A date is scheduled! He's coming!

So, I am now 38 weeks and 3 days today. Really glad to have made it full term!
My twice a week NSTs have been good. Even though he's had to be woken up and 'buzzed' to move the last few times and it takes a lot of extra time. I never worry about it during the NST because he moves like crazy while I wait on the doctor. He just stops when I get hooked up the the NST. Little stinker lol. To buzz him they just vibrate a few places on my belly and boy does that make him go crazy!
But it seems this little stubborn stinker doesn't want to come out any time soon.
I have been checked for dilation every week since 35 weeks and have had no progression.

Thursday at my OB appointment, I saw Dr. Little. Checked my cervix, still closed. Coleman's head isn't even in my pelvis yet, or 'engaged'. So, Dr. Little started talking about delivery and how likely a C-section was. He said as of then it would be about 50/50 either way, but because of the situation and my blood pressure being borderline, they would like to take me at 39 weeks. He suggested if I wasn't dilated in a week, then they would schedule a C-section. He also had labs drawn because of my blood pressure. Came back normal.

I was emotional after I left that appointment. I'd never thought about having to have a C-section and it wasn't what I ever wanted. I always thought I would just go into labor and that's what I wanted. I called Matt and cried and he calmed me down. I talked to a couple of people that had C-sections and their experiences. I eventually became ok with the idea. I just needed to process the thought.

Monday at my OB appointment, I saw Dr. Lake. I like Dr. Lake because he's always very thorough. Checked my cervix, still closed. He talked about my blood pressure and it being borderline and wanted to check me again for preeclampsia. He said he wouldn't let me go to 40 weeks because my blood pressure being borderline and they want to find a happy medium to let baby cook longer. He started discussing induction. He said he would recommend starting Cervidil, a med that prepares your cervix for dilation, on Sunday night. And then induction would begin Monday. I asked how it would effect me or baby. I asked if the prostaglandin (Cervidil), would have an effect on the baby because that's what they will stabilize his heart with after delivery. He said no. So he said we could go ahead and schedule the induction, but could still decide to have a C-section if we wanted and would need to decide that by Wednesday at my next appointment. That's what we did.

I thought about it and talked it over a little with Matt. I wasn't comfortable with induction if I wasn't dilated at all. I feel like if I got induced, it would be long and drawn out and I would still end up getting a C-section in the end. And I didn't want to put any extra stress on Coleman or me. "Why not skip all that trouble?" I thought. So it was decided, C-section it is!

We did go eat at a restaurant last night called Scalini's. They are famous for their labor inducing 'Eggplant Parmigiana'. They have a few walls full of babies that have been born after eating the eggplant. We thought, "worth a try!". If I could go into labor naturally, I'm all for it! I was scared to it eat though lol. But it was very delicious! They said if it worked it could take 48 hours, but I doubt it would work for me. Maybe for people very close to their due date! It was nice to have a yummy dinner and try something new though!

 

At my OB appointment today, I saw Dr. Ward. I told him I decided to go the C-section route, and after checking my cervix again and still no progression and his head not even being in position, he agreed. He said an induction would be against my favor the way things were going with me. He said it was very reasonable that I would want a C-section. So, I had my NST and waited extra long for Coleman to move AGAIN, and set everything up. The C-section is scheduled for Monday, April 22nd. This coming Monday. 5 days away! Eek! So Soon!

I've been telling Matt this past week, "We're about to have a baby!". We're still in disbelief. We're excited and nervous and scared and happy all at the same time. Our baby is coming MONDAY!

Please pray everything goes smoothly for us all, especially Coleman and myself. We've had such great support with everything going on with Coleman. Now it's here and it's real and it's starting Monday! We pray he's a strong baby boy (And he feels like he is!). And that my C-section goes great with no complications. And pray he does great during and after his surgery, especially recovering. We want him as healthy as possible and we want to keep him! We pray for the doctors that will be operating on him and taking care of him. We pray most of all that Coleman will get to live and grow up to be such a strong and kind man and know that he's one of God's miracles. We pray God lets us keep this baby. We already love him so much, so many people already do.

I know I've said it many times..We appreciate all the prayers and love and support that we get. It all means so much to us.
I will update as much as possible on everything coming up. Be sure to 'Like' my Prayers for Coleman Facebook page because there will probably be short more often updates there.

We are so excited to meet our baby boy!

Facts and what Coleman is going through now and when he gets here

I decided to make a post devoted to some facts about CHDs (Congenital Heart Defects), HLHS more specifically. And make a post to answer some questions people ask me. This will help people know more about what is going to happen with delivery and what Coleman will be going through.

Some facts:

• Congenital heart defects are problems with the heart's structure that are present at birth.
• About 1 in 100 children born in the United States each year has a CHD.
• CHDs are the #1 birth defect worldwide
• CHDs are the #1 cause of birth defect related deaths worldwide
• Nearly twice as many children die from CHD each year as from all forms of childhood cancer combined
• Of every dollar the government spends on medical funding, only a fraction of a penny goes toward CHDs.
• Only about 50% of CHDs are diagnosed in the womb.
• People with CHDs face a life-long risk of health problems such as issues with growth and eating, developmental delays, difficulty with exercise, heart rhythm problems, heart failure, sudden cardiac arrest or stroke.
• HLHS is found in about 1 in 4,300 babies born each year in the U.S and accounts for 1% of CHDs
• HLHS is fatal within the first few days of life without surgerical intervention
• Surgery is not a cure for HLHS, just makes it livable.
• There are 3 seperate stages of surgeries for HLHS. Norwood procedure - birth. Glenn procedure- around 6 months. Fontan procedure - 18 months-4 years.

I found a good article that explains what HLHS is in an understable way...

Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS)

A normal heart has 4 chambers; the upper two are called the right and left atrium and the bottom two are called the right and left ventricles.

There is a wall separating the atriums called the atrial septum and a wall separating the ventricles called ventricular septum.

Essentially, your right side of your heart pumps blood to your lungs and left side of your heart to your body; the blue signifies deoxygenated and the red oxygenated – blue for lungs, red for body.


Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) is one of 35 congenital heart defects and it is made up of a collection of problems that occur on the left side of the heart:

• The left ventricle is small and the Mitral and/or the Aortic valve may be narrow, blocked or have not formed at all.
• The Aorta is small and there is usually a hole in the atrial septum (known as atrial septum defect).

HLHS has many variants and a HLHS child may not present with all of the heart abnormalities

What this would mean in a baby born with HLHS is that the lungs are flooded with blood as the correct ‘path’ is not there and it follows the path the red blood takes after mixing in the Atriums. A sign in an undiagnosed baby is that they have trouble breathing as their respiratory rate increases and there is a blue tinge to their nail beds and lips.



All newborn babies are born with a duct that is open called the Ductus Arteriosus. It enables the blood to flow correctly around the body and it is only when this duct begins to close that the baby will become sicker. It is at this point that a heart problem is usually picked up but sadly for some, it is not.

There are 3 paths available to newly diagnosed parents of babies with HLHS. The first being to offer comfort care or to terminate a pregnancy, surgery or heart transplantation; comfort care is where the child is allowed to pass away peacefully without an medical intervention to sustain their life. This can happen at home or in the hospital. Heart transplantation is an option but is rarely offered as whilst it is very high risk and does not provide a cure, the availability of small, baby-sized hearts is very rare. Surgery can be performed to give a better quality of life and a more prolonged life. The surgical route is often a 3 stage procedure and each stage can be modified to the individual heart complexities. Whilst it is often a 3 stage procedure, it does not mean to say that there would be no further operations.

Stage one of surgery is called the Norwood procedure, stage two is called the Glenn procedure and stage three – the Fontan Procedure. Norwood is usually done in the first few days of life, the Glenn at approx. 3-6 months old and the Fontan at about 18 months to 4 years.

This is from http://www.charliejonesfoundation.org.uk/Hypoplastic_Left_Heart_Syndrome_HLHS



Some questions people ask me and some tid bits about what will happen:
Main question I get is if I have to have a c-section or schedule anything.
 - No, I hopefully will not have to have a c-section. They're treating this as a normal labor and delivery so that Coleman can grow as long as he needs to. I don't think they will let me go past my due date though.
Where will I deliver at?
- I will deliver at the hospital near us and Coleman will be transported to Egleston within a couple of days.
After birth, they will put lines in Coleman to start him on medicine to stabilize the heart until surgery, med called prostaglandin. So, he will be ok until surgery.
Hopefully I will not have to have a c-section to prolong my stay in the hospital so that I might be able to leave when he leaves.
They will do another echo on Coleman's heart before surgery to see exactly what they're dealing with.
Surgery will be about 6 hours long. He will then be in the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU). He will be sedated for the first few days so he won't be aggitated. His chest will be left open for the first few days also and baby needs to stay still to let that heal. The chest is left open to let swelling go down and let a couple of things heal quicker before they close it.
He will be in the CICU for the majority of the time at Egleston, constantly monitored.
The average stay for the surgery is 20 days.
He will be on a feeding tube and be sent home on a feeding tube.
HLHS babies get tired when eating because sucking makes them tired  (anything that works their heart extra makes them tired) and they don't eat enough, so that explains a little why about the feeding tube.
I will be able to pump and include that in his feeding tube food.
Feeding tube causes extra reflux.
Coleman will have a lower immune system than most babies and will need to stay healthy for his next surgery. We may limit going out much or a lot of people coming to visit for his health and safety.

I'm trying to think of anything else because I know there's more, but nothing is coming to mind right now. If anyone has any questions about anything at all, I'm at open book! I love talking about my baby and raising awareness for CHDs.
I hope everyone has enjoyed reading this :). I wanted people to have some understanding of what he has and what he will go through.

 

Maternity photos, Children's hospital tour, Getting Close!

It's been about a couple of weeks since my last blog entry. I haven't had much to update on is why. Which isn't a bad thing!
I've had my regular twice a week OB appointments with NST. Everything has been good and normal :). They did an ultrasound to check my fluids and I got a picture of Coleman's heart for the first time...

That's something I don't have after all these ultrasounds. I'm not sure what a normal heart looks like because I've only seen his so often, but the ultrasound tech said it's obvious he's missing a chamber. And I guess it really is!  Seeing it like this makes me see how messed up it really is and makes me sad. But doesn't change anything.

We had maternity pictures taken at 35 weeks. That was fun. They turned out great! Thanks Jennifer, Delicate Details Photography :). Here are a few of them

Yesterday was a full long day for me. I had a doctor appointment in the morning and we toured the children's hospital and met the surgeon in the afternoon.
My appointment went good. They did an ultrasound instead of a NST. Coleman's estimated weight is 7lbs! Big boy! This is great for him of course because of surgery, but also because another thing wrong is the umbilical cord is missing an artery (normally there are 2 arteries and 1 vein), and this can make the baby not grow at the right rate. This isn't related to his heart though. But they said this baby is growing great! He's in a high percentile for weight :)

Our appointment to tour Children's Hospital of Atlanta (CHOA)/or Egleston, was at 3. We picked up our moms at lunch time to come with us and we headed on. The hospital is just over an hour from where we live, plus traffic. We stopped and ate,got there at 3, and waited to meet the surgeon. We met with Dr. Kogon. He was very nice and soft spoken. He explained the first surgery to us in some detail to help us understand. He explained the some basics of the other 2 surgeries, but focused on the first surgery. He gave us the run down on a few things, even some of the sad things. but he was very kind about it all. He said the average hospital stay for this is 20 days. I was kind of surprised it's so short, but good to hear. He said Coleman will go home on a feeding tube, which we already knew. He asked if we had any questions. I asked what their survival rate is there. He said it's about 88%, which is good because I had read less in other places. And he also said it's higher than the national average by just a few numbers. I asked if he would be the one doing the surgery or if it would be a whoever is on call thing. He said since he's the one we've met with he would be the one doing the surgery and most everything will be through him. It's nice to know we've met with the person who's going to have our son's life in his hands. Dr. Kogon was really nice and seems excited about what he does. That was assuring.
We then toured the cardiac unit with a nurse practitioner. We saw the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU). This is where Coleman will be as soon as he gets there. They will watch him and make sure they have him and everything ready for surgery. They do the surgery on the floor above where the operating rooms are. He will be back in the CICU after surgery to be monitored at all times. They allow 2 visitors back with him, so me and Matt will be able to sit with him almost whenever we want. We got to see a baby that was hooked up to everything that he will be. It was sad, but good to be prepared. The nurses are one on one with those babies and it was nice to know they are well taken care of and watched.
We then saw the Step Down Unit. This is like a normal, private hospital room. They will put Coleman there when he is almost ready to go home. We will be able to stay the whole time and overnight with Coleman there. This is more of a place to stay so that the parents can learn what they're going to have to do at home to take care of everything baby will need. It prepares the parents to go home with baby. The nurse helps teach you what to do and the doctor still comes by to check on baby.
Everyone and everything seemed really nice there. I feel comfortable going there for this huge soon upcoming event :)

Another thing I'm excited about is getting to participate in some HLHS research that is hopefully happening soon! This is a HUGE thing! Congenital heart defects barely get any funding as it is. So I'm very excited about it. But I'll post more about that later when I get some things put through with it. Here's an article on the research
http://mayoresearch.mayo.edu/mayo/research/hypoplastic-left-heart-syndrome/regenerative-strategies.cfm



Coleman will be here SOON! I'm ready to meet this little wiggler that's in my belly and really see what he looks like! And can't wait to give him so much love :)
Thank you for everyone's continuous support and prayers!