Follow Up Visit #1 out of Many

We made our first trek up to Seattle today for a follow up visit.  It was a long day!  Perhaps the longest the dogs have been home alone in months.  Thankfully they were alive and well when we returned, and the house was just as we left it.  So, here is the run down:

10AM: Met with Seattle Children's Hospital.  We got a tour of the NICU first.  It was a little intimidating seeing tiny babies hooked up to so many machines.  Plus I just had a heavy heart knowing that there were parents in there that were dealing with worse things than we are facing.  I can't imagine what they are going through, as this has been stressful enough.  After going to the NICU we got to go to the medical floor where our baby will be sent after he is stabilized in the NICU.  The hope is that he is only in the NICU for a week or two, as the medical floor is a more bright and friendly place.  The rooms on the medical floor actually have a bed for Ryan and I to stay on.  The bed situation while he is in the NICU is lackluster at best.  The family resource floor (where you sleep while your baby is in the NICU) has lockers, big bathrooms with showers, and some "bedrooms."  The bedrooms are QUITE small.  Since I will be recovering from surgery I will get to sleep in the tiny twin bed while Ryan revisits his Marine Corps days on the floor of the tiny bedroom.  Yikes!  Again, hopefully the baby gets transferred to a lower level of care ASAP for many reasons, including the better sleeping arrangements for us!  Other than the tiny bedroom situation, there is a place for us to do laundry, a library, a Starbucks (thank God.  I didn't want Ryan to go through withdrawals), and kitchens that we can store food in so that we aren't spending money in restaurants.  People have been asking how they can help, and bringing us meals in the hospital is one great way to help, and we will also have an account for the cafeteria that is set up to take donations.  Overall I am so impressed with Seattle Children's Hospital and I feel so lucky to have such a great place to take our son.  Ryan and I have donated money to this hospital a couple of times over the years and now that we are utilizing their services I feel like we should have done more.  They are awesome and truly a godsent for families going through a stressful time.  So if anybody is looking to be charitable, they are certainly a worthy cause!

11:30AM: Break for lunch.  Ryan takes me to the Sony store where he looks at overpriced TV's and we are hounded by salsemen to buy them.  I spend the time sweating and worrying that Ryan might actually buy a TV.  We leave TV-less and I eat.  Phew.

12:30PM: We meet with a genetic counselor at UW's Maternal and Infant Care Unit.  She reassures us that the results of the genetic testing are nothing to be concerned of and asks if we are Jewish or French Canadian.  Interesting!  We also discussed that our last test came back negative on Wednesday, so another abnormality that can be associated with omphaloceles was ruled out.  Fairly uneventful meeting otherwise.

1:30PM: Ultrasound time!  So much fun.  The baby is getting so much more baby looking.  He was moving around like crazy and even kicked the ultrasound tech.  We saw his stretched out hand and then the most amazing thing in Ryan's life happened, next to meeting me: the baby threw up a slayer.  We couldn't believe our eyes.  Ryan probably did not pay attention to the rest of the visit.  So far this baby is much more Christiansen than DeVries, other than looking incredibly cute, which I will get to in the last segment.

2:40PM:  We meet with my perinatologist, Dr. Jolley, who I love.  I ask a MILLION questions.  I can't believe how many things there are to consider in this situation.  As of right now the baby is going to be born on March 7th at 9am or 11am.  He will have his omphalocele put in a protective bag, then he will spend about an hour with us, then go to UW's NICU with Ryan, THEN come back to see me before he and Ryan head to Children's via ambulance.  Of course this all could change if he comes out needing more breathing assistance than we think he does.  Right now his lungs are shaped great, and they are of normal size.  But, just how well they work is something we won't  really know until he is out.  BUT, Dr. Jolley reassured us that it is very unusual to have a baby who appears to have nothing else going on come out and not make it.  So, really we are just going to have to wait and see how much support he will need to breath, as opposed to waiting to see if he will survive.  Of course, nothing is a guarantee, but right now there is no reason to go to the worst case scenario.  Although he will almost certainly get some form of oxygen support so that he can focus all of his energy on growing.  Right now it is all looking great.  We also got the skinny on the appropriate attire.  In the NICU we can bring blankets, socks, mits and hats.  Overall, it was a very positive visit and everybody seems very optimistic.  And, remember, they all see a LOT of omphaloceles because they are a regional referral center for several states.  The last time we met with them they had two babies with omphaloceles of comparable size at Seattle Children's that were doing awesome.  So, things are looking good.

Lastly, I was told by one of the perinatologists that our son has a cute profile.  Now, we already knew this, so no surprise.  But, to hear it from somebody who looks at babies all day for a living was pretty exciting.  So, I have posted a photo from the ultrasound today for the first reaveal of Baby C's ultra cute profile.  We think he is basically the next Zoolander, but a little manlier.

Our next appointment is on New Year's Eve!  Talk about a different way to spend New Years than what we would have been doing three years ago!  I also see my regular doctor on the 19th to see if I have diabetes, which is a routine thing to check for if you are a man and didn't know this.  Yuck!  Ryan wanted to make sure that I say thank you to everybody who has been posting on this blog and sending us prayers and support.  We both appreciate our friends and family more than we can express.  Well, let's be honest, we are kind of immature about that stuff and most of our thank you's come out as jokes.  BUT, if you know us, you know that we love you all.   

Until next time!

Carly, Ryan and Baby C