39 Week Checkup

Not a lot has changed since my last post. We went to the new OB for our 38 1/2 week checkup last Thursday. At that appointment, they hooked me up to the fetal monitor to track Caiden's movements with his heart rate. Everything looked good as usual. That was about it for that appointment. I guess since he is high-risk they just want to be extra careful that there are no complications.

Yesterday we went in for our 39 week appointment. Luckily for me, we got to see if I had dilated more (sarcasm). My old OB, Dr. Robert, was a female and was probably about 5'3". My new OB, Dr. Farley, is a male and is definitely a lot bigger than 5'3". Here is a pic of me and Dr. Farley. Please ignore my unbelievable swelling.

In addition to the regular check for dilation, Dr. Farley stripped my membranes. He warned me that it would be uncomfortable, and he was right. I guess the grimace on my face was pretty obvious because Mike got out of his chair and came and put his hand on my shoulder. Not fun!

Since Dr. Farley did that, I have been having contractions every 20 minutes (having one as I type right now...). They are stronger than the ones I have been having in previous weeks, but are not getting more frequent or intense. I am hoping that is a good sign that means that the induction will go well because my body is naturally getting ready to have this baby boy!

Last week, our surgeon's office got us in touch with a family that recently had a similar surgery to what we are expecting Caiden to have. They have been SO helpful. I have been emailing the wife and Mike has been emailing the husband. They have given us tons of great information about what to expect with a heart baby. One of the questions I asked Laura (the wife) was how long was it before she got to hold the baby. The NICU doctor told us it would be after surgery, but never gave much else for a time frame. Laura told me that she got to hold him when he was born, then right before surgery, then it was 10 days after surgery before she could hold him again. Although that stinks, I'm glad to know what to realistically expect. I can imagine that the hardest part of all of this is going to be sitting by his bedside and not being able to comfort him like a normal baby when he is crying. Mike and I have talked about that and we know that the only other choice for him would be death, so even though this is going to be difficult, it is the only choice we have.

On a lighter note, we are still scheduled to go into the hospital Wednesday at 5pm. I am not going to be able to leave or move after we get there (besides to use the restroom), so Mike will be picking up my last pregnant meal for me. I have been thinking about what I want, and I better make it good! I haven't been able to exercise much over the past two weeks because my bones in my feet are very sore, so I am looking forward to being able to exercise like normal again soon. My parents bought me new Rollerblades for Christmas, so I plan on taking Caiden in his jogging stroller with me once it warms up again.

Thanks to everyone for all of your prayers. This sounds weird, but I can really feel it! I know what we are about to face is going to be difficult, but I have complete peace about it....it's actually a little bit weird. I feel pretty stress-free, so I know that it has to be a God thing. No normal person could possibly be feeling this good on their own in this situation! Like I said, it's very weird, but I know it's because God is giving us peace about everything. Pretty cool actually..

Last thing- I wanted to let everyone know that Mike started a CaringBridge website for Caiden as well. He has been putting my blog posts on there and doing some posts himself. I think you can sign up to receive an email or text when the journal is updated, but I'm not positive. Here is the link:

www.caringbridge.org/visit/caidenkolb

I will probably not post again until sometime after Caiden is born. Mike has been updating the CaringBridge site pretty regularly, so check back soon!

Surgeon Appointment & Meeting the New OB

This week has three doctor appointments in store for us. Two down- one to go!



Yesterday we met with the surgeon who will be working on Caiden's heart. His name is Dr. Mendeloff and he only does pediatric heart surgeries. Dr. Mendeloff explained exactly what they think Caiden's condition is and how the repair will work. As of right now, they believe his aorta is not wide enough to pump blood from the heart out to the body. Because of this, the left side of his heart has become too small. They think that once the aorta is repaired, the left side of his heart will enlarge itself and he will be able to function normally. They also noticed a problem with a valve in the right side of his heart. This may or may not need repair, but is relatively insignificant compared to the aorta issue.



As far as repair goes, they expect to do one of two surgeries. One would be a small incision through the back and would not be considered open heart surgery. The more likely surgery will be through the front of his body and will be open heart surgery. Because they will have to clamp off the blood flow to the heart, he will be hooked up to a machine that will act as though it is the heart during surgery (take the blue blood and change it to red blood then send it to the body).



The most interesting thing that we learned was exactly how they would enlarge his aorta. Dr. Mendloff said that they will cut a straight line through the aorta, then place a patch on it and sew it all together to enlarge the opening. The patch will be dead aortic tissue from a human so there is no chance of his body rejecting it. He said he has a freezer full of these patches in his surgical suite. Funny, because I have a freezer full of frozen pizza and leftovers, which is just a little different than a freezer full of dead human tissue......



I honestly can't remember everything we went over with the doctor, but my take-away was that he is in good hands and while this surgery is very serious, he said it falls somewhere in the middle of the road as far as heart surgery goes. I think that made Mike and I both feel better to know that we aren't the worst-case scenario.



Today we had our 38 week OB appointment with the new doctor. Her name is Dr. Rogers and she seems to be very nice. I guess we are going to get to know each other really well really fast...



They checked my cervix and I am still 1 cm dilated. We are going to be admitted to the hospital next Wednesday at 5 pm for cervical ripening, then will be induced on the morning of January 6th. Mike and I were both curious why they didn't want to just wait for me to go into labor (or wait until the full 40 week term). They explained that Caiden is at a higher risk of dying in utero, and as time goes on the amniotic fluid naturally declines. Because of this, they try to keep him in long enough to fully develop, but short enough to get him out before he is at a high risk of death. We now go to the OB two times a week vs. the regular one time a week because of this.



We also talked about the possibility of a c-section. The two high-risk OB's we have seen told me that I have a small pelvis, so there is a high probability that Caiden may not be able to make it through the pelvic opening. They would prefer me to deliver him naturally, but wanted me to be aware that it is likely to become an issue. If we do a c-section, I will be able to see him immediately after he is born, but will not be able to see him in the NICU for quite awhile. She said they may be able to wheel me by his room, but it would likely be hours before they would take me up there (I think she mentioned something like 12 hours). That was disappointing, but we have learned to be flexible and not get stuck on having things work one specific way. Ultimately, a lot of other moms have done the same thing and they made it though it, so I will too.



So it looks like we will have a baby by next Thursday! I am excited and scared at the same time. Part of me is ready for him to be here so we can get all of this over with, and part of me knows that once he is here everything will be different and that makes me nervous. I know the upcoming weeks are going to be stressful on us, but I'm very thankful that Mike and I are working as a team to get through this. Please keep praying for his health and probably for our mental health as well (at least mine for sure!). Even though we are feeling better about the surgery and recovery, it is still a very serious situation. We have both been doing better this week, but I know things will change once he is here and his little body is hooked up to so many machines. Will keep you all updated.



Here is a pic of my kankles. I can't wait for this to go away:

37 Week Appointment

Mike and I went in for our 37 week checkup with our regular OB last Wednesday. Luckily, there were no surprises (at this point I think we were both ready for just about anything). Janet, our sonographer who originally realized there was a problem with Caiden, came in before the doctor to talk to us. She said that everyone in the office had been thinking about us all week and that they were very sorry that we were going through this. They hadn't received an update from the pediatric cardiologist, so she was glad to hear that our news was better than she had originally thought. Mike and I thought it was so nice of her to come in to see how we were. We are going to miss everyone in that office since we are moving to a high-risk OB now.

On Thursday, we went to Medical City for our tour and to meet more new doctors. Our first stop was to meet with the head of the high-risk OB department, Dr. Farley. Dr. Farley said we will try to induce around January 5th and that they would prefer that I have a regular delivery vs. a c-section because there would be a higher risk for Caiden to have respiratory problems if we do a c-section. We have another appointment with his office on Tuesday, so we will know our induction date for sure then. He did say that if I go into labor before the 5th that I have a file on the L&D floor with all of my and Caiden's information. We are supposed to come into the hospital as soon as we realize we are in labor (instead of waiting for the usual 5 minute apart contractions) and the nurses will then pull our file and start calling all of the doctors letting them know that we are there. Mike and I both felt A LOT better after he told us this! They also gave me a document to keep in my purse with all the doctors' info and Caiden's info in case we are somewhere and have an emergency.

After the OB appointment, we met with Karen, our program coordinator. She took us to the CHSU (Congenital Heart Surgery Unit) to see where Caiden will be for surgery and post-op. Each room in the CHSU cost over $1M to build and you can tell. These rooms look like NASA control center! I have never seen so much equipment in my life. All of the rooms are private and have a pull out full size bed and bathroom, so if we want to stay in the room with him after the surgery, we can. Karen warned me before we went in that most moms cry when they go in there, so I just tried to look at the equipment and didn't look at the babies at all.

After the CHSU, we toured the NICU and got a lot of questions answered there. Since we did childbirth classes, they gave us lists of everything you need to bring for the baby in the hospital. Now that everything has changed, we had no idea what to bring. We found out that all we need to bring for him are socks, caps and mittens. They are going to swaddle him for us and he will be fed through an IV up until surgery. They will provide me with a breast pump and use a scanner to tag my stored milk with his name on it. They are going to store all of it for me as well. That was one big question Mike and I had since we knew I would be pumping for at least 3 weeks before any of it would be used. We have an outdoor freezer, but it's not THAT big!

After our NICU tour, we met with the head doctor in the NICU. He explained that we will have a regular delivery, but will have a NICU nurse in the room with us in addition to the regular staff. Once Caiden is born, we will have a few minutes with him, then the NICU nurse and Mike will take him downstairs to the NICU unit. At that time, they will call all of the doctors to come look at Caiden and do their x-rays, echo cardiograms, etc. Instead of doing an IV like they would with an adult, they are going to administer his medication through his umbilical cord. After all of this is completed, they will allow family to come and see him. I will be taken up there 45 minutes- 1 hour after delivery. He will stay in the NICU until he has surgery. There are no beds in those rooms, so we may end up getting an extended stay hotel close by so we can be up there with him. We are planning on getting a portable printer so Mike and I can both work from his room if we need to. We both already have laptops and he has a scanner, so we should be in business.

Mike and I both feel a lot better now that we know more of what to expect. As we are getting questions answered, we are becoming less anxious about what we are about to experience. In church this morning they were talking about looking forward to 2011 and I kept thinking "if you only knew what 2011 is about to bring for us...!!!". We know that Caiden is in God's hands, so we are going to continue to pray for his miraculous healing before birth. If he is not healed by then, we will continue praying for healing through surgery.

We have our first meeting with the heart surgeon tomorrow, then have my 38 week OB appointment on Tuesday. I will post again after that to give you all an update.

Update on Baby Caiden

I know I haven't blogged in FOREVER, but I wanted to give everyone an update on Baby Caiden.

Mike and I have been in a whirlwind this past week. We went for our 36 week checkup last Thursday and were told he may have something wrong with his heart after they did the sonogram. Our OB scheduled a Level 2 sonogram for Monday and the wait over the weekend was stressful to say the least. On Monday, we met with a Perinatal OB who unfortunetly confirmed that the left side of Caiden's heart did not develop properly. I was now at 36w5d, so we were immedietly sent to meet with a pediatric cardiologist in Dallas.

After arriving at the cardiologist's office, we did an echocardiogram which again confirmed the problem. The cardiologist is hopeful that the problem is an issue with his aorta being too small and if they can correct that, she hopes that the left side of his heart will be usable and will repair itself. If so, there should be no other surgeries or restrictions on him. There is a possibility it is not that and is a condition called HLHS (our original diagnosis), but she is optomistic that it is not HLHS. HLHS would require multiple surgeries and he would have restrictions placed on him for the rest of his life. She said we will know for sure after he is born.

So from here, Mike and I have been admitted into the FACT program at Medical City Children's Hospital in Dallas. We have an RN who is our program coordinator and will help us coordinate everything. She has setup a hospital tour for us, gotten me a new OB, scheduled a meeting with the surgeon, etc. We are VERY thankful for her! She basically tells us where to show up and when and does everything else.

Tomorrow we will be meeting the head of the OB department at the hospital, touring the NICU and labor and delivery and learning more about what will happen after Caiden is born. He is tenitively scheduled to arrive between 12/28 and 1/5 by induction. After birth, we will be able to hold him for a few minutes before he will be taken to the NICU. He will stay there until he is stable enough for surgery, which will most likely be 3-7 days after birth. His total stay in the NICU will probably be 3-4 weeks.

We are very thankful for everyone's prayers for Caiden. I am continuing to pray for a full healing of his heart before birth, but if that is not the outcome, we will pray for a full healing through surgery. We consider ourselves lucky that our sonographer found this issue before he was born and that it also may not be as sever as originally anticipated. We will keep you all updated...

Fort Kolb

I know I said I would have pics of Fort Kolb up about 3 weeks ago, but I figure better late than never. Here are a few pics:

Kitchen

Kitchen to Dining Room

Dining Room

Living Room

Living Room