Week 2.5 - The Honeymoon Phase

Anders was sent home on higher calorie preemie formula to help with his blood sugar and catch up growth. At 10 days he was back up to his birth weight 5 lbs 6 oz. At 16 days he was up to 5 lbs 15 oz - he gained 1.5 ounces a day! A good thing when you are drowning in your preemie clothes.
We were told to keep him somewhat isolated until he would have reached 40 weeks gestation but we couldn't keep grandparents, aunts and uncles away. Auntie Maren and Cousin Elise came to visit. It is funny to see Anders and Elise together.
This picture could also be titled Baby Ken and Baby Brian. Uncle Jeff even stopped by to say hi.
Ali, Renee and Nora came over to take newborn pictures. I can't wait to see them!Heck yeah, I have an Earth Day outfit. I have a whole Earth Day nursery. I would show you if my parents would ever finish it!
We stayed home for Anders' first Easter but some of the family canceled their plans to hang with us. Anders and Elise with Grandma Jane.Anders and Grandpa Bernie talking camping, fishing and hunting already.Easter baskets from Grandma Jane. The blanket the cousins are laying on was made by Great Grandma Dody for my dad, Grandpa Al. We are very thankful to have Grandpa Bernie in our lives but having Anders (and hormones) make me miss my dad a little more these days.
Mostly we spend our days snuggling. I know I should put him down some times but I have waited a loooooooong time for this view!Once I was diagnosed with IUGR kick counts became really important. I was always annoyed when they asked if the baby was moving a lot since I had nothing to compare it to. When he was born it turned out he had been moving quite a bit and had the cord wrapped around his arm, leg and body. This week we tried tummy time on the floor and found out just how much this little guy can move!

And it hit me - I'm a boy mom!

Week One - The NICU

We knew the NICU was a possibility for Anders since they expected him to be almost a pound smaller and didn't know why. We even had the NICU staff present in the delivery. When he was born everything appeared fine and we were so relieved. In the 6 hours we had him with us he met lots of special people like cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents.




During this time they tested his blood sugar periodically and eventually he was low too many times so they took him to the NICU for a dextrose drip. Once they stabilized his blood sugar he finally got a bath and could show off that blond hair.This was Anders NICU "room." I was thankful Brian spent almost all his time with him since I was only able to do short visits because of my surgery. They assured us this was a common problem for babies who are small so we really only had one scary night where his blood sugar continued to drop with the 10% Dextrose and they had to switch him to 12.5% Dextrose and increase the rate quite a bit. He got to a point where the next low blood sugar they would have to put in a central line. The Neonatal Nurse Practitioner thought maybe the Endocrinologist should see him because maybe his pancreas or adrenal glands weren't working. The Neonatologist decided we would give him one more shot at weaning the IV before getting specialists involved and he passed! Unfortunately his bilirubin levels got out of control though so he also needed some time in the bili bed.
The head IV before and after. Anders still had lots of visitors in the NICU until the nurses decided it was wearing him out and it would be best if we limited visitors. Sorry to those of you who came to visit and didn't get to see him! Come back and see us soon!
So he was stuck with Mom and Dad. We finally got to take our little buddy home on his one week birthday!

Introducing......

Anders
Born April 11, 2011
5 lbs 6 oz
18 inches
Lots of blond hair
12 ounces bigger than last estimate - Yay!
Love at first sight
He checked out well initially but is having some issues with his blood sugar now so he is in the NICU on an IV. We are told it is because of the gestational diabetes and because he is so small he doesn't have the body fat to store sugar.

Here's my last pregnancy picture at 37 weeks and 5 days. The last couple weeks were difficult to update. The perinatologist wanted an amnio at 37 weeks and delivery if lungs were mature but my OB thought why take a small for gestational age baby early if it is still doing well on BPPs and NSTs. Baby never missed a point on the tests but the last growth ultrasound showed it had more or less stopped growing so it was time to meet the baby.

Time Flies (sarcasm)

So 3 weeks of bed rest is behind me. Baby has scored a perfect 8 on all of the BPP ultrasounds and although struggles a little bit with the NSTs it is still within normal limits. So today it was back to the perinatologist for a follow up measurement ultrasound. Baby gained a whole pound and is now about 4lbs. However, the average 7.5 lb full term baby should weigh between 5.5 lb and 6lbs at this point so baby is still very small. Since baby is still scoring well on BPP and NSTs the goal is to get to full term (37 weeks.) At that point they will do an amniocentesis to check if the lungs are mature and if they are deliver the baby.

Here are a few pictures of my escapes from bed rest.
Attempting (unsuccessfully) to get corned beef and cabbage for the second St. Patty's Day in a row.
The Chiang Mai Thai book club girls threw me an amazing shower at Chiang Mai Thai and invited my work friends. They even made a diaper bouquet. I always thought those were cool.

Sara and Becca (two of my very first friends) threw me another awesome shower with my old day care crew and long time family friends. Sara who introduced us to Crack Pie last year amazed us with another bake off worthy recipe - Thank Heavens for Little Girl Scouts Samoa Cheese Tart. Thank heavens I have Samoas in my freezer for post gestational diabetes because that little sliver was not enough.

In less than 2 weeks we might have a baby - CRAZY! After almost 6 years I can't tell you how unreal that feels. I also can't quiet that little voice that tells me something could still go wrong. However, this little one has overcome some big odds already and we are praying that although tiny it might still be healthy.

33 Week Update

Any guesses?

Unfortunately our repeat ultrasound didn't go any better. The baby did grow but not enough and in some areas has fallen off the growth curve. They still can't find a reason which is frustrating for me since I'm kind of a why person but this pregnancy has been baffling since day 1 so I'm trying to have some faith.

Now I'm on official bed rest, no more work. I'm still allowed modified activity. Meaning, I can do something for a couple hours each day as long as the other 22 hours I'm lying down.

I also have to go in for biophysical profiles to check on the status of the baby twice a week. So far the baby has scored a perfect 8 both times. It is fun to see the baby so often and I get to learn things about it like it apparently has lots of hair. Something I was not expecting from my baby. The ultrasound picture above is the baby's head and the hand points to the hair. We have also learned that our baby has the best kind of growth restriction - brain sparing. At this point the baby's head is still measuring the appropriate size even though the rest is falling off the growth chart. Yes, I did have a discussion with Baby about how he/she could spend more time growing limbs and less time growing hair. His/her response was a kick to the bladder. Point taken!

What's next? Unless baby shows signs of fetal distress all doctors believe it is best for baby to be in utero until 34 weeks. Then if baby isn't showing signs of growth many doctors believe it is better to deliver. No one gets too concerned about a 34 week preemie. They should weigh about 5 lbs, might have minor sucking issues and be a little jaundice. However, since our baby is measuring around 30 weeks it carries with it issues a preemie born at 30 weeks would have. So we are really hoping for a growth spurt in the next couple weeks!

In fun baby news Jaime and Krista hosted a shower with my high school friends. I loved getting to celebrate Baby in the middle of all these stressful doctor appointments.

30 Week Update

I have to preface this post by saying it is not meant to come across as complaining. I will do this all again in a heartbeat if I get the chance. I know how lucky I am and no matter what happens it is a miracle to even get to this point after all we have been through. However, I want to remember the whole story some day....

I took this monthly picture at 28 weeks planning on writing about another uneventful month but shortly after that things got a little stressful. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, not a big deal, it has been known to happen in my family. Unfortunately, the diet change caused me to lose some weight and I hadn't gained much to begin with so my OB ordered an ultrasound which showed the baby isn't growing as well as it should.

We were a little too stressed to celebrate Valentine's Day, instead we got an appointment for an ultrasound at the Perinatologist's office. Just like at our 20 week ultrasound the perinatologist believes it is just a small baby. He said he is 90% sure there is nothing wrong. While we are concerned, for now we are focusing on the 90! They are monitoring me and the baby for IUGR (Intrauterine-Growth Restriction) so we will have another ultrasound in a couple weeks.

In the meantime I have weekly appointments with a dietitian who is having me eat 8 times a day! 8!!!!! Two of the times I can have 60 carbs but the other 6 times I'm only allowed 30 carbs and I have to add protein powder to milk. Luckily my blood sugar can handle carnation instant breakfast at this point. And yes, I never, ever thought I would write a post about how hard it is to gain weight.

You know what else helps a fetus grow? Bed rest. So far I'm only on modified bed rest. I'm still allowed to work but have to lay around, preferably on my left side when I'm off.

Happy Valentine's Day

From Baby T.
And Abby too.