Dr. Matt asked if we had taken a tour of L&D or the NICU. We had not and the high risk clinic attempted to get this set up for us, but they were full. He said then he would give us a personal tour. It was extremely thoughtful of him. It gave us a chance to ask more questions. L&D was just like most other units. Once we got to the NICU, I was a little caught off guard because we were not anticipating him to have to stay there. Dr. Matt said he could not tell us how long he would have to stay, but due to his heart defect he would go there for some extra monitoring shortly after delivery. I was relieved to see the unit was completely staffed by the Nationwide Children's Hospital nurses. They basically rent out that department within Riverside. I had no idea what to expect, but the unit was actually inviting with tons of pictures.

Oh joy- the start of weekly visits!?!

Started my weekly checks with my primary OB today. Oh my lord I forgot how uncomfortable this was! So at 35 weeks, measuring 37 weeks 2 cm 75% effaced... WHOA! She must have mentioned a few time about having my bags packed which I finally wrote some things down, but should seriously pack some bags! I will see my primary OB for the last time July 30th then go to Riverside weekly every Friday until I deliver. On a positive note I had an interview with a new pediatrician out of Pickerington. She was absolutely wonderful. It was the 1st time I felt like we had a conversation rather than them talking from a textbook about plan of care ect. Since I will deliver at Riverside, this office has physicians that will go there and see Ethan after delivery. They also are affiliated with childrens hospital. I just cannot believe how quickly time has gone...

33 Weeks!

We had another anatomy scan a little over a week ago at Riverside- slacking a little... I wanted to post pictures of our little guy, so I had to wait until I got them on the computer. We took Eli along for the ride with hopes Ethan would not be hiding this time. I was more nervous at this appointment then I had ever been in awhile. I was worried about everything especially his stomach measuring smaller and increased amniotic fluid. Thankfully uor usual u/s tech, Dawn was there to make me more at ease. What is really nice is they have a flat screen TV that will show the ultrasound as its being performed. Immediately, Eli was like WHOA he has a big head!! I couldn't believe he made that out. We saw he is getting some hair, it looks a little darker but still hard to tell. He was head down and his face was pointed towards my spine. I literally had to basically get up on my hands and knees to attempt to get a picture of his face. She was able to capture it and he is as cute as ever. I wish I has a video of Eli. He couldn't believe it and was so excited to see his little brother.  Our Dr came in and shared great news, my fluid levels were down to normal and his stomach was measuring right on track. He is up to 4lb12oz. I believe he nearly gained 3 lbs in a month!!! I will have my last anatomy scan on August 3rd. I will start weekly visits July 23rd, my last appointment with Barnhart, then the following week will be at Riverside from then on.... It just seems crazy how quickly everything has gone. I'm almost done organizing Ethan's room. Just working on finishing additions and minor touches. My mom and I went through Eli's baby clothes and they are washed and put away. Eli is already such a huge help. He kisses and hugs my stomach multiple times throughout the day. Actually he tells Ethan good morning and good night before me! He talks to him like he knows who he really knows him. It's the times like this I wish I could freeze time.

Braxton Hicks!!!

I'm certain these are not producing anything but at 30 weeks this is just insane!! These are not your typical tightening of the stomach. These are a little more uncomfortable, taking my breath away, turning flushed, and causing me to break out into a sweat! For the last 3days I've had contractions 9-11 min apart regular.... SCARY!! Considering my coworkers were noticing when I was having them I figured it was time to give my OB a call.Thankfully she is amazing and took me seriously. So for the last 2 hours I've been timing them about every 9 minutes, just took a hot bath and finally have some relief. 'bedrest' tonight 1 liter water, 2 extra strength Tylenol. If continues I'm to call to meet her in OB tomorrow. Makes more sense now. She was just saying I I thought I was in true labor way to early to even imagine Ethan coming this early. We will let him get a lot stronger and bigger before he decides to pick a Birthday! Besides... We still have to get everything ready!!!!

28 week anatomy scan

We had our 28 week anatomy scan yesterday. We took Eli to see his little brother. He was so excited to see him, but Ethan has other plans... He is now in the "fetal position" head down and posterior! I had a feeling he made his turn because hiccups are VERY low now a days. But we still have plenty of time for him to stay cozy for awhile. We had a different u/s tech because Dawn (our normal tech) was on vacation. She was unable to find a good profile view and we didn't get 3D pics this time :( He looks so much bigger since just a month ago. He is up to 3 lbs, still measuring a week ahead. Everything looked ok, but the stomach was a little small and there was increased amniotic fluid, which is common with a baby with Down syndrome. Something they fear is duodenal atresia (paralyzed bowel), which will increase my risk for preterm labor, require surgery immediately after he is born, and a much longer stay in the hospital... Lots of prayers over the few weeks.

I have been having TONS of braxton hick's contractions, so they were going to test for leaking of amniotic fluid, but they got an internal u/s to check the cervix which is closed and everything looks great. So, I just deal with the false contractions... They really are nothing I suppose, but certainly take my breath away!

After our appt I asked Eli what he thought and he was like, "Mom I thought he was so cute!" I really don't think he paid much attention LOL!

I will find out Monday at my primary OB's office if she will want me to start following at the MFM clinic or hopefully I can just have prenatal visits locally.

My sister shared a beautiful link with me and I hope you enjoy!

Melts my heart

Finally some good news :) UPDATES!!!!

I'm approaching 24weeks on Sunday, it's crazy!?!?! We FINALLY had our appointment yesterday at Riverside to meet with our Pediatric Cardiologist from Children's, Dr. Weller. He performed the fetal echocardiogram (fancy ultrasound) of Ethan's tiny heart. The vessels were so tiny they were measuring less than millimeter's in size. It was also during Ethan's "wake time" so it was quite entertaining. We finally got some good news (which is about time!!). Ethan's heart defect is called a "balanced complete Atrioventricular Septal Defect". Dr. Weller informed us that this is the best possible senerio for this type of congenital heart defect, meaning he will only probably undergo 1 open heart surgery between 4-6 months of age.

Atrioventricular septal defects (AVSD) are a relatively common family of congenital heart defects.m AVSD or endocardial cushion defects, account for about 5 percent of all congenital heart disease, and are most common in infants with Down syndrome. (About 15 percent to 20 percent of newborns with Down syndrome have an atrioventricular septal defects). AVSD is a heart defect involving the valves between the heart's upper and lower chambers and the walls between the chambers. This results in formation of a hole in the center of the heart and a large single valve between the upper and lower heart chambers. The holes allow blood from the heart's left side to enter the heart's right side. This results in a large amount of blood that the right side of the heart must pump again to the lungs. The heart has to work much harder than normal to pump enough blood out to the body. The workload is further increased by leakage of the heart valve.

We also had another anatomy/growth ultrasound, which looked great. Nothing has changed or gotten worse. They were so kind to do a few 3D scans and we also got a little video clip of Ethan moving around, it was so neat!!! He is a whopping 1.5lbs and he's in the 86 percentile for his weight :)

 It was so nice to finally have gotten some good news about everything. These last few weeks have been extremely emotionally exhausting. Just when I think I have myself together, small things might just set me off for no apparent reason. I understand I will have good days and bad. I dislike the fact I have all these fears and unanswered questions. I know we will have multiple questions from here on out, but what we can do is live life to the fullest. We have some great support from our family and friends. We are so thankful for such a great support system.