33 weeks pregnant and feeling huge! I believe that my ankles were swelling significantly by this point.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Saturday, August 6, 2005
Reunited...
Picking up David from the airport (8-6-05)…
David asked if I would be willing to pick him and some of the other teammates up at the airport. I was happy to pick him up because I was ready to see him. It felt kind of like when we were dating…the thrill of getting to see him after being apart for several days. David arrived at the baggage claim about 15 minutes after I got there. He had the hugest smile on his face, one that definitely said that he was glad to see me. We hugged for a long time. He felt warm and comfortable and safe. He was so sweet telling me how wonderful it was to see me, how much he missed me, and how he realized just how wonderful of a wife I am. We couldn’t be mushy for long because he needed to get his luggage and say goodbye to his team. Besides, we didn’t want to make anyone too uncomfortable.
It was nice knowing that when we arrived home, we would be arriving to an empty house where we could have complete peace and privacy. Danny, Nichole, and the kids left last night with Nichole’s family for a week of vacation. In actuality, they will only be back at our house for about 2 days before they permanently move out and head to seminary in Kentucky. It has been wonderful having all of them at our house, but the privacy and time to adjust before Zoe is born will be good for us.
David asked if I would be willing to pick him and some of the other teammates up at the airport. I was happy to pick him up because I was ready to see him. It felt kind of like when we were dating…the thrill of getting to see him after being apart for several days. David arrived at the baggage claim about 15 minutes after I got there. He had the hugest smile on his face, one that definitely said that he was glad to see me. We hugged for a long time. He felt warm and comfortable and safe. He was so sweet telling me how wonderful it was to see me, how much he missed me, and how he realized just how wonderful of a wife I am. We couldn’t be mushy for long because he needed to get his luggage and say goodbye to his team. Besides, we didn’t want to make anyone too uncomfortable.
It was nice knowing that when we arrived home, we would be arriving to an empty house where we could have complete peace and privacy. Danny, Nichole, and the kids left last night with Nichole’s family for a week of vacation. In actuality, they will only be back at our house for about 2 days before they permanently move out and head to seminary in Kentucky. It has been wonderful having all of them at our house, but the privacy and time to adjust before Zoe is born will be good for us.
Thursday, August 4, 2005
An Appointment and Update...
The Doctor’s appointment (8-4-05)…
Since David was away in Mexico building a house, I thought that I would ask a friend to go to today’s doctor appointment with me. I asked Jennifer Stanley, a friend from our small group, to go with me to be our “note taker”. She was excited about going to the appointment and ended up being a great recorder and support.
I knew that today’s appointment would be quick, but fortunately Dr. Landwehr performed the ultrasound, which made it not only quick but informative. It was an encouraging appointment. Her heartbeat was 143 bpm and we both thought that her heart actually looked a little better. The chamber that seemed collapsed before (the hypoplastic left) actually seemed more expanded which would tend to indicate that more blood is flowing through it. If this is the case, it is completely an answer to the specific prayers I have been asking for.
Before Martha left on Saturday, she asked if I thought that I would deliver before October 13th. I told her that I just couldn’t answer the question because I had no clue. She has a wedding in Arizona for her best friend from childhood on October 1st and she is trying to determine whether or not it is okay to go. So, at today’s appointment I was trying to get some sort of read from Dr. Landwehr as to whether or not he thought I would deliver early or if he would induce. Dr. Landwehr did not think that I would deliver prematurely because there are no indicators of that. However, he considers anything after 36 weeks to be full-term and would induce labor at 36 or 38 weeks if at that time Zoe is no longer growing. He indicated that if her growth tapers off, it would actually be hazardous to her to keep her inside the womb. Because Zoe’s growth was already starting to level off at the last appointment, I feel fairly confident that I will be induced at the 36 or 38 week mark.
I wish that David could have been at the appointment today, but it was a very encouraging appointment and that made it easier. He called me this morning to tell me that he wished that he was here and that he hoped the appointment went well.
The email (8-4-05)…
Hello Everyone-
Many of you may be aware that David has been out of the country since Sunday morning. For those of you who did not know this...David is in Mexico leading a group of young adults from our church for the purpose of building a home for a family. He will be returning on Saturday. When David left, we did not know how often we would have the opportunity to speak, which made me slightly nervous and a little sad. However, for those of you who prayed about this...thank you! I have actually heard from David everyday. Some days the conversations have been less than a minute and one day, I never actually could hear his voice, but it has been extremely nice to have some amount of connection. David's prayer was that Zoe and I would be doing well physically while he was gone so that he did not have to worry more about this. I have felt great and have avoided being in the heat and Zoe has been more active since David left than ever before. That has served as assurance that she is thriving at least to some extent. (By the way, the trip is going great and they even completed the house a day early!)
I had a brief doctor's appointment today. Dr. Landwehr did the ultrasound and was mainly checking for Zoe's heartrate. It was 143 which is still great. While I was sitting in the waiting room, I thought I felt Zoe kicking me in the ribs. When I asked Dr. Landwehr what position Zoe was in, he said that her head is down now (so she is no longer breech). Because I receive ultrasounds almost every week, I feel that I know where she is typically positioned in my body and I am almost certain that she just changed positions last night.
Dr. Landwehr is definitely more open to performing a C-section if Zoe is in any amount of distress. Before, it felt as if we would have to determine ourselves how much distress was too much distress for her before they would move to a C-section. That felt like too big of a decision and really created a lot of anxiety. Because Zoe seems to be doing so well, Dr. Landwehr feels very comfortable treating my delivery as a "normal delivery" meaning that we will monitor Zoe like they would with any other pregnancy and move to a C-section if she showed distress to the point that they would normally proceed to a C-section. This makes me feel much more comfortable with the birthing process. Dr. Landwehr also now feels that we would be doing a huge disservice to Zoe if we did not try to do everything possible to allow her to be born alive. Before, he just didn't see much of a chance of her surviving so the distress she was in during delivery was not really an issue. Just so you don't have a bad impression of our doctor, this opinion is the shared opinion of the medical profession in relation to Trisomy 13 babies. Dr. Landwehr sees that Zoe seems to be doing so well that he really thinks that she has a good chance of surviving for a while. A while is very vague, but to hear that is so nice compared to what we have heard in the past. Obviously, he can only give his opinion and cannot be certain of the outcome but again it is nice to hear that he thinks she is doing well.
Like I said, the ultrasound was very brief but Dr. Landwehr did take a very quick look at Zoe's heart. I thought that it looked a little different today and he said that he actually thought that it looked a little better and that possibly one of the valves is working better and allowing more blood to enter into the left side (which has been a concern). Please continue to pray for her heart. This does seem to be evidence that something is changing within it.
I feel somewhat confident that Zoe will not be delivered at 40 weeks (the October 13th due date). Dr. Landwehr said that if Zoe's growth levels off, he would likely induce at 36 or 38 weeks (which is still within the "full-term" range). Because Zoe's rate of growth was slowing a bit during our last ultrasound 2 weeks ago, I feel that she will likely end up being delivered at 36 or 38 weeks. To keep her in the womb without her growing could be hazardous to her. We may have a clearer picture of this at our next appointment (August 18) when they do more measurements to determine Zoe's size. They only do this once each month. At that time, I will be 32 weeks along.
So, all in all I felt very good about the appointment. I know that God is sustaining our little girl and I am so grateful for that. She is such a blessing to me. Thank you for caring so much for our family and for supporting us. You all are wonderful.
Much Love,
Christina
Since David was away in Mexico building a house, I thought that I would ask a friend to go to today’s doctor appointment with me. I asked Jennifer Stanley, a friend from our small group, to go with me to be our “note taker”. She was excited about going to the appointment and ended up being a great recorder and support.
I knew that today’s appointment would be quick, but fortunately Dr. Landwehr performed the ultrasound, which made it not only quick but informative. It was an encouraging appointment. Her heartbeat was 143 bpm and we both thought that her heart actually looked a little better. The chamber that seemed collapsed before (the hypoplastic left) actually seemed more expanded which would tend to indicate that more blood is flowing through it. If this is the case, it is completely an answer to the specific prayers I have been asking for.
Before Martha left on Saturday, she asked if I thought that I would deliver before October 13th. I told her that I just couldn’t answer the question because I had no clue. She has a wedding in Arizona for her best friend from childhood on October 1st and she is trying to determine whether or not it is okay to go. So, at today’s appointment I was trying to get some sort of read from Dr. Landwehr as to whether or not he thought I would deliver early or if he would induce. Dr. Landwehr did not think that I would deliver prematurely because there are no indicators of that. However, he considers anything after 36 weeks to be full-term and would induce labor at 36 or 38 weeks if at that time Zoe is no longer growing. He indicated that if her growth tapers off, it would actually be hazardous to her to keep her inside the womb. Because Zoe’s growth was already starting to level off at the last appointment, I feel fairly confident that I will be induced at the 36 or 38 week mark.
I wish that David could have been at the appointment today, but it was a very encouraging appointment and that made it easier. He called me this morning to tell me that he wished that he was here and that he hoped the appointment went well.
The email (8-4-05)…
Hello Everyone-
Many of you may be aware that David has been out of the country since Sunday morning. For those of you who did not know this...David is in Mexico leading a group of young adults from our church for the purpose of building a home for a family. He will be returning on Saturday. When David left, we did not know how often we would have the opportunity to speak, which made me slightly nervous and a little sad. However, for those of you who prayed about this...thank you! I have actually heard from David everyday. Some days the conversations have been less than a minute and one day, I never actually could hear his voice, but it has been extremely nice to have some amount of connection. David's prayer was that Zoe and I would be doing well physically while he was gone so that he did not have to worry more about this. I have felt great and have avoided being in the heat and Zoe has been more active since David left than ever before. That has served as assurance that she is thriving at least to some extent. (By the way, the trip is going great and they even completed the house a day early!)
I had a brief doctor's appointment today. Dr. Landwehr did the ultrasound and was mainly checking for Zoe's heartrate. It was 143 which is still great. While I was sitting in the waiting room, I thought I felt Zoe kicking me in the ribs. When I asked Dr. Landwehr what position Zoe was in, he said that her head is down now (so she is no longer breech). Because I receive ultrasounds almost every week, I feel that I know where she is typically positioned in my body and I am almost certain that she just changed positions last night.
Dr. Landwehr is definitely more open to performing a C-section if Zoe is in any amount of distress. Before, it felt as if we would have to determine ourselves how much distress was too much distress for her before they would move to a C-section. That felt like too big of a decision and really created a lot of anxiety. Because Zoe seems to be doing so well, Dr. Landwehr feels very comfortable treating my delivery as a "normal delivery" meaning that we will monitor Zoe like they would with any other pregnancy and move to a C-section if she showed distress to the point that they would normally proceed to a C-section. This makes me feel much more comfortable with the birthing process. Dr. Landwehr also now feels that we would be doing a huge disservice to Zoe if we did not try to do everything possible to allow her to be born alive. Before, he just didn't see much of a chance of her surviving so the distress she was in during delivery was not really an issue. Just so you don't have a bad impression of our doctor, this opinion is the shared opinion of the medical profession in relation to Trisomy 13 babies. Dr. Landwehr sees that Zoe seems to be doing so well that he really thinks that she has a good chance of surviving for a while. A while is very vague, but to hear that is so nice compared to what we have heard in the past. Obviously, he can only give his opinion and cannot be certain of the outcome but again it is nice to hear that he thinks she is doing well.
Like I said, the ultrasound was very brief but Dr. Landwehr did take a very quick look at Zoe's heart. I thought that it looked a little different today and he said that he actually thought that it looked a little better and that possibly one of the valves is working better and allowing more blood to enter into the left side (which has been a concern). Please continue to pray for her heart. This does seem to be evidence that something is changing within it.
I feel somewhat confident that Zoe will not be delivered at 40 weeks (the October 13th due date). Dr. Landwehr said that if Zoe's growth levels off, he would likely induce at 36 or 38 weeks (which is still within the "full-term" range). Because Zoe's rate of growth was slowing a bit during our last ultrasound 2 weeks ago, I feel that she will likely end up being delivered at 36 or 38 weeks. To keep her in the womb without her growing could be hazardous to her. We may have a clearer picture of this at our next appointment (August 18) when they do more measurements to determine Zoe's size. They only do this once each month. At that time, I will be 32 weeks along.
So, all in all I felt very good about the appointment. I know that God is sustaining our little girl and I am so grateful for that. She is such a blessing to me. Thank you for caring so much for our family and for supporting us. You all are wonderful.
Much Love,
Christina
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