according.to.kim

Georgia's birth story

Warning: This may be too much information for some people!

Georgia's birth story began on Friday, January 6, 2006 at about 11:00 p.m. We were smack dab in the middle* of watching the movie, Wedding Crashers. (Of course it was past my usual bedtime at this stage of pregnancy, but when Neil asked if I wanted to watch a movie, I thought, sure, I can stay up a little later tonight because I'll be able to sleep in tomorrow. Ha!)

I asked Neil to pause the movie because I had to pee. I went to the bathroom, used the toilet, and when I stood up, my water broke. I called Neil to the bathroom. He didn't believe me at first! Helloooo! I know the difference between peeing and leaking amniotic fluid! He just thought it was too early. Well, it took me by surprise too, but this was unmistakable. I asked him to get me a Pull-up (diaper) because from past experience I knew that maxi pads would be completely useless.

Within a couple of minutes, Neil had called his cousin Darren to come to our house, and I had dressed for the hospital. He then called Glenys to meet us at the hospital, and our parents to let them know what was happening. While Darren was en route, we gathered up the last few items for my hospital bag. Thank goodness I had pinned a list to my bag because my adreneline was way up and I couldn't think straight. Darren arrived within 20 minutes and we were outta here soon after.

I wasn't ready

This seems kind of silly, but right now I'm sad because my pregnancy is over. Georgia was born two weeks and two days early. I thought she'd arrive early, but not quite that soon. I wasn't really ready. Physically ready, yes, but not emotionally. I wanted to have more pictures of my belly (it was on my to do list last Thursday and Friday, but we just didn't do it); I wanted to have a few days "off"; I wanted to savour the last few days of my pregnancy after completing all of our baby preparations. That may sound crazy if you've gone overdue or didn't enjoy your pregnancy, but I did. I loved carrying my babies and feeling them move and kick. I know I won't ever be pregnant again and I really don't want to be (this one was way too stressful), but I'm sad that all of a sudden it's over and I can't ever feel that way again.

I guess instead of saying "any time now, baby!" (on Jan 5), I really should've said "give me another week!"

January 4 checkup

Georgia is still growing. Her weight estimate this week is 3.3 kg or 7 lbs. 4 oz. (I think that's big enough, so any time now, baby!) Everything else is the same. Her heart rate was 136 and 72, and no sign of any (other) problems. There's still lots of amniotic fluid around her. I don't think I'd mentioned that before, but it's something they check for every week.

I had wondered if the doctor would check this week for any dilation and effacement of the cervix. GPs often check that about now (37+ weeks), but Dr. Cardoso didn't. Glenys said obstetricians usually don't bother with that. It's probably just as well. My body tends to start things early, but it's not necessarily an indication that something will happen really soon.

I have appointments booked for the next three Tuesdays. They switched our day again because Dr. Cardoso will be on call on Wednesdays now. I sure hope I don't need that appointment on the 24th!

37 weeks today

Thirty-seven weeks is considered full term. I'm so happy we made it this far!

We accomplished a lot this weekend. It was great to have three days off and no big plans. We did go out on New Years' Eve for a few hours (took the kids to a party at an indoor playground--they had a blast), but that was it. I'm very relieved to have all of the really important stuff done now. There are several more things I want to do in the next week or two, but we're basically ready for Georgia to arrive. Only six more half-days of work to go too. I can hardly believe it.

I was reading a bit today about "the fourth trimester"--an article in a free parenting magazine I picked up. It was a good refresher on what life will be like over the next few months. Even though this is our third, there were a few things I'd forgotten--like those cramps the new mother gets as her uterus shrinks. Well, I remember them now and I'm not looking forward to it! I've heard they get worse with each child too. Wow, there are so many unpleasant things that happen after giving birth (not to mention childbirth itself!)... but, of course, I know it's all worth while.

Just a few minutes ago when I was laying in bed with Sophia, Georgia was going crazy moving around. I enjoy that. I'll miss that. And I appreciate every single movement I notice these days, but I'll certainly be happy to trade that in for holding her in my arms. I can't wait to meet baby Georgia.

Preparation progress

I spent at least 10 hours working on my office and computer cleanup this week and am about 98% finished (I should've known it would be impossible to do in six hours). I was determined to finish completely before leaving yesterday, but the CD burner on my computer wouldn't work (or perhaps it was me) and I couldn't get some stuff burned. After four ruined discs, I was very frustrated!

We finished our baby shopping yesterday and picked up some new washcloths (the old ones were very tattered and thread-bare), a crib mattress (the old ones have lost their firmness after being used far too much like a trampoline), and a baby sling (purchased by Shauna--thanks!).

The infant car seat and crib will soon be ready, and I'm planning to pack for the hospital today or tomorrow. I don't want to be caught off-guard as we won't have time to spare when the time comes.

I'm so glad that January will be here in only 13 hours! We should make it now. I really want Georgia to be born in January like the other two. I was worried that she would arrive early for one reason or another. After midnight tonight, she has my permission (ha ha) to arrive whenever she likes! Also, since my back and ribs (probably pulled ligaments according to Glenys) are aching more each day, sooner seems like a better idea all of the time.

Happy New Year to everyone!

December 28 checkup

We had our checkup and ultrasound this afternoon and it was very much the same as last week. Oh, except one thing, I'm to DIScontinue taking the Digoxin. Neil and I were both certain that Dr. Cardoso said last week that I should continue taking it, but apparently he actually told me to discontinue taking it. So I will. Starting now. I don't think it's a big deal as they don't think it's doing anything anyway. Georgia's heartrate was 133 and 70 today. I didn't gain any weight, but that's okay because I had gained 1 kg each of the previous two weeks. Dr. Cardoso said he's really happy with me, so I guess that means everything is fine. We won't be seeing a cardiologist next week as they've decided I don't need to see one again unless something changes. The cardiologists will see Georgia after she's born. I will continue having checkups on Wednesdays now along with all of the other regular patients as Thursdays are reserved for longer appointments /more complicated cases. I'm not sure I should think this at all, but I do feel more hopeful now that Georgia will be okay and she won't have to spend too much time in the NICU. I really don't know what to expect.

***

Update: Mystery of the missing onesies solved... Neil went to the farm today and brought back all of the baby stuff that was out there--the Moses basket and the things we lent to Shauna and Wayne when their baby was born 18 months ago. I had completely forgotten that there were baby clothes out there, including all of the onesies we had. So now we have a bunch more baby stuff in our house and it's amazing how looking at it--especially the newborn clothes--makes it seem that much more real.

Getting things done

We took down and put away all of the Christmas decorations and tree today while the girls were at Darren and Ali's. It seems a bit early perhaps, but I'm really happy that's done. If this baby arrives as early as Madeline did, we have less than two weeks to go! Also, as I mentioned earlier, we're now stocked up on most baby supplies; however, I got out a bin of 0-3 month baby clothes yesterday and could not find any newborn-sized onesies/diaper shirts in there. I can't figure that out! I'm sure we have some (although we did borrow several when each of the girls were born). I'll be on a mission now to find the ones I know I purchased five years ago before Sophia was born--and then I'll be seeing if I can borrow some as well. I don't want to have to buy some for just one or two months. There are several other baby preparations I need to do too.

At work, I absolutely must get my office and computer cleaned up this week. I promised myself I'd have it done by the end of the year, but we've been so busy I haven't even started yet. I don't want a repeat of three years ago...Madeline arrived early and then three days after she was born, I spent three hours in my office packing and purging as quickly as possible (Neil and Madeline came with me). I'll be at work the next three mornings, but I can only devote about six hours in total to this task, so it's really going to be a challenge anyway.

December 21 checkup

Not much to report today. Georgia's heartrate was 123 and 71. Everything is pretty much status quo. I'm to continue taking Digoxin every other day. The biggest news is that she grew quite a bit (~600g) over the past two weeks, so she weighs about 3 kg (6 lbs 11 oz) now. That's more than Madeline weighed when she was born (at 38 weeks). I was really pleased to hear that Georgia grew so much. Some expectant mothers might be getting a bit frightened at this point since the baby will likely gain quite a bit more over the next few weeks, but I'm just happy she's growing well. It's a good sign.

***

I'm so very tired right now. I'm going to get ready for bed right away and go to sleep with the kids. Last night was unbelievable. I had less than five hours of sleep. Sophia threw up in the middle of the night and it was really bad. I had to give her a complete bath, washing her hair very thoroughly. The whole clean up process took quite awhile and then I didn't sleep well after that. I was worried about her not being able to go to her Christmas party today, and then when I did sleep, I actually dreamt about cleaning up vomit.

Both girls slept in and didn't go to Sharon's. Fortunately, Sophia didn't throw up again. Neil said she seemed fine all morning, so we decided to go to the party anyway. Then shortly before the party, Sophia started saying that her head and her tummy were hurting. She didn't look well either. She still wanted to go to the party though, so we gave her some Advil and Gravol and went for it. I'm not sure it was the right thing to do, but she was looking forward to it so much.

I was also pretty worried about what might happen, but everything turned out fine. She seemed rather unwell for the first 15 or 20 minutes, but then perked up and was happy for the rest of the party. And when it was time to eat, she was a bottemless pit. Not just for sweets either. She ate a crazy huge amount of fresh fruit and raw veggies with dip. Surprisingly, she's been fine ever since.

Then for our appointment, we had a problem. We didn't want to ask Sharon if we could take the girls there because I had told her they were sick this morning. Thank goodness Neil's cousin, Andrea, was available to come to our house. It's a good thing--we were gone for two hours. There's no way we could have taken them to our appointment.

Eight months

Well, it doesn't look like my belly has grown much since my seven-month photo, but this feels larger to me. I'm very interested to find out how much Georgia has grown over the past two weeks. We have an ultrasound tomorrow and I expect they'll do measurements at this one as they measure bi-weekly.

***

Big day tomorrow: Work from 8:00 a.m. to noon, including my annual performance evaluation and our annual Marketing Christmas snack day. I'm taking Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread which I'll make in the morning. I only make things like this when I can share with lots of people! After lunch, all four of us are going to Sophia's preschool Christmas party from 1:15 to 3:15 p.m. (Madeline also has a cold now but is well enough to go). They'll both get gifts from Santa (which I provided on Monday). We're supplying juice and cups for the party too. Finally, we have our doctor appointment at 4:15 p.m. (we'll be taking the girls back to Sharon's). Thank goodness the evening is free!

***

By the way, this is my 500th post!

December 15 checkup

We had our usual ultrasound checkup yesterday, but with different doctors. Dr. Tyrrell, the cardiologist, was really nice (as are the other two pediatric cardiologists from Saskatoon). Dr. Carson, the perinatologist, was nice too, and it was kind of funny to hear his little jabs at Dr. Cardoso. They have a bit of a rivalry. He'd say things like "if only he would write things in the appropriate boxes [on the prenatal record]..."

The results of the checkup were not surprising to me. Georgia's heart is back (if it ever really changed) to the 2:1 ratio. The rates were 143 and 73. There is no sign of heart failure, so there's no need to change the current course of action; however, it was interesting that Dr. Tyrrell said my dose of Digoxin is so low that he really doubts that it's having any effect. He thought I could quit taking it altogether, but wouldn't tell me to do that because he didn't prescribe it. Both doctors said that since the baby's heart condition has remained rather constant for so long, it is unlikely to change in utero. They also agreed that she's doing fine. Her heart is functioning well, and at 70 bpm it's beating fast enough to deliver blood everywhere it needs to go. We probably won't see a cardiologist again until January, but we will see Dr. Cardoso on the 21st and 28th.

As for me, I've finally gained some weight--exactly 1 kg since last week. I was happy to see that since I hadn't actually gained any weight since early November. All else is fine with me, except I've developed an ache on the left side of my rib cage. The more I sit, the more it hurts; I think it's just that my torso isn't tall enough for this big baby.

More Christmas fun

We're having another Christmasy weekend. On Friday, we went out to the farm to have another visit with Shauna and Cole before they went back to Edmonton (yesterday), and to spend more time with Laurel and Bronwyn before they leave for Toronto. The girls got to open a Christmas gift on Friday evening and then a few more gifts on Saturday morning. They were very excited, of course, and have been enjoying their gifts ever since. I quite like this spreading out of the gift opening for the kids because they can focus on what they're getting at the moment and they also have some time to use their gifts before the next batch. It's not as overwhelming as getting them all at once.

Yesterday, we continued our Christmas activities with putting up and decorating our Christmas tree. We listened to Christmas carols from a Disney Sing Along Songs DVD while we decorated, and then the girls also watched Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas when we were finished. This was the first time I let the girls decorate the tree. They put about three-quarters of all the ornaments on the tree and even added some of their own toys. Sophia got out a set of 12 dinosaurs with curved necks and tails (it's a game like Barrel of Monkeys) and hung them on the tree, and then they both nestled a My Little Pony on a tree branch as well. They had a lot of fun decorating! Plus I let them eat a bunch of chocolate they received from their Great Grandma Louise.

Before we could put up our Christmas tree yesterday, we had to clean the living room. I said to the girls, "Now let's try to keep it clean, okay?" I thought Sophia's answer was funny... "Yeah, we have to keep it clean or Santa might trip on something!" Then, when we were moving the rocking chair to make room for the tree, Sophia said, "We have to put it over here in case Santa wants to sit down." Then she had to figure out exactly where we will put Santa's milk and cookies so they're close to that chair. Also, on the way into the city yesterday, Sophia was asking how Santa will get into our house since we don't have a fireplace (I think she really knows her Santa stuff since watching Polar Express Friday evening). We decided on the back door, so we'll put carrots out on the patio for the reindeer.

Today, we're heading to Yellow Grass for a Christmas party with my family. The girls are very excited. I'm glad  to have our Christmas parties with our families early this year and for the first time, we'll be staying home for Christmas. I'm looking forward to it. The girls will just get gifts from us and Santa on Christmas morning, and I think it will be nice and relaxing.

This all worked out well for another reason. As time goes on, I don't want to be too far from the hospital. When I go into labour this time (which I really hope will not be until January), I need to go straight to the hospital because Georgia's heart rate will be closely monitored while I'm in labour. Also, I've had fairly quick labours (seven and four hours), so being an hour away seems like a bad idea. I'm not leaving the city again after today!

Sinus rhythm!

Well, they think so anyway. Sinus rhythm basically means the atria and ventricles are beating at the same rate--quite a change from before!

We saw Dr. Cardoso and Dr. Mack today. Dr. Mack looked at Georgia's heart and thinks it's in sinus rhythm (or close anyway), but with an ectopic or extra beat occuring every so often in the atrium. There's still no sign of heart failure and her heart rate was 71, so it's still slow (bradycardia), but more regular and that's great! They decided to reduce my Digoxin dose to see if her heart rate will increase (and hopefully stay in sinus rhythm), so now I will take it every other day instead of daily.

If everything had been the same today, I wouldn't have had an appointment next week because Dr. Cardoso will be in Mexico; however, now that things are changing, they need to see what's happening in a week's time, especially after decreasing the Digoxin. Next week (Dec 15), we'll see a different perinatologist (Dr. Carson) and cardiologist (Dr. Tyrrell), but will have the same ultrasound tech as always and Glenys will be there too. It's great to have Glenys at all of our appointments.

We have additional appointments booked now for December 21 and 28 too. (It is reassuring to have a checkup every week. I was kind of worried about having to go two weeks while Dr. Cardoso was away, but now we don't have to wait that long.)

Added, 8:30 pm: In my rush to get this posted before going to Sophia's swimming lesson this evening, I forgot to mention that they did measurements today and Georgia gained about 300 grams (more than half a pound) over the past two weeks. She's measuring at least a week larger than the average size at this stage. That's good news too!

Christmas activities & more

We've been busy since I last posted. On Saturday afternoon, we took the kids to a birthday party at a gymnastics gym. The birthday girl goes to the same babysitter as Sophia and Madeline. Afterwards, we bribed the girls with a McDonald's happy meal so we could finish up our Christmas shopping. It's so nice to have that done early--especially this year! That evening I completed wrapping all of the gifts for our nieces and nephews. I'll wrap our girls' gifts soon, I hope.

On Sunday, we went to see Cinderella at The Globe Theatre, along with Laurel and Bronwyn. It was really good, though not quite what I expected. The girls enjoyed it and did really well to be (mostly) quiet during the almost-two-hour production. Madeline seemed a little frightened at first, especially when the theatre was completely dark, but when it was over, she said "Do it again!". I really enjoyed going to The Globe again; I hadn't been there since Grade 10 (1985) when our class went to see Macbeth! A theatre-in-the-round, The Globe is a cool place.

Immediately after Cinderella, we headed to the farm for a Christmas party. We had an early celebration this year while Laurel and Bronwyn are still here and Shauna and Cole came from Edmonton to visit. After a great turkey dinner, the kids got to make and decorate two gingerbread houses with lots of grown-up help (mostly their Grandmas, Donna and Glenys). Sophia and Madeline are delighted to have the one they helped decorate on display at our house now.

Monday was the first day of my reduced work hours. Work this week has been extremely intense and it's not easy to leave at noon knowing I won't be back until the next morning. There is so much to do. On the other hand, it's good to be able to leave. I'm tired, and I was especially tired after the past weekend as we didn't get home from the farm until 10:30 Sunday evening. Plus, there's so much to do at home. I was feeling overwhelmed by the fact that I had not been able to accomplish much around the house for months.

Having each afternoon off now means I'll be able to rest for awhile and still have time to tackle something around here. It's my goal to get one thing done each day. There isn't a spot in this house that doesn't need attention. We also need to get things ready for this baby! We haven't done a thing yet. Last week, we received a sample package of two newborn diapers in the mail and I thought, 'well at least we have these!' There really isn't much time left (we're at 33 weeks now), and I'd really like to be prepared for this baby's arrival. I need to be ready, more than ever before.

(Must get going to work now. I'm about to try to sneak out of the house without waking Sophia. We want her to sleep as long as possible because she didn't go to sleep until late last night. She had a nap at Sharon's yesterday. Grrrrr!)

Neonatologist appointment

I found our meeting with the neonatologist yesterday more difficult than I expected. Dr. Bodani, who is very nice, talked to us for a full hour and presented a lot of information about what may happen when the baby is born. There are so many possibilities because, of course, no one can really predict how things will go. During delivery, the baby's heart rate will be closely monitored and some specialists will be there. After birth, the baby will be monitored in the neonatal intensive care unit, and they will have to give Digoxin to the baby because she won't be getting it through me anymore. We may have to continue giving the medication for some time after we take her home.

I wanted to know if I could nurse her soon after birth but it all depends on how she's doing. If she's immediately vigorous, then I may be able to, but in any other case, I won't be able to nurse her for awhile because they will want to monitor her closely and she'll receive fluid by IV in her hand or thigh. I will have to pump if I can't feed her for several hours or more (perhaps even days). Also, depending on what else the baby needs, they may have to put a tube in her belly where the umbilical cord is. I may be discharged from the hospital even if the baby has to stay in NICU.

Dr. Bodani also explained that if they decide she needs to be seen by a cardiologist in Edmonton, they'll fly her to Edmonton with a nurse and a respiratory person, but there's no room for a parent to go along. Glenys said we'd probably have to drive because it's quicker than trying to get a flight (even though it's a nine-hour drive). There are so many scenarios, and of course the doctor needed to explain all of the worst-case scenarios too. I'm not going to mention them all here (not that I could remember all of them anyway).

She said Neil and I should take an infant CPR course, and even though I had thought about that already, it seems more frightening that we were encouraged to do so. I don't recall that being mentioned during my other pregnancies. She also said I should start charting fetal movement on a daily basis (i.e., recording how long it takes to feel 10 movements). I'm not too concerned about that right now because Georgia does move a lot, but it's another thing to think (or worry) about every day. Fortunately, I'll have more time to do that every afternoon now that I'm only going to work mornings.

At the end of our meeting, Dr. Bodani said "Enjoy the rest of your pregnancy. Enjoy every little kick." Well, at that point, I started to cry. All I want to do is enjoy this pregnancy, but it's so hard. There are so many more things to think about than with a normal pregnancy. I don't want to think about all of these things that may happen when Georgia is born. I want to be able to feed her right away like I did with Sophia and Madeline. I don't want to leave the hospital without my baby. I can't stand the thought of not being with her all of the time during those first few days or weeks like I was with the other two. I don't want to have to give her drugs or watch for certain things. Basically, this sucks. (However, I must remind myself that Glenys said a C-section was done this week for a baby at 29 weeks gestation with a fetal heart rate of 70.* Sound familiar? That would be so much worse. We're lucky to have Dr. Cardoso because he didn't panic about the situation three weeks ago. *There may have been other factors or complications that we don't have though.)

I know it's good to be prepared and it's better that we know what to expect. Many people have to cope with newborn problems that were totally unexpected. I guess it's better to know, but at the same time, I can't help but think of the old saying "ignorance is bliss".

December 1 checkup

Good news today: The baby is still very stable -- her heart rate was 72/143, and at one point when she was more active, 110/151. No signs of heart damage or failure. The cardiologist (Dr. K) was very happy with the situation, and so was Dr. Cardoso. They said I can probably have this baby in Regina! I'm very happy about that.

Dr. Cardoso is sending us to see a neonatologist (Dr. Bodani) tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. I think she will tell us more about what will happen when the baby is born. I will certainly have a few questions for her. Dr. K said today that the baby will be taken right away to the neonatal unit and be monitored by ECG, then they'll fax the results to the cardiologist and he'll tell them what to do, such as what medication to give to the baby.

As for me, I'm stable too. My pulse and blood pressure are good. I didn't gain any weight again though; in fact, I lost a pound. No news regarding the antibodies. They still had not received the anti-Ro result and Dr. Cardoso was getting pretty mad about that, as well as the fact that he hadn't yet received a written report from the cardiologists (this apparently is due to there being only one secretary for three cardiologists). Dr. Cardoso's staff were trying to track down the blood test results while we were there today, but for some reason, there seems to be no record of the test.

I finally asked the doctor to sign a medical report for reduced work hours. He would have said no work at all if I would be expected to do a full-time job in only half the time, but I assured him that wouldn't be the case since my maternity replacement actually started working half-time for us this week. The truth is that working only half-time next week will probably be very stressful because my replacement can't help with the project I'm on, but I'm just going to try not to worry about it. I wanted to work fewer hours because I need more rest and I need to take care of myself and my baby. In the grand scheme of things, the work project just doesn't matter that much.

On my mind today

I'm just up briefly between my evening nap and going to bed for the night.

I'm happy to report that I haven't been worrying too much lately and I haven't read anything about you-know-what on the internet since Saturday. I realized this evening while I was laying in bed with Madeline that a couple of things have stolen the top spots for my attention.

One is work--the huge project I'm working on is very challenging and it's seemingly impossible deadline (the 12th) is looming. The other is my back--I've developed a backache that flared up strongly today. This ache, which is in the left centre of my back (oddly, not my usual backache spot which is lower right), started last week and lasted for a few days. I went to my chiropractor on Friday and my back felt really good until today. Guess I'll have to make another appointment. I've had backache in late pregnancy before, so I'm not surprised. The problem is it tends to stick around until delivery, but I had never gone to a chiropractor while pregnant before. Maybe I can keep it in check this time if I keep going for adjustments.

Another thing on my mind is the fact that Laurel and Bronwyn will be leaving soon for Toronto (the 15th). The reality of this is becoming undeniable. Today was Bronwyn's last day at the babysitter. (It was Laurel's last day of work too.) My girls and Bronwyn have spent more time together at Sharon's house than anywhere else. I'm sad to think of that ending now. Bronwyn certainly is their closest friend (and cousin). I'm sure they'll miss that frequent contact with her. That's enough now--I can't think about it for too long.

Double-edged sword

It has been almost three weeks since we learned of Georgia's heart condition and yet I still can hardly believe this is happening. I was reading more on the internet this evening--more about fetal heart block mostly. It seems so odd to be reading medical case studies and abstracts all of a sudden (and on a Saturday night no less). Neil doesn't want me to read anything because it tends to increase my worry, and that is true to some extent, but I think it also helps me to be prepared and to not feel totally helpless. There is so much uncertainty right now. I just need to know something. But no matter how much I read, I know I won't find the answers to the big questions... Will Georgia be okay? Will I be okay? This is such a double-edged sword. My main concern is with Georgia, but I can't ignore the concern that I may have something that could affect my ability to parent all of my children someday.

Nov 24 checkup

I'm not sure what to say about yesterday's checkup. The scale didn't tip in any direction, good or bad--well, maybe a bit more to the bad side, on second thought. Like I said to the ultrasound lady, I'm concerned about something, I just don't know what it is.

Starting with the good news... the baby seems to be okay; she's growing and things are pretty stable. Still no sign of heart damage or failure. Her heart rate was 72 and 123, which seemed awfully low to me, but Dr. Cardoso was happy. We didn't see a cardiologist yesterday as no one came from Saskatoon. Georgia has grown quite a bit which is great. She gained about 600 grams since November 8, the last time they measured her. They estimated her weight to be 2.1 kg or 4 lbs. 10 oz. Really quite large for 31 weeks!

I also seem to be okay. My pulse is fine and my blood pressure is good, but my weight was exactly the same as last week. I wonder if I'm eating enough each day. Some days, I doubt it.

So here's what I didn't want to hear. Some of my blood tests came back and three were positive: Rheumatoid Factor - 65 (high), ANA - positive, and Anti-SSA Ab - positive. The doctor did not tell us what this means; in fact, I'm sure he said something like, "The question is, what does this mean?" However, he also said the Anti-Ro test is not back yet and that one is more serious (I think because it's much more linked to fetal heart block).

Nevertheless, the three positives worry me. I looked them up on the internet, of course, and I started thinking that I might have something called Sjögren’s Syndrome because all three of my positive tests are linked to that, or one of several other autoimmune diseases like Rheumatoid Arthritis or Lupus. The internet is a dangerous place sometimes.

Fortunately, I spoke to Glenys last evening and she helped me feel a little better. She was at our appointment yesterday and made copies of the three positive test results so she could look into it as well. She happened to run into my other doctor yesterday, Dr. Miller (who ordered the ultrasound on Nov 8), and she asked him what he thought. He said it may not mean anything serious. I may just have some sort of inflammation that's not affecting the baby. Glenys also said the RF (Rheumatoid Factor) test has a high false-positive rate. So basically these results may mean something, but maybe not. I'm trying not to worry, but it's not easy.

Seven months

Seven months along now; 31 weeks today. The baby has really grown over the past month as you can see by my six and seven month photos. I don't think this t-shirt will cover my belly next month!

I did a quick count of remaining days of work. If I stay until January 12, as originally planned, I only have 29 work days left. Not many! And perhaps even fewer than that--it seems somewhat likely I'll have to leave work sooner, especially if we have to go to Edmonton.

It's only 8:00 p.m. and I'm so tired. I'm going to get ready for bed right after this and I'll fall asleep with one of the kids. It drives me nuts to go to bed so early, but I surrender.

***
The past weekend was good, but not very restful. I worked Friday morning and then was the parent helper at Sophia's preschool in the afternoon. It was Sophia's "In the Spotlight" day and she loved it! Friday evening was my regular girls night out (the third Friday of every month) and we went to a movie, Just Like Heaven, at the cheap theatre. It was cute. A romantic comedy--definitely a "chick flick". We actually had tickets for 40-Year Old Virgin which is supposed to be really funny, but we got there too late and couldn't sit together so we just went into another theatre. On Saturday, I went to a mini scrapbooking retreat with friends. Always enjoyable! I don't think I'll be able to do that for quite awhile now. Neil took the girls to the farm and he also went hunting that day. Many thanks to Donna and Lou for taking care of the girls all day! On Sunday, I went over to a friend's house in the afternoon for a couple of hours and then Mom also came to our house to visit for a few hours. She spent a lot of time doing "crafts" with the girls which was really nice.

It was the fifth weekend in a row we had plans. Last weekend, we attended my cousin Jayne's lovely wedding reception and dance in Churchbridge. I do want to post some photos from the wedding but I haven't had a chance--especially because I need to go to bed so early on weeknights. Next weekend, we have no plans! I'm looking forward to that.

A beautiful aorta

Yes, our baby has a "beautiful aorta"! Just what every parent wants to hear, isn't it? So it's not your typical compliment... we'll take it!

The second cardiologist, Dr. K, took a good look at Georgia's heart today. (They call him Dr. K for good reason--we did hear his actual surname once, but I couldn't possibly guess what combination of letters make up his long name.) Thankfully, there are still no signs of heart damage or failure. The arrythmia continues at the 2:1 ratio as before, but her heart rate was down again today at 69 and 133, and the doctors were really quite happy with that. I was worried because it was the low heart rate that had everyone concerned last Tuesday, but it seems that on Thursday they were more concerned about the high rate of the atrium. Dr. K said it's okay where it is--not too fast and not too slow. He said if it's too fast, it's working too hard and will get tired, and if it's too slow, then it can't function properly.

The plan is simply to monitor the situation each week. They think the digoxin worked to bring the baby's heart rate down, so I should continue on the same dose. I mentioned that I was really tired and Dr. Cardoso was not surprised, but he asked me to take my pulse twice a day and notify him if it drops below 70. My pulse during the appointment was 90. My blood test results are still not back yet, so there's no news on that.

I am disappointed (though not surprised) that her heart rate is still so out of sync, but the doctors didn't seem too worried about it. It's so hard to tell if this is a really serious problem or not. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.