Hoping September flies by

Friday's appointment w Dr. Huggins went well. Everything looked normal and I got my progesterone shot. I was so brave and didn't even flinch. The weekend I didn't feel the best. I've been having lower dull back pain. Not alot of pain just annoying feelings that I DON'T like.

Yesterday's ultrasound with the specialist looked good again. Before the specialist comes in to the appointments the ultrasound tech does the ultrasound and takes photos. I need to not watch these before the specialist has a chance to speak because I had worked myself up that it looked worse. .....That's why people have training and degrees :) I thought for sure things looked worse than they had been and had even convinced myself that they would probably keep me at the hospital. The specialist ended up telling us that things looked the same and to continue what i've been doing. Afterward I went to see my friends at Labor and Delivery...I know almost all the nurses now and their life stories. They hooked me up for monitoring of the baby and contractions. I'm happy to report that baby looks great and she weighs about 2 lbs now. Grow baby grow. My goal is to make it at least through September by then I will be 30 weeks and feel a little more comfortable about things.

I see Dr. Huggins on friday and I have to do that Yucky glucose test...NOT excited. With Kody I ended up sick. My next ultrasound is Thursday the 9th.

Kody and Jake have been hanging in there also. Mostly they just try to stay busy. This is good for me cuz I am able to really rest. Kody spends alot of time with Grandma Shelley and loves to play with cousin Austin. Jake is getting ready to start school which he is not really thrilled about especially because his new Ag building won't be done in time. The kids will have to continue being bused to the old Ag shop until it's fininshed. Completion is scheduled for the end of September. Things will get tricky once school starts with appointments and football in full swing. The first football game is this friday and its at West Side. I'm a little nervous about Jake being so far away but good luck boys. They're a good team.  Hope the month of September flies by.

25 Weeks!!!

I got my 3rd Hunger Games Book!!! It was mailed to my mom's house and when I asked if it had arrived she told me no. Then my brother surprised me last night and brought it. Mockingjay- I haven't started it yet but am sure once I do I won't put it down until finished. I've been working from home on my laptop. Dr. Lowder offered to pay me to keep up on Aspen Orthodontics Facebook Page, Blog, and quarterly newsletters. What a great boss I have!! I might add he's an excellent orthodontist if anyone is looking.

Jake is busy working today with his dad and Kody went to daycare w Cassie and Austin until later this afternoon. Kody's been such a good boy. He's been able to stay at home with me for a few hours at a time. Jake's sister Alex is a Sugical tech at EIRMC and her shift gets done at three so she's close if I need her. Kody's napped and helped me get things. Jake sets him up with a juice cup in the fridge and some snacks that he can help himself to. It's nice that he's potty trained and is able to take care of potty things by himself.  Kind of sad for me that he's so grown-up and he'll be 3 October 26th.  At nights when Jake is at football practice Kody is usually at Grandma and Grandpa Landon's and plays with Austin. They bring me dinner every night and get Kody bathed and ready for bed. Jake picks up Kody after football and brings him home to bed. It will be sad when school starts and I'll have to send Kody to a sitter everyday. I think it's probably harder for me than him but he doesn't quite understand why he can't just stay home.

As for my health, I had really bad cramping last night and debated going back to the hospital. I decided they weren't contractions and have been resting more today and seem to be better. Baby Girl  (no name) has been really active also and is definately getting bigger. Tomorrow is my appointment with Dr. Huggins for the usual check-up things and my shot. Hope the drive to Idaho Falls goes better.

We're home!!!!

The weekend went well and my ultrasound was yesterday. We were fortunate that the specialist from Salt Lake was actually in Idaho Falls, in- person to do ultrasound. Things went well. Dr. Huggins and Dr. Belfort checked me out really good and decided that I could go home on STRICT bed rest. Of course if I have any pains or signs of labor I am to return to the hospital but so far so good. I didn't enjoy the drive home on the BUMPY road in the construction but now that we are settled in at home its good to be here. I get to see Kody and Jake more and being at home is alot more comfortable. I will still need 1 to 2 trips a week to Idaho Falls for shots, appointments, and ultrasounds so I hope the driving gets better. Some have asked what the "Strict:" bed rest intels. Pretty much I have to lay flat and can only get up for the bathroom and showers every other day. I truely admire anyone who has experienced bed rest. I've done nearly 3 weeks and still have many more to go and I am sooooo going CRAZY!!! But I know this time in bed is for something so much bigger.

Finished the 2nd book of Hunger Games and it leaves you hanging. ICan't wait to read the new one. should be getting the 3rd in the mail tomorrow.  Thanks everyone for thinking of us and your comments. I read everyones and take them to heart. and yes I do love Chumley :) LOL so hilarious.

Medical Update August 19th

    I had a late visit last night from Jake's mom who brought Kody in to see me. It was good to talk with them and watch Kody play with books and puzzles on the floor. Also I received a visit from Dr. Huggins who asked when I would like to go home. We decided upon staying here until we see what Monday's ultrasound looks like then we'll talk. Also my mom comes nearly every night when she gets off the bus from the site. She has been doing so much to take care of me and gives me a leg massage every night. I told her it's necessary so I don't get blood clots but really it feels soooo good since I am limited on my mobility.

I didn't sleep well last night. Not really sure why. But I was excited because I get to shower every other day and today is SHOWER DAY!!!! Pretty sad that I look forward to shower day. Shower day did not go so well though. I had been in for about five minutes when I got really dizzy and sick. I immediately shut off the shower and debated on pulling the nurse help cord but decided on sitting on the floor for awhile instead. Then I got to my bed in a towel and had to have the nurse dress me. I blow dried my hair in bed then took a small nap until my nurse had to come wake me up for my second and final steroid shot to the butt. Only lucky for me it didn't hurt like the first. It was a piece of cake.

I'm greatful that I have a wonerful husband who brings our son in nearly everyday to see me. After all this I got a much needed visit from them. I love when Kody walks in gives me a big smile and says "Hi mom, How's the baby doing today?" It's so heart melting. He usually climbs on the bed with me and we put in a cartoon. Today we watched Bob the Builder: Roads and Bridges. Then they left to eat lunch with grandma-Jake's mom. Jake brought me back PaPa Kelsey's and grandma took Kody to my aunt Marla for a few hours for sitting. Jake had errands he needed to run.

When I get my camera cord I will try posting some photos. For the rest of the day I plan to read my second book of Hunger series, watch TV probably house hunters or pawn stars, and sleep. My mom will probably come again tonight. Jake will go to football practice. Grandma will pick up Kody after work and keep him until Jake gets home around 9:30 or 10:00 tonight.

Medical Update

Wow where do I start? It's been so long since I've posted.
First of all to anyone who doesn't know we are expecting a little girl and my due date is December 8th.
I was hospitalized on August 5th for complications and EIRMC is currently my home.
Forgive me if you don't want to know details this is a quick summary and I am also writing these entries for my own personal journaling. I plan to keep this updated daily when possible.

July 13th- I had my scheduled twenty week ultrasound at nineteen weeks. My OB doc is Margaret Huggins and I might add she is fabulous. We have alot in common. From the same heart shaped uterus (she had hers removed) to the same birthday ( February 18th , Valentine's Month, thus we decided this is why we have heart shaped baby homes) and of course she tells me often that I am her favorite patient :) The ultrasounds are done outside her office. We went to medical imaging who is conracted with EIRMC. A few days after my ultrasound her office called to say they received the results everything appeared to be normal but they would like to do a follow-up ultrasound two weeks later.

July 28th- I had a regular OB appt at office. At the appt I asked about the follow-up ultrasound. They had troubles locating my previous ultrasound and had to request the results again. As Doc remembered she thought the placenta might be a little low (Placenta Previa). They would phone when she took a closer look.

August 4th- I received a phone call from the office. A nurse informed me that things looked good but that we could do a follow-up ultrasound if I would like. I decided to be sure and opted to schedule another ultrasound. To my surprise they said there was an appt the very next day 11 o'clock at Rosemark. I hesitated a little and considered scheduling for another day due to a family reunion in Lava Hot Springs. I decided that we could do the ultrasound and drive to the reunion after.

August 5th to August 8th- At the 11 o'clock ultrasound (22 weeks) the tech at Rosemark thought the baby's foot could be in the cervix. My Cervix looked thin ,funneled, and possibly opened. After completing measurements and taking snapshots at every angle including vaginal ultrasound (These are SOO not fun!!) she IMMEDIATELY called my doc while I was still in the room. I stayed calm but knew from how everything sounded things were NOT good. I was told that I was on bed rest and to go home until Dr. Huggins phoned because she had not yet seen the ultrasound. We stopped to grab some food and started driving home. Only we didn't even make it out of Idaho Falls and Dr. Huggins phoned and asked us to go straight to EIRMC. This is where panic started to set in. At the hospital I was hooked up to monitoring and was scheduled to see a specialist right away via "Tele-Med". I was having a few small contractions nothing of concern and I wasn't feeling any of them. I was wheeled to an ultrasound room and we did a conferenc call type ultrasound with the specialist. This is very cool technology. The ultrasound is done live by the tech on a big screen TV. You can see the specialist and the specialist can see you and the ultrsound and we were able to talk back and forth. The specialist explained that the foot was not in the cervix however my cervix length was very short. At that stage in prgnancy I was supposed to have 2 to 4 cm and I had approx .8 cm. He recommended bed rest and possibly a "cervical cerclage" ( stitch in the cervix). He leaned toward the surgery but said I could be fine by simple but strict bed rest. This was on a Thursday and we talked with Dr. Huggins and Dr. Leavitt (who would be on call for Huggins the next week because she would be gone on vacation). We would be faced with a hard decision. Of all three docs no one could tell us what would be the best option. Bed rest and surgery or just bed rest. They all were on the fence and could be talked each way because there is pros and cons to both. We prayed and had many blessings but couldn't seem to come to a definite conclusion. Finally we decided to wait until my next tele-med ultrasound on Monday and see how things looked.

August 9th-  After being frustrated because the ultrasound didn't get scheduled right we were finally able to do an ultrasound in the afternoon. This was absolutely emotionally draining and scary. At the ultrasound we saw the same specialist and he said he didn't even know if the surgery would even be possible at this point. There was no measurable cervix ,if any and I had was dialated about 2 cm. He said I could be in labor in a matter of days or weeks and that the membranes had started to sag down the funneled cervix. He would recommend a pelvic exam by Dr. Leavitt my on-call doc and be sure, but things weren't good. Upon returning to my room we had Jake's parents and our grandpa's waiting for us. A priesthood blessing was planned for after the ultrasound and I couldn't think of a more appropriate time. Jake and I were an emotional wreck we had come to accept that this could be it and we would be losing our little girl. After the blessing Dr. Leavitt did the pelvic exam and believed there was enough cervix to stitch. He offered a prayer and we were scheduled for emergency surgery at this point. Only for an emergency it proved to be a REALLY long wait. Dr. Leavitt had a C-section at 5:30 and the OR got slammed with a trauma. We waited until 12 pm that night for the surgery and I returned at 2 am the next morning. The surgery was very scary. I was awake for all of it and we knew it was risky because it could induce labor. However it went PERFECTLY!!!! Other then nervousness, some contractions that are normal after irritating the uterus, and a drop in my blood pressure I did fine and our little miracle baby did great too. I was a really risky case but even Dr. Leavitt commented on how he felt his hands were not the ones doing the work.

August 10th to August 17th- The couple days after surgery were a struggle. I was coming out of the pain meds and starting to feel everything including the catheter. Baby girl must have thought the catheter was a toy because she kept rolling across it and making things alot more painful for me. On top of back pain and many other discomforts I got thrush and a vaginal yeast infection from the antibiotics. These were treated with the usual medications. I was now getting progesterone shots on fridays, mouthrinses three times a day, started diflucan a pill for yeast infection, stool softeners( to avoid that problem), and daily prenatals. We also talked to the NICU specialist (neonatologists) They told us a baby at this stage does not have a good chance of survival but each week is very critical. Also with him was a high school classmate that assured us of how great the docs at EIRMC really are. We really appreciate his visits and concerns. We have heard nothing but good things about these NICU docs. At 28 weeks the percentile of survival is 90% with usually no long term complications. We hope to make it to at least the 28 week mark if not longer. AMAZING the things that can be done now. A 32 week old baby 20 years ago is like a 24 week old baby today. I was also told that i would be in the hospital at least until about 30 to 32 weeks then we would re-evaluate. That seems so far away right now but looking at the big picture its just a little time for such a big reward. We have had lots of decisons and struggles not being able to care for our son Kody has been a tremendous struggle for me. Also I have a part-time job that was cut short. Dr. Lowder is so great to work for. He came to see me and brought flowers. The entire office has been concerned and I am reassured that I have a job when I am ready to return. I know there are so many things I wish I had written down during this time frame. We've received so many blessings, prayers, concerns, visits, and phone calls. I can't even begin to express my appreciation. Our families caring for our son, football coaches cooperating with football practice, cleaning our home, feeding us, presents to make me comfortable and mentally sound, visits, phone calls and so much more. I can't count the many miracles and blessings we have received on my fingers but I am truely greatful to be a part of this miracle and know that we will continue to be blessed.

August 18th- I'm 24 weeks!!! and have been hospitalized for 2 weeks. Had and ultrasound today and things went really well. Ask any of my docs and they will tell you my case is absolutely amazing. This is how I know this is more than just medical science. The specialist via Tele-med today had nothing but great things to say. I went from almost no measurable cervix to 2.8cm. Which they say is absolutely remarkable. It's unheard of. I started steroid shots to develope baby's lungs today. These aren't too bad at first but KILL after. It felt like a giant cramp in my butt and entire leg. I do another shot in 24 hours. My next Tele-med ultrasound is Monday at 1:45 and the specialist said he would talk with Dr. Huggins and if things look stable (no contractions, fever, sweats, elevated blood count,etc) I could possibly go home next week for bed rest.  I'm not sure how I feel about this. At times I think it's comforting to be here where I know I can be monitored and others I want so badly to be home with my husband and son. I'm sure what ever is best will be decided upon.
Today I've been deciding on what new cell phone I want, typing my blog, read some of my book, and went shopping with a nurse in the supply closet via wheelchair LOL pretty sure I wasn't supposed to be there since a code is needed to get in :). I've decided on a Samsung mythic phone, I'm on the second book of a series called Hunger Games the third book comes out next week LUV it, Also am getting to know the nurses and their shifts really well.
I'm going to try and keep everyone updated in this way and will be typing random things from day to day. 
I'll close with again stating how greatful I am for the many miracles we have received this far. Thank you DOCS and NURSES for your care. I know this is a special little girl ........who we need to name :)