36 Days...

That's 36 days in the hospital! I've been here 17 straight days and in those 17 days, caught up on scrapbooking, started the baby's scrapbook, made a latch hook pillow and a few candy cane glass beaded ornaments... watched 100+ hours of TV, slept when possible and had over 10 IV's. My arms are tired.

I have my 2nd amnio tomorrow, wish us luck! IF the baby is born on Tuesday I should be home Saturday Dec. 6th. If the amnio shows his lungs are still too immature, he will be born on Dec. 11th and we should be home Dec. 14th. So let the countdown begin... I'm rooting for only 6 more days in the hospital, but it might be as many as 15 (UG!).

Thanksgiving was absolutely uneventful for me. I had some cold turkey and visited with my sister, brother-in-law and Henry and Chris. I'm glad it's past me... what a crummy way to spend Thanksgiving!

Henry and Chris and my parents have been able to visit almost every day this last week, which gives me something to look for. Henry has his **sad** moments, but he seems to be coping very well. We play games on the phone and pretend we're with each other, taking turns tickling each other, fighting and playing the same games we do when we are physically together. He came up with that on his own... his way of coping I guess.

Henry continues to be funny... for example, when he saw Dolly Pardon on the TV he declared "She's Beautiful!!!"... of all people. I guess he's going to be a boob man!

The picture above was taken a couple days ago while we watched Polar Express... we got to cuddle like that for a couple hours, it was GREAT!

35 Weeks today!

35 weeks and still cookin'! Dr. came in today and they are going to go ahead with another amnio next week. Given the fact that I am still passing baseball sized clots, bleeding and now contracting more than I was they want to try to manage, as much as possible, having a controlled or planned c-section. IF the baby's lungs looks moderately mature or better yet, fully mature they will deliver... so once again fingers crossed! Because each day makes a big difference, it is possible his lungs mature enough in the next week.

So, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. The nurses here actually bring in food and they invited me to join them, which is nice. There are two of us here that are in it for the long haul. The other girl came in a week ago but won't go home until her baby is born (she's only 24 weeks) and me, well... I may as well work here as well as I know everyone!!! So, hopefully being here instead of with family won't be terrible!

In case you're interested... Info on the baby at 35 weeks:

Your baby now measures about 20.25 inches in total length and weighs around 5.5 lbs (unless it is a Skinger baby, then he probably weighs closer to 7 lbs). He continues to grow and fatten up, especially in the shoulder area, and kicks regularly. The fine lanugo hair that covered your baby is shedding, though some may still be present when your baby is born. Your baby's eyes are blue, though this may change soon after birth or much later after birth. Your baby's fingernails are growing. They already reach the tips of his fingers and they may even look quite long and pointy by the time he is born. Your baby may even have some scratch marks from scratching his face with his fingernails. Your baby is probably feeling quite cramped right now and his movements are restricted by his growing size.

Two week sentence

I just received a two week sentence... In other words, we are not having the baby tomorrow. I had my amnio this morning and the lungs are not quite the numbers they want to see (baby got a 32 and they like to see at least a 38). The kicker is that they are estimating him at about 6lbs 6oz from the detailed ultrasound measurements, so we have a big kid with small lungs.

In case you're interested, below is the "scoring" for lung development - again our little man got a 32:

Immature 10-40 (our hosptial's cut off is 38)
Intermediate 40-50
Mature to full term >50

I'll write more later when I'm not so upset (upset only because being in the hospital this long is miserable!!!), but I wanted to let those of you who follow this know...

And Henry says...

Yesterday Henry came to visit and when it was time to go home he looks at me at says: "Mommy, I am going to go home and get my truck then I'll come back to the hospital and take you home with me".

He seems like he's doing ok with me here, but it does feel good to be missed!

Role Play: A Funny Henry Story

I've read in my mothering magazines and child development books that the 3's are the age of role play. It is amazing how children's behavior can generally be thrown into buckets, and this certainly applies to Henry... which leads me to a funny Henry story:

Gram and Pawpaw (my parents) took Henry to the Field Museum last weekend so that Chris could have some time to himself to get the baby's room set up. Henry has been to this museum a few times; for those that don't know, the Field Museum is the "dinosaur" museum with T-rex and other prehistoric animals on display. Apparently these animals were too close to real life because he was afraid to enter most exhibits.

SO, Gram & Pawpaw decided to take him to lunch at the Panera inside the Museum. Henry generally behaves himself at restaurants, but this day proved to be different. While Henry was eating, he was talking a lot, but it seemed to be a lot of gibberish. THEN, all the sudden Henry decides to spit, or spew, his milk all over Gram. Gram wasn't too happy and was very confused because Henry is generally well behaved.

They decided it was time to head home. When they got home they decided to watch a movie, Henry's current favorite is Madagascar. For those of you who are Madagascar fans, you remember the scene in the beginning where the animals are all talking while at the Central Park Zoo. I forgot what was said, but the animals all reacted to a comment made by the Zebra and the Giraffe dramatically spits out his drink. Suddenly a light bulb went on in Gram and Pawpaw's head... OHHHHHH...

Gotta love kids!

Excited?

Chris and I have both had a lot of people ask us if we are excited that the end is in sight and that we could have our baby boy this time next week... WELL, it has honestly been such a tough long road I don't think we've allowed ourselves to get excited per say. It all started with our difficulties to get and stay pregnant, getting through the losses we've had and now surviving this very difficult pregnancy. That doesn't include our necessity to manage normal day-to-day activities and hoping that the ball doesn't drop too soon with this pregnancy... let's just say we've been very distracted.

I think it is really hard to explain how scary it is go get through each day not knowing if "IT" will be the day that I hemorrhage or "IT" will be the day we have to deliver the baby by emergency c-section. I have bled so much I am starting to become used to it, but "IT" is not normal and quite scary.

I think once we actually get to Tuesday we will breathe a sigh of relief because all of the unknowns will become known (with the exception of if I end up with a hysterectomy or how badly I'll bleed during the surgery), but at this point none of that matters...

We ARE getting excited, in fact Chris called me this morning because he had heard something on the radio where someone was talking about bringing their family to Disney World and he had a revelation that WE will have our family very soon. Of course we are a family with Henry and Brera but the dynamics change somewhat with another person to add to our roster and WE are very excited about that!

34 Weeks and counting!

I hit a few milestones today:
- The most important, I hit 34 weeks today!
- I have accumulated 25 nights in the hospital
- I have gained 25 lbs
- I am caught up with my scrapbooking!

Today is a big day... after being checked in at 27 weeks I didn't think I'd hit 34, but here I am! I wish I could say I felt good because I don't BUT it will all be worth it! I really have not completely stopped bleeding since last Thursday and my contractions have increased, neither of which is good but I'm dealing! I haven't needed a blood transfusion yet and hopefully can get through the surgery without one.

I thought I would include some information on the baby's development, in case you're interested:

Baby Boy at 34 Weeks:
Your baby weighs almost 5 lbs (2250 g) and is about 19.8 inches (44cm) long. If your baby were born now, he would be considered "pre-term" rather than premature. This distinction is based on fetal maturity, particularly the maturity of the fetal lungs. A pre-term baby, unlike a premature baby, is likely to have well-developed lungs and is less likely to need intensive care.

Your baby is surrounded by a red glow when sunlight shines on your belly and may be aware of this as he is able to differentiate between light and dark. Your baby's hair is getting thicker, though it may be a different color when he is older. He is currently shedding his lanugo, the fine downy hair that previously covered his body. More vernix, the waxy coating that protects your baby's skin while submerged in amniotic fluid, is building up. Your baby's adrenal glands are producing more steroid hormone, the androgen-like hormone that indirectly aids your milk production. Your baby is currently producing ten times more of this hormone than a normal adult and the adrenal glands are currently the same size as those of an adolescent. They will shrink after birth. Your baby is laying down bone. To do this, he will draw calcium from you. Your baby has taste buds and it has been suggested that he can taste and develop tastes for flavors found in the amniotic fluid, particularly flavors that you eat on a regular basis (so I guess that means this baby will only want broiled tilapia... you know, bland hospital type foods... fabulous!)

Isn't all that great info! If you're in the neighborhood, I LOVE visitors.... it really breaks up my day! I have very little energy these days, but if you don't mind pushing around a big fat pregnant woman in a wheelchair, I do have wheelchair privledges and we can go grab at tea at Argo !

My Pad

Thought I would include some pictures of my awesome room. I found out they might move me because techinically I am on the postpartum side, but I am HOPING they don't!!! Being in this room makes the day go by faster... I can sit and watch people walking along the lake or shopping on Michigan Ave and just daydream about being there myself!

There is a view of my room walking in (looks like a fishbowl... I love it!), view from my bed and views out the window... can't complain!

And she's back...

I checked into my lovely "confinement" room last night around 1am. Yes, back in the hospital. I used the word confinement because that is literally the terminology used by the insurance company in the letters we receive with regards to my stay.

As always, I had another bleed which landed me here. This one was not quite so scary but there was a pretty good quantity. I am officially anemic and my blood count dropped to the lowest level they would like to see me at (any lower and they would have delivered the baby last night). I did get an amazing room however, a corner "office" that I can see Water Tower Place, Michigan Ave., Lake Michigan to the East, Lakeshore Drive.... it's quite beautiful actually... I'll post pictures when I can!

My revised "plan" for baby Skinger is as follows:

Monday, Nov 24th - I am scheduled for an amnio so they can check the baby's lungs. I will be 34 weeks, 5 days.
Tuesday, Nov. 25th - IF (big word here!) the lungs look ok, they will deliver the baby on this day! Please say prayers, send good wishes or do whatever you think works to give this baby a chance to be born on the 25th!!!!

"IF" the baby's lungs do not seem well enough developed, then we will be hosting Thanksgiving in the Prentice cafeteria AND I will be here an additional 1-2 weeks and deliver the 1st or 2nd week of December.

That's it! If you want to reach me, my cell phone is best and my address is below.

Got a "Get out of Jail Free Card"!

I'm home! My Dr. sent me home on "good behavior"... he said that if I promise to stay on STRICT bedrest I could go home... it helps that I live close too!

Here's the kicker... the second I got home, literally walked in the door and went straight to the bathroom... BOOM, I was bleeding! Chris just kind of laughed, and so did I... it took us almost 30 minutes to drive 5 miles in horrible Friday traffic! We did hit a few bumps in the road that didn't feel so good and then we have these horrible speed bumps in the alley driving to our garage... so we chalked it up to that. The bumps really didn't feel so great and I'm convinced that is what caused the bleeding. YES, the placenta is that sensitive, especially with a big baby Skinger lying on top of it.

Anyway... we decided to wait this one out instead of running back to the hospital. Thankfully it stopped after 12 hours or so (I'd consider this one a slow leak). I do notice however that if I do much of anything, it starts up again. Following Dr's orders is a lot easier now that I have experienced the consequences!

SO... I'm happy to have HGTV back (my fav channel) and be at home with Chris & Henry. Hopefully they're happy to have me here too... especially Chris. He not only has the house to take care of but a 3 year with tons of energy and a wife that is useless!

We're hoping I can stay home at least a week or more. If I can get through Thanksgiving that would be awesome (I turn 35 weeks the Wednesday before Thanksgiving). I am still going to have the amnio either the Monday before Thanksgiving or the Monday after. Regardless, if I can get to 34 or more weeks, this baby will do great!

Gross details of the surgery

I met with the anestheologist for my surgery and she went into the details of what will happen during the surgery:

Senario A: A PLANNED c-section (controlled and scheduled):
I will get both a spinal AND and epidural. They use the spinal for the initial surgery BUT also have the epidural in case the surgery takes a long time (the spinal lasts only so long). I will also have an IV in both arms so they have access to do a transfusion if needed (possibly an IV in my neck). Baby comes out first (fast and furious) then they work on me. Because they cut through the placenta and because the bottom of the uterus (where the placenta is) does not contract as much or as efficiently as the top of the uterus (contractions stop the bleeding), there is a very high risk for major bleeding. Best case scenario they get the placenta out and control the bleeding right away then they can close me up. Worst case scenario, they will put me to sleep, put a tube down my throat and have to do some major surgery. IF I go to sleep, Chris can not be in the OR with me. Absolutely worst case scenario is that they can not control the bleeding and I end up with a hysterectomy.

Sounds like a party huh?

Senario B: Emergency c-section:
If we end up in an emergency situation where I have heavy bleeding and they have to do the c-section right away... they will put me to sleep right away and unfortunately Chris can not be in the room (he can see the baby once he's cleared in the NICU). Once I'm asleep they will basically get the baby out right away and then proceed to "fix" me (summarized above). Her warning if they put me to sleep is that when I wake up I will have a tube down my throat and most likely an IV in my neck as well as both arms.

Are we having fun yet?

So that's that...

The Sentence

I got my "birth plan" today and here is how it goes:

IF I have another significant bleed they will deliver the baby right away. The bleed has to be pretty significant not just a "little bleed" which means at least as big as my last one (which is described below). In all honesty I think this is fairly likely given that I've had 4 bleeding episodes and 1 big bleed. The big downfall to another big bleed is that means an emergency c-section with obviously a lot of risks including me hemorrhaging, requiring a hysterectomy and of course potential danger for the baby (although he is at lower risk than I am for problems).

At 34 weeks I will have an amniocentesis so they can check lung development. The amnio (for those that don't know) is where they stick a 4ft needle in your belly to extract some amniotic fluid from the fetal sac and somehow that tells them how lung development is. Really, it's not a 4ft needle, but close enough... IF the lungs look ok, they'll deliver the boy then.

All else fails, we will have a scheduled c-section at the beginning of December (around 36/37 weeks). No matter what I am not going home because there is too high a risk of me bleeding to death (literally).

SO... I'm here for the next 2-5 weeks, which means you are ALL welcome to come visit, I love visitors even if it is only for 5 minutes! I'm starting to go nuts... I've racked up 18 days in the hospital so far and all I can say is my butt and hips are killing me from sitting/lying down so much, TV is horrible, sick of reading, food... well who can really ENJOY eating broiled tilapia and baked chicken for this long?

Please send "baby be born" vibes... I'm ready for this to end!!! OH, and my address (for those who have asked):

Prentice Women's Hospital
250 E. Superior Street
Room 968
Chicago, Illinois 60611

Are you as smart as a 3 year old?

I was calling to check in on Henry today and chatted with our babysitter... she had a great story for me:

Like everyday, she took Henry up for his afternoon nap. They read some books in bed and she tucks him in. Well, today when she was tucking him in bed, she found an M&M candy and asked him where it came from...

Henry (very matter-of-fact) just hops out of bed, opens his little foot stool by the bed and says "I keep them all right here"... low and behold there was a lot of his Halloween candy, mostly M&M's that he has apparently been stashing in his bedroom!!! Then, he asked if he could eat some? And Chris accused me of taking all his Halloween candy...

Gosh I love that kid!!! He's keeps us in stitches and is such a sweetheart! Today he brought me a present in the hospital... all by himself he uses whatever paper he can find and wraps up a toy for me. Today it was his toy power drill. I'm so glad he is so thoughtful! He didn't let me keep it, but it was a nice gesture!

No big news here... which is good news I guess.

Election Day - 31 weeks, 6 days

It's election day, and I don't know about you but I'm ready for this to be over!!! I didn't get to vote; amazingly they do not have polls available in the hospital!?! It's ok, I live in an Obama state so I don't think my vote would have swayed the vote whatsoever!

Speaking of Obama... Chicago is crazy for Obama! This may as well go down as some kind of big holiday with all the happenings in the city getting ready for the big celebration tonight! This georgous weather isn't going to reduce the size of crowds either!

Update on me... no more bleeding so far, which is great. My only complaint right now is having to get a new IV every 3 days. I am running out of "good" veins very quickly. I've had many veins blown and they are starting to have a tough time getting a line in. They mentioned putting in a PICC line (permanent IV) which would be so nice because that way it can stay put until the baby is born and I don't have to have the 3 day IV changes. My arms hurt.

Henry has been able to visit me every other day or so. He's been great! Last visit he even brought me a present (a ball of his wrapped up in crumpled paper)... I love that he wants to bring me gifts though!

It looks like they really do want me here as long as I can stay. It is just down right depressing to think I could be here for 5 full weeks! I think I will need a prescription for Zoloft with my IV changes to get through the 5 weeks... seriously, how much TV watching, book reading, magazine browsing can I do!?!

Halloween Update

Not much news on my front... sleeping lots, eating too much and watching a lot of TV. Yes, still in the hospital!

Chris and his mom Nancy took Henry trick-or-treating and then to a neighborhood party, I wanted to include a few pictures. Apparently Spiderman is king among 3 year olds!