33 Week Update

Happy Holidays!  It's been an eventful and busy December for us. But thankfully things have calmed down, and we were able to spend Christmas at home together.  Just a quick recap on where we are at 33 weeks.

Jude - We met with our cardiologist at Texas Children's on December 23 and had another echo done of Jude's heart.  She said it looked about the same as the prior one with some aorta insufficiency this time.  That's something that may clear up after he is born, but again, it will be wait and see.  After presenting his case to the cardiac group at the hospital, the chief surgeon did say not to give up hope that there is a possibility of a fix for Jude's heart.  (If you've read the other post about Jude's diagnosis, then you know the procedures they've recommended would not be a "fix" but a work-around.) It will all depend on what everything looks like after he is born.  The cardiologist did seem to think that he wouldn't need an immediate surgery, but wasn't sure if he would need a stent/shunt after the first week or so.  It will all depend on how his heart does once he's pumping on his own.

Also at Texas Children's on December 23, we had an ultrasound to measure Jude's growth.  They were getting some smaller measurements than what our MFM (OB Specialist) was getting here in Plano (she was measuring him large), so we have to go back to the MFM here in a few weeks to check again and make sure he is growing on target.  We didn't get any photos at this appointment, but here he is at 28 weeks.  He is estimated weigh somewhere between 3lb, 11oz and 4lb, 5oz now.

Jude at 28 Weeks

Misty - Since the last month, my health has gotten a little more complicated, but we are monitoring everything, and I'm doing my best to stay healthy.

Gestational Hypertension - At my November appointment in Houston to meet my new OB, it was determined that my blood pressure was a little high.  They wanted to keep me overnight for monitoring, but we were able to convince them to let me go back home since it was 2 days before Thanksgiving.  At my follow-ups at my OB here at McKinney, my blood pressures have been a little higher, but nothing awful.  I check it 3-4 times a day here at home just to keep an eye on it.

Low Potassium - At the follow-up visit with my OB in McKinney the day after we left Houston in November (to check my blood pressure, which was okay) the blood work results showed I had extremely low potassium, so I spent two evenings in the hospital getting IV potassium infusions.  Thankfully, I was allowed to go home early in the morning on both of those nights, so didn't have to stay in the hospital during the day.  No one really knows why my potassium is low, but I'm now taking daily potassium pills to keep it at a normal range.

Kidney Stones - Two days after the potassium infusions at the hospital I woke up with some pain in my side that proceeded to get worse as the morning went on.  I have had a kidney stone before (when Alex was only a few months old), so I knew that was what I was experiencing again.  After four days in the hospital (in lots of on again/off again pain), they were able to see on an ultrasound that I had a 1 cm kidney stone that would need to be surgically removed.  The procedure went well, and I have since had the stent removed.  Now I am drinking nothing but water in hopes that I can make it through the rest of the pregnancy without any more stones.  The urologist seemed to think my kidney stones may be pregnancy-related due to position of the ureter to the kidney and the baby pushing against it.  Thankfully, I am feeling pain free now.  I will have to go for a follow-up ultrasound and x-ray scans after Jude is born to make sure my kidney looks okay and no more stones.

Gestational Diabetes - Unfortunately, I failed my 3-hour glucose test by 4 points 😒, so I have officially been diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  However, they think it can be completely controlled by diet changes.  So, I've made several diet changes in the last couple of weeks and have to check my glucose levels 4 times a day (not fun, but not nearly as bad as I thought it would be).  The hardest part has been not being able to sneak all the yummy Christmas treats.

Antibodies - The last issue that's popped up has to do with my blood work.  It shows I have some antibodies that have never been there before, and we have no idea where they came from.  Usually this is something you would find after someone has had a blood transfusion, but I haven't had one, so who knows.  I had to have additional blood work done on December 23 in Houston, so they can find exactly which antibodies I have to make sure they have the correct type of blood for me when Jude is born. 

Tentative Future Plans:

Jesse and I plan to move down to Houston on January 20, where we have rented a VRBO to stay in through the beginning of March.  The boys will be going to stay with family in Louisiana while we are in Houston, coming to visit us on the weekends.  Jude is scheduled to be delivered via c-section on February 10.  We are planning for a minimum stay in Houston of 3 weeks post-birth.  If he does have to have a surgery in the first week, that would probably be extended to a minimum of 6 weeks post-birth.  Sorry for the long post, and I will try to update weekly going forward. 

Thank you for reading along and all the kind words, thoughts, prayers, etc. that you have all sent to us.