We have a plan

Our appointments at U of M went well yesterday and we have a plan… well sort of.  I will be induced at 39 weeks but we didn’t schedule the date yet because they do not schedule that far advance.  So we will schedule when we go back for our next appointment on March 2.

The day started off with the ultrasound.  We had the same tech as last time and she was very nice.  She cruised through the ultrasound and was able to get all the measurement quickly.  Nothing looked any different than before and our little one is already measuring to be about 4 lbs. 14 oz.  We are so excited that she is growing so well and is likely to be a nice sized baby.  We also got to see some of her hair, which explains my heartburn! 

Our next appointment was a meeting with a high risk ob.  The women’s ob clinic is right in the children’s hospital.  As with any appointment, it started out with my weight and blood pressure.  We were totally amazed (and happy) when my blood pressure came out on the low side for me.  It hasn’t been high this pregnancy but of course with my family history, it is always something we watch.  So good news there!

At the ob appointment, we learned a lot.  As far as the ob is concerned, I am not a high risk patient, but it is our little one that puts us into the high risk category.  I am going to continue to do the shared care, so that I can have my appointments with my local ob office, which is literally minutes from our house.  Of course, if there are any signs of labor before the scheduled induction date, we have to head over to U of M.  We obviously need to do what is best for our little girl and having her born at U of M is the best start we can give her!  Learning about how things will go makes us feel more comfortable and enables us to have a plan. 

After lunch we had a fetal echo.  The same fellow that did the first echo did our second echo.  Our little girl was moving around and put her chin down with her hands pulled in just to make things more difficult for the fellow and the cardiologist.  She is a feisty one!

The good news is that she is a “standard risk” HLHS patient.  The cardiologist says there are no “low risk” HLHS patients but there is nothing that would put her into a high risk category.  This is, of course, good news.  The cardiologist answered all of our questions and again we were able to come up with one that she hasn’t heard before.  I think we just have some odd questions!   The next echo that our little girl has will be once she is born!

After the echo, we got a tour.  We started with the area where we will spend the least amount of time – the general cardiology rooms where we will be just before we are ready to go home.  These rooms are all private and both parents can stay in the room.  In this area is a big play room, art center, laundry and kitchen.  It was very nice and will allow our older daughter to come spend some time with us.  The next area we visited was the cardiology intensive care unit.  In this area we will spend a lot of time.  The rooms are all private and each room has one nurse assigned to it.  One parent can stay in these rooms.  Then we visited the other part of the intensive care unit where patients come just after surgery.  It is a more open style than the private rooms but there is still some privacy compared to old-style intensive care units.  One parent can stay bedside here as well.  We checked out the waiting room, which was already an emotional experience as any experience can turn into with a pregnant lady!

We then visited the Ronald McDonald House that is onsite and literally around the corner from the intensive care unit.  We are hoping that we can get a room there for the beginning of our stay but it is not certain. So we shall see on that.

We visited the milk storage area and found out more about the process for storing milk.  The final stop of our tour was an activity center that has just opened.  This activity center is beautiful as long as you are a Michigan fan.  It has a huge jungle gym and many other things that can keep the kids entertained for quite a while.  We think our older daughter will enjoy spending some of her time here.

Things are starting to come together and everything is feeling more real.  This can be both good and bad.  We feel that we are preparing as best we can but you cannot be prepared for everything and you never know where the road will lead you.  We are just happy to be working with everyone at U of M to give our little one the best care possible.

In the oddest part of the plan, my three sisters all have three different weeks off for spring break right after the time that our little one will arrive.  What are the odds of that?!? 

Thank you to everyone for all of your support!  It really means a lot to us.

As I finish writing this our older daughter is refusing to go to sleep for her nap despite falling alseep in the car on the way home earlier... Oh the joys :)