Maddie got a 10/10!!!

Today was the appointment with my high-risk OB, Dr. Murphy.  First up was the biophysical profile.  Apparently my MFM's office got a new ultrasound machine and the tech was pretty excited to play with it.  She decided to start playing with the 3D function and even made me a CD of the pictures she took.  Here are a couple cute ones of our Madeleine Marie:

Yeah, in case you couldn't tell...she's kicking herself in the forehead in the last picture.  I laughed pretty hard when she did that.

Anyway, all in all, the appointment went really well.  While there is still restricted blood flow at the cord, it is better today than it was last week.  It went down from 4.2 to 2.6.  YAY!  Maddie passed the NST today in the first 30 seconds we were hooked up to the machine.  Dr. Murphy gave her a 10/10 for today.  And although we still have to wait for the growth scan next week to get out of woods, things are looking good at this point that she'll be able to stay in there a little while longer.

My blood pressure is still high, although it's been stable.  I dropped off my 24 hour urine collection at the lab and they ran another blood panel on me to keep an eye on the possible pre-eclampsia.  The lab, by the way, was INSANE!  Is it a full moon tonight?!?  There were probably about 50 people there and while I was waiting I saw the following:  a woman have a seizure, a crazy old lady freak out and start slamming her cane into the counter, and another crazy lady run over two people AND a sign with her motorized wheelchair. 

So, we're still in a waiting pattern.  Thursday is my next NST and Monday is the big growth scan.  I think today I'll celebrate the bit of good news we got.

Maddie Got a Gift from Grandma & Grandpa!

Maddie received a gift in the mail from Grandma Jayne and Grandpa Jerry!

BABY QUILT!

Here's a close up of the panels:

"Madeleine Marie Ramsayer" is embroidered on the back.

Another 24 Urine Collection

Today we had a NST (non stress test) at my OB.  Of course, my blood pressure was still high.  However, today I also had trace protein in my urine.  Since they've been concerned about pre-e for the last week or so, they've ordered me to do another 24 hour urine collection this Sunday.  YAY!

Maddie passed her NST with flying colors.  My OB laughed when she came in because Maddie was flipping all over the place in there and ended up passing the test in the first 3 minutes we were hooked up.  We still had to stay hooked up for the minimum 20 required minutes.  Maddie also has the heartbeat of a 32 week baby rather than the 30 week old that she is.  So, sounds like she's doing just fine in there right now.

So, our doctor schedule is:
Tomorrow - Dietitian
Sunday - 24 Hour Urine Collection
Monday - Dr. Murphy for ultrasound and NST
Thursday - Dr. Campbell for an NST

Update on Maddie

Well, I've been officially removed from work and put on modified bed-rest.  The modified part basically means I can walk around my house, and that's about it.

Essentially, we're in a wait an see pattern right now.  As I said earlier, Maddie is measuring small (7th percentile) and there's restricted blood flow at the umbilical cord.  Primarily, the doctors are worried about IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction).  Essentially, this means that the placenta is not allowing adequate blood/nutrients to get to Maddie so that she can grow properly.  I will have another growth scan in 2 weeks.  If it is determined that Maddie is not growing, then they will have to deliver her.  As such, I have been placed on a round of betamethasone to help develop her lungs in the event that we have to deliver in the next couple weeks.  If it shows she's growing (and thus just a small baby) they're going to try and keep her in there as long as possible, but we will be continually monitored.

Secondly, the doctors are worried about pre-eclampsia.  Although all of my blood and urine has come back normal, they are still concerned that with my blood pressure being high I am at risk to develop it soon.  Because of this concern is why they have removed me from work and placed me on modified bed-rest in an attempt to help lower my BP and thus keep her baking as long as we can.

Essentially, my team of OBs are trying to get us to at least 34 weeks (4 more weeks) before considering delivery; my personal goal is to not see her sweet face until at least December.  Obviously at this point, anything can happen.  I won't know much more until after the next growth scan.  As we stand now, I will have two appointments a week where I will get a NST (non-stress test) and an ultrasound.  So, despite what's going on, Maddie and I will both be getting regular monitoring so we can react as needed.

As for my blood sugar, it had been great until yesterday.  My normal diet was keeping my sugar in the 80-90 range all day (which is great).  However, the steroid shots caused my sugar to skyrocket (a known side-effect).  I was rolling around 160 yesterday after the first shot and have been 160 so far today after getting the second shot.  I have to keep a close eye on it, because if it goes over 200 I have to call the doctor and at that point they will decide whether I need to be admitted for a few days to the hospital to maintain my sugar at a normal level.

It's been a crazy couple of days with a lot of information thrown at me.  I'm thankful that I have a great team of doctors who are giving me the best possible care out there and keeping a very close eye on everything.  They've also had fantastic communication with each other which has put my mind at ease.  Finally, I'm also very thankful that I have great health insurance.  I can't even imagine how much all of this is going to cost from the day in labor & delivery to the multiple blood/urine tests, NSTs and ultrasounds, not to mention all of the supplies and appointments related to the GD.

And just to make this a little happier, here are a couple Maddie pics.  First up is a great shot of Maddie's sweet little profile:

And here's a shot of her little foot.  It looks like a Trina foot to me...so I think we know where Trina got her clod-hoppers.

We had an interesting day yesterday!

8 a.m. marked my first appointment with the high-risk OB regarding my Gestational Diabetes.  I didn't really know what would happen at the meeting, but I figured we'd go over my test results, she'd explain the situation to me (including risks and complications), we'd figure out a diet, and she'd write me a script for my diabeetus testing supplies.

That is pretty much the exact opposite of what actually occurred.  I got there early, around 7:30, which ended up being a good thing because I had to fill out about 10 pages of paperwork.  I was taken back and told that all new patients get a comprehensive ultrasound.  Sweet!  Another chance to see Maddie!  Well, the ultrasound is where my appointment went downhill.  The high-risk OB, Dr. Murphy, came in to the ultrasound room to see how things were going.  She expressed concern that my blood pressure seemed high, especially when compared to my previous pressures.  Then the ultrasound concerned her even more.  Maddie is measuring small (7th percentile) and there is a restriction of blood flow at the umbilical cord.  All of these things combined made Dr. Murphy worry about pre-eclampsia.  She discussed the multiple complications and risks which sufficiently freaked me out and then sent me down to Labor & Delivery for monitoring.

I spent quite a few hours in L&D having bloodwork run and having my BP checked every 15 minutes.  I was also strapped into some monitors to monitor Maddie's heart beat and check to see if I was having any contractions.  Eventually, all of my bloodwork came back normal.  However, the midwife on-call expressed concern over Maddie's "variables" (dips) in Maddie's heart beat.  She told me that I'd have to wait until my OB could take a look at the strip before they decided whether to discharge me or not.  My OB was in surgery, so I had to wait a while before she came to see me.

Eventually, my OB came to see me and said that everything looked great with Maddie's strip.  Thank goodness.  She said my bloodwork was good, but that with all of the other issues they want me to do a 24 hour urine collection to make sure I have no protein in my urine at all.  She sent me home with these beauties:

She also explained that while Maddie is measuring small, it might not be anything to be concerned about because obviously 10% of babies are small, however, they always become concerned any time they see a baby under the 10th percentile and they like to keep an eye on things.  We were officially diagnosed as SGA (Small for Gestational Age).  Also, the blood flow restriction at the umbilical cord may not be anything to worry about either as it may be a one time thing.  However, because of my BP, Maddie's size, and the restriction they are going to keep a very close eye on us.  She said that from here on out I will be followed by her office as well as Dr. Murphy for the high-risk issues.

I was put on strict bed-rest until Monday at which time I have to go back to the hospital to see Dr. Murphy.  At that appointment they are going to re-run all of the blood work done yesterday and go over the results of my 24 hour collection.  If my urine collection comes back clean, then we can officially say that I don't have pre-eclampsia...at least not right now.  Hopefully, I will also be able to talk to her about my GD and what I could be doing.  Because of the concern of Maddie, the only thing I ended up getting at the initial appointment was the script for my diabeetus testing supplies:

That 3 month supply you see right there...$500.  For real.  Good thing Blue Cross covers durable medical equipment for me!  I had a fun morning of trial and error with the meter.  I ended up burning through almost a whole drum of lancets and a few testing strips because I had to find the right depth for the needle.  I've got 2 of my 4 draws done today and it's really not as bad as I thought it was going to be.  At least not yet.  Ask me again in a week after I've poked myself 30 times.

Last Cider Mill Trip!!!

We went on our annual cider mill trip with Jill and Aaron yesterday.  And, as always, we had an absolutely fantastic time.  We love those two!

This year, we decided to go to Spicer Orchards.

 It's about an hour drive from each of our houses, so we decided this year that we'd just meet at the mill instead of one of our houses.  The weather yesterday was less than desirable (which after discussion, we decided that many of our mill trips have had cruddy weather) as it was SUPER windy and pretty chilly.

We arrived and immediately went into the store to check out what they had.  Right at the entrance was a giant cart full of acorn and butternut squash.  They were honestly some of the biggest butternut squash I've ever seen...and they look delicious.  Jill ended up getting one to make some soup with!  The store was full of apples, honey, jams, dressing, baked goods, etc.  We grabbed some cider and went to check out the donuts.  They had PUMPKIN SPICE ones!  We picked up our treats and headed to the other side of the store where the wine tasting section was.

I was a little bummed that I couldn't participate in the wine tasting as they had several flavors and looked delicious!  Jill picked up a bottle of Pinot Grigio.  Ryan and Aaron got a growler each of their own cider mill favorite, hard cider:

Aaron and Ryan both agreed that the hard cider from the first mill we ever visited was the best, but that this stuff was pretty good too.

After the tasting, we headed outside to the pavilion to enjoy our donuts and cider.  Let me tell you, that pumpkin spice donut was like HEAVEN!  I know I couldn't have eaten one, but I did.  I also had a small glass of cider.  The wind was so bad, there we points we thought that it might life the pavilion off of us and take it away.  After about 10-15 minutes we were all cold and sick of trying to hold our napkins, glasses, and bags on the table.  For reference, the wind was so strong it was blowing the bag of wine off the table.

To warm up a bit, we decided to check out the cider viewing area.  This mill had all new equipment and we watched for a while how exactly everything was working.  At some point, the chute for the apples became clogged and apples started falling from the top of the machine to the floor.  The kid running the machine didn't really seem to understand what was going on and ended up getting pegged in the head by apples.  We were laughing so hard we had to leave.

We then took a quick walk of the mill and decided that it was too windy and cold and we should cut the visit short.  Instead, we drove to a nearby sports bar and watched the MSU v. UofM game.  After MSU was a beautiful victory against the maize & blue, we decided to head back to Jill & Aaron's to hang out, eat some dinner, and watch the Tigers.

We ended up playing Settlers of Catan which Jill and I were a bit apprehensive about seeing as it seemed an awful lot like Risk which we hate playing.  The boys opened the game and started setting it up while us girls ran to the store to get groceries to make dinner.  When we got back, a half hour later, the boys were STILL trying to figure out how to play the game -- not a good sign.  But, in the end, it actually was pretty fun to play:

Basically, each player is a settler on an island and your goal is to build settlement or cities and earn enough victory points before anyone else to win the game.  My fellow settlers were very effective in blocking my ability to obtain wood for a significant portion of the game.  Here's a shot of Ryan's depression when he realized that we had all effectively blocked his ability to expand one of his settlements:

Ryan ended up with a from-behind victory.  Everyone was worried about Aaron winning because he was totally dominating.  I think we all had a pretty fun time playing!!!

After the game, Jill cooked dinner and we ate a scrumptious meal of spaghetti w/ turkey meatballs, broccoli & garlic bread - yum!  Just as dinner was getting done, I found a text on my phone.  And here's what it was:

"Hi Aunt Melanie"

How absolutely adorable is he?!?!?!  I just want to kiss that little face all over!  Blake Louis was born weighing a whopping 8 lbs. 3 oz. in the evening on October 13th.  I can't wait to see him and his parents in February and introduce him to his new pre-arranged BFF, Maddie!

After dinner, we watched the Tiger's game and what may be considered the worst half inning in playoff history.  When the game hit 10-2, Ryan and I decided to call it a night and head home.  All in all, we had a fantastic day!!!

Pete's Benefit Dinner

Saturday we went to a benefit dinner for my cousin Pete.  He was diagnosed with Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia, a type of lymphoma.  The benefit was at Fieldstone Golf Course and was a huge success by anyone's account.

We arrived at four for the dinner, but did not participate in the golf portion since most of us don't golf.  They had closed the course for the day to hold this event, so everyone there was there just for Pete!  After arriving we checked out what was going on in the room.  First there was the silent auction, which had a bunch of awesome things donated.  A lot of autographed sports memorabilia, ski equipment, golf equipment, Pine Knob season ski passes, etc.  They also had a raffle going on.  I've never seen a raffle run they way they did it, but it was awesome.  They had tons of items set up on tables that were being raffled off and each item had a tub in front of it.  After you purchased your tickets, you could place them in which ever tubs you wanted.  Each items was raffled off from the tickets in it's corresponding tub.  

We ended up buying a few tickets and Ryan and I tried to win a) a Nike golf bag, b) a signed Mickey Redmond puck, and c) a bunch of autographed hockey memorabilia (Wings & Leafs).  We decided to try and stack the odds in our favor, so we put a bunch of tickets in each tub...instead of spreading the wealth among a bunch of items.

As a family, we also bid on a TON of items in the silent auction.  It cracked me up because Ashley was bidding against a 9 year old for a signed Victor Martinez bat and ball.  They just kept going back and forth and at some point the kid wrong "Just Stop!" in the margin.  Ashley is ruthless and ended up winning the item.  LOL.

Dinner was delicious.  It was a buffet and I had salad, pasta, steamed veggies and mashed potatoes.  I have it say it was one of the best buffet meals I've ever had.  After dinner they started rolling with the prizes.  Up first were the winners of the golf.  One 4-some managed a 56 on a par 72 course and they won.  The plaques they got were really awesome.  Afterward, the did a few of the raffle items (none of which we put on bets on) and then it was time for some speeches from the family and organizers of the event.

Afterward, they raffled off a giant wheelbarrow full of booze.  The winner of the wheelbarrow decided that he wanted it auctioned off and the proceeds to go to my cousin's family.  Well, who do you think won the boozebarrow?  Yeah, that would have been my dad.  After he won it, I immediately turned to Ashley and said, "How the heck are we going to get that home?!?!"  Here it is in all it's glory:

Ashley and Eddie claimed the booze and my parents gave the wheelbarrow to Ryan and I because they had just gotten a new one.  Woooo for a new wheelbarrow!

In the raffle portion, Ashley and I were both successful.  Ryan and I won the Mickey Redmond signed puck.  Ryan was SUPER excited:

Ashley won a Guinness jersey and Guinness globe.  Eddie was super excited about the globe and kept raising it up like it was his own Super Bowl trophy.

We were all really successful in the Silent Auction as well.  Ryan and I won the Matt Stafford & Calvin Johnson signed football, the Mickey Redmond signed bowling ball and puck, as well as the Jim Leyland signed baseball.  Since we had already won a puck in the raffle, we gave the 2nd one to Ashley and Eddie.

Ashley and Eddie won the Victor Martinez signed bat and ball as well as a bunch of golf stuff.  Eddie really wanted the Miguel Cabrera signed ball and picture but at the end of the Silent Auction Ashley and some guy were in a bidding war, and apparently he ended up winning.  

The benefit was fantastic and a giant success.  Over $36,000 was raised for Pete's family.  It really warmed my heart to see how many people came out to support him and his family.  It was truly an amazing day.

An Overly Emotional Pregnancy Moment

Ryan and I had a bit of a difficult time coming up with a name for baby girl.  We had a boys name picked out almost instantly, but came to a standstill pretty quickly on a girls name and kind of just gave up.  Then, we found out we were actually having a girl, so it was back to the drawing board.  We vetoed nearly every name the other came up with.  We'd end up with a list of a few names and we'd ponder those for a while and inevitably they'd all end up vetoed.  I'm almost certain that we vetoed 90% of the female names in existence.

One of the initial names I threw out was Madelyn, and Ryan vetoed it almost immediately.  At some point, we were discussing names and Ryan said, "Hey!  What about Madelyn?!?"  The look I gave him was probably priceless.  He said he knew he vetoed it, but he liked it now.  So, we decided that we'd think about Madelyn for a while to make sure we both really liked it.  We ended up settling on that name, but couldn't decide on a spelling.  And then Ryan came home from work and handed me this:

Honest to goodness, I almost started crying right there.  I don't know why...I think it was a culmination of knowing that Ryan was thinking about his baby, and thinking about her name, and thinking about me...enough so that he decided to buy these cookies and bring them to me.  I'm such a dork that we've had them for weeks now and I've refused to open them because every time I look at the package it makes me smile.

In the end, we actually decided on the French spelling for our little girl, so I love those little cookies even more.  I know, I know...overly emotional pregnant chick.  I got it.

Gestational Diabetes

Well, my OB called today and told me I failed my glucose test.  One of my draws was "marginally" high, whatever that means.  I was referred to and made an appointment with a high-risk OB at Henry Ford West Bloomfield (where I will be delivering).  My OB said that most GD can be managed appropriately with diet alone, so at this appointment I will be learning what my new diet is as well as learning how to test my blood sugar levels daily.  I can't say I'm real thrilled about poking my fingers repeatedly during the day, but at least it's only for 13 weeks.

My appointment is on October 21st, so I will update more when I find out what's going on.  In searching the internet, it looks like most GD diets are pretty similar to how I normally eat.  Obviously, I'll have to cut out my daily Coke and skip the occasional desserts that I have.  I probably eat more carbs than recommended, but if my diet is like the ones I've seen on the internet, then it doesn't seem like it will require too much adjustment on my part.

In other news, I convinced my wonderful husband to make some of his delicious chili for dinner this week and since he got home a bit early today he decided to make it for tonight!  All of the yummy peppers (that thoroughly confused the cashier at Meijer) all perfectly chopped up and sauteing:

The meat is all browned (he uses stew meat instead of ground beef), the 'maters are all cut up, and the sauce is all mixed:

Now we just have to add some beans, wait another 2-3 hours, and it's CHILI TIME!!!!  Guess this is a good meal to kick off my GD since it's high in protein and low in carbs/sugar.   

Family Cider Mill Trip

Yesterday we decided to head up to Plymouth Orchards with my parents.  It was pretty chilly but not cold enough yet for the down maternity jacket I bought, so I had to sport an old jacket that wouldn't ever even come close to zipping at this point.

We walked around their little market for a while picking up a few items like apple pie bread, apple coffee, popcorn, etc.  I saw a couple items that I considered buying, but decided against at the last minute like: apple & vidalia onion vinaigrette dressing, apple BBQ sauce, pumpkin and apple butter, etc.

In the end, we picked up some cider, doughnuts, carmel apples, and a peck of apples to make apple pie.  I don't think we'll end up getting to the pie until next week, but I'm excited none-the-less!

After making our purchases we went to sit at the picnic tables to enjoy the spoils!  They had a musician there playing a lot of Jimmy Buffett music.  I sat there enjoying my cider and doughnuts while watching all of the other people.  I couldn't help but get really excited about being able to take Maddie next year!  Cider Mills are one of my favorite things and I can't wait to start a family tradition of taking our kids there every fall.  Looks like Maddie has a good start since she's already been twice so far this year with a third trip planned on the 15th!

Here are a few pictures:

 Can't wait to go again with Jill + Aaron in a couple weeks!!!