June 28th - 6 months, 3 days Update

Hello All,

After a lot of thought and discussion (and brooding and worrying and praying), we decided it was best for me to leave my job and stay at home to attend to health issues. It was a very hard decision to make and I'm still trying to resolve all of the resulting emotions. On one hand, I know that this is the right decision for us with all of the health concerns that have popped up and the stress that accompanies all of that...it was just becoming too much to manage. On the other hand, I can't help but feeling that I'm letting everyone down - my boss, my awesome coworkers, my little clients and their parents whom I'm going to miss so much; also my husband and family. I know that I can contribute in other ways and my #1 job is to make sure I'm doing all in my power to grow a healthy baby - that is definitely our top priority. I just don't want it to cause more stress for Sterling. Of course, he laughs when I tell him this and tells me he is relieved I'm at home now...that it will simplify everything and he doesn't have to worry about me driving and/or getting in an accident (which could easily cause the hematomas to grow larger and become more of an issue). Sterling is just such a blessing, he's definitely my rock through all of this - pregnancy has been a lot harder and a lot more to think about and plan for than what I had ever imagined. Overall, staying at home right now was the right decision for us to make, but definitely not an easy one. My boss was really understanding and supporting of our decision and told me that I was welcome to come back after the birth of our little girl if I wanted to, so that brought me a lot of peace of mind. We'll just have to see what God has planned.

In the mean time, I've been entertaining myself with anything that I can...computer, tv, cuddling with my dogs in the bed or sometimes on the couch to switch up my scenery....yeah, that's basically been it. Oh! And calling our health insurance company and haggling with them on a daily basis...and then calling my family and pestering them to come and visit us (since I can't go anywhere and spending 630 am-730 pm by myself has been pretty lonely!). I'm hoping that our next ultrasound goes well and that I'll be able to exercise and get out more and do things. I'm thinking about trying to find a pregnancy and/or first time moms group/class to join so that I can find some people who are going through similar life changes...hopefully I can do that sometime before October! Other than that, Sterling and I have signed up for an online childbirth class with our hospital, so they are sending us our workbook and access code in the mail and then we will go through the course and videos online through our hospital's website :)

My little couch snoozing companions

These pictures are from last week before my confinement

23 weeks, 2 days. 150 lbs (+16 from pre-pregnancy weight)

Anyways, that's the latest. Thanks for all of your support and prayers.

Jenn

Sterling's first Father's Day and Our 1 year Wedding Anniversary

Hey everyone,

With all that has been going on with the latest ultrasound results, we failed to mention that we celebrated Sterling's first Father's Day as well as our 1 year Wedding Anniversary the weekend before on June 20th :) We watched our wedding dvd and read over our pastor's message and our vows and looked through some of our wedding pictures. Sterling had a beautiful flower arrangement and crystal vase delivered to the house for me, and I got him a home brewing beer kit and a custom #1 dad coffee mug :) Later that night, we went to Mark's American Cuisine on Westheimer and had a nice dinner out together :) Here are some pictures:

Making the "Wort"

Watching the yeast pop back up to the surface before sealing it to ferment :)

Year Old Wedding Cake

My beautiful flowers and vase :)

Sterling with his "Father's Day Beers"

Dessert at Mark's - Blueberry Cream Tart - Very good!

Marriage has been such a fun journey and a blessing. What a great year it has been!

June 24, 2010

Hello all,

Update: Because I was involved in a small car accident a little while ago (a truck hit my car from behind, almost no damage at all but a small jolt by the seat belt on my abdomen), the doctor decided to move my follow up ultrasound to this past Monday, June 21st -- just to be on the safe side and check on the status of the hematomas in my placenta. The two medium sized hematomas have remained the same size (about 3.5 cm), and the larger one located where the umbilical cord inserts has grown a little bit (from 5.5 cm to 6.8 cm). So that was the bad news...a little disappointing and concerning...and definitely gives us some more things to think about and consider.

However, the good and encouraging news that came from all of this is that the baby is "plugged in" pretty good - she has great blood, oxygen, and nutrient supply through the umbilical cord and she is still growing like a little weed. By ultrasound estimates, she weighs 1 pound and 7 ounces right now :) So she's gained 8 ounces in the past 20 days! All of her organs are perfectly formed and functioning, her heart rate is great - all signs point to a healthy little baby. Now we just have to try and do what we can to minimize growth of the hematomas and keep an eye on them, make sure they don't start to negatively effect the baby. We have another ultrasound scheduled in 4 weeks. In the mean time, she'll stay in there and grow and continue to be her active little self and I will be spending a lot of time in bed and resting.

My mom might be coming down to visit us pretty soon - it will be good to see family again. I really miss my family, I feel like it's been forever since I've seen them. Mom got news yesterday that she will have to get her knee totally replaced again. After 3 unsuccessful knee surgeries with her surgeon in Knoxville, she might end up getting it done in Houston and staying with us for a while. Since all of her babies have left the nest and Dad will have to work to maintain their practice while she is out recovering after surgery, it might make the most sense for her to come stay with me so that someone can make sure she is being taken care of and all.

Thanks in advance for all of your prayers. Here are a few of the pictures from the ultrasound :)

little face, 3D sonogram

long legs!

feet and part of legs

side profile :)

-Jenn & Sterling

June 12, 2010

Not much has really happened lately but I figured I would take a few minutes this morning to write a post since Sterling has to do some work and I, being the early morning riser that I am, cannot go back to sleep :)

Like Sterling wrote in the last post - they found 3 hematomas in my placenta during our 20 week ultrasound. It definitely was a shock to both of us and we both initially left the appointment feeling very overwhelmed, kind of scared. I cried for a while on the way home, wondering if I had done something that caused this to happen, if we were going to lose our baby, if I was going to have to quit my job and be on bed rest, if I was going to have to deliver our baby really early, if it would still be healthy if I had to....about a million different new worries popped into my head. We had both gone into the appointment so incredibly excited about finding out what we were having and telling our parents and family and it had never even crossed our minds that something could be wrong. And no one ever envisions themselves having a "complicated" pregnancy - I especially didn't think it would happen to me because I'm young, in good shape/not overweight, I exercise and eat well, all of my blood and lab work has come back normal, etc. Anyways, it was a big shock and the maternal & fetal specialist with whom we discussed our results with didn't give us a lot of details at first - just very vague information and discussed what would happen in the worst case scenario - higher chance of miscarriage and placental abruption (where the placenta detaches from the uterine wall - life threatening to mom due to bleeding out and also to the baby because of lack of oxygen). He couldn't really give us a lot of details until he looked over everything more closely and put out his final report.

I had envisioned that after our appointment we would be so happy and could finally register for all of our baby stuff, start putting together a nursery and doing more planning (I know, I'm so Type A, it's ridiculous :) I had imagined that we would call both our parents at the same time and tell them "It's A _____!!!!!!!" But it didn't really happen that way. We waited a little bit before we called and when we finally did, I called mom and told her "It's a girl" and then broke down into tears and asked her a million medical questions about how likely it was that we would lose the baby. Then I called dad and asked him since he's a radiologist. (We also listed him as the consulting radiologist for our ultrasound so the report and film would be sent to him to read as well). Unfortunately, because the specialist didn't tell us the sizes, locations or blood supplies to the hematomas, my parents couldn't really give me concrete information about chances of losing our little girl. They basically just told me that until the report comes out in a day or two and I talk with my OB doctor to spend most of my time sitting or laying down, no lifting or exercising etc. It made me feel a little better to be able to discuss more of the specifics with them and to know that a lot of hematomas can get resorbed and go away if you don't do anything to aggravate them. After that, we were able to relax a little bit and we called Tammy and John while on our way home and were able to share our news in a little more exciting/traditional way :) And then we also called/texted our brothers and sisters and grandparents and then later our friends and coworkers.

The next morning, we called the maternal/fetal center and had them send the report to my dad and to my doctor. We finally heard back from my doctor and she basically just told me that we would have to keep a close watch on things. Basically - subchorionic hematomas occur in 1-3% of all pregnancies - no known or suspected cause behind them, "they just happen sometimes" is what she told me. Of those pregnancies, 8-10% end in miscarriage but the vast majority end up being nothing - they get resorbed or stay the same but don't interfere with anything. The hematomas that I have are located on either side and one in the middle near where the umbilical cord attaches to the placenta. Two do not have active blood vessels going into them (good!) but one does (not as good but can't definitively say that it's bad...will just have to be watched). I'll have to have more frequent appointments (my next one is on this Monday the 15th) and more ultrasounds through the end of my pregnancy (for right now, about one every 4 weeks but that could be changed dependent on what they see each time). No physical activity other than slow, short (time & distance) walks...no lifting anything and to call immediately if I have any kind of cramps or pain. If the hematomas resorb completely, I will eventually be released to continue life as normal (well, pregnancy normal) so I can workout again. If they continue to grow, I will likely be placed on partial or full bed rest...which hopefully won't happen - most importantly for the baby's and my health...but also for my job and our finances. I hate to feel like I'm letting anyone down and I don't want to have to stop work suddenly and let my clients down or leave my boss and coworkers in a lurch to provide hours to all of the clients. And while I don't make much money, it does allow us to be putting more back in preparation for the baby and other things so I don't want to let our little family down either :( But, it's all in God's hands so we'll just have to see what the big man has planned!

Pregnancy Update - 20 weeks, 6 days

IT'S A GIRL!!!

We had our second trimester ultrasound yesterday afternoon and found out that we will be having a baby girl. She weighs about 15 ounces; normal for 20 weeks is around 10-11 ounces so we have a little pork chop growing in there! Her stomach circumference is in the 84th percentile, and her arms and legs are in the 95th percentile for length - not surprising since we were both pretty gangly kids growing up :) That should make her good at playing basketball / swimming. Jenn and the baby have been growing a lot in the past few weeks, and she is a cute pregnant lady as you can tell by the pictures below :) We are both very excited to be having a girl and have started shopping for lots of pink stuff!

When we were getting our ultrasound, the doctor found that Jenn had some subchorionic hematomas. These are basically places of blood clots/pooling or bleeding in the placenta. She had one on either side of the placenta and one where the umbilical cord inserts into the placenta. Our doctor told us that the risks associated with this condition were slightly increased risk for miscarriage and preterm labor but most of the time these things resolve themselves on their own with no effect on the pregnancy. We will just have to keep a closer eye on things. We will be returning in a few weeks for a follow up ultrasound to see if the condition is improving and Jenn will have to visit the doctor more frequently - once every two weeks or so. In the meantime, the doc has told us that Jenn will have more physical restrictions and will have to take it easier at work and at home, but chances are good that she and our baby will be fine :)

Jenn is 5'9'' and now 145 lbs (+11 from her pre-pregnancy weight).

Still just as beautiful and radiant as always :D

That's all for now. -Sterling (and Jenn)