Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Hospital Trip #2 OVER!
I'm being discharged as we speak, waiting for my nurse to remove my saline block (IV entrance), and waiting for Shane to pick me up. Hallelujah. Until next time...
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Baby Girl Update
As you see at the top of this page, we had an ultrasound last night and we have a new picture of our baby girl! She is 24 weeks, 4 days old in this picture - we can't believe how clear the picture is! Shane thinks she has Ryan's nose!
We met with the high-risk pregnancy doctor, Dr. Gordon, last night. He did the ultrasound and answered all of our questions. Basically, this baby is facing the most important month in her life right now. It is imperative that we get to 28 weeks. If we had to deliver today (very rare and not very likely at this point), she has about a 50% chance of survival. The further we get along in the pregnancy, the higher her chance of survival. It would take a lot of uncontrollable bleeding at this point for them to make the life-saving decision for me, in order to make them deliver the baby at this point. It would only be to save my life. Dr. Gordon feels confident that my body will stop bleeding (in fact, we haven't seen any blood since about 2 pm yesterday afternoon) and I will be able to go home soon. With the complete previa (he confirmed that on the ultrasound), it is likely that I will bleed again before the baby is born. I need to be on bed rest and really take it easy from here on out. Yes, I've been on bed rest for a little more than 3 weeks now, but he is pretty strict about the bed rest and it doesn't sound like they will be lifting any restrictions. (Quite the opposite, in fact.)
I posted something yesterday about the steroid shot they gave me to help the development of the baby's lungs. I misunderstood and said the wrong thing in my blog. The steroid will help the baby if we had to deliver in the next 2 weeks or so. I don't think this is going to happen, it would be pretty rare, and it is not usually recommended or helpful to repeat the steroid shot later. There is something that the Neo-Natal Doctor could recommend called a Rescue Steroid but usually those are not administered. It is an option and if we had to do it, I guess we could. I don't know too much about it - we'll cross that bridge later. Or hopefully we won't have to. :)
I feel good about going home. I know everyone would think that I'm just dying to go home and be in my own bed - yes, in some ways that's true. But, I know that I'm safer in the hospital, the baby is safer in the hospital. The food is terrible, the TV has only about 4 channels that I would watch, I don't have all of my "stuff" from home, I miss Shane and Ryan immensely, but I do have constant care and that is reassuring. It's hard to say what I would prefer but I feel stable enough to try being at home again.
It's important to note that this trip to the hospital was not as a result of my bleeding. I came in with some kind of GI bug - apparently it's going around - and the vomiting, etc caused the bleed. It would be more concerning if it had been a spontaneous bleed that didn't have anything to do with doing something strenuous (like throwing up).
Anyway, long story short - baby is fine at this point, mommy is fine (and will be better every day that we go without bleeding) and we just have to wait and see. My doctor still has a 3-strikes-and-you're-out policy. The next bleed will constitute a long-term hospital stay.
I'm not very good at asking for it, but if you're looking for a way to help... :) At first I thought I wanted phone calls or company. I don't NEED that. What we need are extra hands around the house. We could use food or prepared meals (makes it easier when Shane gets home from work), we could use basic household help, you know, vacuuming, dusting, unloading the dishwasher, laundry, etc so Shane doesn't have to do it in the few precious hours he has at home. It is very strange to have someone clean your home or do work around you but we realize that people want to help and these are things that we need help with. Extra hands with Ryan would help as well - Shane is still trying to maintain his philanthropic work at The Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, and is going to work at The Special Olympics this weekend. (We have a lot of support from our future sister-in-law Sarah in regards to taking care of Ryan but we don't want to wear her thin - she works full-time and is getting her Master's Degree and is planning her wedding!) I will work on having a list of things that would help us out on our refrigerator - if you call and ask I'll probably tell you we don't need anything. :)
Of course we know not everyone can help physically. Prayers are so helpful and we appreciate all of the thoughts and cards and everything that so many of you have sent. It really helps in keeping our spirits up and our hopes high. The other thing you can do is support your local March of Dimes chapter. They do research on and are "dedicated to improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality." (marchofdimes.org) Of course this has become a priority in our minds at this time.
Thanks for reading. I'm also on facebook if you have a facebook account or our email addresses are becca8780@sbcglobal.net or shanes.me01@gtalumni.org.
Talk to you soon,
Becca
We met with the high-risk pregnancy doctor, Dr. Gordon, last night. He did the ultrasound and answered all of our questions. Basically, this baby is facing the most important month in her life right now. It is imperative that we get to 28 weeks. If we had to deliver today (very rare and not very likely at this point), she has about a 50% chance of survival. The further we get along in the pregnancy, the higher her chance of survival. It would take a lot of uncontrollable bleeding at this point for them to make the life-saving decision for me, in order to make them deliver the baby at this point. It would only be to save my life. Dr. Gordon feels confident that my body will stop bleeding (in fact, we haven't seen any blood since about 2 pm yesterday afternoon) and I will be able to go home soon. With the complete previa (he confirmed that on the ultrasound), it is likely that I will bleed again before the baby is born. I need to be on bed rest and really take it easy from here on out. Yes, I've been on bed rest for a little more than 3 weeks now, but he is pretty strict about the bed rest and it doesn't sound like they will be lifting any restrictions. (Quite the opposite, in fact.)
I posted something yesterday about the steroid shot they gave me to help the development of the baby's lungs. I misunderstood and said the wrong thing in my blog. The steroid will help the baby if we had to deliver in the next 2 weeks or so. I don't think this is going to happen, it would be pretty rare, and it is not usually recommended or helpful to repeat the steroid shot later. There is something that the Neo-Natal Doctor could recommend called a Rescue Steroid but usually those are not administered. It is an option and if we had to do it, I guess we could. I don't know too much about it - we'll cross that bridge later. Or hopefully we won't have to. :)
I feel good about going home. I know everyone would think that I'm just dying to go home and be in my own bed - yes, in some ways that's true. But, I know that I'm safer in the hospital, the baby is safer in the hospital. The food is terrible, the TV has only about 4 channels that I would watch, I don't have all of my "stuff" from home, I miss Shane and Ryan immensely, but I do have constant care and that is reassuring. It's hard to say what I would prefer but I feel stable enough to try being at home again.
It's important to note that this trip to the hospital was not as a result of my bleeding. I came in with some kind of GI bug - apparently it's going around - and the vomiting, etc caused the bleed. It would be more concerning if it had been a spontaneous bleed that didn't have anything to do with doing something strenuous (like throwing up).
Anyway, long story short - baby is fine at this point, mommy is fine (and will be better every day that we go without bleeding) and we just have to wait and see. My doctor still has a 3-strikes-and-you're-out policy. The next bleed will constitute a long-term hospital stay.
I'm not very good at asking for it, but if you're looking for a way to help... :) At first I thought I wanted phone calls or company. I don't NEED that. What we need are extra hands around the house. We could use food or prepared meals (makes it easier when Shane gets home from work), we could use basic household help, you know, vacuuming, dusting, unloading the dishwasher, laundry, etc so Shane doesn't have to do it in the few precious hours he has at home. It is very strange to have someone clean your home or do work around you but we realize that people want to help and these are things that we need help with. Extra hands with Ryan would help as well - Shane is still trying to maintain his philanthropic work at The Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, and is going to work at The Special Olympics this weekend. (We have a lot of support from our future sister-in-law Sarah in regards to taking care of Ryan but we don't want to wear her thin - she works full-time and is getting her Master's Degree and is planning her wedding!) I will work on having a list of things that would help us out on our refrigerator - if you call and ask I'll probably tell you we don't need anything. :)
Of course we know not everyone can help physically. Prayers are so helpful and we appreciate all of the thoughts and cards and everything that so many of you have sent. It really helps in keeping our spirits up and our hopes high. The other thing you can do is support your local March of Dimes chapter. They do research on and are "dedicated to improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality." (marchofdimes.org) Of course this has become a priority in our minds at this time.
Thanks for reading. I'm also on facebook if you have a facebook account or our email addresses are becca8780@sbcglobal.net or shanes.me01@gtalumni.org.
Talk to you soon,
Becca
Grandfather Sir (Becca's Daddy)
I should have written about this sooner but I just realized how many people don't know yet. 2 years ago in April, my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. They did a radical prostatectomy (basically means they removed the entire prostate) and thus far has had very good results from the checkups and blood tests.
The first week of February my dad had a tumor removed from his cheek (right in front of his ear) that appeared to be benign. The surgeon said it was benign and the pathologist said it was benign. The surgeon did a great job of preserving his nerves and despite some excess fluid drainage for a couple of days post-surgery, it was a successful operation. He had a tumor removed from the same spot about 35 years ago that was also labeled as benign and because of that, as a precautionary measure, they sent the most recent tumor to the Mayo Clinic. Upon dissecting it, the good people of the Mayo Clinic found some cancer in the middle of the tumor.
It appears as though they have removed all of it (the cancer was only in the center of the tumor and they removed the entire tumor) but the surgeon believes that radiation of the tumor bed is still in order. My parents will be seeing an oncologist soon to get his or her recommendation. Radiation is not an option until the surgery he had has healed (about 30 days) so there's not a lot to do until then.
I will update this post after we hear from the oncologist. Thank you for your concerns and prayers. I will let you know what happens.
Love,
Becca
The first week of February my dad had a tumor removed from his cheek (right in front of his ear) that appeared to be benign. The surgeon said it was benign and the pathologist said it was benign. The surgeon did a great job of preserving his nerves and despite some excess fluid drainage for a couple of days post-surgery, it was a successful operation. He had a tumor removed from the same spot about 35 years ago that was also labeled as benign and because of that, as a precautionary measure, they sent the most recent tumor to the Mayo Clinic. Upon dissecting it, the good people of the Mayo Clinic found some cancer in the middle of the tumor.
It appears as though they have removed all of it (the cancer was only in the center of the tumor and they removed the entire tumor) but the surgeon believes that radiation of the tumor bed is still in order. My parents will be seeing an oncologist soon to get his or her recommendation. Radiation is not an option until the surgery he had has healed (about 30 days) so there's not a lot to do until then.
I will update this post after we hear from the oncologist. Thank you for your concerns and prayers. I will let you know what happens.
Love,
Becca
Monday, February 16, 2009
Hospital Trip #2 - pregnancy is 24 weeks, 4 days old
Well, I'm back at the hospital. I came in late late last Thursday night/Friday morning with some kind of stomach virus or food poisoning or something and got to hang out for a while with all of those WONDERFUL symptoms and then lo and behold when they were about ready to send me home, my placenta previa started acting up again. (That's bleeding episode #2 - the last time my doctor said that 3 strikes and I'll be in the hospital on bedrest for the rest of the pregnancy. The doctor that visited me today said sometimes they have a 2-strike policy.) So, with that said, I'll be here in the hospital for an undetermined amount of time at this point. My doc has been out of town so all of this has come from "on call" doctors and I will get to see my doctor tomorrow morning. The high-risk pregnancy doctor (never met him) has suggested that I get a steroid shot today and tomorrow in case the baby needs to be delivered in the next 24-48 hours. I'm not ready for that mentally, the Lord knows we are not ready for that as a family, but we'll do the best we can. Hopefully the baby will get to stay put for a while longer. Like 12 more weeks. The steroid would help develop the baby's lungs which at this point (from what I understand) have just started developing. Pretty scary stuff. Hopefully all of this is just precautionary and we will hear some good news in the next day or two and the news will not involve the delivery of this baby girl. That's what we're praying for.
Ryan is still doing great. He went to daycare today while Grandma Belle is cleaning the house and doing laundry (thank you thank you). I hope to see him tonight - after all, I did wipe down almost my entire room with disinfecting wipes in preparation that he would be back to see me! :) I have a much nicer room now at Methodist - I have a window that actually looks out at something other than a brick wall and lots of party space if anyone wants to come over and play. :) Ha!
The nurses have been great - they keep me company most of the day and definitely most of the night (I mean seriously, do you have to WEIGH ME at 4 IN THE MORNING?!?! Can't that wait?!!)
Letty and her husband Norm (from our church) brought me communion today. They are so sweet. Apparently Norm just got over the stomach bug too. Something is definitely going around. In any case, I won't be having any chinese food any time soon. How sad for me... it's my favorite.
Anyway, I'll keep you posted on what happens in the next couple of days. No news would be good news. Keep my husband in your prayers, it's really hard for him to not be able to "fix" this and to be acting as a "single parent" in the interim.
Remember, life is precious. Every day I feel even stronger in my sentiments AGAINST FOCA - every single life is precious - the unborn are innocent little beings with tiny beating hearts - they need someone to protect them. Write your congressman. Sign a FIGHT FOCA petition - these little ones need your help. (There, there's my soapbox for today.)
Lots of love to you all...
Ryan is still doing great. He went to daycare today while Grandma Belle is cleaning the house and doing laundry (thank you thank you). I hope to see him tonight - after all, I did wipe down almost my entire room with disinfecting wipes in preparation that he would be back to see me! :) I have a much nicer room now at Methodist - I have a window that actually looks out at something other than a brick wall and lots of party space if anyone wants to come over and play. :) Ha!
The nurses have been great - they keep me company most of the day and definitely most of the night (I mean seriously, do you have to WEIGH ME at 4 IN THE MORNING?!?! Can't that wait?!!)
Letty and her husband Norm (from our church) brought me communion today. They are so sweet. Apparently Norm just got over the stomach bug too. Something is definitely going around. In any case, I won't be having any chinese food any time soon. How sad for me... it's my favorite.
Anyway, I'll keep you posted on what happens in the next couple of days. No news would be good news. Keep my husband in your prayers, it's really hard for him to not be able to "fix" this and to be acting as a "single parent" in the interim.
Remember, life is precious. Every day I feel even stronger in my sentiments AGAINST FOCA - every single life is precious - the unborn are innocent little beings with tiny beating hearts - they need someone to protect them. Write your congressman. Sign a FIGHT FOCA petition - these little ones need your help. (There, there's my soapbox for today.)
Lots of love to you all...
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Baby and Bedrest
Wow! I can't believe it's been since August since I've posted on this blog. I'm so sorry! What a slacker! If you haven't heard already, we are expecting Baby #2 - a baby girl! She is due in June (June 5th actually) but she will probably be delivered via c-section at the beginning or middle of May. If you're counting, that would make the babies about 13 months apart. Because of some "complications" with the pregnancy, the doctor has put me on bedrest (started about 2 weeks ago in the hospital). I'm getting used to being alone during the day and then getting to play with Ryan and Shane at night. We have received cards and well wishes (thanks to all of you - you know who you are) and my good friend Tia brought over some of my favorite people - the 6 Franciscan nuns as well as food and entertainment on Friday. That was definitely the highlight of the week! Imagine what the neighbors thought when they saw 6 nuns (in their full habits) come to the door! It was such a treat.
I contacted our church, St. Francis of Assisi, asking about receiving communion here at home - a kind lady named Letty should be bringing it tomorrow. The coordinator, Agnes, told me, "You're going to need the Lord through all of this, and we'll see about getting Him to you." I thought that was so perfect.
Shane bought me a laptop! Yahoo! Now I can stay connected with the outside world whenever I want! It came in yesterday and I am so excited about it. We have wireless connection here at home, so I'm literally laying down to write this blog! (Not breaking the doctor's rules!) I'll try to be better about updating this blog, I promise.
Ryan is doing GREAT! He is tall and thin for his age (we're excited about the tall part!) and is eating finger foods. He likes everything we've tried except green beans - go figure. He is crawling SUPER fast and cruises along the furniture (he stands and walks along the furniture as long as he has something to hold on to). His favorite thing is bath time - he splashes water all over the place and laughs the whole time. We can't wait for the summertime so he can play in a kiddie pool in the backyard.
Ryan is getting excited to see his Grandma Belle - she is coming on Saturday and will be staying for a whole week! I'm sure we will have more pictures and stories to share before the week is done!
Thanks for your prayers and well wishes. Our best to all of you.
Love,
The Siebenalers
I contacted our church, St. Francis of Assisi, asking about receiving communion here at home - a kind lady named Letty should be bringing it tomorrow. The coordinator, Agnes, told me, "You're going to need the Lord through all of this, and we'll see about getting Him to you." I thought that was so perfect.
Shane bought me a laptop! Yahoo! Now I can stay connected with the outside world whenever I want! It came in yesterday and I am so excited about it. We have wireless connection here at home, so I'm literally laying down to write this blog! (Not breaking the doctor's rules!) I'll try to be better about updating this blog, I promise.
Ryan is doing GREAT! He is tall and thin for his age (we're excited about the tall part!) and is eating finger foods. He likes everything we've tried except green beans - go figure. He is crawling SUPER fast and cruises along the furniture (he stands and walks along the furniture as long as he has something to hold on to). His favorite thing is bath time - he splashes water all over the place and laughs the whole time. We can't wait for the summertime so he can play in a kiddie pool in the backyard.
Ryan is getting excited to see his Grandma Belle - she is coming on Saturday and will be staying for a whole week! I'm sure we will have more pictures and stories to share before the week is done!
Thanks for your prayers and well wishes. Our best to all of you.
Love,
The Siebenalers
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Ryan loves the Olympics!
Well, Ryan has shown us that he loves to watch television. It doesn't matter where he is in the room, he wants to look at the TV. (Scary, I know.) We will put him down on his mat and he will scooch all the way around so he can see it. He has been totally enamored with the Olympics. The bright colors and enthusiastic voices and cheering seems to really catch his attention. It really is funny to watch him. Last week Ryan learned how to flip from his back onto his belly but hasn't quite figured out how to flip back. And that annoys him. He'll get it soon enough, I'm sure. Ryan also likes to stand up a lot so Daddy built the saucer for him to play in on Friday and so far he has really been enjoying it. He needs to get about 3 inches taller and he will totally be able to stand up by himself in it. He is growing and changing so quickly. When we look back at his newborn pictures we find it hard to believe it is the same baby! We are having a blast and Ryan is having so much fun with his cousins Khalid, Tariq, and Mishial. He will be sad when Khalid and Tariq leave on Wednesday. Mommy is going to AZ for work for two weeks. She leaves next Sunday. She will undoubtedly miss him more than he'll miss her. (Daddy will miss her too.) Wish us all luck.
Monday, July 28, 2008
3 Months Today!
Wow! Our little guy is 3 months old and it's been almost a month since we've updated this blog!! (Can you tell that Mommy went back to work?) A lot has happened in the last month. Ryan has been invited to 2 swim parties (Cousin Annabelle turned 2 and Cousin Alexis turned 3!), and Ryan met more of his Aunts, Uncles, and cousins in the last month. Just this weekend Ryan met Aunt Helen, Uncle Tom, cousin Chris, Aunt Jeni, Uncle Mohammed, Mishial, Khalid, and Tariq. Phew! A busy weekend!
Ryan has been doing really well at Day Care. His teachers, Miss Rosario, Miss Meredith, and Miss V. all enjoy spoiling him, as they should. They always comment how Ryan will LET YOU KNOW when he is hungry. Haha... we feel the same way.
At the beginning of last week Ryan started sleeping through the night. It has been wonderful. He usually goes to bed around 9:30 or 10 pm and stays asleep until 5 or 6 am. (Today he slept until 7:15! Mommy loves that on her day off!)
Also in the last month, Ryan has gone to see Daddy play soccer 2 times. Well, he slept for the second game but he was there for support. I'm sure Ryan will grow up loving soccer, he has Daddy and Uncle Scott to encourage him.
Mommy went to her first piano lesson in 11 years! Her teacher wants Ryan to go over next week to see how he will respond to the music and if he likes it, he may go every week with Mommy! That will be such a treat!
Ryan has really discovered his fingers now. He loves sucking on them any chance he gets! He hasn't quite figured out how to get his hands around his bib and usually just shoves his bib in his mouth. But that works, too. This weekend he was playing with his cousin, Lilliana (9 months old), she offered her fingers to him. He enjoyed putting those fingers in his mouth, too.
Our favorite thing this month is how much Ryan has been smiling. He often smiles at strangers that talk to him or coo at him, but he smiles almost constantly at Mommy and Daddy (no, it's not gas... gas makes him cry)! We are really enjoying our little one... what a treasure.
Until next time... lots of hugs and slobbery baby kisses your way!
Ryan has been doing really well at Day Care. His teachers, Miss Rosario, Miss Meredith, and Miss V. all enjoy spoiling him, as they should. They always comment how Ryan will LET YOU KNOW when he is hungry. Haha... we feel the same way.
At the beginning of last week Ryan started sleeping through the night. It has been wonderful. He usually goes to bed around 9:30 or 10 pm and stays asleep until 5 or 6 am. (Today he slept until 7:15! Mommy loves that on her day off!)
Also in the last month, Ryan has gone to see Daddy play soccer 2 times. Well, he slept for the second game but he was there for support. I'm sure Ryan will grow up loving soccer, he has Daddy and Uncle Scott to encourage him.
Mommy went to her first piano lesson in 11 years! Her teacher wants Ryan to go over next week to see how he will respond to the music and if he likes it, he may go every week with Mommy! That will be such a treat!
Ryan has really discovered his fingers now. He loves sucking on them any chance he gets! He hasn't quite figured out how to get his hands around his bib and usually just shoves his bib in his mouth. But that works, too. This weekend he was playing with his cousin, Lilliana (9 months old), she offered her fingers to him. He enjoyed putting those fingers in his mouth, too.
Our favorite thing this month is how much Ryan has been smiling. He often smiles at strangers that talk to him or coo at him, but he smiles almost constantly at Mommy and Daddy (no, it's not gas... gas makes him cry)! We are really enjoying our little one... what a treasure.
Until next time... lots of hugs and slobbery baby kisses your way!
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