People often look as me with concern and say, “So, how is Abigail doing with the new baby?”  It’s like they’re expecting me to tell woes about how Abi has mistreated Lydia (and just so we’re clear, she has not), just like when they cock their heads to the side and say, “So, you getting any sleep at all?”  (And I happily say, “Yep, a normal 8 hours, and it could’ve been 10, if I went to bed when Lydia did.”)  I’m not trying to be cocky; I’m just trying to say that some people have misconceptions about how ALL babies and toddler will behave, and I want to clear up one of those today.

Thanks to my super cousin Katie, I got some great advice about how to transition the former only child to becoming a big sibling.  She even sent me this book: Welcoming Your Second Baby, by Vicki Lansky.  So giving and thoughtful!  I love her!

Anyway, here are a few tips I learned . . .

1. Take your child to your OB appointments.  Abi went to all of my OB visits, and when we listened to baby’s heartbeat, we told her that Baby was “calling her”.  Abi would say, “What’s she sayin’?  How you doing Baby?”
2. Read books about what it is like to be a big sister/brother.  Here’s one I love, and here’s another one that’s good, too.
3. Get a baby doll.  We got Abigail this baby doll 3 months before Lydia was born, so Abigail could learn how to hold a baby and be gentle.  This baby doll, who she named Rachel, even cries, so Abi learned that babies cry a lot.  Also there are times when Abi wants me to do something with her, but I’m nursing Lydia, and I say, “Go get Baby Rachel, so you can take care of your baby, too.”
4. Get a doll house. We bought this doll house, so we could “roll play” what it would be like to have a new baby and to be a big sister.
5. Buy or make some Big Sister/Brother shirts.  Abigail loved (and still does) wearing her shirts.
6. Put a picture of yourself and hubby in your child’s room, so they know you’re still thinking of them when you’re gone at the hospital.
7. Hide a few small gifts around the house.  When you call from the hospital, you can tell your child where to look for them.  We hid a toy camera for Abigail in the laundry room, and when I called, I told her to go to the place where she helps me put the clothes in the washer.  This was helpful, too, because everyone wants to take picture of the new baby, so she could join in with her new toy camera.  Also, make sure to take plenty of pictures of your older child.
8. Have a present at the hospital for your child to open; tell the child it is from the new baby.  We had 3 gifts at the hospital– one Abigail could open each day we were there.  The first day, she got a barn with animals.  Day 2, she got two dolls.  Day 3, she got a foam puzzle.  This also keeps them entertained while there.
9. Make sure Mom is not holding Baby when the older sibling comes to visit the baby for the first time.  Your child needs time to warm up to Baby on his own time.  When Abi came into the room, my arms were empty, so I could love on her.  I told her after a few seconds of hugs that the baby came out of my belly and wanted to give Abi a present.  Then, she opened the present.  We didn’t show her Lydia for awhile.  Eventually we said, “Hey, Abi, would you like to tell your new baby sister thank you for the gift?”  And that’s when she met Lydia.  It was presh!
10. We try to refer to Lydia as “OUR baby”, so Abigail doesn’t feel left out.

Abi adores Lydia.  Abi always wants to hold Lydia, touch her, kiss her, hug her, and help her.  Abi has never once tried to hurt Lydia emotionally or physically.  Abi has never acted hurt or unloved by us or Lydia.  We’re so fortunate.  I hope these tips can help you, too!

So, it’s been another busy week for me, full of multiple appointments every single day.

Anyway, I got the results back from my 2nd Bile Acid Test (the first one I had is what diagnosed me with Cholestasis), and it showed that my levels were within normal range!  Of course, they’ll have to test me again later this week.  I’ve been stuck so many times, it’s ridiculous.

But we were so happy to hear that the Bile Acid in my blood is within normal range.  Praise God!  I know so many of you have been praying for me and Baby, and that’s been a huge blessing.  Also, about 6 Elders from our church and 4 of their wives came over last week to pray over our family.  Thank you God for hearing everyone’s prayers.

Yesterday, I had a Non Stress Test, and during it, Baby was a bit sluggish and not moving much.  The technician came in and “buzzed” my belly with a sound wave thingy “to wake up Baby”, and all the sudden Baby started moving like crazy.  Poor thing was scared!  Baby’s heartbeat went up in 188 beats per minute; the highest I’d ever seen.  Normally, it stays around 133 until Baby starts moving, and then, it’ll go up to 150s.  So, 188 was crazy to see.

Anyway, my Perinatologist is “very ill (was admitted to the hospital) and won’t be in for at least this whole week.”  But he still would want me to have an Amnio if I delivered this week.  No thank you!

Today, I had an OB appointment, and she wrote me my “orders” for the hospital.  Unless something goes badly during this week, we will meet our Baby next week.  And don’t think you can come rob our house, which is what happened to a blogger friend during her hospital stay, because we will have our family staying here.

For the rest of this week, I’ll see the Gallbladder surgeon, do another NST, have another blood draw, and probably something else.

Oh and last Friday, I got my Braces off!  Only had them for 14 months this time!  But now, at night, I have to wear this psycho retainer that is connected in the back and doesn’t let me open my mouth.  It hurts, too.

Anyway, thanks for prayers.  Keep them coming.  And here’s a picture of my beautiful toddler!  Gorgeous, right?!

So, I briefly mentioned in my last post that an ultrasound showed that I have gallstones and sludge (still not sure what that means; anyone know?).  And I’ve been told it’s “common” in pregnancies, so I thought I’d ask if any of you ladies have had gallstones, specifically during pregnancy.

But, regardless, I wanna hear from those who have had gallstones or had their gallbladders removed (with or without being pregnant, male or female).  I’d just like to know what to expect.

My OB said that since I’m not experiencing any “attacks” that the gallbladder won’t have to be taken out soon after delivery (and for sure not between now and then).  She did say that since I’m young, though, that it is very likely that I will, at some point, need to have my gallbladder removed.  So, she’s going to set me up with a specialist sometime postpartum, just to establish a doctor-patient relationship, in case I do start to have big problems with it.

So, have you had gallstones?  Did you have your gallbladder removed?  Are you having bad side effects from the removal?  Any way you can pass the stones?

Here’s the most recent news of the Cholestasis stuff:

Wednesday

Abigail had her two year check up (I’ll try to do a small post about that later) in the morning.  And that afternoon, I had another steroid injection.  Zero fun.

Thursday

They called with the results of my Liver Function test.  The nurse said that it was abnormal and some levels were high, so they wanted me to do a Hepatic Ultrasound (I think it was specifically to check my liver).

Friday

Early this morning, I had the Hepatic Ultrasound.  Here are the results: “several micro-calculi with some sludge in the gallbladder . . . There are stones and sludge in the gallbladder . . . normal appearing liver and pancreas.”  Gallstones?!  UGH.  Has anyone had this?  Anyone during pregnancy?  During cholestasis of pregnancy?  The nurse told me this, and all she really said was that they probably won’t deal with it while I’m pregnant.  So, I don’t know what the next step for that will be.

After that, I had another Non Stress Test, and Baby moved well.

Next Week I will have . . .

• two days of Non Stress Tests
• another blood draw to check the Bile Acids Level
• an appointment with Dr. Devine (can’t wait to see her!)
• two days of Orthodontic appointments
• and whatever else they’ll throw at me

All that and needing to take care of Abigail and do daily housewife duties and prepare for Baby.  I have no idea how I can get everything done.  Soooo, you can pray for my stress level and sleep (I can’t sleep) and discomfort and itching and most of all, Baby’s safety.  Thanks!

I didn’t really want to make this a public issue, but I also don’t want to have to explain the situation a hundred times, so I’ll tell you what’s going on.

Last Week

So last week, I started itching all over.  I figured it was weather related, or if it was pregnancy related, there wasn’t a problem.  But at my OB check up last Thursday, when I told the OB about the itching, she asked me several questions.  At the end of the questions, she said, “Okay, we need to do a blood test to see if you might have Cholestasis. . . If you do, it could be very high risk for Baby.  You can take a look at itchymoms.com . . .”

So, I went home and looked at the website.  It scared me, and on that day and Friday, I thought, “I definitely have this.”  Saturday and Sunday, though, I felt better with the itching and thought, “I don’t have Cholestasis.”

What’s Cholestasis (ICP)

It’s a rare pregnancy disease; only occurs in 1 out of 1,000 pregnancies.  From what I understand, bile is made in your Liver and should empty into your Gallbladder.  With ICP, the bile either moves slowly or doesn’t move at all and causes build up, so it empties into your bloodstream.  Thus, the bile salts in your blood cause an internal itching and is basically toxic to Baby.  “ICP poses several risks that are of great concern. ICP is associated with an increased risk for infant stillbirth (intrauterine death of baby), premature labor, fetal distress, and hemorrhaging in both mother and child.”  So, the goal is to get Baby out not much later than 37 weeks.

Tuesday Morning

Well, yesterday, I got a call from my OB’s nurse who said,  “Your bible acid levels were elevated, so we’re going to send you to the Perinatologist (a high risk pregnancy OB) to do a Non Stress Test (aka, NST).”  I asked if I’d be able to speak to the Perinatologist, or if I’d only deal with his nurses.  She said just the nurses.  Then, I said, “Okay, since my OB is out of the office all week, could I speak to one of her associate doctors?”  The nurse said, “We reserve contacting them for emergencies.”  Ummmm, what the heck, lady.  My baby could die inside of me; that’s not an emergency?!  Needless to say, she made my cry (all the while, Abigail is saying, “Mommy’s sad.  Momma, are you crying?  Oh, Mommy, you need a Kleenex?”).  After a little more discussion with her, I got off the phone because she was not helpful; she didn’t even know how to pronounce the disease, and I’m sure I’m more educated about it than she is.

I called Jonathan, my mom, and my dad to update them.  My mom asked if she could call the nurse to give her a piece of her mind.  Jonathan said he coming home from work and later told me he was about to go up to the office and chew the nurse out.  Oh boy.  Thank goodness that right as he got home, my OB (whom we love!) called me.

She said she’s dealt with this before, and the outcome has always been good.  Only once was the baby put in NICU.  The babies tend to have feeding issues, but she gave the impression that she had never delivered a still birth from Cholestasis.  She told me she texted the Perinatologist that he needed to come in and meet with me when I had the NST.  She also answered a lot of my questions.  She’s an amazingly, intelligent, kind Christian, and we trust her very much.

Tuesday Afternoon

I went in and did the NST; Baby moved great.

Then the Perinatologist came in and answered all my questions and gave me tons of info:

• I was told I’ll be coming in twice a week to do NSTs.  If Baby keeps moving well, and everything else seems to look well, the longest I could go is 38 weeks.  If things end up not so good, 36 weeks is when they’d take Baby (this is next week!).
• I got a steroid injection to hopefully help Baby’s lungs mature, but I’m on the borderline of when steroids stop being effective.  The nurse said, “This is going to burn like the dickens.”  She wasn’t kidding.  Holy petes; it kept burning for around an hour or so, and it’s still tender.  Jonathan said the needle was incredibly long; ewww.  She also said the ‘roids would probably keep me wide awake– yea, considering I already have the worst sleeping ever.
• They did a Sonogram, and Baby looked great.  The estimated weight is already 6 lb, 11 oz.  All of Baby’s measurements were the size of a 37-38 weeks Baby in utero.  The placenta isn’t in Grade 3 yet (which is what happened with Abigail at 35 weeks and one of the reasons why they took her two weeks early), so that’s great.  It looked as if Baby won’t have much hair.  Thanks a lot Jonathan’s genes.
• I had to take another blood test to test for Liver Function.
• I got a prescription for Ursodiol.  It will hopefully help with the itching and move the bile salts into the GallBlader- rather than the bloodstream.

To those who’ve been praying

Thanks soooooo much.  I think my itching had lessened due to your petitions to our God.  Keep it up.  I really don’t care about the itching so much (even though it is very uncomfortable/painful); I just want to be able to see my Baby and watch Baby grow into a toddler/child/teen/adult.

To those who have/had Cholestasis

Please let me know who you are if you come across this.  I’d like to know more about it, and I’d like to try and help you if you’re going through it.

Audra suggested that I put up a poll to see if you guys think we’re having a boy or a girl.  To help you decide, I copied some “old wives tales,” and marked out the information that is incorrect:

Does Lori have . . .

• Shiny and full bodied hair or thinner and stringer boy
  
• Leg hair growing faster or at the same rate as before   girl
• Nails growing faster or at the same rate boy
  
• Severe or no morning sickness   girl
• Craving for sweet or sour.  [I didn't and haven't craved anything, so we'll throw this one out.]
• Tush growing in size or remains unchanged.  [But maybe Jonathan would tell you differently?]  boy
• Feet colder now or always this way boy
  
• Baby heart rate below 139 or above 140  girl
• Craving or no craving for orange juice  boy
• Baby rests high or low   boy
• Tummy shaped like beach ball or watermelon  girl
• More kicks to the left or right  boy
• More kicks high or low  girl
• Dad is or is not gaining weight in sympathy  girl
• See or do not see the pregnancy on Lori’s face.  [But maybe I'm wrong.]  boy
  Vote below:
  
  
  

Well we had another sonogram a couple of days ago.  Here are some things we learned:

• Baby is no longer breech.
• My placenta is no longer low-lying.
• Baby is measuring 13 days ahead of schedule.  [At the last ultrasound, Baby was 4 days ahead.]
• They estimated Baby to weigh 3.5 lbs already.
• Baby’s heartbeat was 147.
• I have another sonogram scheduled in late March.

Here are some of the pictures we got:

Foot & Leg

Arm

Ear & Nose

Face

And here’s what I look like:

Sorry for being the worst blogger, again.  We were on Thanksgiving vacation from Wednesday-Saturday (pictures to come later).  And since we’ve been back home, I’ve had to catch up on laundry, do regular household things, and finish up my Christmas shopping.  I still have a few Christmas sewing/making jobs left, but at least I don’t have to shop!

About the pregnancy: I’m feeling Baby move a lot more for the past week or so.  In fact, Baby’s moving now.  Last week, I started feeling better with the nausea/vomiting.  Since I felt good for more than 3 days, I thought, ‘I’m better finally.’  And then, Monday happened.  UGH.  Definitely not over the all day sickness.  The past three days have not been fun.  Please, please God make me better!  Okay, sorry about the whining . . .

Picture of Baby #2 at 13 weeks

I am now 20 weeks along, and knowing how my previous pregnancy went, it probably means I’m more than half way done!  Yea!

So, next Tuesday is the big Sonogram.  The one where we could find out the gender.  We’re still debating about whether or not to find out.  What do you think- objectively?

My cousin Katie got me thinking that it’d be fun to wait until delivery day to find out.  If we already had babies of each gender, I would so wait until delivery day.  But, I’m not sure since we wouldn’t have boy stuff if Baby is a boy.  And then, I thought since this is probably going to be our last baby, it might be fun to be surprised.

Either way, I think surprises are fun, so we’re thinking we might not let anyone know regardless of whether or not we find out.  Is this rude?

How did you decide whether or not to find out Baby’s gender?  Specifically, to those of you who waited, are you glad you did?

Another question: We took Abigail to Baby #2’s first sonogram, but we’re not sure if we should take her to this one.  We want it to be special, and it was hard the first time, because we were constantly having to answer Abigail’s questions/comments.  Also, we were wanting Jonathan to video record Baby’s movement on the monitor.  So, did you take your older kid(s) to your new baby’s sonograms?

Abigail at 20 weeks

The other night, as I was leaning over the trash can by my bed, I heard Jonathan say softly, “Try to keep it down.”

I thought he was referring to the stuff that was coming up out of my mouth.  I thought, “Aww, how sweet; he’s concerned, and wants me not to vomit.”

Then, he said, “Shhh.”

WHAT!  “I’m throwing up.”

“Oh, well, try to be quiet, please.”

I knew he was talking in his sleep because normally, he’ll turn on his lamp if he hears me throwing up after we’ve gotten into bed.  And when I told him about this conversation in the morning, he didn’t remember it.

So, yes, I’m still vomiting and feeling nauseated 90% of the time.  [Sidenote: For those of you who haven't had kids though, don't let this keep you from it.  I'm one of the rare ones.]  I’m still around 8 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight, and yet I’m growing a bigger belly more quickly than I did with Abigail.

I’m 16 weeks now.  Yesterday, Baby’s heartbeat was 152 beats per minute.  I think I felt some movement last night, but I’m ready for it to be the point where I feel Baby consistently.  Abi moved alllll day/night long, which might be why she’s so active now?

After talking with my OB yesterday, I got on the list to get the H1N1 shot, so they’ll call if when/if they have enough.