MFM visit, 05/07/07

U/S tech, Janet
Weight - 4 lb 1 oz (1844 g)
Right ventricle - either 2.14 or 2.61 (two varying readings)
Left ventricle - either 2.51 or 2.74 (two varying readings)
3rd ventricle - no reading
Head circumference - 30.80 cm (85.2%)
Abdominal circumference - 27.46 cm (46.3%)
Femur length - 5.99 cm (25.7%)
Overall growth percentile - 46.3%
Heart rate, 160
8 of 8 on fetal well being (BPP)
Fluid level 9

My weight - 163
my BP - 98/56

there is some dilation of the bowel near the cord insertion (near the belly), so the doctor (the main one) has changed the appointments to weekly to more closely monitor the bowels.

And, now, the pictures!

a nice profile picture with her sweet nose and lips.
If you look closely at the chest, you can see her little heart.

She's got both hands in her face, one in her mouth and one rubbing her eye.

Her hand is again near her eye, and she is sucking on the other one.

how cute is her nose and her mouth?

This one may have fuzzy details, but the important thing is that she has her eye open.
I actually saw her blinking on the 4-D animation.

So, I'm a little freaked out by the change in appointments to every week, but I have to trust the doctors. The change means that, should something (either the intestines or the enlarged brain ventricles) change, she may have to come out sooner than I'd like.

Something else great came out of this visit. I asked my favorite nurse there to call the children's hospital and help me arrange a tour of the NICU. By the next day, I had a phone call from the NICU director, who agreed to give me and mom and my youngest sister a tour of the NICU / hospital at 8 PM on a Saturday while they are here on a visit. Now we just have to have all our questions prepared and ready.

Emma P 3's

I posted about this back in March, and I'm just following up on the idea.

Here's the basic idea, again:
I would like to compile recordings of everyone important to me (and therefore to Emma, both family & friends) reading a story, reading a poem, telling a folk tale, or singing (or any combination thereof).
At the beginning of the piece, you would give a brief introduction of yourself, and your relationship to me/her (Hi, this is Grandma, or Hi, this is Uncle G-Dog, or, Your Aunt So-and-So).
Then, your piece(s).

I've gotten one back so far, from G-dog, which I haven't downloaded or listened to yet. It's simply labeled "story".
What people have volunteered for so far / been requested by me:
Mom - Dona, Dona (singing and playing guitar); Animal Fair (singing again)
Dad - Goodnight Moon (?)
Grandma Pat - nursery rhymes, read and sung
Deirdre - reading "Jabberwocky", singing "Rose/Ah Poor Bird/Hey Ho"
N - Dr. Seuss or Curious George, if she can find recording equipment
Juan - something en espanol
T - something, unsure (favorite children's story?)

Have I forgotten anyone's volunteered efforts? post your comment or email me and let me know, and I'll update the list.
I would particularly like my siblings to participate, so Emma knows her aunts and uncles voices. :)

Again, the ideal would be for you to record it as an MP3 and email it to me. If you can't do that, until I leave work, I do have access to production rooms and can dub cassettes or microcassettes or CDs to MP3.

Thanks for caring! I hope to compile a nice selection of stories for Emma.

OB visit, 05/03/07

Emma's weight, 3 lb 10 oz
fluid level good (tech seemed surprised, as gastro babies often have low fluid levels)
tentative c-section date: Monday, July 2 (which could change, and which my OB won't schedule as a firm date until two weeks out)

a little story about the visit...
I went in for my bi-weekly appointment with my regular OB. Got there, peed in the cup, and proceeded to sit around for a half-hour. Then a nurse comes by, and does the blood pressure and weighing thing (110/60, 161.5). She says something about going back to wait, and I say, aren't I due for a BPP ultrasound? They say, the chart doesn't say so, and I explain it. My doctor is there, taking a page, and she nods. So, the nurses scramble around, and squeeze me in with the U/S tech. Apparently, when I saw another doctor last week, she forgot to notate the chart to schedule me for a BPP U/S and a doctor's visit. The U/S tech was supposed to already be leaving (for her teen son's baseball game), but did the readings and even got me a few good pictures.

Then, it was back to the waiting area. When I finally got into the exam room, the nurse had to do a doppler (the U/S tech didn't realize I hadn't already had one), so it was more goop (my friend T figures I'm probably responsible for at least two bottles of that stuff being used up already with all the U/S I've had). More goop, a good heartbeat at around 150, and then the nurse says I'm due for a Pap. I politely argue with her that the chart notation is wrong, because I last had a Pap/colpo in March, and we had discussed a 3-month follow-up. So, she says she'll wait for the doc. The doc comes in, I ask my questions (another iron pill scrip, swelling, tentative date for C-sec). She mentions the Pap, I politely argue with her again, and she says, we'll do it anyway, and hands me the sheet. I go to the bathroom, and while I'm gone, the doc is re-reading the chart. Turns out I was right, and didn't need the Pap.

The moral of the story is that you have to take care of your own medical care. Keep track of your own stuff, and be your own advocate.

Photos from visit to be posted when they are scanned. Some cute ones from that visit (of course).

In other news:
My mom met someone at a conference who is from Memphis who wants to be a midwife. This woman gave mom the name of a chiropractor who is good with pregnancies to pass along to me. Yesterday, I looked up the Chiro on the net, and gave them a call. Turns out they are down the street from my office, and take my insurance. I have an appointment for next week.

My shower is set for next weekend. I'm so excited to see everyone who can make it, including my mom and baby sister. I'm also extraordinarily thankful to the person who is throwing it.

Maternity leave headaches

I'm trying to figure out my maternity leave situation. I talked to the HR dude here at my office, and this is what I have determined.

FMLA allows 12 weeks, unpaid.
Employer says you have to take currently accrued sick / vacation at beginning of leave.
Short term disability (STD) provider gives 6 weeks vaginal delivery, 8 weeks c-section (at 60% of your salary), and has a 2-week waiting period (which should be covered by the accrued sick / vacay).
During STD leave, employer requires employee to pay their portion of health insurance costs (which will increase with the addition of a dependent, which must occur within 30 days of birth).
Emma is expected to be hospitalized for 2 months, maybe longer.

The only way to get the STD coverage (2/3 pay) is to take ALL my leave at the beginning. Then, when she comes home, I'll have whatever time remains from the FMLA coverage to stay at home and bond, unpaid (and still having to pay my insurance costs and rent and everything else).

All this and the expected medical bills too. (and no expected other income)

I'm trying to get organized, see all the right doctors, get all the right questions answered. But I feel like I'm drowning.