MRI

Well, today I made it to OHSU hospital in Portland all by myself-it was my first time driving there alone. OHSU is Oregon Health and Sciences University. Anyways, I got there without any mistakes and all went fine. I had an MRI to see the baby's brain. I was worried she was going to make it take super long because she was being active in my tummy but I think she did okay. (It IS awful noisy in that big ole' machine, they gave me earphones to listen to music but but my poor little baby had to listen to all that noisy pounding for 45 minutes!) I got really hot in there and was pretty uncomfortable. I was able to put my legs up a little but not really enough, and laying down flattish is getting a little painful. They let me see the pictures afterwards but all they were really able to tell me so far is that the front of our baby's brain ventricles are not looking too big so that is good. I think we'll find out more in a day or two if they call us, otherwise probably not till our next appointment on the 12th.

I am trying to get to the gym to swim more often. On Monday I met a man in the pool who told me that according to numerology, my baby would be stubborn and independent. Not that I believe that silly stuff, but I thought some of the stuff he said would be really helpful for her if she IS that way, like the independent and determined qualities. :-)

Anniversary dinner and baby

I do intend to post some pictures but I have to wait for Wade to show me how, so it could be awhile. Last Friday, we went with the Mann family (Robin & Brent, and Marissa & Dade) to Wade's brother's opera, "Falstaff". He was in the chorus. I had slipped my shoes off during the show and afterwards I tried to slip them back on and they wouldn't fit! My feet were all swollen up! It happened again on Sunday too during Stake Conference.

On Saturday night Wade and I went out to dinner for our anniversary. I took some pictures of that night so I will try to post them later. Wade got me some lovely flowers with some of the same types from our wedding. As an anniversary gift, Wade's parents paid for us to go out to a Peruvian restaurant called Andina in downtown Portland. We loved it! The appetizer we first got turned out to be cold when we thought it was warm, and since it had chicken in it, Wade of course would not eat it cuz he doesn't do cold meat. So we asked the waiter if we could try something else and got the other thing we'd considered. It was a beef, raisin, and olive filling in a pastry crust and was absolutely delicious! For our entrees, Wade had the rack of lamb and I had mahi mahi. Mine came with a fried rice with quinoa which was quite tasty. Then we shared a creme brulee trio for dessert-there was blackberry, honey, and vanilla creme brulees, all delicious. So that was a very fun night.

The next day we had stake conference and I kept noticing all these cute little baby girls. I'd been feeling fine before church and all, but I don't know, it just kinda got to me and I started crying during the meeting. So Wade and I went outside for a bit. He is such a good husband and is always so comforting to me. I've been reading this book called "Children with Spina Bifida:A Parents Guide" and have just read about some sad situations and I guess got thinking about things our baby wont' be able to do and stuff. In one of them, there was this little girl at a family reunion, and she was racing toward all the other little kids and the playground in her wheelchair. The mom was watching and saw her little girl slow down as she got closer and then turn around and come back. "Mommy, that playground is not made for me," she said. Of course it just broke the mom's heart and I am sure I will have many of those situations. I know I should try to think of all the things she WILL be able to do, but nevertheless, it's just really hard sometimes dealing with this.

We had a ultrasound and appointment this week on Tuesday and there is not much new. On Wednesday we met with the neurosurgeon. It was not very lengthy. He or the other neurosurgeon at the office will be performing the closing of the spine surgery and putting in the shunt 24-72 hours after the birth. It was mostly just meeting him.

Well, that's all for now!

Easter

First of all, I have to make a corrrection-Kellie told me the shower was actually thrown by my sister-in-laws Jen and Connie as well. Maybe mom too? I'm not sure. Sorry, I just assumed Kellie and Jeni because those were the RSVP people.

Well today me and Wade taught our new Sunbeam class. We had 3 boys in sharing time, but the 3rd never made it to class because as he said, "I don't like them!" (meaning Wade and I). We had a good laugh about that. The other 2 were very cute and we had a good time trying to teach them, the key word being TRY. The one was very quiet and the other one very talkative. He went off on a lot of tangents. It was very cute.

Wade is dissing my Josh Groban music. I don't appreciate it. He is such a snob. Jeni will have to show him what's up. ;-) Hehehe

I am making some deviled eggs for Easter dinner which of course Wade won't eat because they have both mayonaise and pickles-2 of his arch enemies. Hopefully the rest of the Manns will like them. I missed coloring eggs and watching little ones look for them this year. :-( So sad.

Today is Wade and my anniversary. We will probably go out to eat next week to celebrate, but I did bring the top layer of our wedding cake back from Salt Lake.

Our baby is still being quite the little kicker. She just moves so much-especially during movies. We have another ultrasound next week and meeting with the neurosurgeon.

Later!

Baby shower

Well, I spent last week in Salt Lake with the family. It was a little exhausting, I must be getting used to the quiet of a house of 4 adults. Plus I grew a lot bigger in that one week I was gone. I guess my body was just exhausted from the growing. Wade was surprised when I got back and he saw how much bigger I was! I like it when he refers to me and the baby as his girls.

Jeni and Kellie threw me a shower. We had a really good turnout and got lots of good stuff! I thought it was really cute that my niece Sydney wanted to give something from just herself since my older nieces did, so she donated a book of her own to the baby. We played a couple games and Kellie made a lovely diaper cake. Jeni made a tablecloth out of a heart and crossbones print fabric, since my baby likes pirates. hehehe We had cake and chocolate strawberries. I wish I'd taken a few more pictures but hopefully with the ones Jen and Kellie took, they'll be enough.

My almost 4 yrs old niece, Elizabeth, enjoyed touching my tummy and saying she could feel the baby move. Usually it was not a time when she was moving, but that's okay, she liked thinking she could feel her. She also asked me if she could wash my baby, so I promised her that yes, she could wash my baby after she was born. I think she got this idea from when she had a bath with my 2 year old niece, Gabrie.

All in all, I had a good time with my fam but was glad to see my Wade again.

Update on baby

I had another ultrasound and appt. today. The placenta is still low but the baby is no longer in breach position currently. They said today that the level on the spine is looking like an L4. That is not an L5, but at least it's not an L3. I asked about the head measurements and strangely enough, the head is actually looking small right now. It's in the 5th percentile. The doc said it is common for the brain to slip back a little because there is more room with the gap in the spine (or something like that) but that with the hydrocephalus that usually evens out more but it's still looking small. Hmm, strange. Well, we shall see what comes of this. They had me take a test for gestational diabetes. I had to drink this orange drink, which really just tasted like overly sweet soda and then have my blood drawn an hour later. Well, that's about all that's new for today.

I'm been finding a lot of hymns, either on my Cd or just hearing them at church where I really appreciate the words. I never really thought of myself as the type to be doing this, but if it can give anyone else the strength and comfort it gives me sometimes, I would like to share it. So here are the words to my latest "favorite", 'How Firm a Foundation". (All the verses are good, I just put the ones I liked best.)

(3rd verse)
Fear not, I am with thee, oh be not dismayed
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by my righteous omnipotent hand

( 4th verse)
When through the deep waters I cause thee to go
The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o'erflow
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress

(5th verse)
When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply
The flame shall not hurt thee, I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine

(7th verse)
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake
I'll never, no never, no never forsake!

Our baby

Well for those of you who don't know, on February 24 I went in for my ultrasound. I prefer not to think about the details of that day so, long story short, we found out our baby has spina bifida. It was very devastating. We talked to the perinatologist who explained more about it to us. Many of you might know or know of someone with spina bifida but you really can't compare any two cases, they are never the same. Anyways, with spina bifida, there is a gap in the spine. Basically, it sounds like the higher the gap, the worse the disability. At the very bottom of the spine is the area that controls bowel and bladder control so I guess most people with spina bifida do have problems with that. The perinatologist told us it looked about like an L5, which meant she would likely be in a wheelchair, I guess kinda paralyzed or something from the waist down. He said hydrocephalus often goes along with spina bifida. The fluid leaks out through the hole in the spine and goes up into the brain. At our most recent appt. her head measurement was 12 when it should normally be 10 for a baby at this point in the pregnancy. We don't know how much bigger it will get. This could likely cause brain damage though, we just don't know to what extent and will just have to see how things go. A few days after the first appt. we saw a pediatric neurologist up at Doernbecher's Hospital in Portland who was more optimistic about the outlook, sounding like she may be able to use braces rather than a wheelchair. But then on the next appt. (with our new perinatologist up at the hospital) with a more recent ultrasound, they saw that the gap was actually looking a little higher, like maybe an L4 or L3, so who knows? It sounds now like she may be able to use braces as a child but more likely have to use a wheelchair as an adult. Again, that just sounds like the most likely scenario right now, it could be a little better or worse. I guess maybe I'm more worried about the extent of brain damage and her mental ability. There are also other possible syndromes that could go along with the spina bifida that we may have to deal with. I was looking at some pictures of babies with spina bifida the other night, I guess hoping for a little comfort that she could still look normal. I found that some did, and others did not, I am really worried about her having a big head. They will do some operations right after birth, one of them to put in a shunt ( a tube) that will drain the fluid from her brain to her abdomen. It will be under the skin so it won't be visible. It is also sounding likely that I will have to have a C-section. I guess the placenta or something is low right now. Well, that is how things are going right now. I will try to keep you all updated.

Valentine's Day

Well for most of Valentine's Day, I hung out with Jeni and Lizzie who were visiting for the day. Elizabeth enjoyed investigating Wade's parent's house where we are living-she was pleased to see they had many toys. Then we went to Joann Fabrics. Elizabeth was trying to convince Jeni to buy her a treat. Jeni said, "Are you gonna share it with me?" and Lizzie says, "No," and pointing to the word Reeses, says, "it says 'own'," indicating it was meant to be one's own, and not shared. She is so funny. Then she picked another treat and said that that one said "mom" on it while the other one said "kid". We drove buy a pretty Catholic school and she said, "It's the temple!-a house of God a place of love and beauty!" all in one breath. She is such a funny little cutie. We also went to Old Navy where I got a new maternity dress and sweater with some gift cards I had and then had lunch, well i guess it was dinner, at Olive Garden.

That evening, Wade and I went to the very lame stake dance where I did not win a prize. But at least I got to wear my new pretty dress. For Valentines, I got Wade some new pajama pants and a candle. He got me a candle holder and a 48 pack of Snickers! I am always craving them, so now I have a huge stash! Woo-hoo!

My back has been doing better, but now I think I have a bladder infection or something. Or maybe the baby is just pressing on it a lot. I dont' know. To think-I'm only half way there! ugh! 20 more weeks of this!