Thursday, June 23, 2011

21w5d "Catching Up"

I am sorry it has been such a long long time since I wrote. I have been very busy and tired. Mostly just tired. Last week we did an MRI to get a better picture of Bluebear's head and make sure there are no other visible problems. It was so long and uncomfortable getting the MRI done. It took 2.5 hours because Apple and Bluebear kept moving around.
Later the neurosurgeon went over the pictures with us. Bluebear's hydrocephalus was confirmed. Fortunately there were no other problems seen. Apple looks great. We talked about the options for surgery when Bluebear is born. I left talking to the surgeon a little less nervous about the whole condition and surgery. There is also a chance still that she won't need surgery.
That chance seemed a little more real when a couple days later I went back to the perinatologist who said that her ventricles are smaller than they were two weeks ago. Yay! Who really knows what that will mean in the end.
I've been feeling pretty crummy the last week or so. The babies are really starting to crowd out my stomach. I am not really very big yet, so I am a little worried about what the next 4 months will be like as they get even bigger and even higher into my stomach. I have still been sleeping okay. Not too great but I am able to sleep in to make up for the quality.
It has been fun feeling the girls moving around. They have started to go nuts just as I lay down for bed. Apple (I think) especially. M was able to feel it the other night, too. It has been a little frustrating because they will be kicking and moving around, M will put his hand on to feel and they will just stop. But at night they seem to be a little more consistent. Which was good...M was getting annoyed when I would keep trying to put his hand where they were kicking. Fortunately, the other night when I put his hand on, right as he was starting to complain the girls started kicking him. He stopped, feeling a little sheepish... Thanks girls!
Anyway, overall I am doing pretty well. Just waiting...and trying to organize their room.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

18w4d "Turbulence"

Yesterday, we had our anatomy scan with the perinatal Dr. We got to see our little girls (they are girls pretty much for sure now!) for about 30 minutes. They are so stinking cute. I can't believe how much I love them already. Both babies are growing and are just about the same size and right on schedule. Apple (baby a) is breech, but it is too early for that to even matter. She is totally perfect. Blue Bear (baby b), unfortunately, has hydrocephalus. We don't know how severe or mild it will be, but her brain is not draining fluid correctly so there is fluid building up and taking up space where brain should be growing. We don't now much more at this point. We don't know why the blockage is there or if there are any other problems associated. She will have surgery after birth and periodically throughout her life to install a shunt to drain the fluid into her stomach. She could end up with mild to severe mental retardation or she could be perfectly normal. We are trying not to get too stressed and sad about it, but we are obviously worried about our little girl.
If we learned anything from our journey with infertility, we learned the Lord is in control, and we need to put our trust in Him. Please keep her in your prayers.