John Paul II

Have no fear of moving into the unknown. Simply step out fearlessly knowing that I am with you, therefore no harm can befall you; all is very, very well. Do this in complete faith and confidence. John Paul II

WE HAVE A DATE!!!......sort of.

      I had a check up yesterday. Jody, the resident, told me that she would call me today(Wednesday) with a date for the C-section after she scheduled it last night. So, she called today at noon and said our date was the 27th (day after thanksgiving) at 8:30am. However, Dr. Polzin called around 4pm. He said that the doctors over at Children’s couldn’t schedule everything that day, for some reason. The Drs at Children’s suggested that we either wait until after Thanksgiving weekend (At which point I would be 39 weeks and 4 days) or have the C-section before Thanksgiving. Dr. Polzin was worried that if we waited, I would go into labor before the scheduled c-section. While he said that the doctors adapt to whatever happens, he said he would rather have the “A-team” prepared and ready, instead of just pulling people together at the last min. So, he suggested that we have an amniocentesis on Monday (the 23rd) to see how well the baby’s lungs are developed. He said that with c-sections, it is more likely that the baby develop “wet lung” which can cause a lot of complications. I guessed that this happens since the fluid is not squeezed out in the birth canal. Also, he said this happens the earlier you take the baby out. SO, if the amnio checks out, and the lungs look good, then they might just keep me the rest of the day, and have the c-section then. It will either be Monday the 23rd, or Tuesday the 24th. I’m not sure if they are going to just play it by ear or actually have a date. I’ll have to ask that Tuesday at my appointment. I told Dr. Polzin my concerns about the amnio, since I’ve heard a lot about the statistics of 1 out of 400 babies die from the procedure. He said that it’s dangerous because they usually perform the procedure early on in pregnancy, and since the risk is that the mother goes into preterm labor, the baby doesn’t make it. Since our baby will be full term, the risks are the same (infection and labor), but the outcome isn’t the same. Sooooo....though I’m still VERY uneasy about the whole thing, (and am waiting for NORMAL life and delivery to kick in) I really trust Dr. Polzin. So, I guess this amnio and c-section are on the go. AH!

Halloween

     So after we were done Trick or Treating Paul says, " you only wanted to do this so that you could eat Eva's candy".  And I replied, "OF COURSE!  People go trick or treating with their 6 month olds, do you think those babies eat it?!"  Eva was a VERY good sharer.  Haha

In Denial?

     As the days get closer, I have a LOT of mixed feelings. I’m really excited to meet this little girl, to hold her in my arms, to have a more COMFORTABLE night’s sleep :O), and to put a face to the baby we’ve been praying for and thinking about for so long. Also, the unknowns will now be known. Once she is born, the doctors will be able to tell us her prognosis concerning her bladder, hydrocephalus, how the Arnold Chiari will affect her, and what they predict her leg movements to be according to her muscle tone. There is still a small part of me that believes that everything is going to absolutely fine after her surgery. While God can still work miracles after her birth, I guess I’m just a tad bit in denial, since I can’t really wrap my mind around the whole thing.  When she does make her debut I know I'm going to be an emotional basket case as everything is made into reality, not to mention the craziness of my baby being taken away from me right after birth.  Ah, one step at a time. 

More info from last Tuesday’s appointment

     Outside of being informed about the head doppler, I had more practical questions for the doctor. We asked about baptizing the baby before she is transferred, whether they provide a pump and bottles, and who would be my surgeon during the C-section. The doctor left the room to find all of the answers, and came back with this: they are going to schedule a priest to be there for the C-section, so he can baptize the baby before she is transferred to Childrens. YAY! Good Sam also provides bottles (and a pump) to send over to Childrens. As for the C-section, there will be 2 residents and one doctor operating....and no Dr. Polzin. I thought for some reason he would be there, but I guess he just keeps an eye on us pre-birth. Sad day!

  This is what we look like twice a week for 20 mins at our NST appointments. Paul is SO happy!! ha!

   PS: My contraction numbers have been going up everyweek. The nurse this past week said that the numbers don't mean anything, but it doesn't make sense that 5 weeks ago the numbers were at 12, and now they are between 20-35.  Can anyone tell me what that means?  Just measuring the pressure?

A Special Baby Shower, for a Special Baby

     My cousin Jenny hosted a “diaper shower” for us last Sunday for the Rowe side. It was so sweet, and family was so supportive. Outside of the nice and practical gifts, it was comforting just to know that they are all there supporting us mentally, spiritually, and physically if we need it! It really is a blessing to know that so many friends and family are supporting us and praying for us daily. Though I’m not always able to respond to notes individually, I read every one, and am so grateful for all of your kind words. It’s almost like you all are sharing in our troubles, and loving us through it. Because of that, the stress doesn’t seem to sit on our shoulders as heavy as it should. We know we are wrapped in God’s huge arms, and covered in your prayers. Thank you!

Getting Closer

     My belly is getting bigger and so is the baby. Goodness, I feel like she’s taking up every available space in my abdominal cavity and stretches and kicks OFTEN. She does this funny thing, that looks like jumping jacks. It seems like she stretches her arms and legs out to the side and my belly flattens out sideways and then she pushes up, so then my belly goes straight out in front of me, REALLY far. She does this over and over again! It’s pretty entertaining.

     We’ve been busy since our last update. (What’s new!?) Actually, this weekend is the first weekend we haven’t had something major planned since we’ve arrived here Sept 16th. The running around has been fun, but it’s nice to have a little bit of a rest before the MAJOR craziness begins.

     Two weeks ago, our Pastor, Fr. Dan Saner passed away after battling bladder cancer. He was a WONDERFUL priest, and was present for some major moments in our lives including our wedding and Eva’s baptism. He will be greatly missed! We went to a prayer vigil and layout for him on Friday. (Earlier in the week we had 2 NST appointments and a check up) Saturday we celebrated his life at his funeral at the Cathedral with the Bishop. Saturday evening we hosted a barn dance at my parent’s house. We had a caller come out to teach us the moves, had cornbread and bean soup, hot dogs on a stick and a dance party with DJ Paul after the Caller left. It was a blast! My mom had planned it as kind of a fund raiser for our baby on the way. We received a nice little fund for our medical bills.

     Monday morning (Oct 26th) we had another NST appointment and fluid check. Tuesday Paul and I decided that we were going to take some much needed time alone and go on a date to Barnes and Noble. We got our coffee (Amy, my blood pressure is up! 98/58! Ha!) our Cheesecake Factory pumpkin cheese cake (YUM!) and sat down at our table. After a couple of mins, I noticed that the large group next to us was speaking French. Paul turned around and confirmed it. By listening to them, you could tell that there were many different levels of french speakers. I tried to convince Paul to go talk to them, but he kept saying things like, “I don’t want them to think I’m showing off”, and “what if I’m not up to par?” Ha, I just laughed at the last comment, because a guy a couple seconds later said, “C’est tres fun!” (It’s very fun)....total Fren-glish! A couple mins later, Eva wandered over towards the French speaking group. I let her go, so that Paul would be forced to go over and mingle with them! Ha! It was really cool, because it turns out that they are all a part of the French Alliance of Cincinnati, and they offer classes for adults AND kids! Some of the people were from France, and others just wanted to learn. We got their info and we’ll be in contact with them.

     Thursday Oct 29th- 35 WEEKS! Had a 9:30am ultrasound. Everything looks pretty much the same. Though, when the tech measured the lesion, it said 4.5cm or so. She assured me that the machine was really old, and that she was having a hard time really seeing the borders of it. So, it wasn’t an accurate reading. I hope she was right. She also told us that the baby is in the 57% for weight, and weighs about 6lbs. She said that the baby will probably weigh about 1½ to 2 lbs more before she is born. Ha, I was like “YEAH RIGHT”, and I still don’t believe it. I guess we’ll find out when she’s born. The only thing the tech couldn’t see was the head. I’m guessing she was looking for the cerebellum, but the baby’s head was turned down. She took me to another room, and still couldn’t see anything. Oh, our stubborn children! She did say that Dr. Habli ordered a doppler of the head (MCA) once a week until the birth, which measures the blood flow in the brain. The tech acted like it was standard procedure for all high risk cases. So, whatever! However, we found out the following Tuesday, at my check up, that Dr. Habli ordered the head doppler because they found a symptom of Anemia in the umbilical cord. So, they are going to have to monitor that. The doctor didn’t act worried, and so I’ve taken on the same stance. I think at one point you just get kind of numb to everything. It was an, “oh well, just another thing, pile it on top, because it’s out of my hands” kind of moment. I didn’t even flinch or think twice about it, when I’ m sure I would have slightly freaked out if this was something with Eva......5 months ago.