Tuesday, October 13, 2009

37 Weeks and Milkbones and One More Thing

2 posts in 1 day.  It's some kind of record.  This one's long, and for that I apologize.

I was fortunate enough to get to have one last ultrasound of Miss Johanna this afternoon.  Her heart beat is still great, holding strong in the 130's.  That's right where it has been the entire time.  It's been between 130 and 160, so absolutely no change at all.  We again reaffirmed the diagnosis of Hypo-Plastic Left Heart Syndrome(didn't expect there to be a change with that one, so this came as no surprise).  We also confirmed that her 2 of her fingers on her right hand are criss-crossed(we knew this already, so again, no surprise).  Otherwise physically she looks great.  Her feet look great, and her facial features all seem to be as they should be.  And a random factoid, she seems to have a round face and chunky cheeks like her big brother and Mommy(her Mommy was excited).

And for the main event................

We were able to get a pretty good estimate on her weight.  Right now, she's weighing in at 4lbs 2 oz.  That's a decent size for a T18 baby.  It was a great ultrasound, and I got a great 4D face picture of her.  Johanna does have a lot(like a whole, whole lot) of amniotic fluid(again normal for T18 babies), which is why I look like I'm having an 8 or 9lb baby and am only having a 4lb baby.  And, that's also why she's felt so high.  She's really not all that high, but she has so much fluid around her that it's making me feel like she's laying on top of my lungs.  I really hope that wasn't TMI.  I didn't mean for it to be.

As for the Milkbones.  This is just a funny story that I must share.  Saturday morning I needed to shower before heading to Walmart and the grovery store.  I trust Clayton and Emma independently of each other to behave for 10 minutes while I shower.  However, I do not trust them together, alone, by themselves.  I decided that it would be easiest to put Emma in her crate and let Clayton have free reign of the house while I showered.  When I got out of the shower, I yelled for Clayton and got no response.  That's never a good thing.  Once I got a response and determined there was no immediate danger, I dressed and headed to find my son.  I found him stuffing the last, and I do mean the very last, Milkbone that Emma had to her name inside her crate.  Clayton had found the box, emptied it, and proceeded to feed Emma ALL of her Milkbones.  The box was close to empty, and this was in fact an item on my Walmart list anyway.  But there were probably 15 or so left in the box.  So, in the 10 minutes I needed to shower, Clayton fed all 15 or so Milkbones to the dog. Good times.  Needless to say, the Milkbones are now in a 20 month old proof container.  And also needless to say, the house training that had been going so very well, didn't go so well for Miss Emma on Saturday evening.  We really do live the good life.

One more thing.  To all of you, peeps I know in real life, and peeps that I have met in blog land, thanks so very much.  I really appreciate how supportive and helpful each and everyone of you have been through this pregnancy.  Chad and I couldn't have done it with out you.  And I really do mean that.  Each and everyone of ya'll are great, and we're thankful for the impact you have had in our lives in the recent months.

If this post hasn't been random enough for you, then there's absolutely no hope for you.  Sorry so long, I'll try to keep tomorrows post to a minimum.

6 comments:

Myra @ My Blessed Life said...

Nikki, I'm so glad that the u/s went well today. God is so good.

I'm praying so much for Johanna, you and your sweet family.

Your testimony is amazing.

Monica said...

Still praying! I love kids and dogs. Our dog gives Garrett a tongue bath every chance she gets! It's like she thinks she is the mommy.

So glad you got a good report from your ultrasound. It sounds like she is a fighter!

Lucy and Ethel said...

Oh, my - that's a lot of cookies for Emma!!! I bet she didn't complain... at the time, anyway :)

I wanted to share a link to Expectant Hearts (http://expectanthearts.blogspot.com/). Kathryn just celebrated (rather, endured) her baby's first angel anniversary; Seth also had HLHS.

I'm going to send your link to her, too.

Lots of hugs coming from the chilly, dreary, soggy mountains!!!

'Lucy'

christina said...

girl, if this post is long, i'm goin to seriously work on my condensing! :)

It brings back so many memories...and this is going to sound so friggin lame but i dreamt about you guys last night. It was detailed and more of an inbetween dream and awake thing like i was more just thinking about you guys and praying for you. lots. is that creepy? :)

the memories this brings back tho is glorious, wonderful, joyful. i enjoyed her BIRTH day,...enjoyed every moment..esp. since i got to have her natural and she came out so fast. Remember that big kick or punch as they broke my water...keep that in mind. Without all that fluid, you'll feel her that much more. How wonderful! memorize everything! Take every (painful) moment in. You'll have to relive it but if you are like me, which i think we are...lots alike, then you'll treasure even the painful memories (physical and emotional...and spiritual) because you'll need to recall it all to maybe feel more of the connection. And keep sharing...every detail, every thought (no tmi here). One day, you'll bind it all in a book for your clayton, future babies, and family to always have. what a treasure!
loveu. praying for you always.
even if that's creepy.:)

Rebecca said...

I don't know how I could've missed it before, but I missed the part about Jo having HLHS. I'm glad that you got another look at your sweet little one and that she's going strong!

Kelly said...

I am so glad you got to have the ultrasound, and that it went so well! I'm praying very much for Jo, you, and your dear family. I am so thankful for your sweet testimony throughout this whole thing. You are an amazing woman!!