28 week Update

I had another ultrasound and doctors appointment yesterday.

After my last appointment, two weeks ago, I left feeling very confused. Every doctor and nurse I have spoken with suggested that with a known vasa previa (some have this but have no symptoms and it goes undetected until they inspect the placenta post birth) that the standard procedure is early admission at 32 weeks and an early c-section around 35 weeks.
So when my doctor said she was holding out hope that I would carry this baby to term and have a vaginal birth - we left feeling very optimistic but then very confused.

This last ultrasound and appointment have cleared a few things up - which is what I was really hoping for.
The ultrasound yesterday showed that the exposed vessel and placenta have not budged an inch. In fact the exposed vessel is still right over the cervix. The chances of it moving enough to safely have a vaginal birth are pretty much gone at this point.
So - the plan right now is ultrasounds at 30 and 32 weeks. At 32 weeks if things are still looking ok and there are no signs of early labour she says that I might be able to stay home until 33 weeks (approx. May 5) And then they will look at taking baby by section in the 35th week (May 20-23).

I asked, why early admission? Why take baby early by section?
- the rationale for these things has mostly to do with things that happen in late pregnancy and any remote chance of early labout putting baby in grave risk. The risks increase the later into the pregnancy we go.
- If something goes sideways in the hospital, baby can be delivered and resucitated within minutes. If something goes sideways at home and I have to go by ambulance or drive be driven there is a chance that we can lose the baby.
- Because the exposed vessels are still right over the cervix, we do not want baby to drop (as they do in the final weeks of pregnancy), to engage in the pelvis and place extra pressure on the vessels.
- If my water were to break with those vessels in their current location they would likely break and cause baby to bleed.

The good news?
This is going to be another really big baby. As I mentioned in my last blog entry, Jack was 9lb 13oz at birth, just 3oz shy of 10lb.
Two weeks ago at the 26 week ultrasound this baby was estimated to be 2lb (average is 1.4lb).
At the ultrasound yesterday baby was estimated to be 3.7lb, and is now off the charts!!! He gained 1.7 pounds in 2 weeks. (The generic 'he', as opposed to 'It', we don't know the gender). This is great news considering baby is measuring 4 weeks bigger than gestational age and will be taken 4 weeks early. And the really great news is that I don't have to push this one out a key hole.

Thank you all, for your continued support. We could use continued prayer that the rest of the pregnancy goes well. That there is no further bleeding over the next month or I will admitted even earlier. And that the birth is uneventful and uncomplicated.

Lots of Love.

A Very BIG and Humble Thank YOU !!!

Thank you to everyone for everything that you have been doing to help us through.
You have definately made the past few weeks more bearable.

Thank you for helping watch Jack.
Thank you for all of the yummy food and treats.
Thank you for your kind and encouraging words.
Thank you for asking how my day is.
Thank you for asking if we need anything.
Thank you to my prayer warriors (your prayers are changing things).

We had another ultrasound on Monday March 10 and a doctors appointment right after.
There was much good news.
The placenta and vasa previa continue to move away from the cervix. This means that the chances of bleeding are decreasing and they are still holding out hope for a full-term vaginal birth (as opposed to by section).
The doctor has canceled some of the activity restrictions. Although, I have been unable to walk or stand for very long because I have another condition of pregnancy (yes there is more, lol) called neuro-cardio genic pre-syncope. If I am standing, walking, exerting myself, or if baby starts to kick my guts, I start to experience heart palpitations, chest tightness, lightheadedness, nausea and shortness of breath. I had this same condition while pregnant with Jack and it went away pretty much as soon as he was born.

I think this baby is going to be big like Jack was. Jack was 9lb 13oz. Just 3oz shy of 10lb.
The normal weight for a baby at 25 weeks is 1.4lb or 600grams. They estimated our baby to be 900grams or 2lb, which places it above the 90th percentile for weight!!!!

I left their office on Monday feeling quite confused.
She had mentioned the possibility of a full-term vaginal birth - we had been told that it was completely out of the question.
She mentioned the possibility of therefore not requiring early admission back to hospital at 32 weeks.
She said there were no need to be completely sedentary.
All of this made us question whether we had jumped the gun with hiring a nanny? How had things changed that much?
Wholly emotional roller-coaster.

I have corresponded with her since by email and realise now that the risks seem to lie somewhere in between.
The risk of bleeding is a little less than it was at the last ultrasound - but it still exists.
Only time will tell - if things continue to move, then there is the possbility of a vaginal birth (though, it is remote).
I will likely require early admission to hospital - this is a standard precaution with a known vasa previa.
Depending upon how much things shift - baby will very likely be taken early by section.

A Day at a Time.

We're taking things a day at a time. That's all we can do.

And baby's survival goes up with each day that we get through. We are currently 24 weeks. The longer we can cook this critter the better. 

Thank my lucky stars that we have such a great healthcare system.

I am part of the Calgary Antenatal Community Program. Without this program ,I woul be in hospital right now. So although it feels like house-arrest, I'll take it! It means a few more weeks at home with my boys before being readmitted back to hospital, where I will remain until baby arrives. 

I have nurses that phone in daily to check on me and come to the house once a week. The lab comes every four days to draw my blood. They come right to the house. No need to drag myself and Jack to the lab - a lifesaver. 

I'm on modified activity. The restrictions are no standing longer than 20 minutes, no walking longer than 10 minutes, no housework (oh darn), 9 hours of sedentary rest during the day (with a toddler? hahaha). With being set up at home with the life line (panic button) they have advised me to stay at home as much as possible. And not to leave the city limits until baby has arrived. 

We hired a nanny yesterday. She'll start on Tuesday. Such a relief! 

I need someone to help with Jack, help with housekeeping, and to be present with Jack in the event that I need to be taken to hospital. And to care for Jack, once I am in hospital, while Peter is at work.

A very BIG thank you to everyone who has helped and has offered to help. We're not done yet, and may still need to call on you. You really are helping to make things easier and we appreciate you very much. 

We have another ultrasound and doctors appointment on Monday March 10. The ultrasound will tell us if the placenta and exposed vessels are moving away from the cervix; which may decrease the risk of a bleed. 

Baby Thomsen

There have been a few complications with this pregnancy that many of you loving people have asked to be kept informed about. It's not very personal, but I do find blogging to be the most effective way to disperse the information.

I'll try to be as chronological and sensical as possible. 

At our 19 week ultrasound it showed placenta previa. Meaning that, the placenta had grown over the cervix. Not ideal - how will the baby get out? It has the potential to move away from the cervix as the growing uterus expands and stretches. It comes at an increased risk of bleeding because the placenta is highly vascular. 

Two weeks ago, on Tuesday February 4, I went to hospital for assessment because of some light spotting (bleeding). It stopped on it's own and was very light. They assessed me and sent me home within a few hours. Stating that if I had two more episodes of bleeding that I would need to be admitted. 

This past Tuesday, February 25, I had a more significant bleed. When I went to hospital for assessment they decided to admit me. NOT what I was expecting. I spent the last two nights in hospital for assessment and observation. During my time there they have discovered that the placenta previa has developed into a vasa previa. 

What does THAT mean? 

The part of the placenta overlying the cervix likely did not have good blood supply (the cervix is not as vascular as the rest of the uterus). So this part of the placenta shrivelled up and disappeared. However some of the blood vessels (the veins and arteries) that were in this small part of the placenta, remain. The protective tissue of the placenta is gone and these blood vessels are exposed. They are currently situated between baby's head and the cervix. Vasa - meaning blood vessels, Previa - meaning in proximity to the cervix.

What now?

If I bleed again I need to get to hospital ASAP. The exposed vessels are fetal, and if ruptured the baby could lose it's entire volume of blood very quickly. They need to determine quickly if the blood is fetal or maternal. If it is fetal, it means an emergency c-section to resuscitate baby. If it is maternal they will decide on interventions depending on whether it is slowing or increasing and how much has already been lost. Interventions such as IV fluids, blood transfusions or a c-section. 

In any case, if I bleed again I will be in hospital until baby is born. 

I am home now with weekly home care visits and a life line panic button. Press the button and EMS is dispatched to our home and we go directly to the hospital (no pit stops at Dairy Queen, even if this preggo begs). 

The likelihood of a vaginal birth at this point is very very remote and likely too risky. 

Best case scenario is a hospital admission at 32 weeks and a scheduled c-section at 35 weeks.

Why 32 weeks? As baby gets bigger there is an increased risk of these blood vessels being disturbed. And if something happens in hospital, baby's chances of survival are greater. 

Why a section at 35 weeks? A scheduled section at 35 weeks helps eliminate the chances of going into labour which could be dangerous.  

Baby Pants from an Old Shirt

Ingredients:
One shirt - long sleeved knit, or sweater, sweatshirt.
Piece of elastic - long enough for babies' waist.
Sewing machine
Thread
Scissors

Cut the arms off the shirt.
Find a pair of pants that fit baby.
Use the inseam of the pants to gauge how far to cut the inseam into the sleeves. Add another inch or so on the top to leave room for folding it over. Mark the length with a pin (see photo).
Cut down the inseam.
Sew the inseam right sides together using a stretch stitch. I used a surger to finish the edge or you could use a zig zag stitch.
Finish the top edge with a surger or zig zag stitch.
Fold over and sew the top leaving a pocket big enough for the elastic to run through.
Leave an opening big enough to run the elastic through.
Fasten a safety pin to the elastic one end. And run the elastic through the waistband.

Quiet Book Project

Such HOPE.

LOVE IT! 

Check out this interview with Lillian Greckol, an Albertan living with cystic fibrosis who just celebrated her 75th birthday! 

Her longevity is one of the many reflections of the outstanding progress made by the CF community in research, advocacy, fundraising and so much more.

http://video.citytv.com/video/detail/2148858484001.000000/a-cystic-fibrosis-patient-celebrates-her-75th-birthday/

An Answer to Prayers

First of all, I really want to thank all of you have been praying for Jack. Those prayers have definately been answered, Jack is doing amazing! We feel SO blessed.

Jack and I were at the CF clinic at the Alberta Children's Hospital this morning. The team is amazed at how well he is doing. One of the team members remarked that she has never seen a child with CF so healthy and hefty. Jack weighed in today at 22lb and is a whopping 28.25 inches long. He is 5 and a half months old and in 18 and 24 month clothes - you know, just like the average 5 month old.

Not much more to say - things are going well. Jack is at a really fun age. Experiencing the world through his eyes and getting to witness his firsts is such a joy. He is starting to get up on his knees and elbows and lift his tummy off the ground. Any day now he will take off crawling - and then he will be keeping us on our toes. 

Thanks again for all of your love, support and prayers. Please continue to pray that he stays healthy. 
All the Best,
The Thomsens

Wow time flies....

How time flies. I can't believe that Jack is now 3 months old. He is growing like a weed. For the first time the clothes that no longer fit out number those that do. He is starting to talk lots of baby-babble and grasp at objects. Jack is now over 16 pounds. And measures 25.75 inches long. He and I are recovering from our first mommy - baby cold. Poor little man got an ear infection too. Ouch! We are on the up. I haven't been blogging lately. I've not really wanted to talk much about CF. Perhaps it's been my way of coping with it. Ignore it and it'll go away. It was getting me down being approached with pity, while trying to maintain an attitude of optimism. Yesterday we went to clinic. And I wanted to share with you a conversation I had with one of the nurses. I was discussing the decision we were facing when my mat-leave is up, regarding whether to send Jack to day-care, a day-home or for me to stay at home. She asked me "Are you planning to send him to public school or home school?" We are planning to send him to school. "Then you could send him to day-care", she said. She reminded me that Cystic Fibrosis is NOT AN IMMUNE DISORDER. He has (as far as we know) a perfectly normal and healthy immune system. He will get colds just like every other child. A problem can present when he get's a VIRAL cold infection and BACTERIAL infection decides to take over when he is run down. A secondary bacterial infection on top of a viral infection. She said, "You can treat Jack just like any other kid. If you would send him to day-care if he didn't have CF, then send him to day-care". I asked, "I thought the doctor on our first visit told us to take extra precautions"? She said, "Either he mis-spoke or you mis-understood. You do not have to take EXTRA precautions per-say. But you do have to take normal precautions. (not everyone does this routinely)." Normal precautions to prevent the spread of germs. Such as regular hand washing and coughing into a sleeve. Avoiding unnecessary contact with someone that is really sick. So if we are planning to send him to school - wouldn't it be better to send him to day care as we intended and have him build an immune system in the first 3-4 years of life - rather be at home from school for the first 3-4 years of school? Yes. This is starting to make better sense to me now. And with some relief that I don't have to be quite so fearful of the germs he'll come into contact with. So I suppose this means that we don't have to run and wash our hands everytime we touch him - but exercise normal precautions and wash if we have not washed recently. I have been avoiding touching his hands and asking others to do the same. His hands go in his mouth a lot and it would be the equivilent of walking up and putting our fingers in his mouth - yuck. We don't have to avoid people that have the sniffles - but it is a good idea for us to avoid contact with people that have coughs. Thank you all for your support, we appreciate you.

Cystic Fibrosis - Another personal account...

Here is another website written by someone with CF. There is a lot of great comments on here. And he has a great attitude.
I like his story of how he learned to swallow a pill. "When I was 5, my mom shoved one down my throat and from then on I could swallow pills". Ha ha ha.


http://frontpage.velocity.net/yanc/

Cystic Fibrosis - A Personal Account...

I came across this website. It's written by an 18 year old in the UK that is living with Cystic Fibrosis (CF). He recounts his experience of living with CF. It's an interesting read. And an interesting insite into someone living with CF.
(I find the tone to be quite self-pittying. Perhaps I'm too optimistic about Jack's prospects but I don't find the tone very helpful. Thoughts?)

www.livingwithcf.co.uk

Surgery Date

Peter first noticed the hernia a week or so after Jack was born. A buldge or lump had formed in his right groin. Our family doctor referred us to a pediatric surgeon for evaluation. Last Tuesday March 20 we met with the pediatric surgeon at the Alberta Children's Hospital. We now have a surgery date - this Thursday March 29. We don't have a time yet - although they have told us that they generally do small babies in the early hours; 7-8am. It's a day surgery and we should be home by the afternoon. Please pray that it goes well.

We also met with the CF clinic team on March 20th. There are no new changes. Please please please - ask us LOTS of questions. Many of the questions you have been asking us - we are also curious about or are things that we have not considered but should. Your questions are helpful to us in our exploration and understanding of what is to come.

Our main man Jack

I thought I would start blogging again to keep friends and family in the loop with the developments regarding Jack's health.

On Monday March 12 our family doctor called and said they wanted to review some blood work regarding Jack and asked if I could come in that very day. We went and they told me that Jack has cystic fibrosis (CF). Cystic Fibrosis? How? Was it a false positive? Don't people only live to 12 years of age with that disease?

WAS IT A FALSE POSITIVE? Very unlikely.

CF is one of the newborn screening tests that they do in the province. The test for CF uses genetics and is 99.9% accurate. A false positive is highly unlikely. But there is always a chance that the test results were mixed up with someone elses. To rule out that possibility they also do a sweat test. People with CF excrete much higher amounts of salt in their sweat. The test is performed in the presence of the parents to rule out a mix up and eliminate the other 0.1% chance that it's not CF.

Both of Jack's tests were positive.

HOW?

Cystic fibrosis is genetic, it requires both parents to carry the mutated gene. So if you’re a carrier and your spouse is too: there is a 25% chance that your baby will be healthy, not a carrier and not have cystic fibrosis; a 50% chance that your baby will be a carrier, but not have cystic fibrosis, and a 25% chance that your baby will have cystic fibrosis.

The fact that Jack has CF tells us that both Peter and I are cariers of the defective CF gene.

WHAT IS IT?

I won't go into a ton of detail about what it is. There is some really good and easy to understand information on the Cystic Fibrosis Canada website: www.cysticfibrosis.ca

HOW LONG ARE PEOPLE LIVING WITH CF?

I have been pleasantly surprised to find out just how far treatment has come. In the 1950's children were lucky to make it to grade school (approx 5 years of age). Today people with CF are living well into their 50's. Research continues and by the time Jack is 50 the new number may be much higher.

WHAT NOW?

We are grateful for early screening. Now we can take measures to optimise Jack's health and keep him as healthy as possible for as long as possible. As opposed to waiting until the child is symptomatic and by then you are treating the disease after damage is already done.

On Wednesday March 14 we met for the first time with the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic Team at the Alberta Children's Hospital. What an amazing group! We are so thankful for them. The team is made up of 3 doctors, 2 nurses, a dietician, a pharmacist, a social worker and a psychologist. They were very helpful in answering our questions.

We will meet with them weekly for the first few months and then 4 times per year or more if we need. They are very involve and it's so nice to know that we will be taking this journey with lots of support.

Symptoms generally present sometime between 6 months and 5 years of age. In the mean time they have started Jack on vitamins and salt supplements as a means to help keep him healthy for as long as possible.

HOW YOU CAN HELP.

Symptoms related to his lung can be avoided by taking measures to prevent infection. Good hand washing, keeping distance from people with colds and avoiding irritants like cigarette smoke. You can help by washing your hands before touching / holding him. And by avoiding or postponing contact with our little family if you are sick.

The 'oral' toddler months are going to be tricky. You can help by us take a little precaution against him putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. It cant all be avoided and we don't want to put him in a bubble. But discouraging the sharing of bottles, cups, soothers and such will help.

Prayer. There is a spectrum of illness with CF, ranging from people with CF that are very sick to people with CF that are rarely sick. Please pray that Jack is on the 'not very sick' end of this spectrum.

Ultrasound etc

This morning we had another ultrasound because baby is measuring big. All is well. Baby is still

within the normal limits for weight - though closer to the upper limits for age. They estimate baby weighs about 5.5lbs. Baby has been maintaining a normal growth curve and took no giant gain in weight or length since our last ultrasound. All is normal and healthy and good. Baby has also turned to a head down position - it is unlikely that he will turn back to breech.

Poor Peter is still making a slow recovery from having his wisdom teeth out. We thought he was in the clear on Sunday - he was feeling pretty good. Went to work Monday. Throughout the course of this week he's felt more lowsy, and more (not less) pain and discomfort. Yesterday (Wednesday) he was in quite a bit of pain and was experiencing increased swelling on the right side of his jaw, some generalised swelling involving his tongue, and a sore throat, We called the dental surgeon - he prescribed more pain killers and antibiotics. In the evening he felt a popping sensation and spat out a large shard of tooth that must have been contributing to the increased pain and inflammation. AND on top of it seems he has a cold of sorts, complete with barking cough. He has a follow-up appointment with the dental surgeon this afternoon.

A Loss of Wisdom

We spent Thursday evening at the hospital. Baby did not move for nearly 4.5 hours and I was getting nervous. Baby has active days and quiet days - but nothing like this, this was too quiet. I tried everything I could think of to make baby move: eating, drinking coffee, walking on the treadmill, playing loud music, shining a flashlight on my belly (my new favourite, baby usually goes nuts), laying down - Nothing.
Little turkey is mischievous and not yet born. He didn't move the whole time I was getting checked out, though we were reassured with a strong fast heart beat. Then baby called my bluff and went bananas once they got me a room and strapped on the monitor. The doctor and nurses all said we did the right thing by coming in. Better safe than sorry.
Baby has been very active since then - so I am confident that all well.


Today (Saturday) we are spending a relaxing day at home. Peter had all 4 of his wisdom teeth out yesterday. The dentist was very talkative and enthusiastic when I arrived - he talked on and on about how impressive Peter's teeth were - they had SUPER aggressive roots. He said on a level of difficulty to remove - Peter's were a 9.5-9.9 out of 10! He showed them to me, the root branches went down and then took a 90 degree turn. This was the case with all 4 of the teeth. On one tooth all 4 of the root branches took this turn. One even went vertically down took a 90 degree turn (horizontal) then took ANOTHER 90 degree turn vertically down. I wish I had kept them or photographed them. They were impressive.

He also said he had never seen a caucasian person with teeth like this. He's only ever seen it with black and native american people. He asked about the origin of the Thomsen name and asked "It's Danish isn't it? Must be the viking heritage."

He scared us both when he said that the level of difficulty usually correlates the level of pain and swelling experienced after. We did EVERYTHING on the list of things to do to minimise these effects, ibuprofen, ice, ice, and more ice. And it's definately paid off today. He has very little swelling and nearly no pain.

Big Baby

I had my regular prenatal appointment this morning.
We're 30 weeks but measuring 34 weeks. The doctor was a little surprised.
They want us to go for an ultrasound late next week. They said 99% of the time baby is just bigger than average - but it could be something else like a fluid problem and they want to make sure.
So it's more likely that baby is either really fat or really long.
My vagina and I are voting for really long.

Also it looks/feels to them like baby is sitting breech (bum down) - but they're going to give baby until 36 weeks to make up his mind. My mum tells me that I didn't budge until nearly 38 weeks. Like mother, like child?

Update - Specialist Follow up Appointment

I had my follow up appointment with the specialist group last Wednesday December 7.
I thought it was good that the episodes were not increasing in frequency. But they were not satisfied that they were not going away. They made some more recommendations to help decrease the frequency and severity of the episodes. And they suggested that I go off work until baby comes.

It was actually a pretty tough decision to decide wether or not to return to work. Stricken with guilt that I would be letting my fellow co-workers down. And determined that I would not be a wuss and could just tough through the discomfort as I had been for the past few months. But eventually I came to the conclusion that the length of the episodes were in fact decreased if I could rest. I kept thinking of the work scenario: "Mrs. Smith I'm really sorry that you're in pain and bleeding, but I'm having chest pain and need to lay down". It just didn't seem very realistic. The alternative being - toughing through them - which might not be the best thing for this baby and me.
So now I am on medical leave from work until this baby comes - and then my full time job begins. :-)

It's a boy, it's a girl....

.... it's Neuro-Cardiogenic Pre-Syncope?

The good news is that my heart is physically healthy and what is going on is a complication of pregnancy that should resolve within 3 months of giving birth.

Neuro-Cardiogenic Pre-Syncope? <-- what's that !?!

Can happen by one of 2 pathways.

#1: blood volume depletion - by water volume from the blood pooling in my tissues and blood pooling in varicose veins. Complicated by standing for too long of periods (ie.work), dehydration, and hot environments. Heart rate increases to compensate for low volumes - leads to the symptoms I’ve been experiencing.

#2: vasovagal (nervous system) reaction - causes blood vessels to dilate and blood pools with gravity -> a drop in blood pressure -> increased heart rate to compensate for decreased blood volumes reaching vital organs such as the brain. Caused by: hunger/low blood sugar, uterus resting on blood vessels, stress, sleep deprivation, and HORMONES.

The heart murmur? Its normal in pregnancy to develop some form of benign (harmless) heart murmur (extra sounds) due to the increased blood volume needed to sustain the baby/pregnancy.

The solution they gave?

- > Eat salty foods (namely pretzels). Water follows salt. If I increase my sodium levels water will follow and help restore my blood volumes.
- > Wear high pressure compression stockings. To prevent blood from pooling in my legs (pathway #1) AND so that when I have a vasovagal reaction (pathway #2) and my veins try to dilate it prevents them from dilating too much and thus making the symptoms less.
- > Since many of the triggers are things that occur at my work and may contribute to symptoms:
increased activity and being on my feet for extended periods; hunger/low blood sugar (breaks? what breaks - I'm lucky if I can grab my sandwhich at eat it standing at the desk; stress -> they suggested taking 2 weeks off to try and reduce the number of episodes/severity of symptoms.
- > Journal episodes: triggers, symptoms, relieved or not relieved by rest and follow up in 2 weeks

The BIG question: is this harmful to baby?

NO. When my heart rate is even up to 140 blood flow to my organs (uterus and placenta too) is adequate. They are concerned when a persons heart rate reaches number of around 180 and symptoms are lasting for an extended period of time - then blood flow to organs may be compromised. So the goal is to get symptoms under control so that it will not get to that point.


Another baby bump photo coming soon!

Pregnancy Update

Over the past two months I've started having heart palpitations - my heart will race from 120-140 beat per minute. At first I thought nothing of it but soon realised that it would race not only after climbing a flight of stairs (which would be normal), but also at rest like while reading in bed (not normal). Sometimes accompanied by these palpitations I get chest discomfort, shortness of breath, dizziness, sweating, nausea and see stars or have tunnel vision. Each of these symptoms alone are not uncommon in pregnancy - but having them all together is not. These episodes would last for five to ten minutes and occur once a day or once every two days.

The episodes have been increasing in frequency and duration. The other day I had an episode that lasted nearly 45 minutes. I called my doctor and they asked me to come in for a check-up. Upon examination she discovered that I have developed a heart murmur (an extra sound). The discovery of the heart murmur, coupled with the increasing frequency and duration of these episodes, lead her to referr me to a group of specialists in 'Medical Disorders in Pregnancy' - to further investigate. They ordered a 24hour heart monitor (a holter monitor) to try and capture what is going on. It measures rate and electrical conductivity/rhythm of the heart. I have an appointment with the group of specialists tomorrow - Wednesday Nov 23 at 11am. Hopefully they will have the holter monitor results and will be able to tell me if this murmur and symptoms are cause for concern or just something I will have to bear for another 3 months

Some of you have asked:
Am I concerned? Not really - The episodes are uncomfortable but not untolerable. I think excessive worry will only make it worse. I'm interested to hear what the specialist has to say about my symptoms and what the monitor report has told them. I mostly want to know if these episodes have an adverse effect on the baby, which IS my primary concern.

For the most part I have been feeling great. This pregnancy thing is pretty fun, a real miracle. Feeling life in there is awesome! We are getting more and more excited to meet this little person.

My managers at work have been good to me - they have been very accommodating with doctors appointments and vacation requests. I will likely go off work one month early around January 20 (most nurses do go off before their due date because of the nature of the work). Between now and mid-January I'll be working 2-3 days/week with regular days off and vacation days in between.

I'll try to update tomorrow after the specialist appointment - once I have more info.

Check Up

Hello in there....