Specialist Apt #2

Here is our little man at 27 1/2 weeks. We are so close to the third trimester...

Today was the second time we had an appointment with the specialist for baby boy's kidneys. All in all, it was a good appointment. We left feeling like they didn't tell us anything new, but that they were able to put a more positive spin on it.

We had a different doctor this time and Chuck and I really liked him a lot. Not that we didn't like the last doctor, we just felt that Dr. Thorpe - being older and more experienced - was much more confident in what he was telling us. The last doctor gave us all the scenarios - good and bad - which at the time we thought was important for us to know, but after meeting with Dr. Thorpe today, maybe it wasn't so important for us to know all the options as he is confident this is minor. And to be honest - he "coined" Chuck while in the appointment so he immediately won Chuck's approval. (It's a fighter pilot thing...)

Here is the low down on the appointment...

My fluid levels are really good - proving that Mr. Man is peeing. Also meaning that we didn't have to force a baby to come at 27 weeks. (If at anytime my fluid levels get low, they will take the baby - which is one of my biggest concerns.) All of his other organs look good - which during the ultrasound Chuck and I were worried as the tech spent a lot of time around his heart. (Luckily turned out we were worried for nothing.) The left kidney has stayed the same size, 14 mm, however the right one has grown to 13 mm. Dr. Thorpe believes that rather than the tubes from the kidneys the bladder being too narrow, the actual problem is that the valves leading in and out of these tubes have "malfunctioned" and are not working properly.

Some of the best news from today is that Dr. Thorpe believes that a transplant is almost certainly is out of the question. Our last doctor didn't think he would need a transplant either, but was not as adamant about it as Dr. Thorpe was. We were also told today that the baby will almost definitely need to have some sort of procedure after he is born BUT this procedure will be minimally invasive and can be done laproscopically. (not sure how to spell that and spell check didn't bring it up - sorry!) And the baby will more than likely not have to be in the hospital for weeks like we were previously told. Dr. Thorpe is also confident this is a "one and done" kind of thing. Meaning once the procedure is done, baby boy will be good to go.

His weight today is about 2 pounds, 12 ounces. Also very good news. Because now - if he is forced to come early - we will be able to have him here in Panama City rather than Pensacola. Panama City's hospitals are not equipped to handle premature babies under 2 pounds and we would be forced to go to Pensacola if he is under 2 pounds.

Over the next couple of months we will be doing some research on our possible options for neo-natal urologists. We have heard there is a good one in Pensacola, but that there is also one in Panama City. However, we have also heard the one in Panama City is NOT board certified. UM, NO THANKS! We have to work with our insurance company to make sure that our little man can have his procedure in Pensacola if the information about the Panama City doctor happens to be true. The thought of dealing with the insurance company on this is a little overwhelming as they tend to be, like most insurance companies, hard to deal with.

Also, baby boy is currently breech. Not something I am going to worry about too much at this point. Addison sat transverse until nearly the end and ended up turning herself. Hope this little one does the same. Luckily there is plenty of time for him to correct himself. But this would explain why every night it feels like he is using my bladder as a stage for his disco - because he literally is "dancing" on my bladder.

So overall, I think we are both feeling much better after today's appointment. Is the issue still there? Yes, but it isn't the dire situation we were led to believe that it was going to turn out to be. Again, we just have to wait it out and see what happens. And I feel very strongly that he will be just fine once he gets here. If he has to have surgery - we will deal. Right now, it is just important for me to stay healthy and rested. (Proving so hard to do with a very active 3 year old.)

Next regular appointment is July 12th. Next appointment with specialist is July 27th.

PS - How can tomorrow all ready be July 1st???????????

Happy 3rd Birthday, Addison Roo!

Addison's birthday fell the Tuesday after Memorial Day this year and her daddy and I had to go to Destin on her actual birthday to meet with the specialist for her baby brother. Instead of having a big party for her this year, we had a quiet evening at home with her and the Huet's - our very good friends - on the night before her birthday. We figured this was a good celebration since we spend so much of our time with Samantha and Cameron.

First Day of "School"

It is hard for me to believe that I am actually putting this into words, but today was Addison's first day of "school."

I guess I should clarify the word "school." It is an organized summer program for kids at a local church - the same church where she will be attending pre-school in the fall. While it isn't as structured as the pre-school program in the fall, the kids still go three days a week for four hours a day.

We have been talking to her about going to school for months and I don't think she really understood it until this morning when she saw her lunch packed and her back pack sitting by the door. Yesterday all she could talk about was riding the bus to school so I was worried that this morning there would be a major meltdown about not getting to take a school bus ride. However, she climbed up in her seat and could talk about nothing other than eating her lunch with her friends. She kept telling me to drive faster too so I know she understood where we were going. We were the first ones there so she had plenty of time to scout out her classroom and the teacher's aid seemed to all ready be taken with her by the time I left. And I should mention that when I told her I was leaving, she didn't seem to upset about it and hardly could take the time to come give me a hug. Broke my heart just a little.

I will fully admit that I have been looking forward to this day for a very long time. Having four hours to myself? How could I not look forward to that? But as I drove away from the school, I couldn't stop the tears from falling down my face. How could she be old enough for a school program? It seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home fromt the hospital. Needless to say, the morning has been bittersweet for me. It was hard not to be excited for her because I could see how excited she was about going to school, but at the same time, it was sad for me to admit that she is growing up - and I will admit she is doing that growing up WAY tooooooo fast.

I started my free time by walking at the park that is between our house and the school. After my walk, I went to Panera to get an iced mocha and croissant. I thought I was doing fine. Than I came home. This house is so quiet when she isn't here, and to top it off the dogs are looking at me like "where is our little buddy?" I guess it is a good thing that my house is a mess today. I plan to turn up my tunes and get cleaning. I know that will take my mind off of her not being here and make the time go fast. And I know in a few days, I will be used to it and will be able to spend my free time doing things that are more fun than cleaning - but I have to get used to my little side-kick being gone for most of the day first!

Recent Squadron Party

The 43rd Fighter Squadron had a party recently to say goodbye to some of our - personal - good friends, The Arkema family. It was held at one of the Lt's house out on Deer Point Lake. And his house is literally RIGHT on the lake.

This squadron event was kid-friendly so we packed up Addison and took her with us. She had a BLAST! And most of her friends were there too, which made the night that much better for her.

The LT - Zap - brought in a bouncy house for the kids and she spent a lot of time jumping in it. I didn't think she would since we have one and she uses ours a lot - I thought she would have very little interest in it. It probably helped that all the other kids were in it too.

And like at any other squadron event, our Commander, Tonto Bird, brought his guitar. Early in the evening, he had quite a little squad of groupies - the kids! The kids loved sitting and watching him play his guitar and sing - and Addison was no exception. She sat for a very long time and seemed almost in awe of him. There are some great pics of him seranding her!

Addison also got to take her first boat ride. We took it at sunset and were hoping to see some alligators in the lake - at feeding time - like we had the night before. However, no such luck. But I am pretty sure Addison didn't care. She was loving just being out on the boat and kept asking Charlie "daddy, we go faster?" I swear this kis is an adrenaline junkie like her dad - FABULOUS!

We capped the evening off with a bonfire and s'mores - chocolate? You better believe Addison LOVED that. And like all other kid-friendly squadron parties, Addison was the last kid to leave. She loves these events and it is hard to drag her out of them because she has so much fun!

It was a great night - the only bad part was, of course, saying goodbye to our dear friends the Arkema's. Luckily, the Air Force is a small branch of the military. And Chuck's career field is an even smaller group. I know we will see them again and be stationed with them again someday. Until than though, we will miss them a lot!

My 33rd birthday

Yes, I realize my birthday was well over a month ago, but if you are a "follower" of my blog, you know that I am not very religious about updating it!

This year my birthday fell on a Wednesday - and truth be told, I kept forgetting about it! How come birthdays just aren't as exciting when you are an adult? Is it because we realize birthdays mean you are a year older? I guess...

Chuck decided to take the day off this year on my birthday. Very nice gesture and something he has never done in the 10 plus years we have been together. We wanted to do something that would be fun for all three of us, but as we have found out, there isn't much fun activity here in Panama City - other than the beach.

After a very yummy - and healthy, hahaha - breakfast at Dunkin Donuts, eventually we decided to take Addison to Zoo World over on Panama City Beach. Hohum! Zoo World is a "zoo." And to be honest, it isn't much of one. It is small (and dirty) and not a wide variety of animals. There is a pretty decent petting zoo, but the petting zoo is about the only good part about it - oh and the playground area. Addie also got to feed the animals in the petting zoo - which she loved. But Zoo World is definently not worth the price they charge for admission. However, in all honesty, I didn't mind. I was happy to have my two favorite people with me and Addie didn't mind that it was small or that it was dirty! She was having fun and was happy - which made me happy too!

We went to lunch at Red Robin - one of my FAVS - out at Pier Park and Addison asked to ride the caraoseul. A perfect day for her. In fact, I think I may have even asked Chuck whose birthday it really was - hers or mine? (Since the day was centered around things she would love.) But again, half of my joy from the day was seeing how much fun she was having and how happy she was just to have a day doing fun stuff with mom and dad. The other half was just being with my two favorite people!

After our lunch, we headed home. I took a great nap and woke up to carrot cake and kisses from my girl. A great way to wake up is you ask me!

Overall, it was a great day! However, it really was just another day...

Week 23 Doc Appt.

Saw the midwife again today - or normal appointment for the month. We didn't really learn anything new however since our appointment on Tuesday at the specialist, we had a few more questions we were hoping she would be able to answer. Which she was able to.

Some of the questions we had...

Does this classify my pregnancy as "high risk?" Yes! I assumed that this was the answer but I wanted to hear it from a professional.

At what point is the pregnancy considered viable? 24 weeks - which we hit on Sunday. Granted, we want to keep him in as long as possible, but if something comes up, I am relieved to know that we won't necessarily loose him because he is born to early.

If my fluid levels drop and we have to have him early, will we have to have him by c-section? Not necessarily. Because I didn't have a c-section with Addison, chances are they would try a vaginal delivery first. I worry though that a vaginal delivery on a severally premature baby will be too stressful to him - I guess that is a question I should have but I didn't think about it until we were done with Tammi.

If my fluid level does drop and we have to have him early, will we be able to have him here in Panama City, or will we be forced to go elsewhere? It depends on how small he is. If he is born less than 2 pounds, we will have to go to Pensacola because Panama City does not have a level 3 neo-natal ICU. Therefor none of the hospitals in our area would be able to care for such a tiny baby. If he weighs more than 2 pounds, we can have him here in town at the hospital we would have had him at anyway.

Because we will see the specialist once a month, should we stagger our appointments with her so we are seeing someone every two weeks? YES! So we will start seeing someone every two weeks starting at the end of June. This makes me feel so much better because now I won't have to wait for a month between appointments.

If, on the off chance he has to have a kidney transplant, how soon after he is born would we do that? Again, it would depend. If he needed both kidneys, we would have to find a doner and do it as soon as we could. If he only needed one transplant, we could probably wait since he can go without one kidney.

And again, thank heavens my husband was with me - she didn't have any of the test results back from the specialists office and wanted to know how that appointment had gone. She began to ask me and I was like a deer in headlights! For whatever reason, I just couldn't open my mouth and speak. Luckily, Chuck jumped right in and was able to take over for me. He is really the one that was able to soak in all the information on Tuesday anyway, so it was probably best that he did do the talking. I told Tammi - our midwife - that if it weren't for him, I would not have had any answers for her and that I was in complete lala land at the appointment on Tuesday. What I like about Tammi is that she totally gets it - she understood why I was in a haze and didn't expect me to answer her. Such a relief!

We are in a much better place than we were on Tuesday since we have had time to process all the information. We understand that this could be so much worse - like life threatening - and we are incredibly grateful it isn't anything that can't be fixed with a surgery. Even though the surgery on a newborn makes me sooooo apprehensive, I know we will do what we have to and we will get through it. And I am hearing from many friends who have had boys who have had very similar issues with them and so I am trying to talk to them, which seems to be making me feel better. Who knew this was such a common issue in boys?

Next specialist appointment has been changed to June 30th. Next regular appointment is July 12th.