Back to the Hospital

We went to Silverdale this morning for a non-stress test to check how he is doing and an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid level followed by a visit with the doctor. Fluids have gone back done to 4.5 which is not terribly concerning for the doctor since it was at 6-7 but it has decreased. So after a lengthy discussion with the doctor and her talking to the other doctors, we are being admitted back to the hospital but to Harrison in Silverdale this time. There I will be closely monitored and probably will be induced on Friday/Saturday which would put me at 35 weeks but no later than next Friday.
It is such a tough decision of when it is time to say WE ARE DONE WITH THE MONITORING AND IT IS TIME TO INDUCE both from our perspectives and the doctors. Do we induce right now knowing that we have a healthy baby boy but we don't know what complications he would have if he came this early or if he would need to spend a lot extra time in the hospital. Positives are that he has had the steriod treatment and the last ultrasound shows that he is about 5 1/2 pounds. Or do we try to hold off as long as possible knowing that he will have more time to grow and develop but don't know what is going to happen to my fluid level and everything else that plays into that which could hurt him then. Such a hard decision to make.
But my maternal instinct right now is telling me he needs to come soon. So even though I will be back on bed rest in the hospital and be away from Shelby, I know that it is the best thing for little "Bob". One thing we are certain of, we will not be leaving the hospital this time without the arrival of the newest Avery.

She is almost 3 .....

and acting every minute of it. Life has been tough for Shelby lately and she is starting to react to the changes that are occurring in her life. I expected this to happen but it is still tough for all of us. So I had to post a picture of her when she was one day old tonight to remember that she can be a sweet little girl, most of the time.

Good to be Home

We made it home early afternoon today. Shelby was pretty excited to see her mommy but was even more excited for the frog balloon that I brought her home. It was an uneventful afternoon. I took a nap while Stu and Shelby played outside and washed his new truck. My mom cooked us a great supper and is currently sewing a princess cape for Shelby. Stuart even got to drive his truck, something he has been dying to do since bringing it home last Friday. Tomorrow Stu plans on going back to work and my mom might bring Shelby into daycare. My mom is going to wait until Thursday's appointment to decide when she will be heading home. Thursday morning I have an ultrasound, non-stress test and then an appointment with the doctor at 8:30. Hopefully, the fluids levels stay the same or increase otherwise I will probably find myself back in the hospital. Even though bed rest is much easier at the hospital it is good to be home with my girl.

And the next step is .....

we are going home. Ultrasound this morning showed that my fluids are still in the 6-7 range which makes it stable for now. Little one has moved so he is head down which would explain all the movement yesterday. So we are going to go home and try bed rest for the next 2 days. I will be going to Silverdale on Thursday to see how things are going. If need to at that time, they are willing and can check me into Harrison for bed rest and lots of monitoring. If not, I stay at home on bed rest with frequent trips to my doctor to keep monitoring. At this point, they say will not let me go pass 38 weeks.

Boring Day

Not much happened today. We are just waiting patiently for the ultrasound tomorrow to see our next steps. We will post as soon as we can tomorrow.

I did get some pretty flowers and a balloon delivered to my room today.

Thank you
Lawrence, Stephanie and Rachel
Dad, Mom, Craig, Jessica, Katie, Dustin, Tyler, Bryson and Shelby

Yes, Shelby, you will be getting the balloon soon. Hopefully, your mommy will be bringing it home for you tomorrow.

Waiting for the next ultra-sound

Nothing new today. The doctor stopped in for a short time and told us that after tomorrow's ultrasound we will know if Quinn is going home or staying at Swedish.
If the fluid levels are steady or up, Quinn will go home, stay on bed rest and be evaluated twice a week at the hospital in Silverdale. If the fluid levels have gone back down, they will deliver on Friday.
If she does go home, it is likely that she will have the baby after the 36 week mark given everything is stable. The only sure thing is that she will not be back to work until next semester and she will not be doing much of anything between now and when the baby comes.
It was good for Quinn to have Shelby and her Mom here yesterday. Shelby thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her mom. The hospital room could barely contain her, but she had a lot of fun. She colored a picture for Quinn and let her watch Sleeping Beauty (viewing #1,478 I think, don't DVD's wear out eventually). I took a couple pictures, but didn't have the memory card in the camera so that's what you get for letting me run the equipment.
Grandma and Shelby should enjoy a nice day today. Hopefully they will get to the park for a while during the nice weather. I doubt I will be going anywhere until tomorrow after Quinn's doctor visit. Quinn will not be able to say that we haven't been spending enough time together for a long time.... In fact, I suprised that she is not completely tired of me yet.
Thanks to everyone for the continuing calls and support. We really appriciate it.

The doctor finally came

It was great to see Shelby and my mom this afternoon. Shelb wore me out just watching her dance around while I sat in bed. She did really well with mommy not being able to get up and made it a little bit easier for me by not having a fit when she left.
So after waiting all afternoon, the attending doctor finally showed up today. She pretty much told us what we expected. That we have to wait until the next ultrasound to see what the next steps are. Like I said earlier, the fluid levels have increased but not enough to be safe. So are two options right now are:

1. If my levels show even a little bit of improvement on Tuesday, I should be able to go home to be on bed rest. I would be monitor 2 times a week at Silverdale.
2. If my levels don't increase or go back down, it is up the doctors at Swedish to figure out the next steps. Again, they would like me to go as long as possible but I was told today that they would not make me carry him to full term, they just want to get me out of the "premature" weeks.

*My going home also depends on my doctor's and Harrison's comfort level of delivering this baby. They don't want to send me home too early with the chance that I would have to come back because my doctor won't deliver someone who below 36 weeks.

We are playing the waiting game, which those of you that know Stu and I, laugh because you know that we need things planned out. We will continue to keep you updated on any news we have.

Results from ultrasound

We want to thank everyone for the words of support and prayers coming our way. Little one is doing a great job; still passing all his stress test and we even got to see him move his mouth on the ultrasound this morning.

Good news: Fluids have increased from levels of 2-3 to levels of 6-7. So bed rest is working. (Normal fluids levels are suppose to be in between 10 and 20 though)

Bad news: I am stuck in the hospital on bed rest. I have not seen the doctor yet today but that's what was relayed to the nurse - my levels need to stay up for a couple of days before they start thinking about sending me home for bed rest.

Good news: I get to see my little girl and mom today!

I will update after I have seen the doctor.

1 = -3

Yes, I know, I am a math teacher! But this has become my motto as I am enjoying/tired of (you decide) my time in bed. My motto is coming from what the nurses have been saying, one day in the belly right now equals 3 less days in neonatal care.
Baby "Bob" is doing good which means he is still passing all his non-stress test. He is really beginning to hate the monitor and he lets me know everytime it is put on. We got to talk to the attending doctor for about 2 minutes today and she told us the same thing as yesterday; either we are going home tomorrow because fluids are up to continue with bedrest and monitoring at Silverdale two times a week or fluids are still down which means I get to stay on bedrest here at the hospital and try to make it until Friday to deliver. We are on the list to get an ultrasound first thing tomorrow morning so we will know then what the next week holds for us. I am at this point betting on the second - My maternal instinct says that this little one is planning on coming out soon.
Stu stuck around today to keep me company. Tomorrow, depending on what the ultrasound says, he will going home to get Shelby(who I miss a lot) and my mom to bring back to the hospital for the day.
If "Bob" is going to be delivered soon, we will need to start thinking about taking care of and bringing home a preemie. Although he should be over 5 lbs., he will be born 5 weeks early. Hopefully, the steriods are kicking in and helping his lungs. So if anybody knows a great resource for this let me know.

WAITING AND WATCHING......

Things are still looking good. The monitor last night and this morning show that the baby is doing well. He has started to fight back when his monitors are put on. Last night he was kicking at the contraction monitor every 90 seconds or so.
We are looking forward to hearing what the doctor has to say today. As long as things continue to look good, they will try to get Quinn to 35 weeks which is Friday of next week. They say for every day that we can keep him in Quinn is three days less in the neonatal intensive care unit.
I was able to get back home to grab a few things we forgot and to straighten the house up for Quinn's mom. I picked up Shelby from daycare early in the afternoon and had a little time play with her and try to explain to her what is going on. She just wants to see her mom. I was also able to get my truck from the dealership, but it looks like the trip from there to home is all it will see for a little while. I just don't think it will fit in the middle of downtown Seattle or in these parking garages under the hospital.
Quinn's mom came in last night a little after 10pm. Our friend Mike Grega picked her up and got her to our place last night. She will be getting Shelby from the Fundena'ts this morning and taking her to dance class. Shelby is also scheduled to go to a "big sister" class at the hospital in Silverdale today (we thought it was scheduled with plenty of time prior to the arival of baby brother).
If everything is holding steady, I will go back home tomorrow to bring Quinn's mom and Shelby to Seattle. I know Mary and Shelby are anxious to see Quinn. I am going to stay with Quinn all day today, as it not much fun to drive back and forth from here to home.
We will try to get another update out at the end of the day with any new news.

Things are looking good

It has been a very boring day which if you are in my situation is a good thing. I even sent Stuart home for a couple of hours so he can get somethings that we forgot, spend some time with our daughter, get ready for my mom to arrive and go get his new pickup truck.

We had an ultrasound this morning. Fluid is still the same but he is still doing great. The ultrasound says that he is 5lbs. 6oz. right now which is awesome due to the fact that he is probably coming soon. He will still probably have to go to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit when he is born but not as long. So hope the ultrasound is correct on his size.

They have monitored his heartbeat and movement two times today already and those are looking good.

So the doctor on duty today said we had three ways to go right now. They are:
1. Hope that my fluids increase here soon and I get to go home. But I have to be monitored closely for the rest of the time and will probably be on bed rest.
2. Keep monitoring the baby and if he is doing great try to hold off for inducing until he is 35 weeks which will be next Friday. The longer the wait, the better his lungs will be and the bigger he will be. I will be on bed rest at the hospital until then.
3. Keep monitoring the baby and if anything doesn't look good, induce as early as Sunday.

I am anxious to hear what our doctor, Dr. S says tonight/tomorrow morning about this. She is suppose to be one of the leading doctors in her specialty. I will be completing my last steroid shot this evening, which is you have never had one is quite painful.

So it looks like I will be here for awhile. Stuart called into work and let them know that he doesn't know when he will be back. I let him know that his wife will be giving him the permission on when he is allowed to go back to work. Shelby is doing okay. Stuart tried to explain to her what was going on today and she was very sad that she couldn't see mommy. Which makes her mommy very sad. Hopefully, I will get to see her Saturday or Sunday along with my mom that is coming into night. She is very excited that she gets to see grandma tomorrow.

Somebody is looking out for us

Well, what we were hoping not to happen did - ultrasound showed yesterday that the fluids had not gotten any better but instead worst. They don't know the reason why but right now I have a very healthy but small baby boy in my stomach whose heartbeat sounds great and is moving a lot. So after my doctor contacted the expert people at Swedish Medical in Seattle, they have decided to send me there, inject me with steroids for little ones lungs and possibly induce me as early as Sunday. They would rather do that then wait another week until he is at 35 weeks and take the chance that something bad happens with the placenta. I am not worried right now because I know that I and little one will be in good hands at Swedish and he is very healthy- he is kicking me as I type.
This morning we have another ultrasound to see how he is doing and if they can possibly figure out the problem. Right now I am listening to his heartbeat as they are monitoring him. I did not sleep well last night but I have nothing better to do today since I am on bed rest and just waiting for the second injection of steroids tonight. The doctor and nurses here have been great so far.
The thing is that last week when we found out that the fluids were low, we were not suppose to have another ultrasound before he was born but I pushed it because I was worried about him being to big. (So instead I am going to have a preemie, go figure). If we didn't have that ultrasound, who knows what would have happened. Also, an old family friend of Stu's was suppose to come up here this weekend for a visit and his car broke down yesterday which made him cancel his plans yesterday afternoon. Stu and I like to think that our grandparents are helping us out from up above.
Shelby is in good hands with our wonderful friends, The Fundane'ts and my mom will be on her way her tonight. She doesn't know what is going on or where mommy and daddy are but will hopefully have the chance to come see Mommy tomorrow.
Please check our blog for updates throughout the day and this weekend as I will try to update as I get news. Also, please keep us in your thoughts as we go through the next couple days.

Almost 3

We got Shelby's 3 year pictures done today. She does not turn 3 until May 20th but I am trying to get some things done before it gets even more hectic around here. Shelby did a great job for about 10 minutes and then was done with sitting still. They did a great job of capturing some of the sassiness that our daughter is all about now.

And of course, we couldn't resist one of these shots. 34 Weeks - almost there!

Baby "Bob"

No we are not planning on naming our little one Bob (sorry Grandpa Robert) but that is what Shelby has decided to name him. We are not sure where she got it from but every time you ask her what baby brother's name is, she replies Bob. Stu and I are coming closer to deciding a name but even if we make a decision we are not letting anyone know until the boy is born.
We had another doctor's appointment yesterday plus ultrasound. With having gestational diabetes, we were a little worried about the size of him. I do not want a 9 lb. child! He is over 4 pounds which the doctor said he is in the 50% for weight. She understands my concerns though and we will keep monitoring to make sure he doesn't end up on the bigger side.
They are concerned with the low amount of amniotic fluid around him. We ended up doing a non-stress test on him yesterday to make sure that his movement and heartbeat are fine. Which both are. I will be doing another ultrasound next week to check the fluid again. Hopefully, it is just caused by me being a little dehydrated instead of something else. If next week, after me really focusing on drinking water, the fluids are still low then we will have to talk about next steps. Which would probably be more monitoring via ultrasounds and more non-stress test with the possibility of having him early. So we are not that concerned about it yet because he is doing fine and we don't know the reason for low fluids yet.
Hopefully next week I will post pictures of the ultrasound. This week's were not as clear due to the low fluids.

Easter 2009

Shelby and I decided to host Easter at our house this year even though Stu was gone on sea trials. We had seven adults and six kids over for a nice lunch followed by an indoor Easter egg hunt since it was pouring down rain the entire day. Here is a couple of pictures from that day plus Shelby dying Easter eggs that Friday night before.

Shelby picked out her Easter dress this year and just had to have the hat.

Sea Trials

Stuart is currently on sea trials for the USS San Francisco. If you ask him what this means, he would give you a long complicated answer that only an engineer could give but basically it means that they are out in the submarine testing to make sure that it works correctly. He left last Tuesday thinking he would be back on Sunday but now they are saying Monday night/Tuesday morning. I was not surprise when I heard this after dealing with my husband working for the department of defense for the last six years but I wonder if he packed enough clean underwear to go the extra day or 2. I also don't know how someone can manage to be out in a submarine, underwater, for that long of time let alone how long sailors spend out there.
Shelby and I have been doing fine without him even though we both miss him. When he is on sea trials we don't even hear from him at all. Shelby has had a couple moments where she has gotten upset that daddy is not here. Mostly when mommy has not made her happy:) Like always when Stu is gone or it is just us girls, she has been sleeping with me at night. The last 2 nights she has been dressing like daddy when she goes to bed - sleeping pants only. Hopefully, we will have him back early this next week. And now that the project is over, Stu will not have to work nights or weekends for awhile.

Here is an article that has appeared in our local news while he has been gone. I made sure I printed a copy for Stu for him to see the trouble the sub caused.

Spring Break 2009

I decided this year for spring break to take Shelby to see Uncle Craig and Aunt Jessica in Lafayette, Indiana. We had not visited them since they had moved out there and I knew with the little one coming soon, our chance was now. Since we didn't know when Stu would be leaving for sea trials when booking the tickets for this flight we left him at home. We flew into Chicago since it was a straight through 4 hour flight instead of a layover somewhere and then flying into Indianapolis. We spent the first two days in Lafayette and then traveled back to Chicago on Saturday to see a few sights of the city. Shelby's highlights of this trip was going to Chuck E. Cheeses for the very first time, going swimming with Aunt Jessica, egg hunting at a dairy farm and watching the fishes and turtles at an aquarium. Mommy's highlights were having the chance to relax, getting a pedicure while her daughter was at Chuck E. Cheeses and spending time with her brother and sister-in-law. It was a great time. We are looking forward to seeing them again when they come out sometime this fall.


Shelby enjoying the fish at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. The best part of the aquarium for her was the turtles (thanks Grandparents Haverkamp).

Shelby with Mommy in Chicago.

Shelby and Uncle Craig bouncing at the dairy cow farm about an hour outside of Chicago. It was quite a tourist attraction. We went there so Shelby could participate in the Easter Egg hunt and then she got to do all of the kiddie activities. We also toured the birthing barn (no calves were born) and ate lunch before making our way to Chicago.

Shelby with Aunt Jessica and statue of a cow.

The first day in Lafayette, Uncle Craig took us to a playground. Shelby loved the slide and the swings. I remember her being so scared of the swings last year that she would turn white when you started to push her. It was good to see things changed.