We are feeling pretty good! We can feel all the prayers and positive vibes. Our Choices West appointment went well today. Good sonogram results, although we were told that Gumdrop's head is larger than normal! Still within a good range though. Estimated weight is over 7 lbs now, but mom has lost another three pounds. We were able to do our first non-stress test. That was actually pretty fun, getting Gumdrop all riled up just to monitor the heart rate to ensure that he/she is strong enough for the labor journey. Other than that just the basics on getting ready for whenever Gumdrop decides that it time to meet us face to face. We can't wait.
Other news includes a study that we taking part in. We have decided to take part in a Harvard University / Boston Children's Hospital research program on CDH babies. We stumbled upon it though another CDH blog and after looking into it, we agreed that we wanted to help. The research is looking into genetic markers that might help identify CDH. The way we understand, is that if they can determine what genes hold the instructions for forming the diaphragm and better lung development, they may be able to develop drugs or treatments to fill in the missing instructions in CDH babies. Although the results will not be ready before February 4th, maybe future parents will be saved some stress if a treatment is developed.
That's about it for now. We are taking the next couple of weeks pretty slow. Just taking in the last of our peaceful time and trying to prepare mentally as much as possible. Thank you all for your supportive comments, prayers, and just for thinking of us. You had much to do we are sure, but you decided to read this blog and we appreciate your support.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
the belly
I wanted to send out a picture of the belly to all who have not seen it in awhile. It seems to keep getting bigger! We are getting close now though. Friday is my last day of work and our due date is just over two weeks away! I would not describe my feelings as excited quite yet... hopefully that feeling will come! Overall, I am feeling pretty well. I get tired easily, but I am not overly uncomfortable. I guess I am lucky when it comes to that! We will keep you updated as things come along!
Friday, January 16, 2009
false alarm!
I wanted to take a minute to share a funny story. Wednesday night SU played Georgetown. This was a "big game" and Vince was hyped up for it. When game time arrived at 7:30 Vince sent out a text to a few people stating "Here we go!" He immediately received a response from Jon asking if he was referring to SU or labor. Vince laughed it off and clarified the message for Jon and went on with listening to SU lose miserably.
At about 10pm our cell phones both rang simultaneously. Our friend Monica was calling my phone demanding to know what was going on and if I was okay. Bridget was calling Vince's phone because Monica had already made multiple calls to other people trying to decipher the text message she received. Vince had assumed Monica would have been home watching the game with her husband, but this was obviously not the case and the message sent her into a tailspin. After calming everyone's nerves and promising that the actual announcement of labor starting would be much clearer, I had a good laugh over it!
It is good to know that our friends are ready to spring into action when the time comes! We are holding out for at least a couple more weeks though! :-)
At about 10pm our cell phones both rang simultaneously. Our friend Monica was calling my phone demanding to know what was going on and if I was okay. Bridget was calling Vince's phone because Monica had already made multiple calls to other people trying to decipher the text message she received. Vince had assumed Monica would have been home watching the game with her husband, but this was obviously not the case and the message sent her into a tailspin. After calming everyone's nerves and promising that the actual announcement of labor starting would be much clearer, I had a good laugh over it!
It is good to know that our friends are ready to spring into action when the time comes! We are holding out for at least a couple more weeks though! :-)
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Our Big Day of Doctor Visits
So Wednesday we a full day spent downtown visiting various doctors and getting a tour of the NICU. First we met with one of the best pediatric surgeons in the area. He was very informative and gave us great confidence that Gumdrop is in good hands. It appeared that he thought that he had the easy job. He made it sound like the surgery itself was very straightforward. That it was the NICU that has the hard job.
So that was our second stop after a quick walk around the hospital to get our bearings and a bite to eat at the cafeteria. This was by far the toughest part of our day. We have been waiting a long time to meet with a neonatologist and she was able to answer many of the questions that we have had, even if they were not the answers that we wanted to hear. She explained all the different treatments they have available and all the possible scenarios for CDH babies. Some scenarios are worse than others as you can imagine. But the hardest news was that we are most likely not going to be able to have a moment to hold our child after birth. She wants to immediately take the baby, put it on a ventilator, and move the baby to the NICU which is on a different floor from the birthing floor. We had convinced ourselves that this was going to be possible. Who know, each baby is different and Gumdrop is a fighter…well at least a kicker!
The tour of the NICU made everything real. It is an amazing place, but one that I hope no one has to visit. They are amazing people and take the sickest and smallest babies and get them through their earliest days. I am sure we will have our tough days and our good days. Regardless we will just take one day at a time.
Our final visit was to the area Perinatal Center. This was our last visit there! And the sonogram looked great. Growth was right on target, with an estimated weight of 5 lbs 12 oz. According to one of the books we have the baby should grow about a half pound each week from here on out. The lung to head ratio was the highest that it as been at 2.99. This all points to, in there words “a more favorable outcome.” They also said that the closer we can make it to our due date of February 4th the better our chances for a positive outcome.
We ended yesterday feeling tired, scared, and more anxious. We were looking forward to a healing mass tonight at our church, but because of the weather it was cancelled, although we didn’t know that until we drove there only to find the church locked :-(
So our bags are packed, we have a bunch of snacks to bring and we are getting things ready for others to take care of our dog and two cats for a few days. Mom is feeling well...but in a word…big. It is hard to get up after sitting on the couch or in bed, but it is great to feel Gumdrop playing inside :-)
We can’t thank you all enough for your prayers and continued support that just keeps finding us everyday.
So that was our second stop after a quick walk around the hospital to get our bearings and a bite to eat at the cafeteria. This was by far the toughest part of our day. We have been waiting a long time to meet with a neonatologist and she was able to answer many of the questions that we have had, even if they were not the answers that we wanted to hear. She explained all the different treatments they have available and all the possible scenarios for CDH babies. Some scenarios are worse than others as you can imagine. But the hardest news was that we are most likely not going to be able to have a moment to hold our child after birth. She wants to immediately take the baby, put it on a ventilator, and move the baby to the NICU which is on a different floor from the birthing floor. We had convinced ourselves that this was going to be possible. Who know, each baby is different and Gumdrop is a fighter…well at least a kicker!
The tour of the NICU made everything real. It is an amazing place, but one that I hope no one has to visit. They are amazing people and take the sickest and smallest babies and get them through their earliest days. I am sure we will have our tough days and our good days. Regardless we will just take one day at a time.
Our final visit was to the area Perinatal Center. This was our last visit there! And the sonogram looked great. Growth was right on target, with an estimated weight of 5 lbs 12 oz. According to one of the books we have the baby should grow about a half pound each week from here on out. The lung to head ratio was the highest that it as been at 2.99. This all points to, in there words “a more favorable outcome.” They also said that the closer we can make it to our due date of February 4th the better our chances for a positive outcome.
We ended yesterday feeling tired, scared, and more anxious. We were looking forward to a healing mass tonight at our church, but because of the weather it was cancelled, although we didn’t know that until we drove there only to find the church locked :-(
So our bags are packed, we have a bunch of snacks to bring and we are getting things ready for others to take care of our dog and two cats for a few days. Mom is feeling well...but in a word…big. It is hard to get up after sitting on the couch or in bed, but it is great to feel Gumdrop playing inside :-)
We can’t thank you all enough for your prayers and continued support that just keeps finding us everyday.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
time is winding down...
We went to Choices West this morning for our final bi-weekly appointment - - now we are on a once a week schedule with them. Everything looked good. Belly is still growing, therefore baby is growing too - although that has become obvious as Gumdrop has begun encroaching on mom's lungs. One unexpected twist is that even though Gumdrop is growing, mom has been losing weight - about 3 pounds in the past month. Not many people can say that they lost weight at this time of the year, but we have managed it! No one seems concerned though.
We did go through the whole process of what to do when we start to see signs of labor. As of next week, we would not be considered pre-term if we were to go into labor, so they would just let it progress. It is hard to believe that we have come this far already!
We have been working diligently the last couple of days to get all the last minute things together. The bag is pretty much packed and ready to go, the birth plan is just about done, we are filling in the last of the phone numbers for our contact list, we bought a hospital gown alternative to wear during labor and delivery... its all coming together. Next step is just to wrap up any loose ends and get a plan in place for Chloe and the cats.
Next week on Wednesday we have a very big day. We are meeting with Dr. Ratner (the pediatric surgeon), taking a NICU tour and meeting with a neonatologist, and we have our last appointment at the Perinatal Center for our final sonogram. This is all in one day and it is sure to be an exhausting one! We will let you know how it all goes though!
We hope that everyone continues to enjoy their holiday season and had a great Christmas! Many wishes for a happy and healthy new year to all!
We did go through the whole process of what to do when we start to see signs of labor. As of next week, we would not be considered pre-term if we were to go into labor, so they would just let it progress. It is hard to believe that we have come this far already!
We have been working diligently the last couple of days to get all the last minute things together. The bag is pretty much packed and ready to go, the birth plan is just about done, we are filling in the last of the phone numbers for our contact list, we bought a hospital gown alternative to wear during labor and delivery... its all coming together. Next step is just to wrap up any loose ends and get a plan in place for Chloe and the cats.
Next week on Wednesday we have a very big day. We are meeting with Dr. Ratner (the pediatric surgeon), taking a NICU tour and meeting with a neonatologist, and we have our last appointment at the Perinatal Center for our final sonogram. This is all in one day and it is sure to be an exhausting one! We will let you know how it all goes though!
We hope that everyone continues to enjoy their holiday season and had a great Christmas! Many wishes for a happy and healthy new year to all!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Christmas wishes...
We wanted to take a minute to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. We hope you stay safe and healthy and enjoy your time with your friends and family at this time of the year. You are all in our thoughts as we enjoy our holidays here at the D'Angelo house!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Busy last couple of weeks...
It has been more than two weeks since our last post! We have just been so busy that there never seems to be enough time in the day to get everything on the list done. But, thanks to a snow day, I have a little time in between the batches of macaroons that are baking! So, the last two and half weeks in a nut shell…
Thanksgiving went well. We had our families over and had a nice big feast! There were of course plenty of leftovers to get us through the next few days! Vince’s mom and our friend Melissa organized our baby shower for that Saturday (11/29), so there was a pretty steady flow of people coming and going throughout the weekend.
The shower was very nice. We got lots of fantastic gifts that are sure to give our Gumdrop the start that he or she will need! We have an entire laundry basket full of clothes and onesies and socks and towels and wash clothes… Just amazing! And that also reminds me - - the nursery is done!! It looks great! We are really pleased with how it turned out. I will try to get some pictures that we can post of the shower and the nursery as soon as I can!
There was another Choices West appointment on the 2nd. Nothing much was new there. Weight is still good, sugar levels have been pretty even, heartbeat is strong as ever. There have been a couple spikes in my sugar levels, but I have been able to figure out what caused them for the most part and know what to avoid in the future. Raisins are evidently not something that my body is processing well right now - - thought it would be a healthy fruit option, but it didn’t quite work out that way!
Just this Wednesday (12/10) we went to the Perinatal Center for another sonogram and meeting with Dr. Spadola. Every time we go we brace ourselves for kind of negative news. We expected a rollercoaster of news from the beginning of this journey because that is what is typical of CDH, but everyone’s prayers and well wishes have been making a difference and we got another positive report this week! Overall growth is still completely average – in the 54th percentile – and the right lung still looks good with a lung to head ratio of 2.3 (anything over 2 is good). Fluid levels are still normal too! Nothing really alarming at all! AND, it was the absolute quickest Perinatal Center appointment we have ever had! We are usually there for hours because their office is so crazy and busy. So, this time I brought a bag of things to do while we were waiting and that did the trick! We were in and out within one hour! This was almost as exciting as the continued good report from Dr. Spadola.
Yesterday, my amazing co-workers had a baby shower for me after school. They really went all out and transformed our less than beautiful teacher’s lounge into a fantastic baby shower. They had all kinds of food and were so generous with their gifts. I am truly lucky to work with such supportive and wonderful people – they definitely make a challenging job worthwhile on many days when it doesn’t seem worth it! Hopefully I will have some pictures from the shower to post sometime soon.
Well, I think that is everything major from the last couple of weeks. We are getting ready for the holidays now. We went and cut down our tree last weekend and the house is all decorated now – with the exception that Vince really wants to hang lights outside, but the weather has been less than cooperative for climbing on ladders, especially with a still recovering knee! You can see our tree in the front window though, so that adds a little cheer to the front of the house! We have a couple parties this weekend, including one at our house with all our friends. It is an annual tradition that we have kept for probably at least the last 12 years. We have not done any shopping yet, so that is still on the list. We hope that you are all looking forward to this holiday season as well and stay warm and safe in these coming weeks.
Thanksgiving went well. We had our families over and had a nice big feast! There were of course plenty of leftovers to get us through the next few days! Vince’s mom and our friend Melissa organized our baby shower for that Saturday (11/29), so there was a pretty steady flow of people coming and going throughout the weekend.
The shower was very nice. We got lots of fantastic gifts that are sure to give our Gumdrop the start that he or she will need! We have an entire laundry basket full of clothes and onesies and socks and towels and wash clothes… Just amazing! And that also reminds me - - the nursery is done!! It looks great! We are really pleased with how it turned out. I will try to get some pictures that we can post of the shower and the nursery as soon as I can!
There was another Choices West appointment on the 2nd. Nothing much was new there. Weight is still good, sugar levels have been pretty even, heartbeat is strong as ever. There have been a couple spikes in my sugar levels, but I have been able to figure out what caused them for the most part and know what to avoid in the future. Raisins are evidently not something that my body is processing well right now - - thought it would be a healthy fruit option, but it didn’t quite work out that way!
Just this Wednesday (12/10) we went to the Perinatal Center for another sonogram and meeting with Dr. Spadola. Every time we go we brace ourselves for kind of negative news. We expected a rollercoaster of news from the beginning of this journey because that is what is typical of CDH, but everyone’s prayers and well wishes have been making a difference and we got another positive report this week! Overall growth is still completely average – in the 54th percentile – and the right lung still looks good with a lung to head ratio of 2.3 (anything over 2 is good). Fluid levels are still normal too! Nothing really alarming at all! AND, it was the absolute quickest Perinatal Center appointment we have ever had! We are usually there for hours because their office is so crazy and busy. So, this time I brought a bag of things to do while we were waiting and that did the trick! We were in and out within one hour! This was almost as exciting as the continued good report from Dr. Spadola.
Yesterday, my amazing co-workers had a baby shower for me after school. They really went all out and transformed our less than beautiful teacher’s lounge into a fantastic baby shower. They had all kinds of food and were so generous with their gifts. I am truly lucky to work with such supportive and wonderful people – they definitely make a challenging job worthwhile on many days when it doesn’t seem worth it! Hopefully I will have some pictures from the shower to post sometime soon.
Well, I think that is everything major from the last couple of weeks. We are getting ready for the holidays now. We went and cut down our tree last weekend and the house is all decorated now – with the exception that Vince really wants to hang lights outside, but the weather has been less than cooperative for climbing on ladders, especially with a still recovering knee! You can see our tree in the front window though, so that adds a little cheer to the front of the house! We have a couple parties this weekend, including one at our house with all our friends. It is an annual tradition that we have kept for probably at least the last 12 years. We have not done any shopping yet, so that is still on the list. We hope that you are all looking forward to this holiday season as well and stay warm and safe in these coming weeks.
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