High risk

It's still hard to believe that my pregnancy falls into the "high risk" category, since everything about being pregnant this time around has been and will continue to be pretty normal, except the frequent doctor visits, and the number of doctors who have a say in how and when I deliver.

Yesterday I hit the 32-week mark and took a trip to Medical City in Dallas, where I visited several doctors. This will be a recurring event every two weeks until I hit 36 weeks. Then I'll start going every week. That's still normal, except for the fact that I have to travel over 100 miles to get there.

We had an early morning because I was taking Ellen, Jack Jack, and Rose to play with cousins at my sister's house in Greenville while I was at my appointments.

So for those of you who have been waiting for more information about our baby boy, here it is.

Dr Laird (9:30)
At the end of my first appointment of the day with my pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Tracy Laird, she wrote this note to the pediatric cardio-thoracic surgeon who will be operating on our baby soon after birth:

"Hypoplastic left heart syndrome
-restrictive PFO
-possible cor triatriatum"

The good news is that she sees good blood flow from the baby's heart and umbilical cord, and she wants to make sure the blood continues to flow and doesn't start to back up where it doesn't belong.

That, and the note above, means that I will have appointments every two weeks to monitor the condition, and that I will probably be scheduled for a C-section at 39 weeks (around November 4th) if all things stay the same.

We want all things to stay the same, or get better.

Dr. Weiss (10:30)

My perinatologist or maternal-fetal medicine specialist does an ultrasound every time to measure growth, movement, amniotic fluid, and also wants to see me every two weeks. The baby has been growing normally and moving a lot, just like he's supposed to.

When I asked him if I could just assume the contractions I was having were Braxton-Hicks, he laughed and said it was better not to assume anything, and that he'd have the OB check out the situation. We don't want any surprise deliveries with this baby.

Incidentally, the perinatologist in Lubbock (who we were going to see for a "routine" ultrasound to find out we were having a boy) is the doctor who first discovered the heart problem and referred us to a pediatric cardiologist.

Dr. Seddi (11:30)

Next I went to the Specialty Obstetrics Referral Center a few floors down to see my OBs, who only see high-risk cases. My blood pressure was a record 80/60, probably due to the fact that I had eaten nothing but a granola bar that morning and was super hungry. Dallas traffic did not leave me time to stop for a McMuffin.

They weighed and measured me; I'm growing as expected. They hooked me up to a monitor for baby's heartbeat and contractions; the baby looks and sounds good; I am not in labor. They did a protein test and checked my cervix; they are more than 90% sure I am not going into labor anytime in the next 14 days. That's a relief.

Lunch (12:30)

I ate in the hospital cafeteria and read Art of War by Sun Tzu. Why the interesting choice? After seeing it on our bookshelf for the past six years (Jack had a copy from a college class), I thought it would be interesting to take a look. It was also free to download to my phone, as the actual book is now in storage or a second-hand bookstore somewhere. Also, it is completely unrelated to any topic currently occupying my mind and heart.

I do sometimes feel that I'm going to battle for my kids, especially this little one, and although the book is written literally, I like to read literal things in a figurative way. My degrees ruined me like that, so I can't shut off the wandering thought about what else this could mean.

Pre-admission/Tour (1:00)

Pre-admission: done.

Tour of the Cardiac Surgical Center and Pediatric ICU: lots of machines, several questions about logistics, breastfeeding, and baby care answered. This was probably the hardest part of my day, but I am happy with the nurse's explanation of hospital policies and the level of involvement they want and expect from parents, and the great lengths they go to to support breastfeeding.

Dr. Treen (2:00)

The director of the Pediatric ICU and a neonatologist, Dr. Treen gave me a straight forward and detailed explanation of what to expect from the time I deliver until the baby's first surgery, including what tubes, monitors, medications, and interventions are normally done on a baby with HLHS. It was all very overwhelming, and I don't remember much.

Following my appointment with Dr. Treen, I had to go to the lab for a glucose tolerance test (very late in this pregnancy), get some signatures for paperwork, and then I finally headed back to Greenville at about 4:00. Traffic wasn't bad. I picked up pizzas for dinner on the way to Heather's house, and the kids were ecstatic.

While I was having my fun day, they were playing trains, play-doh, princesses, taking a walk, riding bikes, eating snacks, and witnessing the very exciting losing of a tooth: cousin Eva's third. Ellen assured Eva that she'd be back in two weeks, when they could continue playing the game they had started. And she gave her a hug. It was very cute.

We left Heather's at 7:00 and got back to Nana and Pa's house just before 9:00.

And I have all that to look forward to again in two weeks, plus a visit with the surgeon. If you're in the Dallas area, Medical City is on Forest and 75, a couple of blocks from the temple. I'd love to see friends!