Genetic Counselor

     Today Charles and I had our appointment with the genetic counselor. Even though I knew that the basis of this appointment was precautionary, I was still nervous while we waited to be called back. First, we met with counselor and she went over our medical history with us. She was only really concerned with things that would cause major birth defects, not things that our children could be proned to inheriting later in life. I found this part very interesting but it was like taking a test at the same time!!! Poor Charles got drilled the most because of his medical history. After we talked for about thirty minutes she gave us the only "bad" news of the day (and when I say bad I mean something we were thinking we DIDNT needy to worry about) and told us that Charles' hemophilia is not maternally linked like we thought. If  it were maternally linked, she explained, there would be a lot more people in his family with hemophilia. She told us that Furrby has a fifty fifty chance of being a hemophiliac and she is tracking down Charles' medical records so she can figure out specifically what type he has and if that changes Furrby's likelihood of inheriting. If they cannot obtain his records from Riley, then Charles will need to undergo some tests to figure out the specific type. So what does this mean right now for Furrby? They cannot test him until he is born so immediately after he is here, they will take a sample of his cord blood and send it to a special lab. There they will determine if he is a hemophilia and only AFTER that test is complete can we think about having him circumcised. No one is cutting on my baby if he has it! At least not unless it's absolutely necessary!
     Next, we were called back for our ultrasound. As a first time mom, I was thrilled for another chance to see my baby boy but I knew they would be looking to see if there were any problems so I was also nervous. This ultrasound took FOREVER and as before, Furrby was being very stubborn! He kept moving when she needed him to be still and wouldn't budge when she needed him to move! She finally got all of the measurements she needed and told us our boy was weighing in over one pound now!!!! He is measuring in over a week ahead of how far along I am still so it's looking like he is going to be a big boy. She told us to wait for the doctor the after about twenty minutes she told us the doctor was called into an emergency c-section and wouldn't be back for a bit. Charles and I were starving so we went and grabbed lunch in the cafeteria and came back when we were finished.
     Upon our return we were then called back into the ultrasound for ANOTHER ultrasound, this time by the doctor himself. He wanted to see if he could get better pictures than the tech did of Furrby's heart. They didn't see anything wrong, in fact they said everything looked good now, but they explained that week 21 is still pretty early for looking at the baby's heart. Once he was satisfied no better pictures could be had, he informed us we had to come back in four weeks to see a pediatric cardiologist. He thinks that the timing will allow for much better pictures and it will put all of us at ease to know our little man is ok.
     Needless to say, it was a VERY long day! I was actually kind of sore from the ultrasounds because the doctor pushed sooooo hard!!! He was killing me! I even had red marks on my stomach when he was done! Funny story of the day....he even pushed so hard he made me pee my pants! Seriously, I wet myself! Luckily I had peed like thirty minutes before that so it wasn't that much. Hahaha. Overall, we are pleased yet still a little overwhelmed by all of this. We will just have to wait and see what happens in four weeks. At least we got a bunch more pictures! :)

The Furry Ones

   As I mentioned before, our Great Dane, Keena Louise, is our biggest baby....literally. Weighing in at 130 lbs, Keena makes her presence known! Since the day I rescued her I have been prepping her for the day we would have a baby. That may sound silly but it's all simple things, really. I would test her with loud noises and crying baby sounds, pull on her tail, ears, and all of her extra skin and she has always been completely unphased by almost everything! We are so blessed to have her in our lives and for her to be as calm and well adjusted as she is considering she came from a horrible home.
   Keena has never really cared about kids that much...give them a sniff and be on her way. People have always asked me what I will do with her once I have kids and since announcing this pregnancy I have actually had people ask me if I will get rid of her. My answer to that has always been a big NO! Animals are NOT disposable and they are extremely important in our lives. Unless Furrby is severely allergic to dogs or cats they aren't going anywhere! I do not buy into the concept that no matter what you do your kids can be terrified of animals. I believe the environment and parents have a lot to do with it and it helps when you have such an amazing animal as Miss Louise! Also, it's proven children actually have better immune systems with animals in the house! I truly believe that Keena will be a great big sister and want to protect her new little brother.
   Realistically there are things you have to worry about with such a large dog and a small child. I'm a firm believer that no child (under the age of five really) should be left unsupervised with an animal. Maybe if it's something in a cage or tank...but not dogs or cats. If we need to shower or cook either the baby comes with us or the animals are confined into their room. Over the years I have thought of many ways that we will keep both baby and fur babies safe! I am just excited to see them interact together and learn to love each other!

And The Verdict is....

 A boy!!!

Week 20 Visit

     On December fifth Charles and I had our twenty week visit for Furrby, aka our little one on the way for those who may not know! Things went very well and we had our big ultrasound to determine if Furrby was a boy or a girl!!! (I will reveal the gender in my next post!) Our little bundle of joy is measuring in at twelve ounces and we were told that is a big baby for week twenty! According the the pregnancy book I read Furrby is measuring in about three weeks ahead of schedule!!! Let's just hope this little one doesn't get too huge!
     Our doctor is amazing and she is being very overly cautious with Furrby due to Charles' medical history. For those of you who don't know or maybe don't know the whole story Charles had a whole mess of issues when he was little! Sometimes I can't believe how lucky he is to be so well off now and we are soooo blessed that he doesn't have issues as of now. Charles was born with a heart condition where the blood vessels and veins were not going the right directions and his body wasn't getting the oxygenated blood that it needed. In result of these conditions his body responded with a very slow heart rate and has a murmur as well. On top of all of this, Charles was born without a spleen and has hemophilia (type factor eight). With the love and support of his amazing parents and the wonderful doctors at Riley hospital for children, Charles underwent two open heart surgeries and spent much of his time in Riley. As I mentioned before, he has no residual issues as of now and has lived a normal life since his Riley days.
     We wanted to make sure that Furrby doesn't have any of these health issues so we have informed our doctor about all of Charles' past. In order to take all the precautions necessary she has referred us to a genetic counselor. This appointment has been made forth e 16th of this month and I'm not sure all of what they are checking Furrby for. We know they will take more blood and we are sure they will be scanning for heart issues. As of right now, I am not concerned about Furrby because every time the doctor has listened to the baby's heart it has sounded great and all of Charles' medical issues are extremely rare and the likelihood of them being passed on is more than just unlikely. We will just have to wait and see what the genetic counselor says!