Jac and Grandfather

We have been in LA all week and Jac has been spending a good amount of time with Grandma and Grandpa. Today he hung out with Grandfather while I worked on a wedding project for Alexis. Jac is getting harder and harder to entertain. He wants to move! But he doesn't know how! And he is frustrated. I have Madeline's cold, and Jac may also. It is unclear how much Jac's "fussiness" the last two days is him not feeling well and him just wanting to move!

When I say fussiness, this is Jac fussiness, not normal child fussiness. I will have to take a video of Jac "fussing". It is more like a small complaint than anything else.

VBAC

Another decision that I potentially need to make is whether I want to try to have a VBAC or whether I want to have another C-Section. Dr. P explained to me that the scar on my uterus is in all likelihood higher up on my uterus (hence cutting through muscle) because of Jac's size, and his gestational age when he was born, and hence where they would have made the cut. When babies are delivered via C-Section further along in pregnancy the scar is more likely to me much lower on the uterus (hence cutting through more fibrous tissue - rather than muscle), which is less likely to rupture during VBAC.

Hmmm... Another hard decision. I had gotten it in my head that I might be able to have a VBAC this time and that I would like to do it if I could - for the experience. I know to anyone that has given birth that may seem like a silly idea. In a way though, I feel like I really missed out on getting really big, and then pushing Jac out, and I feel like I would like to have that opportunity.

We shall see, I don't have to make the decision yet, and Dr. P has said that he will support me in whatever decision I make, so we will cross this bridge when we get to it.

I think for now I shall just hope that I get to make that decision, and No. 2 doesn't it make it for me!

Started Lovenox

Dr. P has recommended that I take Lovenox. It is an Anticoagulant, or blood thinner. He thinks that I should take it because of Jac. By this I mean that he thinks I should take it because Jac was so small when he was born, and had to be born early.

I have learned a bit more about Jac's placenta and what may have happened during my pregnancy with him. The placenta between Jac and I was not in good shape. A lot of it was dead, the majority from my understanding. On my side of the placenta it showed evidence of inflammation, and on Jac's side of the placenta it showed evidence of blood clots. The doctors believe that there were clots on my side of the placenta also, and that is what killed most of it, and that those clots were carried away before Jac was delivered.

In the test results they only found the compound heterozygous MTHFR and an Antiphospholipid Antibody for Anticardiolipin (I don't really understand that one yet - more to learn - but the doctors don't seem to think it is terribly significant at this point). Dr. P feels like these test results don't explain why Jac was so small. He said that if I had, had two normal sized babies and I had these test results he would never predict that I would then have a Jac. But I did have Jac. He seems to feel like I may have some other coagulation disorder that they have not tested me for or they don't know how to test for yet - and that this is the reason for Jac. So, he has recommended that I take Lovenox, which is an anticoagulant. He also wants me to continue taking a baby aspirin every day.

So, after much soul searching and talking to different people and doctors again I have decided to start taking Lovenox. The "problem" with Lovenox is that it is a daily injectable. Yes, injectable. I have to inject it into the fat of my belly (Fortunately I have some right now!) every day.

I started last night. It didn't hurt much as it went in but the area where I injected it burned for about 10 minutes after the injection. I think it also gave me a pretty bad headache which I still have (although I have a cold, that I picked up from Madeline), so I am not totally sure about the headache.

I am taking 40 mg a day, which is a preventative dose, rather than what they call a "heparanizing (sp ?)" dose. There seems to be some dispute about how far along in the pregnancy I should stop taking it. I was told that a doctor would not perform surgery on me for at least 24 hours after I stop Lovenox, but could perform surgery much more quickly after stopping Heparin. It seems there is a possibility that I would switch to Heparin closer to the end of my pregnancy (32 weeks or so) just in case No. 2 needs to be delivered via C-section, very quickly, like Jac did.

Jac laughing with Cousin Madeline

Jac and I have been in LA all week. We have been visiting Grandma and Grandpa Johnson and Jac's cousins Madeline and Caitlin are also visiting. We all visited the Long Beach Aquarium on Wednesday. While we there Jac and Madeline were cracking each other up!

Self-service

UPDATE: Video!



As we've blogged already, Jac has shown a keen interest in food and drink lately. When we eat or drink, we often "share" what we have in our hands with him; and he would guide the item to his mouth. It's been interesting to see him getting more refined at guiding food to his mouth.

Well, a new wonderful transition has started happening in the last couple of days -- Jac has started to feed himself from the bottle!

For a long time, Jac would occasionally rest his hand on the bottle as we fed him; and sometimes at the very start of a feeding, he would reach out and pull the bottle toward his mouth.

Then, a couple days ago, I was able to get him to hang on to the bottle for a few seconds as he guided it to his mouth and start eating. A few more feeding sessions later, I was able to let go of the bottle for a few seconds at a time, as Jac kept hold of it.

His control of the bottle improved quickly with each feeding. Then, tonight, as he was riding in the car seat, he took a fresh bottle right out of my hand, and proceeded to feed himself! He had a pretty good hold of the bottle, and took nearly 1/3 of the bottle without any holding assistance from me!

I apologize that we have no video of this yet. Jac's getting more active, and it's become more difficult to take pictures and videos, since he's not staying put anymore!

Jac's new measurements - Almost 10 pounds!

Oh man! Has our boy grown! He is now 22 1/2 inches (12 1/2 at birth), 9 pounds and 11 ounces (1.5 pounds at birth) and his head is 41.4 cm (25 cm at birth)! Jac had his 9 month check-up and it went well. The doctor is very happy with his growth. He also got his sixth Synagis injection (which was a long time coming! It was initially denied by the insurance company and then approved after an appeal from his pediatrician).

Wow! He is working on double digits for weight! We can really feel how much heavier he is. I was carrying him around the mall today and man! A 10 pound baby is so small - and I think he is heavy! What am I going to do when number 2 is born! We are going to think he is some sort of freakishly large baby!

New Obstetrician

I have found a new Obstetrician (Dr. P). I really like him. He is originally from New York and he is very fact based and he lays it all out - which is just what I like and what I need. He works in the Ob/Gyn department at Boulder Community Hospital, which is the hospital that Jac was born at.

I am very happy to have found an Obstetrician that I like - and that I feel that I can navigate this potentially complicated pregnancy with.

I am also working with a Perinatologist (Dr. H) down in Denver. I like him also and I feel like between Dr. P and Dr. H we will be doing everything possible for No. 2 (or Mini Nugget as I call him sometimes).

More food fun.

Jac's interest in food has really grown lately. He watches intently as Taj and I eat our meals, and he often reaches out to grab the food in our hands, pulling it to his mouth.

While he's still not ready to actually eat most foods, we've been letting him participate in our meals. At Playa Azul, he spent a few minutes grabbing tortilla chips and pressing them against his tongue. At Panera, he guided my hand holdig a roast beef sandwich and gave that a taste. It's interesting to watch him react to new food flavors and textures.

At home, we have started to give him some rice cereal to eat, some peeled apples to taste, and some apple sauce to play with (and to eat). Yup, we're entering that messy stage!




He's also been sipping from my cups of water and juices. He clearly enjoys drinking water out of our cups. He seems a bit unsure about orange juice, though! We just started trying sippee cups, but haven't had any success with that yet.



Of course, I'm gunning for him to get to curry rice, soon! :)

Happy 9 month birthday

Jac is 9 months old today. It is hard to believe that he is going to be a year old in a few months! Wow! Time flies when you are taking care of a baby and watching him grow up!

Shower with daddy

We had very messy (but successful!) session of Jac eating some rice cereal. By the time he was done, there was rice cereal all over his face, hands and neck. We decided that he could use a wash, so I took a shower with him. After getting the water temperature and flow just right, mommy handed me the naked baby, and I was able to get him washed up in about two minutes. He was a little squirmy and slippery! But he was calm and even smiled (well, sort of) a few times. I then handed him back to mommy to dry, at which point he smiled even more.

Teething?

Jac seems to be teething. It is a little hard to tell but he has been trying to get everything into his mouth! All day yesterday and today almost anything he got his hands on went in his mouth. He was also much more fussy than usual yesterday and it took us quite a while to get him to go to sleep last night. We shall see how he feels in the next few days. He also seems to have a bit of a fever, or at least to be much warmer than usual. Some people have said that their children had fevers when they were teething.

The weather has really warmed up here - in the mid-50's, low 60's which is a huge change from the snow of last week! Jac being warm may partially be a reaction to the warmth. He spent last summer in the hospital, and by the time he came home at the end of September it had cooled off so he has really not experienced the heat of the Boulder summer. We shall see how he does as things warm up. I can only guess that we are going to have a naked baby a lot of the time!

Jac and Daddy at Real D

Sometimes I take Jac to visit Daddy at work. They look so cute together! I don't know how much you can tell in the picture but Jac has started to get cheeks. He is now 9.4 pounds (as of yesterday) and his face is getting rounder. The more round it gets, the more he looks like his Daddy!

"Gimme, gimme"

Jac likes bottles, of all kinds! We offered him a water bottle last week, and he tried to get some water from it. Today, we had a bottle of real Coke, and he really wanted it. He knows bottles have good stuff, and he was going, "Gimme, gimme." He was so cute that we let him mouth the bottle but we did not offer him any Coke. Enjoy the videos.

First Trimester Screening for No. 2

We had our first trimester screening on Wednesday down in Englewood, CO at Swedish Hospital. Jac and I went down and saw the nice people at Obstetrix, which is a high-risk maternal fetal medicine office.

This test has two parts, an ultrasound and a blood test. No. 2 was being quite uncooperative in terms of positioning for the ultrasound. He kept on moving around and as much as they poked him he would not turn the direction they wanted him to. In the ultrasound they are trying to measure the amount of clear fluid behind the baby's neck. The more fluid, the more likely the baby has a trisomy defect. They were not able to get a great measurement, after the doctor and the nurse tried for 15 minutes, but they agreed to a measurement, which was quite low. They felt from that, that No. 2's chance of having Down's is fairly low.

They also did a blood test. In the blood test they look for tell-tale markers in my blood indicating that there is a problem with the fetus. The results of the tests will be back on Monday. These tests are not considered definitive - they give you probabilities. If the probabilities look low then no further testing is recommended. If the probabilities look high they recommend further testing.

I felt pretty good about what the doctor saw and by the answers to my questions about the chances of a repeat IUGR with No. 2. This doctor agreed that the chances of a repeat are not very high and that the MTHFR mutation by itself is not a problem given my Homocysteine level is normal. He said that we will be able to get a good sense for No. 2's growth at 20 weeks, which is about May 15th. Until then, take baby aspirin and folic acid (1 mg / day) and the rest of my vitamins and let No. 2 do his thing.