It's been a busy(ish) couple of weeks, so I'm going to include two updates for you in one (with a few fun bonuses!).
On Tuesday the 11th I went to the hospital to have the fetal MRI done. After a confusing round of finding a place to park and figuring out where to check in, I made it to the imaging unit of the hospital. After being asked a ton of questions about my health history, getting into a hospital gown, and making sure there was no extra metal in my body, I was put onto the table on my back, headphones on my ears, emergency squeeze in my hand, and some foam imaging thing over my belly, and inserted into the tube. I had asked how long the MRI usually took. They said it depended on how well the baby cooperated; the average was about 30 minutes.
It was hard to tell time in the tube, but after about 20 minutes or so the tech told me he was going to send the images they had up to the doctor to see if they had everything they needed. About 5-10 minutes later he told me they needed to do some more, so after another round he told me they were going to contact the doctor again and see if they were done. He then asked if I needed anything. I asked if it were possible I could sit up out of the tube- my lower back was really starting to bother me with all the weight of Ally and fluid and all on my back. He said that would set them back, so it would be best if I just stayed put but hopefully they were done.
I guess Ally didn't feel like having her picture taken that day, because we went for round 3. After sending those pictures to the doctor we were finally done. Again, it was hard to tell time, but I was probably in the tube about an hour, and it felt like it took another hour for me to sit up on the bed, shuffle to my shoes and get my clothes on- my back hurt so bad and I was very stiff. Even a week later when I am doing a lot of lifting (mostly Ben, especially in and out of the car) it bothers me much more easily. I was afraid I would be chair bound the rest of the day, but sitting in the car on my drive to work really helped and I was ok all day.
Friday we were supposed to have an appointment at MFM and find out the results or the MRI, but as most of you know Wednesday and Thursday we got 22 inches of snow! We were homebound from Wednesday afternoon/evening until Friday, and that was only because Russell's Dad could make it down our street in his 4 wheel drive Expedition. The MFM office was closed Friday, so the appointment has been rescheduled for this coming Friday. We will update this coming weekend with those results after the appointment.
However, since the NICU doesn't close, we were able to keep our consultation appointment on Friday. Russell's Dad drove us and came with us to the top floor of the hospital where the NICU is located. We arrived a little early (we weren't sure how all the roads would be and where we'd be able to park) so they were scrambling to get our paperwork, but it all worked out. They took us on a mini tour of the unit. There are about 5 or 6 'pods', which are large crescent shaped rooms with about 6 NICU beds in each, with a private area next to each that can be curtained off. We saw 2 of the pods, and both were pretty full. It made me sad to see the babies in their little beds, many with lots of tubes and things going in, as well as the families there with them. We didn't see any baby up close, but it just made me pray that this would be our first and last visit up to the top floor of the hospital.
Afterwards, we spoke with the doctor there that day in a conference room. He looked over our records and we filled him in on the basic details as well. We asked the questions that we had, which wasn't a whole lot. There is no guarantee that Ally will be in the NICU at all after birth; if we make it to at least 37 weeks unless we discover or she develops some other problem after birth she will stay with me and go to the regular newborn nursery. Even if the hydrocephalus turns out to be severe enough to require the shunt placement surgery, unless she has it before leaving the hospital after birth her recovery would not be in the NICU. This is another area that has a lot of unknowns, but at least we will be somewhat familiar with the NICU if we do end up there.
On Monday I had an appointment with Terry at my regular doctor. She said things were looking fine, and she told me that she has seen much worse cases of hydrocephalus, so we are trying to remain hopeful that perhaps Ally will not need the shunt...again, we will have to wait and see. (It also has me holding out hope for an induction in place of a c-section!)
Also, with our 6 day snow vacation (Wednesday to Monday) I was able to give in to my nagging nesting instinct and clean the entire house. I just did one room a day, cleaning up and cleaning out, and it is now SO much better and we are much more prepared to add one more to our cozy home! (I just have to stay out of the basement, where a lot of stuff ended up...)
Thank you for all your prayers for us...Russell got a new job (after many months of applying and interviewing)! Starting the 28th he will be working at a college in their financial aid/collections department. This means a lot more stability for our family (both financially and in scheduling), and he will be able to continue his part-time job as facilities director at a local church as well. We praise God for His provision for our family and pray as continued changes may still be coming for us in the next few months that everything would work out for us in HIS timing (and as we make our contingency plans for various situations we may find ourselves in).
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