There is an app for that.

Literally, there is. There is a Blogger app for my phone.
That means I can post a blog any where I have my phone and wifi. In fact, I am posting from my phone right now (otherwise I would post a picture of me posting from my phone).
I promise not to post from the bathroom.
PS the photo was taken with another app I love Paper Camera

Our Doggy Chef

Kiera has made a delectable, beautifully presented lunch for Bolt.

Just look at the composition, the use of colour.

And for dessert, I was treated with a pencil crayon popsicle.

Yummy.

Airplane Rides and Christmas Time

Our next adventure begins with a airplane ride.  Actually, let me go back a little.  

During her first 36 hours, Kayla was hooked up to all kinds of machinery.  There were concerns about her breathing, with her liver, with her heart and with her brain.  

Ultimately, it was decided to send her to BC Children's Hospital.  That brings us to the airplane.

It was a first for Kayla and I, being transported in an ambulance.  Watching your tiny little girl, barely a day old, loaded into an incubator, attached to heart, pulse and oxygen monitors, respiratory equipment, and an IV.  Well, its the scariest thing I have ever seen.  The transporters, not Jason Stathem types, and the attendants were fabulous.  They really knew how to put a worried mother at ease.  

We arrive at Children's around 4 pm on a Friday.  I was on my own for the night as Mike and Kiera weren't able to make it until the next day.

Over the next few days, they ran tests and slowly eliminated most of the issues.  With in 2 days, their concerns boiled down to seizures and jaundice.  They used the bili light on her, which took care of the jaundice, and they put her on phenol-barb for the seizures.  

A week and a half later, they were ready to send us back to our city.  New problem - no beds in the hospital here. They weren't ready to release her to us as she was now having feeding issues, which means she wasn't gaining weight.  

Finally.

On Christmas Day.

We walk into the hospital, after spending the morning opening gifts with Kiera, to find out that they planned to send us home that day.

Really? I mean ... really?

We rush back to where we were staying, pack up, and head back to the hospital as fast as we could.  

We got home at 8:00 pm that night.  It was the best Christmas ever.

Obviously, there is more to the story.  Details about the different tests and diagnosis, but we are home and healthy.  They just aren't important anymore.

During our stay down there, our days consisted of trying to find a balance between spending time with Kayla, and spending time with Kiera.  We never did find the perfect balance.

Luckily, we only had excitement 1 time outside the hospital.  At 6:00 am, the fire alarm in the hotel we were staying in went off.  Mike was in the shower - he thought it was an alarm clock.  

When we joined the crowd outside, we found out that there was a small fire in the electrical room.  We stood outside in our pajamas and coats for an hour before they let us in to quickly grab purses and other items.  Considering everything else going on, it was kinda fun.

Kayla is healthy and happy.  Gaining weight on track, and reaching most of her milestones.  And this is where our adventure ends.  

Or does it?

Miss Me in Crazy Town?

I have missed blogging. Kids grow up so fast, and this allows me to capture some of the moments in their growth and development and share it with family ans friends. I wish i could say I will be back at it on a regular basis but I can't make such a promise. Ah don't fret.  You have me here and now.

When we last left our heroes, they were trying to explain Kell Antibodies.  It's all a mute point, or is it moot? Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore.  After 2 months of testing, 5 trips to Vancouver, and a whole lot of stress, it turns out baby was negative for the antigen.  Pregnancy back to normal.

Until I started to get bigger, and bigger, and bigger.  At 30 weeks, I was measuring full term.    

Obstetrician: it looks like it will be a big baby so we might have to induce.  More testing.  Another Problem.  What do you mean another problem?

I am not going to get into details, but the basic story is that I had extra amniotic fluid, which put strain on my uterus.  

December 7th, 2011 @ 9:00 am

Obstetrician: You have extra amniotic fluid, so we will monitor it.  We might have to induce.  I am pretty sure that baby will be born by the end of the year, but I am not going to guarantee it.  Lets make an appointment for a week from now.  Little did he know...

3:30 pm

The first contractions hit.  I assumed they were more Braxton Hicks so I didn't say anything.

5:00 pm

Me: Hey hun, do you have a timer on your phone?

Mike: Yes, why?

Me: You need to start timing contractions.

Mike: ... (silence)

Me: Oh, and we should thinking about packing the hospital bag tonight.

5:30 pm

I called to hospital to find out how far the contractions had to be apart before they wanted me in the hospital.  The nurse told be that since I was considered preterm, that I should "not hurry but get in as soon as possible."

7:30 pm

We finally make it to the hospital.  I was told to hold off going into labour for about 4 hours, as if I have control of it.

December 8th, 2011 @ 1:00 am

Doctor broke my water, and Kayla was born.

Our baby girl Kayla came 4 weeks early at 7 lbs.  Delivery went well, easier than the first, but she was unresponsive to stimuli.  I got to hold her for 2 minutes before she was whisked away to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).  And that is where our adventure with Kayla started.

(1 month old)

I am going to end here.  The story continues because, as you know, a mothers adventure never actually ends.

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Please Poop

Our poor little girl.  Ever since she was an infant, we have had problems pooping.  We have tried everything (well not literally).  I am sure I've talked about this before.

Once of the issues is that our baby is a carnivore.  She loves her meat and dairy products.  We have been trying to feed her fruits, especially the watery type, prunes, water, juices.  No matter what we do, every few weeks, we have an issue.  It's so hard to see her hurt like that.  I never thought I would say this, but every day I hope for poop.  A Big Poop.  I'd even take a lot of little poops.  

Just like my friend C would say, we need a big dump.  Any suggestions?

Kell Antigen and Antibodies

Prologue

It is hard for my to talk about this as I am a private person.  It is easy to talk about and share with the world the happy, funny, positive moments in life.  Not so easy to discuss the hard, not so fun moments.  We are have them, those not so pretty parts, but we like to pretend we don't.  However, as I thought about it, I realized that if I don't share it, my blog and my reasons for doing it, are not genuine.  So here is an not so fun part of my life currently in progress.

Our Story

Have you ever gotten one of those phone calls from the doctor?  The one saying "We just got back some of your test results, and we need to see you to discuss them."  Well, I did on July 6th.  The doctor wanted to see me the next day in regards to the recent pregnancy related blood tests they did.

With Kiera, a similar thing happened, and it was to tell me that I was not immune to Ruebella.  Which meant I had to avoid anyone with the Measles.  Since Measles and Ruebella have pretty much been eradicated in Canada and the US, it wasn't difficult.  No cause for too much concern.  Thinking this visit would turn out the same, Mike opted not to join me at the doctors office.

On July 7th, I sat down with the doctor, and was told I had developed K Antibodies since my last pregnancy.  What does that mean?  Well, as Dr. N explained, it means that my blood, as it passes into baby too, may be attacking baby's blood (* there is a more detailed description below).  I am being referred to the Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinc in Van and they can give me more details.  I was sent for an ultrasound from the doctors office.  

As I left the doctor's office, all I could think was that my body was killing our baby.  How do I tell Mike?  When I finally reached Mike, he was almost home from work.  He turned around and met me at the ultrasound appointment.  I tried to explain what was happening, but I couldn't.  I didn't fully understand.

We did some research at home, and understand a little better what was going on.  My body might be attacking the baby's red blood cells, causing anemia.  The "might" is effected by Mike.  He may be a carrier of what is called a Kell or K antigen.  If he is negative, then baby too is negative, and everything is good.  Even if Mike is positive, there is a 50% chance the baby is still negative.  Still, what does it mean if he and the baby is positive?

Mike's blood test was arranged for the very next day.  Dr. N isn't messing around.  Now comes the hard part, the waiting.  And waiting, and waiting.  All we can do is talk about what if, and pray for the negative results.  

July 19th is the day the ball starts rolling.  First was a phone call from the Maternity Clinic in town.  I had been referred to them before my original test results came in.  They wanted to see me in 2 days.  I explained to them what was going on.  They still wanted to see me, and they might be able to give me some answers.  A couple of hours later, Dr. N calls me.  She has been on vacation and just got back.  She wanted to know if I had heard from the clinic in Van.  I told her no, and she said she would follow up and see why.  She called back a couple of hours later, and told me the Van clinic should get a hold of me with in a week.  She also let me know that Mike did test positive for the K Antigen, and that she has found me an on/gyn in town to see me.  

Finally some answers.  I think I slept better that night than I have the entire pregnancy so far.  On the 21st, I see the Mat Clinic, and find out that I will be seeing those dr's as well as my ob/gyn.  I will probably have blood tests done quite frequently, as well as a number of ultrasounds to check on baby's growth.  May be it's a good thing I am not working.  We also received word from Van that we need to see them on the 26th.

It sounds like we and baby are in good hands, so we are just taking it one day at a time.  We should know more after our visit to Van.

So what does K mean?  Here is my explanation, but I am including links in case you want more information.

K (Kell) Antigens and K Antibodies

Antigens are a substance/molecule, and in the case of the K Antigen, a protein that has attached to the person's blood cells.  This occurs in about 10% of the population.  Just like blood type, it is a genetic trait that can be passed down thru generations.  It is not harmful to a person, just a genetic anomally.

Where is the harm comes in is when a woman, who is negative for this antigen, develops antibodies then carries a child that is positive for the antigen.  There are 2 ways for a woman to develop the antibodies.  Either thru a blood transfusion, or thru giving birth to a K positive baby.  In our case, it is the latter.  When Kiera was born, some of her blood mixed in with my blood.  Since I am negative, my body saw this antigen as a bacteria, and created antibodies to get rid of it.

During pregnancy, mother's blood passes into baby, supplying the necessary nutrients for baby to grow.  If the baby is positive for the K antigen, and the mother has the antibodies, the antibodies in the mothers blood will attack the baby's red blood cells.  This will cause anemia in the baby, and will effect baby's growth and development.

The only way to know that the baby is positive is with amniocentesis.  Unfortunately, there is a 1 in 200 risk of miscarriage associated with the test.  The only other option is to proceed as though the baby is positive.

All we know about the treatment right now is that it means a lot of doctors, lot of tests and a lot of monitoring to make sure baby is developing normally.  We don't know what happens if baby isn't   Maybe that is something we will learn on the 26th.

For more information, check out these links:

Wikipedia - Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn

Baby Center - Personal Experiences

Baby Too - Our Story

(note: I didn't take a picture of ours, so I "borrowed" this image from somewhere else)

As you know, Kiera took us 2 years to conceive.  We even tried fertility treatments, although, in the end the old fashioned way worked.  Since Mike is an only child, and he doesn’t want our daughter to grow up with out siblings.  So we started again shortly after she was born. We had set a deadline of May 1^st, Mike’s 45^th birthday.

Over the past 6 months, we had come to the realization that we may not have a second. With the deadline looming, we came to feel blessed by our little girl, and accept that she will be our only child. We were determined to no let her feel alone, so we looked at different activities and ways to ensure she had interaction with other children.

May 1^st came and went without too much fanfare. I had noticed that my period had not come, but with PCOS, I don’t have a regular cycle. Two weeks later, May 14th, it still had not come, but there were no other pregnancy symptoms either. Mike suggested taking a test anyway, just in case. We picked one up on our way out of town to visit his mom.

We got to her place, visited with her, had lunch, and started packing to go, when I remembered the test. I had picked up one of those that tell you not only if you are pregnant, but approximately how far along you are (up to 5 weeks). I went into her washroom, did the test and waited. I nervously looked down and read the test. That can’t be right. I took the test out and showed my husband. His mom asked what was going on, and Mike turned to his mom and said “Gina’s Pregnant.” His mom’s reply was “I was going to ask about that. That thought that you should be having a 2^nd soon.”

Not only was I pregnant, but according to the stick, I was over 5 weeks along. How that for a birthday gift for my husband! I was in denial. It took another week to see the doctor, and since I don’t have a regular cycle, I was sent for an ultrasound to date the pregnancy before they could give me a due date.

On June 7^th, I got to see the baby, and that is when it became real. I also found out I was 9 ½ weeks at that point in time. 

I saw my doctor again 2 weeks later, and she officially set the due date as January 5^th, 2012.

Life is full of Lemons... and Lemonade

Lets start with the Lemon's

After being very excited at my new job, they "terminated" my position.  Basically, my position no longer exists; therefore, no job to go to.  

Received confirmation that Mike's contract with the University will not be renewed as of September.

For this last one, I will go into details in another post, but let's just say we are having complications with this pregnancy, and are therefore considered High Risk.

After those big Lemons, the little lemons don't mean much, so I'm not going to share them.

 This is where the lemonade comes in.  I have always followed the philosophy "if life gives you lemons, make lemonade."

Well I am making a whole lot of lemonade right now.  

Glass 1: I get to spend time with Baby Girl, and I am enjoying it.  Plus it is saving us money on child care.

Glass 2: Mike will qualify for Employment Insurance if he is unable to find a job right away.

Glass 3: I have realized how much I like my Dr.  She and the rest of the team looking after me have inspired confidence, and I feel like no matter what, everything will be fine.

Glass 4: Due to the issues with the pregnancy, baby too may be here sooner rather than later.  Maybe even before the end of 2011, which will help our taxes: :)

Despite everything, we are healthy.  We are working on the happy, and we are definately not thirsty.

Glass of Lemonade anyone?

Countdown on for Relay for Life

Countdown on for Relay for Life City & Region Kamloops Daily News


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