Ultrasound Update

I had an ultrasound this morning. Bleu and I had discussed earlier about his opinion that I should stop having ultrasounds and wait till the baby is born to do anything. I told him that I agree with the Dr.'s and I also agree with him, and that I would be talking to Dr. Byrne about our concerns. If the ultrasounds are strictly precautionary, then I would ask not to have any more ultrasounds till the end of the pregnancy.


Dr. Byrne has given me the go ahead to say that this is Arthrogryposis. We were hoping that it was Dystal Arthrogryposis where the hands and feet are the only ones effected, but there is a "progression" or diminished fetal movement at the hips and knees. His hands are clenched, with overlapping fingers, and his wrists have started to cock backwards.



That's not really good or bad news, it's just new news. We measured the amount of amniotic fluid, and found an excess and after checking his face for swallowing movement and belly for fullnes, we are assuming that he is not swallowing the way he should. This could mean a symptom of Arthrogryposis, or could also be a Neurological disorder that can't be diagnosed at this time.


The risks of these factors are,
If the amniotic fluid is not measured, or kept track of, it could get to an unsafe volume and cause the membranes to rupture and start a pre-term labor, also leading to a chance of severe hemmorage. I should be watching for leaking fluid, or contracting of my stomach (more than 4-5 times in an hour.) If the amount becomes too excessive, we may have to drain some of the fluid by way of amniocentisis. AGAIN.

If the baby becomes fixed in a position, Example: his knees and hips don't move, A vaginal delivery will be difficult for mom and baby, if not impossible. In a normal delivery, the baby's head is the biggest, and most difficult to deliver. But if his hips and knees don't straighten out, that will be a different story. If we don't know the status of the baby before delivery, and we try natural, he could get stuck in the birth canal, which is unsafe for both mom and baby.

Dr. Byrne and I went over mine and Bleu's concerns and she said that it is both necessary and precautionary to be having routine ultrasounds basically because there isn't really another way to check the fluid levels other than by measurements from an ultrasound. She highly suggested that I deliver at the University Hospital so that specific types of Specialists can be there if we need them to see the baby directly after the birth. If his Arthrogryposis effects his knees, I may not have to do the casting for his club feet. Alot of kids learn to walk more successfully on thier knees. So we'll see how he does before making any decisions.

All in all, I am still overwhelmingly greatful that he's still with me. There are so many things that could have gone wrong that haven't. I thank Heavenly Father for that every day. He's my little angel and I'm so blessed to have him. I think he teaches me something new every day already. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. I can't tell you how much it means to me.

Bleu started class this morning, so I'm excited to say that there is an end in sight. Only 15 weeks to go. It's a coin toss whether or not he'll make it home in time for the delivery. I think it all depends on the wee one, and how long he wants to stay in my belly. I was planning on flying out to see Bleu for his birthday, but I've left messages with both of my doctors asking if after all of our findings, it will be safe. I'll be at 28 weeks. In a normal pregnancy it would probably be fine. But I'm always better safe than sorry.

I love you all, and thank you so much for everything. Keep those prayers comin'!

Hoaddy-Tow!

25 weeks! Wide Load comin' through! At Church one of the girls told me she was that big when she delivered. Thanks.

So there you go. I'm getting bigger every day. I went to see Dr. Luikenaar last week and weighed in at a whopping 152 lbs- the heaviest I've ever been in my whole life. Dr. L. said not to worry like most women do because I'm still on track. When we lifted my shirt to measure my belly, she looked at it and said, "oh, ya. that's ALL baby fat. NO mommy fat there. You'll have no trouble losing weight after the baby." :) That made me feel pretty good.

We measured my tummy, PERFECT! And listened to the heartbeat which was in the range that it should be. So everything was fine and dandy. I will go back to her in 3 weeks for a glucose tolerance test, and we'll check my iron levels again, and I get a shot for something I can't remember-I think it's for Rheubella? I'll be 28 weeks at that time, and then I'll be going in every 2 weeks. I can't believe it's come so fast!

So I also have an ultrasound appointment for tomorrow morning where I will be asking Dr. Byrne if all of this is really necessary. If there is no change, than I want to know if it really makes a difference or what exactly they are doing. Cause it's a little annoying going in so often.

So hopefully I will have some good news for everyone tomorrow.

Love you!

Cute Craft

I am learning how to sew! And I keep picking the fabric that's hard to sew. Hmmm. Well I thought this would be a piece of cake, and then I realized that I don't really know how to sew yet. :) It's just a square, right? with curved corners, loopy fabric, and bias tape, and a needle that doesn't always stay threaded....... Easy right?

Well I did get it done in one night, so I guess that's a start. It was fun because it's for my cute little baby boy.


You like my model? It's all I have right now. I know he's nowhere near as cute as who it's meant for, but he'll do. :)

So there's a cute little pocket to keep his little head warm.
And of course, we have "Stressed Out Duck" - really, that's what it said on the package. How cute is that?

I don't know if anyone remembers, but I went to my friend, Kristy's house and we took pictures of my "half-way mark." We took these when I was 20 weeks, and I've just gotten the energy to put them on the blog. We realized that 20 weeks is not quite far enough... so there were only a few angles that worked to catch the belly. But here are a few that I like.

Dear Universe:

Some questions for you...

1. Why does my kitchen NEVER stay clean?
2. If death is part of life, why is it the hardest part?
3. I don't get jet lag. It's 8:30 and Bleu is out like a light. Why can't our brains change time zones, too?
4. How come 9 months is only an eternity when you are pregnant.... and when you aren't pregnant, it's gone before you know it?
5. How come I forget EVERYTHING that is important, but can remember the most random details that don't make any difference in anything?
6. Where are my keys?
7. I don't understand that we get up every morning, go to work, come home, go to bed, get up, go to work..... etc. Tell me again why I wanted to grow up so bad??
8. Why is money so important, and what would life be without it?
9. Why can't I be good at Math?
10. How do motivated people stay motivated? On second thought... How can I stay motivated?
11. Why do we (humans) have to be so stinky? Really- We fart, poop, sweat, we get morning breath, and just all day bad breath...... I'd like to smell like the forest, personally.
12. Why was I so bendy and flexible in High School and now I can't touch my toes? (besides the big belly in the way)
13. How come being pregnant can be so wonderful and awful at the same time?
14. Why can't women hand off the pain to the husband for a weekend-like vacation from pregnant pain. I vote that goes into consideration.
15. Why do I want to eat very peculiar things? And where did all of these EMOTIONS come from?

Hungry, Hungry Hippo

It's been four weeks already! Sara took our monthly picture last night and I am surprised every time. I don't realize how big I'm getting till I see the picture. :) It's exciting.

So here we are at 21 weeks. Dr. Luikenaar said that the top of the uterus is right at my belly button, which is exactly where it should be. That's a good sign that the baby is growing at the right pace.

Of course we have the first "modest" picture to send to Bleu, which I'm sure all of the females will see, too. Every time Bleu introduced me to the females in South Carolina, they said how excited they are for me and how cute I look in my pictures and they've seen all of my ultrasound pictures, and on and on. Bleu is a proud daddy. :)

And here we have the scandalous skin picture. My Relief Society President kindly mentioned "why, you're as big as Jenny was right before she had her baby!... How far along are you? Oh, well you are going to... at this rate, you... " :) She means well. Inside my head I hear the song "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"


This is just me and Sara being dorks. I was laughing while we were taking pictures, and my stomach was bouncing. I shake my stomach, pat it, and I was looking at how far my belly button stuck out and she thought that was funny and wanted a picture of it. So there you go.

Well that's all for now, I just wanted to show everyone how we are both growing! I love you all!!

Let me Clarify

I think I might have scared a few people in my update about Arthrogryposis. When I talked to Dr. Burne at the Diagnostic Center, I asked her "So is arthrogryposis what we are looking at?" and she told me yes. In my head, I was thinking that she meant that we were pretty darn sure that was the case, and it was pretty well diagnosed.

I had an appointment with Dr. Luikenaar (my regular OB) and we went over the notes on file from Dr. Burne. Dr. Luikenaar is the greatest doctor for me. She eased my worries about the concerns and let me know that they could be caused by any number of things. She said that the baby wasn't moving as much as Dr. Burne would have liked to see, but that might be a one-time thing......"maybe the baby was tired, and had a long day and didn't want to move..." Dr. Burne included in her notes that there was an excess of amniotic fluid. The only reason that is a cause for concern is that some forms of arthrogryposis effect the tongue. So if there is more amniotic fluid than normal, the baby may not be swallowing correctly. Dr. Luikenaar said "sometimes that just happens, and there's a little bit more fluid, and that's fine." We also talked about how it's a really good thing that I am feeling the baby move around. Dr. Luikenaar said that's great, and even a little surprising, because it's so early to be feeling him move. But she did say to keep track and notice any changes or patterns so that if the movement fades, or happens less often, we might want to make note of that.

So there hasn't been a diagnosis of anything other than his club feet, and that he's a very stubborn little boy. What we are doing is watching him to see if any other symptoms of arthrogryposis or anything else come up. There are also a few neurological disorders that are associated with these feet/hand characteristics, but those symptoms won't show up until he starts developing (or not developing) certain skills outside the womb, such as eye contact, response to voice or noise, etc.

Just as a reminder, we did see some movement in my last ultrasound, just not as much as we would have liked to see. Dr. Burne, Dr. Luikenaar and I agree that having an ultrasound every month to check his growth and movement is a good idea. So I will definately have my share of ultrasounds by the time I meet this little trouble-maker of ours.

So I hope I didn't scare anyone about anything, and I just wanted to clarify and update on the newest information that we have.

I Love you all and thank you so much for all of your support. You're the best family anyone could ask for.