Almost there...

So we have a new date - Friday November 13. The lucky Friday the 13th.
I was a little upset when they called the change the date - not because of the 13th, but I thought it wasn't supposed to be a Friday to make it easier for Sick Kids. So I emailed a bunch of people including the neurosurgeon and a coordinator at Mt Sinai. Everyone assures me there isn't a problem with delivering on a Friday. So here we are.

The countdown is on. Less than 24 hours to go. I'm more nervous than excited. I don't think I'll be excited until after his surgery and we're into the countdown for him coming home. But this puts us on step closer.

The nursery is done! Clothes are put away, decals are up, paint is dried, floor is down, crib is together. It looks great! Exactly how I pictured it. Katheryn keeps trying to 'move in'. She keeps bringing clothes into his room! We also moved her rocking chair in there, so she keeps trying to climb on that (which she totally ignored when it was in her room).

So all the bags are packed. Care for Katheryn and Sammie are arranged. Important numbers are written down and we have a bunch of stuff and food for the hospital stay.
I think we are as ready as we can be.

Stay tuned!
Laura will update this weekend and hopefully we'll get some pictures up.
For now please just wish us luck and keep us in your prayers!

Happy Halloween!

Everyone dressed up this year - even Nickolas!
For those you don't know, when I was pregnant with Katheryn, she dressed up as an Easter Egg! (in-utero of course).
So what do you do in October? A pumpkin of course!
Laura came and helped do my belly up.
Katheryn reused her costume from last year and was Lady from Lady and the Tramp. She fit it better this year. No trick or treating, she liked playing with her cousin Madison. Next year she might be able to eat some of the candy - so we'll wait until then.

2 more weeks to go for Nickolas - I'm starting to get nervous (like I wasn't before). And we are trying to plan what help we need for the weeks he's in the hospital and after. But I'm not sure what I'll need. You can't complain about having too many people who want to help. I just wish I had a plan, and I have no idea what to expect so I can't plan anything!

And we have a date!

November 16!
Ultrasound and doctors visit today went good. Everything is on track. He's estimated to be 6lbs 12 oz now - bigger than Katheryn at term! I had a talk with him before we went about moving around. He didn't move that well at the last ultrasound, so he cooperated this time. He even had the hiccups for part of it, and kicked a couple of times.
Everything is coming together.

We got Nickolas' room at painted. It is an especially great design (if I do say so myself) and the painters were really well staying within the lines. No really, they were really great (Dad, Laura, Cheryl, and especially Marie, and Shannen). Now its just for the decals, the flooring, the furniture and the baby!

Finally a Date! ... Kind of

So I have my next appointment at Mt Sinai - the one were I was supposed to get a date. Well I have one... actually I have 2! November 12 (Thurs) and November 16 (Mon). Because of the need for Nickolas' surgery they don't want to have my surgery on a Thursday or Friday so there will be equipment and staff and testing for Nickolas during the weekdays. But Monday the 16th was full, so they need to see if they can bump someone.
Personally the earlier the better for me, (screw getting school done), he'll be out sooner, we'll get him home sooner, he'll be that much older at Christmas. Of course I also want full staff at Sick Kids so they can do all the testing - usually a head ultrasound and MRI before the back surgery. I think if he's born on a Friday, they will just do the surgery and do the testing afterwards. AND there is always the possibility of no beds and needing to wait anyways (hopefully not, but they did mention it just in case) and I of all people know sometimes NICU beds get full fast.

We also asked about latex-free setup and they'll do the c-section latex free. We got a bit of a rundown of where Nickolas will be after he is born. While they can't guarentee how things will be, we can get a 'probably this will happen'. Pretty much we'll see him quickly then he will go to the Mt Sinai NICU to be assessed, they put a sterile dressing on his back, bloodwork, IV, antibiotics (Amp&Gent). Sick Kids will be notified. After he is stable and everything is checked out, we'll see him again for longer (how long? - probably not long enough). Then when the NICU bed is ready at Sick Kids he'll be transfered across the street. Kyle will go, meet everyone and they'll have a game plan there. I of course will still be stuck in bed recovering from the c-section.

The ultrasound was ok. He didn't cooperate very much and wasn't moving very much. His head is catching up - it has been smaller (not on the scale yet), now it is on the scale. Apparently typical for spinabifida baby's. Mild hydrocephalus, the ventricles (the part of the brain that fills with fluid that makes hydrocephalus) did grow a bit, from 8 mm and 9 mm, to 9 mm and 10.5mm and I think hydrocephalus is considered at 10mm. But again that is expected. Everything is growing ok. He's estimated to be 2444gm (at 34 1/2 weeks). That is just over 6 lbs. Katheryn was born (at 40 weeks) at 2600 gms. So its not my imagination, he is bigger!

I find he doesn't move as much as before, more rolling around and less kicking and punching - but he does love head butting my bladder. Oh Joy! And he loves rock music! The louder the better and he jumps around in there.

I think that's all the updating for now. Katheryn of course is still doing well and I'm enjoying not having to go into work. But I'm getting nervous about not alot of time left, and thinking it is dragging on forever!
Everyone knows how much I like to plan everything, and can't plan ANYTHING this time around, just a wait and see and take things as they go, and have faith that things will work out. There isn't anything I can do anyways.

Update

OK OK so I've been a bit lax updating this thing.

I'm officially on maternity leave (from work) - still slugging away on my MRP project for school. Katheryn really enjoyed visiting all of her family on Thanksgiving weekend and we're working on getting her learning more words. 18 months is such a milestone!

Nickolas news - I find out on Friday when our c-section will be.
I did have a visit at Mt Sinai in September and had another ultrasound, everything is still there (yes the other ultrasound place is garbage), but no hydro and everything is progressing well. Nickolas' head remains small, but that does not seem to be unusual.

This Friday I should have some more answers, have a date, meet with the pediatrician and know some kind of a game plan. I'll keep everyone posted (now that I know this blog is actually being read).

We are trying to get ready on the room - 34 weeks and no nursery yet - I'm getting a little nervous about that one. We have some clothes in the closet and the cradle - so really what else do we need right away. I have a bunch of one-peice outfits for 0-3 months, no waistbands because of the scar and no elastic bands because of the latex allergy. I need to look at more latex-free stuff. Spina bifida is associated with latex allergies and so it's assumed he will have a latex allergy and we need to look at labels!

Things are Moving

So I'm finally seeing the high risk clinic at Mt Sinai on Monday and hopefully get some answers about what the plan is for the rest of the pregnancy.
I had an ultrasound done and it showed no hydocephalus (great!) but I don't really trust what the tech saw, considering it said he couldn't see an open spina bifida - which we KNOW is there! And the head is small, which freaks me out a bit, but we'll keep watching it. But no hydro - which is what we really wanted to find out. During the ultrasound we could see his mouth opening and closing - I think Nickolas and Katheryn have been 'talking' already! He didn't move that much during the ultrasound, but as soon as I was outside he was kicking up a storm - this kid moves around ALL the time! When ever I'm awake he is usually moving and letting me know he's there. Hopefully when he's out he'll sleep a bit.

It's hard not knowing, not knowing how bad things are, or how good. Not knowing and not seeing our little boy, just imaging the worst and hoping its not that bad. Kyle and I have different perspectives about the spina bifida and the ultrasounds. He hopes for the best, I plan for the worst. So we compliment each other nicely. I am just so afraid of getting my hopes up, that things won't be as bad as what I've read.

We are trying to get the baby room ready. Slowly but surely things are progressing, we are emptying out the room and we'll start painting in a month or so. Katheryn thinks its great that she can move around the computer room a bit more. She loves running around upstairs and runs everywhere now. We just walk over to daycare in the morning instead of putting her in her stroller.
Oh are we going to have our hands full soon!

Holding Pattern

28 weeks now. It seems to be going to quickly and so slowly at the same time. It seems like we are in a holding pattern right now. When we found out about the spina bifida everything moved so fast, but now nothing.
I've kept going to Dr Samra, but I know that I'll starting going to a specialist at Mt Sinai soon, but I don't know when or who. We are kinda of stuck. We go for another ultrasound this week to look/check for hydrocephalus ("water on the brain") which is the next big thing we need to worry about. In July it hadn't developed yet, but can develop very quickly at any time (or not at all). It would effect when we expect to deliver. I don't know if we should have done ultrasounds yet, but if it was there and was large - we aren't going to deliver at 26 weeks, or 28 weeks either.

I am always amazed when people say how brave we are being. It doesn't seem like we are being brave. We aren't doing anything especially courageous, we are dealing with what life has sent us. We are fighting for and loving our child.

So I don't actually have much more news. Nickolas moves around ALL the TIME! (I'm not complaining) and everywhere. He is probably breech, or flipping back and forth, up and down.

We are going to start on the nursery soon. I have plans and paint chips, but of course it is still filled with our computer room crap. But we have time (hopefully), 28 weeks is a big milestone to meet, next is 32 weeks, but of course I still 39 weeks in my head. And that is what my timeline for my research project states (yes I'm trying to finish my Masters before the baby comes - I know I'm crazy).

Katheryn has become our next artist. Drawing all over paper, magnets, floors, herself, her parents - not the walls (yet). And Kyle is just waiting for her to hit 20 lbs so she can go in her new car -big girl - seat.
She is such a monkey!