After a little scare on Monday (12 hours of contractions), everyone has settled down for awhile, thank goodness.
We are headed to Cincy on Sunday afternoon. They want us to be down there in case he decides to come early... They're hoping he will stay in for another 2-3 weeks. Monday we have an appointment with a maternal-fetal doctor associated with the hospital. Tuesday we have a tour of the NICU, and a couple of meetings with doctors (anesthesiologist, neonatologist, and a maternal fetal doc). It should only be about 4 hours worth of appointments, which isn't too bad. It's not like we have anything else to do!
We'd appreciate prayers for the trip down and our appointments. We'll keep you updated on the blog with what's going on. Maybe someday soon we'll get a planned birthday for Micah.
Love you all!
Brittany (for all three of us)
Friday, July 31, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
What do you think a bunch of teachers got Micah?
A bunch of books! (And a lot of other cool stuff as well). Thanks guys! (P.S. You can see the belly in this one!)
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Baby Update 7/22 - Cincinnati Trip
After a very long 10 hour day at the hospital, we ended up with a lot of information… so much information my brain is pretty worn out. The long and short of it is that this pregnancy just isn’t bound to be “normal.” We’re pretty used to that by now, but we learned a lot more today. The first test was an hour long MRI, which showed a lot of information about the cyst. The second was a detailed ultrasound (another almost hour!) and the third was a fetal echocardiogram (that was over an hour!). The echocardiogram was the best news of the day; his heart is in really good shape and isn’t showing signs of failure. The cyst isn’t as vascular (having blood flow) as they thought, which is also good. The other piece of good news is that the MRI showed that his swallowing/airway haven’t been compromised at all by the cyst. The cyst, unfortunately, has wrapped most of the way across the front of his neck, which can cause potential problems, but nothing yet. I’ve been put on bed rest until he comes. The doctors don’t want me going into labor at all, so we will likely be relocating to Cincinnati on August 3rd. They don’t want my water to break because I have major blood vessels running through that area that would rupture as well (this was new news). I also have two placentas, one that was “carrying the motherload” as he put it, and another that had taken a backseat. Why? Who knows? Did we have a clue about this? Nope. The doctor hopes that Micah lasts 34-35 weeks. 36 weeks is pretty well out of the question because most babies with this condition come at 34-35 weeks.
The delivery will be an EXIT procedure (deliver the head and arms, and establish an airway) and will be done at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Unfortunately, because of those blood vessels that are in the lower uterus, they’re not sure where the incision will be- it might be at the top of my uterus, which is pretty strange. The whole thing is pretty strange, don’t you think? Once they establish an airway, they’ll let Micah stabilize a few days before removing the cyst. There are some potential problems that he’ll have with eating, so he will be tube fed for at least a little while. Once they remove the cyst, they say the average time in the hospital is 7-10 days. But since Micah will be a preemie, he will be in the hospital for at least a couple of weeks. They hope that he could potentially be moved to Fort Wayne toward the end of the time, but there are probably dozens of factors that play into this.
All in all, the doctors hope to be in complete control of his entrance to the world, and that’s why we’re going to Cincinnati so early. The doctors were fantastic at the Fetal Care Center and are very, very smart but also quite personable. The main doctor said that all in all, when the delivery is controlled, that babies with this condition (the cystic hygroma) have good outcomes. Since I’ll be on bed rest the updates won’t come as frequently as they have, but I’ll make sure to keep you informed. I’m going to my doctor in Fort Wayne early next week, and he’ll keep an eye on me for the week. After that, it’s off to Cincinnati. (How’s that for 10 hours of appointments in less than 600 words?)
The delivery will be an EXIT procedure (deliver the head and arms, and establish an airway) and will be done at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Unfortunately, because of those blood vessels that are in the lower uterus, they’re not sure where the incision will be- it might be at the top of my uterus, which is pretty strange. The whole thing is pretty strange, don’t you think? Once they establish an airway, they’ll let Micah stabilize a few days before removing the cyst. There are some potential problems that he’ll have with eating, so he will be tube fed for at least a little while. Once they remove the cyst, they say the average time in the hospital is 7-10 days. But since Micah will be a preemie, he will be in the hospital for at least a couple of weeks. They hope that he could potentially be moved to Fort Wayne toward the end of the time, but there are probably dozens of factors that play into this.
All in all, the doctors hope to be in complete control of his entrance to the world, and that’s why we’re going to Cincinnati so early. The doctors were fantastic at the Fetal Care Center and are very, very smart but also quite personable. The main doctor said that all in all, when the delivery is controlled, that babies with this condition (the cystic hygroma) have good outcomes. Since I’ll be on bed rest the updates won’t come as frequently as they have, but I’ll make sure to keep you informed. I’m going to my doctor in Fort Wayne early next week, and he’ll keep an eye on me for the week. After that, it’s off to Cincinnati. (How’s that for 10 hours of appointments in less than 600 words?)
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
A great surprise!
I was genuinely surprised to have a baby shower last night!! Lots of ladies from PAC surprised me with a shower at Courthouse Coffee. It was a great time, and it was nice to be able to enjoy the baby, and not worry! It was a great top off to a day of good news. I hope to get pictures up eventually. I just want to say thank you to all the ladies, it was very special to me!
Monday, July 20, 2009
A good doctor visit!
We went to see Dr. Wheeler in Fort Wayne today (it was a last minute reschedule). We got a lot of good news.
-Micah isn't showing signs of heart failure and the doctor said he likely
- His cyst may have SHRUNK a little in the last two weeks (he doesn't measure it, but thought it looked smaller)...
-His airway is still open (he will still be intubated more than likley, but just as a precautionary measure!)
- The doctor doesn't think there's any reason he won't be able to make it to 36 weeks (one week shy of full term!)
- After checking Micah out on the ultrasound, the doctor looked at us and said... "He's gonna make it."
WAHOO! The is obviously the best news we've gotten yet, and we're celebrating! This gives us a lot more confidence going to Cincinnati on Wednesday.
We appreciate your prayers, your cards, your nice comments and everything all of you have done for us. :) We think you're all great!
He's coming in about six weeks, we hope!
Brittany
(oh, I forgot.. also started steroid shots today... oww! hopefully it'll put him in better shape when he's born)
-Micah isn't showing signs of heart failure and the doctor said he likely
- His cyst may have SHRUNK a little in the last two weeks (he doesn't measure it, but thought it looked smaller)...
-His airway is still open (he will still be intubated more than likley, but just as a precautionary measure!)
- The doctor doesn't think there's any reason he won't be able to make it to 36 weeks (one week shy of full term!)
- After checking Micah out on the ultrasound, the doctor looked at us and said... "He's gonna make it."
WAHOO! The is obviously the best news we've gotten yet, and we're celebrating! This gives us a lot more confidence going to Cincinnati on Wednesday.
We appreciate your prayers, your cards, your nice comments and everything all of you have done for us. :) We think you're all great!
He's coming in about six weeks, we hope!
Brittany
(oh, I forgot.. also started steroid shots today... oww! hopefully it'll put him in better shape when he's born)
Friday, July 17, 2009
Cincinnati
Travis, Micah and I hanging out at moms house this week.
We got a call from the Fetal Care Center today. Our appointments are Wednesday, but we're going to go down Tuesday night (the first appt is at 6:15AM!) We're going to meet with a couple different doctors, and they're going to do an MRI and echocardiogram on Micah. There may be other tests, I'm not sure yet!
What's a fetal echocardiogram? Fetal echocardiography is a test using sound waves (ultrasound) to study the structure of your baby’s heart before birth. Your obstetrician may obtain a limited view of your baby’s heart during a routine pregnancy ultrasound. However, a fetal echocardiogram is a very detailed evaluation of your baby’s heart by a specialist in fetal echocardiography. (http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3005386 )
What is a fetal MRI? Fetal MRI is a developing tool for unique situations where ultrasound doesn’t provide enough information. However, it is important to realize that ultrasound is and will remain the primary fetal monitoring technique. The constantly moving fetus once limited MRI’s capabilities, but today’s ultrafast MRI techniques enable images to be acquired in less than one second. MRI is not necessary for every suspected fetal abnormality, but may provide valuable information in very specific situations. ( http://www.stvincent.org/ourservices/mfm/services/fetalmri.htm )
We'll let you know what we find out when we return. Your prayers are appreciated.
Travis and Brittany (and Micah)
What's a fetal echocardiogram? Fetal echocardiography is a test using sound waves (ultrasound) to study the structure of your baby’s heart before birth. Your obstetrician may obtain a limited view of your baby’s heart during a routine pregnancy ultrasound. However, a fetal echocardiogram is a very detailed evaluation of your baby’s heart by a specialist in fetal echocardiography. (http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3005386 )
What is a fetal MRI? Fetal MRI is a developing tool for unique situations where ultrasound doesn’t provide enough information. However, it is important to realize that ultrasound is and will remain the primary fetal monitoring technique. The constantly moving fetus once limited MRI’s capabilities, but today’s ultrafast MRI techniques enable images to be acquired in less than one second. MRI is not necessary for every suspected fetal abnormality, but may provide valuable information in very specific situations. ( http://www.stvincent.org/ourservices/mfm/services/fetalmri.htm )
We'll let you know what we find out when we return. Your prayers are appreciated.
Travis and Brittany (and Micah)
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Hearing from Cincinnati & a little help...
We finally heard from the Fetal Care Center of Cincinnati. Nothing too exciting, just wanting my life story (okay, so just my personal information). It's good to know we are on their map. They're supposed to be calling me shortly (a few hours, days?) with the appointments they've scheduled.
Here's their website: www.fetalcarecenter.org From what I understand, this center collaborates with Cincinnati Childrens Hospital, University Hospital, and Good Samaritan Hospital. They all seem to be in the same medical complex area. The Fetal Care Center are the ones who will be doing the delivery to the best of my knowledge.
A note for my technologically challenged friends: Anyone can leave comments on the website pretty easily. At the bottom of the post click the "0 Comments" (or any number of comments) button. Type in your comment, and then in the box below, choose "Anonymous". They'll ask you to type in what you see in the box, just to make sure it's a legit comment. Make sense?
If you're curious what a typical 29 weeker looks like, here's a fun website with a 3-d picture (make sure to click the 3-d rotatable tab too!) http://3dpregnancy.parentsconnect.com/calendar/29-weeks-pregnant.html
Here's their website: www.fetalcarecenter.org From what I understand, this center collaborates with Cincinnati Childrens Hospital, University Hospital, and Good Samaritan Hospital. They all seem to be in the same medical complex area. The Fetal Care Center are the ones who will be doing the delivery to the best of my knowledge.
A note for my technologically challenged friends: Anyone can leave comments on the website pretty easily. At the bottom of the post click the "0 Comments" (or any number of comments) button. Type in your comment, and then in the box below, choose "Anonymous". They'll ask you to type in what you see in the box, just to make sure it's a legit comment. Make sense?
If you're curious what a typical 29 weeker looks like, here's a fun website with a 3-d picture (make sure to click the 3-d rotatable tab too!) http://3dpregnancy.parentsconnect.com/calendar/29-weeks-pregnant.html
Monday, July 13, 2009
29 weeks!
He's getting bigger! According to the books, he's supposed to be about 16" and ALMOST 3 pounds.
Nothing new beyond that. Next appointment is a week from Wednesday.
Nothing new beyond that. Next appointment is a week from Wednesday.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
7/8 Baby update
We had an appointment in Fort Wayne on Wednesday about Micah. Not much new to report. Unfortunately, the cyst seems to be growing, but Micah isn't showing any trouble dealing with the cyst (the problem is that the cyst has blood flow through it, so the heart has to support the baby and the cyst). He explained that heart failure is one of the two big concerns. Heart failure doesn't happen all at once he said, and that the baby could show signs of heart failure for months. Luckily, Micah's little heart is beating great! His lungs seem to be doing just fine as well. Micah's our little fighter, and he's beat the odds over and over so far!
We didn't get any more information about our consultation trip to Cicinnati, which was a big bummer. They'll get it scheduled and give us a call, hopefully soon. Instead of sending out what seems to be a weekly email, I'm just going to post updates on a blog:
www.littlemicah.blogspot.com . You can check that whenever and we'll post what we know as soon as we can.
We appreciate all of you, and are thankful for your prayers. Only about 8 more weeks till he's here!
Travis & Brittany
We didn't get any more information about our consultation trip to Cicinnati, which was a big bummer. They'll get it scheduled and give us a call, hopefully soon. Instead of sending out what seems to be a weekly email, I'm just going to post updates on a blog:
www.littlemicah.blogspot.com . You can check that whenever and we'll post what we know as soon as we can.
We appreciate all of you, and are thankful for your prayers. Only about 8 more weeks till he's here!
Travis & Brittany
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
28 weeks!
Micah is 28 weeks today! We are so thankful for everyday he's in there kicking and squirming. According to the books, he's about 15" and 2.5 pounds.
Our next appointment is tomorrow afternoon.
Our next appointment is tomorrow afternoon.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Keeping up with Micah
Here's a place you can read about little Micah. I'm going to stop sending emails out (unless you want one specifically) and everyone can just catch up on him here.
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