Balloon Fun!

Layla wanted to do something special for her Daddy, to celebrate his awesome job offer to become permanent staff at American Family!! I'm not sure who enjoyed the balloons more....her or Shane! Congratulations, babe....we're so proud of you!!!

NST #1/30 weeks!!

The NST today was "reassuring" as Dr. Stoffel likes to put it. (whew---one down!) NST's are measured in the terms reactive (good) and non-reactive (bad). Reactive meaning, the baby's heartrate should increase 20 points for about 20 seconds with activity. She did not do this, however, baby's at 30 weeks gestation often do not. She said usually around 32 weeks...maybe even later, is when they show as being "reactive". Baby's test was reassuring, because she was very active and not having significant dips in her heartrate. so, we will be having NST's every Monday and Thursday...unless we have an ultrasound/Doppler that week...then the NST will be just once/week.

The baby is measuring at 27 1/2 weeks right now. Layla also measured between 1-2 weeks behind starting in the third trimester. no one thinks this baby will be huge no matter when she arrives! :-) so...they will obviously keep measuring that as well.

good day...

T

Baby Update--Day 1

Well, as some of you know, i've been put on bed rest due to our little bean having a bit of trouble. There have been a lot of questions, so now that we've discussed it with our family, i've decided to post updates on our blog to keep everyone up to date. Here's what we know so far... (oh, and for my work peeps and those with medical knowledge--i'll be putting this in as simple terms as possible for those without) :-)

So, we had our 29 week ultrasound this past Friday. The perinatologist saw on the ultrasound that the baby's heart is pumping fine. However, the pressure in her heart at rest (similar to adults diastolic blood pressure) is high. This indicates that the blood flow from the placenta to her is somehow restricted and/or compromised. It's a problem with the placenta, itself. There's no clear cut reason why placentas don't function as they should with some pregnancies. What we do know is that with this compromised flow, comes a decrease in cerebral blood flow (blood flow to the brain). This is how baby's compensate. Right now, she is in the 26th percentile for weight (good). All her measurements, like head circumference, limb length, heart size, etc. is normal. She's doing developmentally appropriate things at this time, too. The only measurement that is low is her abdominal girth. Layla also had a low abdominal girth, however her blood flow was fine, so it was simply an indication she'd be small.

Right now, she's okay. The doctors are concerned because generally this problem doesn't get better. So, they just want to monitor me as close as possible, so when/if it gets to the point where having her born is safer for her than being inside, they'll be on top of it. Our plan right now includes: me being on modified bedrest. I have to lie on either side for 2-3 hours in the morning and 2-3 hours in the evening. This is the only way to try to maximize blood flow to her. This doesn't always work, but it's what we can do. I see my OB doc this Thursday (at 2:30) for a non-stress test on the baby. If she has dips in her heart rate with movement, that will be concerning. It means she's not tolerating activity. We are also having a repeat Doppler study (checking the blood flow) and ultrasound on Feb. 8. (this might be sooner, depending on the results of the non- stress test). If the blood flow is worse (and it depends on how much worse) at that time...they might put me on complete bedrest at home or in the hospital (if they need to monitor the baby more closely). Our goal is to make it at least 4 more weeks to 34 weeks. At that time, baby's generally have very few concerning medical issues. If we cannot make it until then, or if she looks like she's in danger at any time, they will put me on steroids (to speed up her lung development) and deliver her. It's safer to have her small and possibly spend some time in the NICU, then to be in danger life wise or have neurological devastation because of lack of blood low to her brain.

Lots of information with not a lot of answers at this time, i know. Believe us...we feel the same way. Stuck in this limbo with no control over our baby girl. Like i said earlier, right now she's okay....but we are starting to see this abnormal function of the placenta. We will keep you all updated whenever we find out anything. We're just kind of reeling from all of this...worried...some days are better than others. Just please keep the babe in your thoughts and prayers....and we'll update soon.

--Stacie, Shane, Layla, and BabyG2

28 Week Ultrasound

Well, technically it was at 29 weeks. Due to the flu last week, we had to move the appointment. Here she is, though! Weighing in at approximately 2 1/2 lbs...our little bean is plugging away! Once again, her hand was in front of her face the entire time! I've settled on the fact that we probably won't see her entire sweet little face until the big day, but i'm okay with that....what a wonderful surprise that will be!!

Yo, Yo, Yo...

While Grandpa was building out BabyG2's new closet, Layla was throwin' down a beat in his hat!! Always the little entertainer!!

Clean Little Piggy

Even all dolled up in her "piggy's"....she wanted to help Mommy and Nona out with the big cleaning this past week!! Now, if i could just get her to clean the toilets!!

Basket Fun

What is it about kids and laundry baskets? Most of us have seen pics of ourselves in one. Layla was no exception. Climb in...climb out. Tip over in the laundry basket, while trying to climb in...cry...climb out. Yes, this continued for some time. This was our last day in the great up north and we reluctantly made the long trek home. Layla had started getting sick (again) the last day or so there, so she was pretty tuckered out from all the traveling and festivities. After she had gone to sleep that night, we went to check on her. She had pulled out a stuffed animal from the bag hanging on her crib...ironically, it was Rudolph! Until next year..."then all the reindeer loved him, and they shouted out with glee...Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer...you'll go down in his-to-ry!" Happy New Year All!!

Dora-Palooza

Dora dolls, dvds, coloring books, reading books, pajamas, etc....Dora mania was in full gear this Christmas! Dora present after Dora present...our little bean couldn't have been happier! Next to Dora....the stairs were a big hit. She happily (and proudly) climbed up and down Nona and Grandpa's stairs a hundred times every day. It's a good thing they were carpeted...and that there were so few....cuz she definitely took a few diggers! As you can see in the last pic, she had trouble sticking her landing after that tumble.

...and it continues with the Dora Backpack. It took her awhile to get the concept, but once she did, she didn't want to take the thing off! She paraded around the house like she was the beez-neez with her pimped out bag!

Little Girl, BIG Tub!

Layla loves her "tubby time"....and she got a special treat at Nona and Grandpa's. Bath time took place in their big soaking tub...and Layla couldn't have been more stoked! She was thoroughly disgusted with us, when we made her get out...sad little froggy...

Family Christmas

We celebrated our family christmas over New Year's at Nona and Grandpa's house this year. Once again, our little elf cleaned up! She finally got her very own baby doll and spent quite a bit of the weekend pushing her around and "feeding" her a bottle. Such a good little helper. Thankfully, she didn't continuously slam this doll's head against the floor...I think we're making progress!