Thump thump, thump thump

Okay so, Tiny and I saw Dr. Doroshow ( pediatric cardiologist) this afternoon to check and see how the ol' tricuspid regurgitation was doing. Dr. Doroshow's hope was to find that after a month, the T.R. had resolved itself... and all was well. What Dr. D found wasn't bad per se... but it wasn't great. It seems that the amount of regurgitation on the tricuspid valve from the aorta had increased slightly. Nothing to write home about... still not an issue.. it's just that if the valve continues to leak ... the heart muscle will stretch. We don't want that. Stretching of the heart muscle causes erythema... yada yada... basically we don't want the heart to stretch. I asked her what to expect if the next time I come in ( in 4 weeks) and the TR hasn't resolved. She said " we'll deliver the baby. Tricuspid regurgitation at this level will resolve itself after delivery, since the circulatory system changes after birth ( no placenta etc...) To avoid the heart from un-do stress we'd just deliver and watch nature do it's job." So yep... there is a slight possibility that I will deliver Tiny in 4 weeks... which puts me @ almost 32 weeks. I am currently 27 weeks and 5 days... a major milestone for us: This is the day ( gestationally) that Millie and Holden were born. I'm feeling pretty good about not delivering a " micro preemie." ( babies born under 27 weeks and under 1500 grams)

Tiny is very active these days. Kicking mostly my ribs and my right side. My belly button is getting ready to blow out. My face is definitely getting rounder... along with my thighs and arms. It's all part of my " lovely lady lumps" package. Holden's new favorite song to sing is : "My Humps." As much as I loathe hip hop music... I gotta tell you there is nothing funnier than a 4 year old boy skipping through the house singing " my lumps, my lumps, my lovely lady lumps... in the back and in the front" Thanks a lot Black Eyed Peas! heeeeeeeeee

I see Dr. Ratner in the morning. I'm sure I'll hear all about how I'm gonna " go early." I 'll just nod and smile... and know that for today ~all is well.
We are traveling to OCMD for Thanksgiving. It should be a fun time. I hope I don't swell up on the drive. You know how I love to have anxiety attacks ... and Parker, well, he just can't deal with the drama. :) I know that Thanksgiving will be extra special this year. We sure have a lot to be thankful for...

I hope everyone has a nice Holiday weekend. I will update when we return.

bad picture... ob update

So here you have it... I got a "baby blessing" henna'd on my belly. A little before and after shot for ya. I'm gonna get my belly re-inked because obviously the henna didn't set in my skin very well. We'll see how it goes the next time around.





An update on my visit to Dr. Landy ( OB) today.

Tiny feels,measures, and sounds great. My weight is good, my BP was great( 120/60) and of course my pee had protein in it .( it's been there since I was 13) Nothing to be worried about.
Dr Landy said " now this is when the fun begins." I said, " uhh what fun?" She said " I will see you in 2 weeks. After that I will see you each week. You will also start having biophysical profiles done every 7 days for 2 weeks ... then bi-weekly after that until you deliver." I stopped her and said " okayyy, but do tell, what is a biophysical profle exactly? " She explained that it is very detailed sonogram and it is important to keep tabs on the amount of amniotic fluid around the babe and to document the types of movements the baby is making... to see if the baby is stressed out. So now let's get this straight: I see Dr.Ratner ( endocrinologist) every 7 days... Dr. Landy every 7 days... a biophysical profile every 7 days for 2 weeks,then 2 times a week...a regular sonogram ( for measurements) every 3 weeks, and a fetal echocardiogram.( just one of those luckily) Okay. YOY. That seems like a lot of trips to Georgetown and Eastern market each week. I knew this was in the cards.. so I'm not surprised, but it seems that time kinda flew there. I wasn't expecting this for a long time . Dr. Landy is still holding steady at me delivering at 38 weeks. I think I like her tune a little better than Dr. R's. He's so pessimistic. ( Maybe he's realistic.. but still I'd prefer not to have a preemie. )

Okay.. my very overtired/undernapped children need to eat and read some bed time stories.

We will be attending 4.. count them 4 birthday parties this weekend. Wish me luck. I'm exhausted already.
Yawnnn.

3.. yes 3 doctors appointments in one day.

I gotta tell ya.. I'm a little worn out tonight. The day started at 5 am. Since I have some kidney issues... yes, just like on Steele Magnolias, Dr. Ratner requires me to do a "24 hour urine" once a month. 24 hour urine= I cannot flush one single drop of pee down the toilet. All must be caught in a sterile container. ( provided by my friendly endocrinologist) When I have to do a 24 hour urine.. .I typically stay home all day, 'cause lemme tell you.. there's nothin' cooler( or easier) than walking around with the contents of your bladder in a bag all darn day. I started the 24 hour urine by accident @ 5 am the day before.. .so yes you guessd it.. I had to finish the collection @ 5am today. I tried to go back to sleep, but I ( along with Holden and Parker) have a nasty cough... Which kept me pretty much awake until 7, when I had to get up to start the day. I somehow got the kids ready for school... lunches packed, and off to Jefferson @ Fieldcrest just in the nick of time. It was only 9:15 when I dropped them off, and I was already exhausted.

I had a sonogram appointment @ 10:30 ( which is my usual time). I drove down 270 and all of a sudden: major back up... so I veered off to take back roads. I know it didn't save any time ( because the roads were crowded, and there were a ton of lights ( seemingly all red lights) and I squeezed into the office 5 minutes late. The report on Tiny: Tiny is currently transverse ( sideways.. for those of you not up on the lingo) Butt to the left of my belly button.. head to the right of my belly button. Tiny has been in this position for about a week from what I can tell. Holden was in the same position when they were born ( hence Suze's c-section) It must be a family thing. Tiny is measuring 28 weeks and 6 days in most of the body parts that were measured. ( head/abdomen/femur) Tiny has huge cheeks...and I think I saw a weiner. Not positive... but I won't be surprised if a boy pops out. ( now if Parker and I could decide on a boy's name, all would be fine... whole other story)
Off to Dr. Ratner's office for my weekly visit: Everything was fine. We are fine tuning my alternate( nighttime) basal ( automatic insulin setting) . Dr. R is holding steady at me delivering @ 30-32 weeks. He told me that he was at a Gestational Diabetes conference in San Francisco this past week and he spoke with the "top OB in L.A." and the fancy schmancy OB from LA concurred that the baby would arrive @ about 32 weeks. I finally got up the courage to say "why the heck are you signing me up for a preemie again?Jeesh!" Dr. Ratner explained that since I am walking around w/ 3 sympotms of pre-eclampsia( edema/high blood pressure/kidney failure) even when I'm not pregnant... that there is a 99.00% chance I will develop pre-e at about 30 weeks... and the goal is not to develop eclampsia. Okay. Fine then, I'm glad Tiny weighs more than Millie did when she was born. Tiny at least has size on his/her side.
After my appointment with Dr. Ratner, I scooted on over to Washington Hospital Center for my appointment at the echo lab... to get hooked up on a holter monitor( 24 hour heart monitor that traces heart fluctuations. I have to wear one because I kept fainting.) I waited over an hour to be seen because of some miscommunications between Dr. Ratner's office and the echo lab. Grrr. Finally I was set up. As usual I was approached by a stranger asking for " help" w/ some story of suffering etc... I turned the guy asking for a ride to Irving street down and got in the car.UG I hate that ! It was 3:45pm. I attempted to get to the kids' school in rain storms and rush hour. I'm sure my Holter monitor was freaking out. I called Parker because I didn't move an inch for 25 minutes. Finally after an hour and a half, the traffic moved a little bit. I called PArker and told him to stay @ work.. and I very slowly rolled into the kids' school @ 6:05 ( 6:15 is the cut off... and the teachers talk about you behind your back) The kids were concerned that I was so late, and Millie fell asleep in the car 2 minutes after I strapped her in her car seat. Poor little bean.
So needless to say I am exhausted. Everything seems fine for now. I have an OB appointment on Friday morning, and a fetal echo next week... to check up on Tiny's pesky tricuspid regurgitation( sp?) issue . OY. Time is whittling away and I still have so much to do... but it's fine. :)

week 27... and what's this??

Yes friends... it seems that the ugly morning sickness monster has reared it's ugly head once again. Yep I am plagued in the morning, and late in the evening. Luckily, it's not quite as bad as it was in the first trimester, but it's enough to irritate me. Grr.

I am in major nesting mode. Our home ( as some of you know) is pretty much always in a major state of disarray. ( sp?) Parker kindly heard my pleas to move Tiny's crib/ rocker. He helped me get through a very bad mood when I couldn't find the dumb allen wrench. Luckily , my friend Brandi had an allen wrench that fit... so we were saved! Thanks Bran! We moved a little bit of furniture around, and straightened the little sitting room off the back of our bedroom. I think it will do the trick as we get through the first couple of months w/ Tiny in our home. I can see tiny cobedding for awhile with us... and then transitioning to the sitting room. Then off to an official bedroom where s/he will stay. I am glad to be able to cross " set up Tiny's room" off of my very long " things to do before Tiny is born" list.
I have officially cut Millie and Holden off from their afternoon nap. It seems that HIP cannot fall asleep until after midnight if he sleeps for any amount of time during the day. Cutting them off from a typical 3 hour afternoon nap hasn't been easy. They fight like cats and dogs from noon until 7:30pm. Then~ for procrastinator's reasons... they play like best friends ( running naked around the house squealing and laughing... while I try to grab them and throw their bodies into pajamas, and brush their teeth) until I literally place them and hold them in bed @ 9pm. This has been going on for a while now...and I gotta tell you ~ I AM EXHAUSTED BEYOND BELIEF. Again~ anyone who says they want(ed) twins HAS NO IDEA WHAT THAT STATEMENT MEANS. Because let me just tell you: having 4 year old twins is not fun about 75% of the time. Hopefully I can get them into the after school program... so @ least they aren't fighting inbetween the hours of 12 & 3pm. Their inability to share/watch the same tv show/ride bikes w/ out arguing over where where we're going to ride bikes/do puzzles/read/ draw/listen to music/play with friends/ play on the swingset/ even hold my hand ( yes they fight over who gets to hold which one of my hands) is purely exhausting... and I find myself wondering what in the heck I was thinking when I wanted another kid. I assume we will adjust.. but for now , I am trying my hardest to get things "settled" before introducing more ( Tiny) to the already exsisting chaos.

I'm a little behind on the belly pics... but this one was kinda fun so I decided to use it... you know, since all of my kids are in this one.
Yes, Millie is in her undies... and Holden was trying to stick his finger in my belly button ( hence the sneaky look on his face) Tiny is in there hanging on my ribs... you can't see it.. but let me just tell you... that's what s/he is doing pretty much all of the time.
I have started seeing Dr. Ratner ( endocrinologist) every 7 days. We had a little swelling scare... so he decided it was time for weekly visits. So far everything seems okay. At every visit he gets very serious at the end and says stuff like " I don't want to scare you, but I'm pretty sure you are going to deliver anywhere between 30 and 35 weeks. You will be put in the hospital when I think the swelling is severe enough that you need to be watched 24 hours a day." (yada yada yada... etc...) Meanwhile my OB says " you tell Bob ( Dr. Ratner) that I know how to do my job and you will deliver at about 38 weeks." Okay people... let's not fight.. and also let's not get the pregnant girl into a tizzy. So far, I'm the most relaxed in the this equation. My blood pressures have been stable and in the the 115/60 range pretty much across the board. I'm not sure why Dr. Ratner doesn't just think the swelling in my legs is typical pregnancy swelling. However.. I did gain 5 lbs in 2 weeks... and he thinks it's water weight. Oh well.. only time will tell... and in that time I think I'll just chill out and enjoy this experience.
I finally wigged out because we're gonna have another kid. Last night as I was tucking the kids into bed.. it dawned on me. WE'RE GONNA HAVE ANOTHER KID IN LESS THAN 3 MONTHS. Fears of not being able to bond ( something I struggled with with Millie and Holden for about a year)... not wanting to take care of another kid... frustration... fears of not being able to handle Millie and Holden AND a baby.... breastfeeding fears... you know... the works. I know everyone goes through this so I just closed my eyes and knew that everything would be okay. It was just kinda weird, since all I've ever wanted was a "big" family. I'm glad I didn't get all skeeved out and panicky.Panic attacks are so awful.. and poor Parker just doesn't know what to do with me... so he usually leaves the room all flustered. I know everything will be fine. I just had to think too much for a few minutes there.

On a totally girly note: I went and bought some new make up today. Nothing fancy... just stuff from CVS. I'm not really a make up girl... but Parker and I are going to the Symphony on Thursday night... and I'm tired of attending things in nothing but foundation... cheap blush and mascara. It's funny how I prefer to go natural.. but for some reason lately I've felt like a big dog... so covering my face w/ powder and goop makes me feel " grown up." HA SO weird. I'm gonna look back on this in a few years and think to myself " OH BARF." For now... I feel pretty... oh so pretty .. I feel pretty and witty and... well, not gay... but hey I support equality... so if I feel as pretty as my hairdresser feels after he tells me all about the new sweater he knitted for his friend's puppy... then I guess I feel as pretty as my big gay hairdresser. :) Ohh excuse me.. "stylist."

Okay I have a slew of junk to do around here... let the nesting BEGIN!