Update on Brody

I debated on putting this "out there" on my blog but I am lucky to have so many people that ask how the pregnancy is going that I thought it would be somewhat easier to just do an update on here.  At my 19 week ultrasound they saw a small calcification on Brody's heart.  This is something that is very common but merits a follow up ultrasound.  So we went back 4 weeks later for another ultrasound and since the calcification was still there we were automatically referred to see a perinatologist (high risk doctor).   We went the next afternoon for a much more in depth ultrasound.  The tech measures everything twice and then the perinatologist comes in and looks at everything himself.  The doctor felt like the calcification did not pose any concern and that everything looked ok.  He had just gotten the words out of his mouth of "I've looked at the heart so much I'm getting bored at looking at it". Towards the end of the ultrasound he got a little silent and started taking pictures of a particular area.  Since he had been making small talk the entire time I kinda felt like he had come across something.   In a nutshell he saw what may indicate that the baby may not able to swallow properly and therefore would not be able to feed and could potentially have breathing trouble. He said he wasn't sure if this was the case and wanted to see me back in 3 weeks to look again. So Tuesday morning we went for our 4th ultrasound in 7 weeks.  It didn't take the perinatologist long to look at what he needed to.  I knew when he patted my arm and said he would talk to us in the office that we probably weren't going to be told it was our last visit.  The doctor said he is about 75% sure the baby has esophageal atresia (EA) with tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF).  What happens now is I will go to a perinatologist at Vanderbilt and see them probably 2-3 times, also see the perinatologist here who will share what he sees with the doctors at Vandy and continue with my regular OB doctor's appointments for the prenatal care.  I will have a scheduled induction and deliver at Vanderbilt.  Since nothing can be 100% diagnosed in the womb they will do the test right after he is born and if the diagnosis is confirmed then Brody will have surgery to repair the issues fairly soon after birth.  He will probably stay in the hospital for about 2-4 weeks.  The past few days have been pretty overwhelming, and I'm definitely feeling an array of emotions but I do feel very fortunate.  If we hadn't been referred to the perinatologist here for the calcification then we probably wouldn't have ever known about the other issues so now we have the ability to prepare for what is ahead.  The first few weeks of my little man's life are gonna be tough but I have strong faith that everything will work out ok.

You feel that bump bump bump? It's Where the Heart Is.

That is a line from one of my all time favorite movies Where the Heart Is with Natalie Portman.  Since I'm pregnant that line has a whole new meaning.  One of the pregnancy "milestones" is feeling your baby move.  It is one of the neatest and strangest feelings.  Since this is a new experience for me I wasn't sure what to expect or what it would feel like.   Most mothers told me to expect little flutters or something similar to that sensation.  At around 20 weeks I finally began to feel something and well flutters is not exactly the word I'd use to describe it.  At first I swore Mr. Man was biting me haha.  The funny thing is when it first started happening I wasn't used to the sensation so sometimes people could tell when it would happen.  In one meeting I was trying to act serious in listening to someone and then Brody kicked and apparently the expression on my face was so obvious that people knew what had happened.  O.k. so I was then feeling the baby move but really wanted Bill to be able to share in the experience but it wasn't until almost two weeks ago when he was finally able to feel him move from the outside.  And yes I have seen some of the stronger kicks from the outside which makes me think about the movie Alien. haha

This is a stuffed plush toy of the alien from the movie.  A little disturbing but also funny.  For the past few days my little alien has been pretty active.  In fact last night I commented to my friends that I wasn't able to go to sleep because he was moving around so much.  My friend Natalie reminded me how much I had been looking forward to feeling him move.  Yep she's right!  I wished to feel it and now I have Dance Party USA in the womb.  Maybe Brody and I can find a nice compromise - 14 weeks and 3 days to go!      

Times they are changing...

So it’s been nearly 9 months since I last posted on here and my life has definitely changed a great deal since then. In July I started a new position with the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce as their Manager of Events. The decision to leave my current job was pretty tough since I was content with the job I had but more so since I worked with some of my best friends in Jackson. But I’ve always been a big believer that you will never achieve great things in your life without taking some risks so I decided it was time to take a risk. The new job has definitely been an adjustment; it’s a lot of work and can be challenging at times but it is also a very rewarding job. One of my favorite aspects of the job is being able to interact with so many people in the community. I’m also very lucky to have great co-workers that have really helped to make me feel welcome. Ok enough about the career...

The biggest change that has occurred in my life is that Bill and I are expecting our first child in July. When some people heard the news they commented “I didn’t think you wanted kids”. I suppose that doesn’t surprise me because I have never been someone that has gushed about babies or motherhood in fact the idea terrifies me. To be honest until last year it wasn't one of my top priorities.  It was very important to me not to rush into being a parent. In my mind it’s the one thing that once you have a child there is no “undoing it”. Meaning you can always quit or be fired from your job, get a divorce if your marriage fails but once you’re a parent that’s it and you better be ready or at least as ready as you can possibly be. I wish I could say pregnancy has been glorious and beautiful but for me if you want to know just Google pregnancy symptoms and pretty much any of the not so pleasant ones you come across I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing. Don’t misunderstand I am really excited about this baby but pregnancy is no walk in the park! So here we are – 4 months into it and thankfully I am really feeling much better.  One more month until we find out if the nugget is a boy or a girl!

In a nutshell those are the two major changes that have occurred in my life since I last posted. I’m going to try and be more diligent with updating the posts.