Some might consider the 6 weekly therapies medical related appointments, which they are, but I consider them more a part of our routine now.
I can't tell you what a nice break it's been to not be schlepping ourselves into a Dr's office and then waiting hour after hour. When I look back at the Calendar this time last year in Nov and Dec alone we had over 10 appointments with various doctors and it was the dreaded time where we started to learn more that eventually led us to the tethered cord business 6 months later. What a difference a year makes!
Reflecting back is good sometimes as it makes us appreciate how far Cameron has come and quite frankly how far we have come! Yes, there are still challenges ahead but during the holidays we are going to be focused on being thankful for the good health that Cameron has and his growth in so many ways.
We will find ourselves back at Children's next Tuesday (Dad's birthday!) for a Kidney Ultrasound and to see Dr. Yerkes. I expect all is good, we just have to keep an eye on his kidney to make sure things are still operating well.
I guess it's a good thing we've had a break from Cameron Dr. appointments because Mom has been logging some serious time at various Dr's offices. I am fine, well that's a relative term really given the circumstances, because we are PREGNANT again!
Some of you are probably as shocked as we are, actually I doubt it. It's been a long 16 weeks and I am sure it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that we didn't plan this but I learned about 3 years ago that god laughs at those who make a plan. I am pretty sure he has not stopped laughing at us for a long time!
We are blaming a child free trip to Dublin and Guiness for this :) Naturally an Irish name is in order so please send any and all ideas - seriously!
We have held off in sharing this news for many reasons, we have talked with several geneticists, had many Dr. appointments and 4 ultrasounds already. So far, so good!
Positive outlook is key for all of us as you can imagine it's been and will continue to be a pretty emotional time for us, Mom especially since her hormones are already out of whack.
Yes, we are nervous, scared, freaked out about it all, but we are also very happy. Every ultrasound will continue to be an emotional roller coaster there is no doubt.
Mom is just over 16 weeks along, after a level 2 US yesterday showed no major problems at this point we felt it was ok to share the news. It's hard to see much but it was a bit of relief. Risk recurrence is somewhere between 2-5%, seems pretty low right? It's middle of the road actually. We will continue to closely monitor the baby's progress and mom's progress. After talking with a specialist yesterday it sounds like we aren't going to truly be able to breathe a sigh of relief until close to 32 weeks. We'll make it...
Dad learned yesterday how to give Mom a Progesterone shot - SCARY! -- not the shot, Dad administering it is! Mom will receive this once a week till delivery, it is supposed to help prevent pre-term labor.
So Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays to all...we'll keep the blog updated with Cameron and his soon to be big brother status. One of the Dr's asked us if we told Cameron yet - I laughed out loud. Yeah, we told him and he said that's the last time you two are ever leaving me alone again!
Oh and here are all the standard question answers (if we missed one just let us know)
Due Date - May 11, 2008 (yes that's 11 days before Cameron turns two!)
Sex - they know but we aren't sure we want to know yet, or at all we'll see. We are somewhat inclined to do everything differently this time
Are we moving to the suburbs? Yes, in our "free" time we have been talking to and meeting with various school districts about their special education programs, turns out CPS isn't going to cut it for Cameron. Not sure where we are going but close to the city for obvious reasons (dad's work and Children's).
When are we moving - ASAP, let's hope before May 11, 2008!
Love to all
Mom, Dad, Cameron and Baby #2
Here is Cameron after we told him
