Monthly Archives: January 2022

Last Tuesday, I had my fourth scan with the cardiologist. Overall, the baby looked good. The doctors were laughing at how active he was. He was moving back and forth at lightning speed and constantly bringing his legs to his face. We discovered Amos has hair (not surprised), his second toe is longer than his first (hello Staton family), he has rolls on his arms, his tone looks lovely, as well as the muscles and tissues around his heart. He measures right around 65%, which is excellent as it assumes my placenta is still providing sufficient nutrients for him during this last stage of pregnancy. Lastly, Dr. Chang was able to locate a thymus. Hopefully, this indicates (no guarantees) that he won’t have DiGeorge syndrome. DiGeorge is rare but has a more significant correlation with TGA babies and has def been a possibility that has filled me with some anxiety.

Ultrasounds are a bit of a double-edged sword at this late in the game, so here are the yellow flags they found. I have very MILD polyhydramnios (a little over the range of “normal” amount of amniotic fluid.) His aortic valve is a bit narrow. The doctor said the surgeon would patch it during his switch operation if this is true. When looking at his brain, they found a space-I can’t remember the part exactly that is measuring a bit larger than normal.
These details could mean nothing, OR they could indicate a genetic issue. They will revisit all of them in a few weeks, and hopefully, things will have leveled out a bit.

As for TODAY, I don’t feel anxious about any of them. I am leaning into imaging is lifesaving, and it is also a bit crude. Sometimes there’s such thing as TMI.

Once the holidays have come and gone, our Christmas tree comes down in a flash, and I want nothing to do with anything red or green. I am as into Christmas as anyone could be, but when it’s over. It is OVER.
Sadly, I came down with a grim case of COVID on the 15th. It was BAD, but the silver lining is perhaps I have antibodies for some time? All of the boys came away unscathed! I also felt more comfortable flying from A to B for Christmas, knowing I should be safe for a bit….
We have the best family indeed, so seeing them never feels like a chore. We hit Charleston, Nashville, Kentucky, and Alabama within a week. All in all, it was an excellent trip.

Tyler needed to be back in Portland before us, and the boys and I made the journey home a few days later. Thank you, Jesus, for shows and spicy water, as the combo saves us on flights and makes the experience doable. I did get some funny looks as my whale body shuffled through the airport with our luggage and both boys running amuck.

Being back in Portland has felt nice. I am in full-time nesting mode. Nesting with so many unknowns perhaps makes me feel a little more psychotic. I awoke the other night wound up tight because I was trying to sort out how we would get to and from the hospital with one car and still get the kids to school etc. VERY IMPORTANT TO SORT OUT AT 4 AM.

Tyler was away ice camping in a winter storm when we got home (does anything sound worse?), and the boys were beyond jet-lagged, so I tucked them in at 6:30 and called it a night. We have spent the last week catching up on sleep, getting back into our routine, and bracing ourselves for that routine to be once again interrupted by the impending closure of schools.