Monday, August 29, 2011

Boy, oh boy!

So... we are officially having a sweet baby boy! I am over the moon excited and already hopelessly in love. The kids are also very excited to be having a baby brother. None of them have ever had a baby brother since Lucas is the oldest. Molly is a little unsure, in fact she cried. I promised she would love him when he gets here and that was all the consolation she needed. She is now of the opinion that we should name the baby spaghetti and meatballs! Oh, Molly! The baby is now affectionately referred to as "meatball".

Due to an anti-body that I currently have (probably from one of my miscarriages) my pregnancy is considered high-risk. Since the beginning of this pregnancy my doctor has been checking my anti-body levels monthly. The last 2 months my levels have doubled and then doubled again. Now that my anti-body levels are a little higher I have to go to the perinatologist at the hospital every 1-2 weeks to have MCA scans to check the baby for signs of anemia. It sounds kind of intimidating but, it is a level 2 ultrasound where they measure how fast the baby's blood is flowing in his brain. Too fast would be showing signs of anemia which would be cause for intervention. At that point we would need to go to a hospital in either Chicago or Milwaukee to do an intra-uterine blood transfusion. It's not likely that it will get to that point, but not impossible. If at some point the baby's anemia becomes life threatening they will deliver the baby early and treat his anemia and related issues from the outside. We have every reason to be hopeful. The plan is to keep checking the baby with the MCA scan every week or two and go from there.

I had my first scan today and everything was perfectly healthy and normal. I continue to hope and pray for continuing good news. So, I have A LOT of doctor appointments in my future but it will be great to see our sweet boy and watch him growing every week on all those scans. Here are 2 pictures of our boy from today!



8 comments:

Karen said...

I am so happy for you. Know all of you wanted another little boy, but would have been happy with either. You take care and get plenty of rest. Love you all!

Heather said...

Whoa! Did I know you were pregnant? If so, I don't remember. That is great news! You seem to have a beautiful attitude about the high-risk factor, and I think that is great.

Tisa City said...

Shawna! Boys are the BEST (a little biased here)!! I am so happy for you and your family. I'll keep you in my prayers. Let me know if I can do anything. Love and miss you tons.

Hannah said...

Yeah for your little meatball!!!! Guess I will have to have a little girl next so he will have someone to marry. I am so excited for you guys and can't wait to meet him!!

hilary w said...

Congratulations! I hope everything goes well and little "meatball" stays healthy!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations and good luck with all your appointments!

Cindy said...

I'm soooo excited!!!! Yahoo!!!!!

The Skaggs Family said...

yay you're having a boy! I hope and pray that "meatball" stays safe and healthy. spaghetti and meatballs actually sounds really good right now! sammi is growing up so fast. she's not much of a little baby anymore. I'm going to miss having a little baby.