Momma Gettin' BIG!!!

So after looking at this picture I realized...I'M HUGE!! It's funny. When I look down, at where my feet used to be, my belly doesn't appear to stick out that far, then I see myself in a photo and wonder," Do my friends and husband 'like' to send me out in the world looking this way for fun or are they videotaping me with hopes of making some cash off of me?" OH MY GOD! I really did not realize just how much of a belly I've gotten. Now I know, I know, it's neccesary for our little one to have room but does she really need THAT MUCH SPACE? She's living in a penthouse when I think she would be just fine in a condo! Only the best as they say...okay, I give, only because she's so darn cute!

Meeting the specialist

We went and met with Dr. Bennett yesterday AM, he's the pediatric urologist specialist, and I am happy to report that both Ross and I feel immensely better since talking to him. He told us that only 4 out of 100 of these cases like what our daughter has requires surgery which is very reassuring to hear, and the remaining cases require a daily medication usually until they're about 2 or so. However, the medication can be neccesary for a longer time frame if the diagnosis is reflux. Basically Dr. Bennett said to not try to guess the diagnosis now and we will have some tests run on her the first 24hrs and THEN we will decide what route to take. I just enjoyed his frankness and ability to make me see that this is not going to be a life debilitating disease but more a process. So THANK GOD I say! He also has quite the bedside manner...he's a hoot. He was giving us his fried chicken recipe and talking about how good it is to eat at 12:30AM after a little shin-diggin'. So we feel better now. We have also started attending our birthing classes (which I have a hard time not laughing throughout) Ross will be a great partner during the labor I can already tell. He is taking this class seriously and tells me that we need to practice our breathing each night, which really cracks me up, but he is being so supportive that I will really try not to keep giggling. The instructor, which I will call Nurse Cratchet, is VERY passionate about her instruction and I believe that she thinks we're all a bunch of idiots. She talks to us as though we are 5th graders and requests that the "coaches" repeat most every little detail aloud so that they don't forget. Problem is, she has rarely said anything that seems all that important to remember. I guarantee you that regardless if Ross "memorizes the floor plan" or "sets up all coaching materials on the window sill" or even "forgets to get the basin full of ice" this baby will come!! With or without all this, she will come!

47 DAYS- HOLY &@#*!

I just decided to look at the calendar and realized that there are only 47 days left until our due date! HOLY *&#@! It's seems surreal to think that life as we know it will forever be changed in just a few short weeks, but we are TOTALLY EXCITED to see what this new chapter brings! You all had better be looking at your calendars as well and planning some vacation time soon cuz Momma and Daddy are going to need some family around for a break! PS- I personally think that I'm going to go early, at least a week, but Dad says "no" so were doing an over/under...any takers

We're doing good!

Just a quick posting to let all concerned parties know that Momma and Koo Koo are doing just fine since our little scare on the 11th. Due to some "loving" hounding from Dad with constant reminders to take it easy and many phone calls asking what have I eaten and how much water have I drank, I would have to say that I feel great and Koo Koo is kickin' up a storm all the time! She certainly loves it when I drink a lot of cold water. I don't know how or why but she dances up a storm whenever I do. (Maybe it's her way of reminding me to drink a lot of water just like her Daddy does) So no need to worry anymore, like I said before, I'm a quick learner! ( okay, maybe not SUPER quick but none the less a quick one)

Emergency visit

Well I had a little issue yesterday with understanding my limitations while 8 months pregnant. I started having contractions yesterday afternoon about 2:00 while I was out running a million and one errands and thought they were merely Braxton Hicks, no big worry, but decided to call Ross and let him know just in case. Well he thought it to be wise to call the Doctor's office especially with the issues at hand with our daughter's left kidney but I still thought it was no big deal. Another half hour of contractions coming every 10 minutes like clockwork and I decided okay, maybe I should call. Long story short I went to my Doctor's office like they requested and sat in the waiting room for an hour and 15 minutes while my contractions got down to every 7 minutes then they called me back and did an exam, ultrasound, and additional tests and sent me to the hospital! Okay, I was freakin' a little now but trying to remain calm and called Ross back who was down at Carolina Beach with customer meetings and a dinner cruise that was set to leave at 5:45 and told him not to worry but I was going to the hospital with contractions probably due to dehydration so if he wanted he could stay where he was or at least did not have to rush over. I hung up the phone and turned around and ther he was! (Not really, but figuratively speaking) He must have driven 400 miles per hour cuz he got there QUICK! He's such a loving tentative husband...I am SO lucky to have him! They set me up in a room on the Labor and Materninty ward with fetal monitors and an IV drip due to my dehydration. My contractions were coming every 2 and a half minutes now and they were trying to get them to stop for obvious reasons. Needless to say we were there for roughly five hours while they got me back to normal and then the Doctor and Ross scolded me for not eating or drinking enough fluids! Big Ol' Meanies!! Come to find out I am suppose to be carrying a bottle of water with me 24/7 and taking it easy not running around like a chicken with it's head chopped off! Who Knew?! The doctor also told me that I was not allowed to do anything for the next several days with the exception of feeding myself, taking a shower and DRIKING FLUIDS! So I am confined to the house but it's a heck of a lot better than the hospital which was going to be the alternative if they couldn't get my petons (a measurement of dehydration in one's urine) and contractions under control. So I skipped my first birthing class this evening and have been taking it easy today paying close attention to fluid intake and eating. So did I learn my lesson? Heck Yes! Did I realize at the time that I wasn't suppose to be doing everything like I used to do when I wasn't pregnant? Heck No! But don't you worry folks...I'm a quick learner! Momma got to go, time to drink some water!

Wilmington Baby Shower

What a fabulous couples shower we had on Wednesday! We decided that it should be couples since Ross was going to be in attendence and that way he wouldn't have to be the only bored one there! Just Kidding! It actually turned out to be quite enjoyable and even a lot of the guys made it a point to tell us that they too enjoyed themselves, A lot of them, if not all of them had never been to a baby shower but they all certainly had their own preconceived notions of what to expect, which turned out to be wrong! We had it on a rooftop bar called Level 5 that overlooked downtown Wilmington, hence all the windblown hair pics, and had some lovely hordevours brought in and there was ONE game that we played called "How big is the belly...on ROSS" HA-HA! he was expecting it to be me but we pulled a fast one on him and he was a good sport and let everyone come up with a piece of ribbon that they had cut and see if it measured around his belly. I think our neighbor who is a physical trainer ended up cutting the exact piece that measured perfectly around his belly! Go figure! Another great thing that happened was two of our closest friends, Ellen and Al, flew in from Dallas to surprise me. Ross had already known and had managed to keep it a secret for weeks plus Brandi, a dear friend was in on it too and had driven up to Raleigh to pick them up. I have to admit, I was completely taken by surprise and it was so great to see them! We hadn't seen them since last 4th of July during Festival so I really appreciated all the trouble that took place to get them here plus Ross had a fantastic time too. It's only with them that he seems to really unwind and NOT talk about work for a few days which he needs to do from time to time! All in all I think everyone had a good time and we had quite the turn out at the shower, probably 50 or so people. What a great day that was!

An update from the Doc

We went in for another follow-up ultrasound this past Wednesday to check on our little one's kindney issue and it seems as though things continue to go down the wrong path, so our high risk Doc is referring us to a pediatric urologist, Dr. Bennett, who will work in conjunction with Dr. Wright (our H.R. Doc), Dr. Chase (my OB/GYN), and whom ever we finally choose to be our pediatrician. She will definiately have enough Doctors looking after her and not to mention two worried parents and a lot of love coming from friends and family! Basically what is happening is her right kidney is functioning properly, slightly enlarged but no worries there, it seems that her left kidney is the source of most her issues. It continues to become enlarged with fluid and it is unable to pass it through the ueter to her bladder due to a constriction. That blockage is causing the fluid to back up into her kidney instead of being released which in turn causes the enlargement. So what can we do you ask? Right now NOTHING which is killing me. The Docs say we have to wait until she is born and they will run a series of tests and ultrasounds on her within that first 24hrs. to determing if antiobiotics will do the trick or if she will require surgery to fix it. The other thing that the Docs continue to watch right now is if she is making enough amniotic fluid because if that were to get too low they would have to induce labor right away or do a c-section. So far between her right functioning kidney and the small amount from her left kidney she seems to be doing okay. I will go in for a follow-up ultrasound in 3 weeks followed by another one 2 weeks thereafter then it becomes week to week check-ups to monitor her progress. So all you out there need to be sending positive thoughts her way, lots of prayers to whomever you may have it good with "upstairs", and as muh love as you can manage...with all that working for us I can't imagine things will go wrong. I will continue to keep you all updated!