28 Weeks, Skydiving & Fun!

I am officially in the third trimester!!!!!!!!!!! I never in a million years would have thought I would end up this far but thank God that I have! I saw my doctor yesterday but not much to report on. She did not want to check me internally as I have been having a lot of issues with cervix pain so she wanted to leave well enough alone. I was okay with that as I don't want to risk anything right now. My blood pressure was good but my heart rate continues to stay up higher than it should be. I do see cardiology next week so they will more than likely increase the dose of medication that I am on. I continue to have the breathing issues at times and I sure hope that this medication starts working soon!

Baby is moving a ton more. To be honest I love the movements but at times it freaks me out. It is the weirdest thing ever to see the baby moving beneath your skin and I think it is going to take me a while to get used to.

What is going on with baby at 28 weeks?

At 28 weeks pregnant, your baby measures roughly 14.8 inches from head to heel. He or she weighs in at 2.2 pounds. (Keep in mind that your individual baby's size and weight may be different than this average.)

Up until 28 weeks pregnant, your baby's brain has been smooth. This week, the brain is starting to mature and form the grooves that we normally associate with a human brain.

Your baby's hair is growing longer on his or her head, but don't expect to see a full head of hair when he or she is born. Some newborns are completely bald, and others are born with lovely locks that will fall out and even change color after delivery. Your baby's eyelashes and eyebrows are also getting thicker and they're lengthening.

The level of amniotic fluid in your womb will be reaching its maximum amount between 28 and 32 weeks of pregnancy. After 32 weeks, this amount will remain constant until your baby is full term (37 weeks), when it will begin to decrease.

This week, most babies will turn into the head-down position. However, some infants remain breech (with their bottom or feet down, head up). It may take a few extra weeks for these babies to settle into their actual labor position.

At 28 weeks pregnant, your little bundle of joy continues practicing his or her breathing movements. Up until this stage in fetal development, your little one's breathing movements have occurred randomly, but this week, they're beginning to reflect his or her sleep and wake cycle.

Your developing baby's yawning patterns are getting more regular at 28 weeks pregnant. Earlier in pregnancy, his or her yawns only occurred occasionally. This week, fetal yawns will take place in succession one yawn, followed by another in a repetitive pattern.

This past weekend we had a great family weekend! We headed up Friday night to Aunty A's family cottage to spend the weekend camping in our trailer. Saturday was a great event called "I Skydive So Others Can Stay Alive" at the Niagara Skydive Center. It was a fundraiser to raise money for Toronto General Hospital, specifically for transplant and mechanical heart research.

There were five skydivers including Aunty A's mom, a double lung/heart recipient and her daughter and then a mother and son team whose husband/father is waiting for a double lung transplant.

We had campfires on Friday and Saturday night, which A enjoyed. Especially when Aunty A was singing him campfire songs :)

As you can tell it was a beautiful perfect weekend!!!!! Hopefully we will get to spend some more weekends up at the cottage with everyone!!!

27 Weeks Yesterday and a Family Update.....

So, here I am only 6 days away from the third trimester...I can hardly believe it! This baby has been SO active the past few days and the kicks/movements are getting stronger. I am loving every second of it!

I saw my doctor on Monday, as usual after my ultrasound and on a bad note, I am now dilated to the stitch. However on the good note, I have the stitch! Right now all that is keeping this baby inside is this amazing stitch that was placed at 12 weeks 2 days. I do have about 1cm of cervix left BELOW the stitch and so far the stitch is still closed tightly. I will not be having anymore trans vaginal ultrasounds (TVUs), but instead will be checked manually by the doctor as there is no point in doing the TVU with no cervix left.

The great thing is, is that I am still home. I am 100% okay with this though as I feel great and I think with having surpassed the 24 week mark by many weeks, my comfort level has just skyrocketed.

As for the two other tests I had done recently, one came back good and one not so good. My three hour gestational diabetes test came back fine which was great....I didn't want to deal with that during the pregnancy at all. As for my EKG that I had two weeks ago, it did come back abnormal. So my doctor had talked to cardiology and they sent me down to have another repeat EKG as well as an echo. To say I was scared is an understatement.

I do not know the exact name of the issue, but it seems that I have an abnormal rhythm of my heart. The cardiologist said that my pacemaker for my heart is not in the usual spot. However, their main concern right now is the shortness of breath that I have been having now for probably the past 6-8 weeks and my heart rate which is higher than it should be. My resting heart rate was 115. So the cardiologist wants me on a medication that will lower my heart rate, but I admit I have not yet started them as I am a bit worried as it will also lower my blood pressure which is already low to begin with. I placed a call yesterday to the nurse practitioner that I saw just so I can ask her about my concern before starting it. Yep, I am a worry wart, but I would rather feel at ease taking the med. Hopefully she will call me back today.

So what is going on with our sweet baby at 27 weeks????

Well, baby weighs about 2 pounds and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

Your baby's reproductive organs are in their proper locations by 27 weeks pregnant. If you're pregnant with a little girl, she is getting ready to be a future mama. Her ovaries now have all the egg-producing follicles that they'll ever make in her life. If you're pregnant with a boy, his testicles have descended into the scrotum. However, for some boy babies, their testes will remain in their pelvic cavity until birth.

And what is going on with our little man?

Well, he is coming to the end of his school year. Just two more weeks and then off for the summer. However I have planned for him to go to four different camps this summer so I am sure he will be happy about that. They are one week each and all have different themes. I figured since he loves school so much that there was no way that he would be able to just hang out here at home for the whole summer. He will have a private contract worker going with him, and I think she is pretty excited too. She has been working with A now for just over a year and she is amazing with him.

We had his birthday party on Sunday.......

A new thing that our little man has started with is a temper. He gets VERY mad and screams. If he is sitting in his wheelchair he also tries to pull on the sides as he screams. My guess is that he has learned this at school as there is a little boy in his class who gets into trouble quite a bit. But who knows, he is also growing as a young boy and I am sure every child goes through stages like this....

He will stop when I tell him that it is enough and that mommy doesn't like it, but it doesn't usually last long. He is using this as well now when he is frustrated and when he wants something specific. The thing is though it is hard to get mad at him because this is also his only way of expressing his feelings. He can't talk and tell us what is wrong or what he wants, so he does this. Some days are definitely worse than others, but we will just continue to tell him that it isn't nice to scream and that we don't like to hear it. The new baby is definitely going to recognize his big brothers voice! hahaha

Happy Birthday!

Wow, I can't believe that it has been six years since I gave birth to my little man!!!!

The past six years have definitely been a ride to say the least. From the beginning of not knowing what to expect, of not knowing whether he would survive through to TODAY, and the amazing child he is!

Our little man has taught us so much in life. Never did we know that six years ago today that our lives would completely change, never to be the same. Never to be what we thought it would be or even dreamed it would be. Would we change it though? NO WAY! We are the parents that we are today because of the child that A is.

Little man is at school today for his birthday, but I know he will have a blast. I wish I could be there to see his face when they sing Happy Birthday to him...he will love it!!!!

All the way from this...........

To this.............

He is amazing eh?!

Happy birthday sweet boy. Mommy and daddy love you more than words could EVER say! We can't wait to watch you continue to grow up and soon be the amazing big brother we know that you will be!!

26 Weeks and STILL Home!!!

Yep, its true. I am home again! Third time in a row....didn't think I would make it back this many times to be honest. And after my appointment yesterday I am surprised that he LET me come home. Hubby was able to come with me, and its nice to have him there once in a while to be there for me and talk to the doctor as well. I had my ultrasound as usual and this one was taking a bit longer than normal. Since I have had about 14 of them I was getting a bit concerned on why she was taking so long to take the measurement of my cervix. Then she said to me "wow, its a good thing that you have a stitch in there." Immediately I started to worry. Why was she saying this? What WAS the measurement? (Of course she wouldn't tell me this).....UGH it was not a fun time for me. And knowing I would have to wait to see doctor for a good while made it even worse.

So off we go to sit upstairs and wait on the doctor. It was actually probably the quickest I have ever gotten in, which was nice for a change! So anyways, my cervix has gone down yet again. I am down to 1.3mm of cervix left. At this gestation, most women (who are in the 90th percentile) have 5.2mm of cervix. Women in the low end (which would be the 10th percentile) have on average 3.6mm. I have 1.1mm less than what a woman in the 10th percentile in the 40th week has.

SOOOOOOOOOO......................

What does this mean exactly?

Well for one, it is very obvious that I have TRUE incompetent cervix.

Two, if I didn't have a stitch in there right now, this baby would already be here...and probably WAY too soon to even have the chance to survive.

Three, I am so thankful for this cerclage!!!!!!!!

Four, each day that we get to STAY pregnant is a HUGE blessing. Making it to 26 weeks today is absolutely amazing and incredible to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The doctor said that we have somehow made it to where we have...bought lots of time, so now he hopes that I can buy at least three more weeks. A baby born at 29 weeks has a 95 percent survival rate and a 95% chance of being healthy.

Of course we hope that we go past the three weeks, but, like I said earlier, every day is a blessing to us. When you have never ever had a full term baby and have only lived the life of the NICU with a 24 weeker and the life of a premature loss, this is the way you think. I realize that it is hard for others to think this way, but again, unless you have been there, you have NO idea.

Hubby and I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have a baby at term and come home the next day, but in reality this is probably not going to happen. We know this. We have known this from the beginning. We knew this before we even got pregnant. We are feeling very lucky and blessed to get this far. Our reality is probably going to include the NICU, and we accept that. This is all that matters. That WE as the parents accept it and will take it on.