Dear Blasty, You Can Be Born Whenever You Want

The shadows make for a little bit of a "joker" face, but still so cute! :0)

We had what we *thought* was going to be our last ultrasound this past Monday. It was ordered as a final follow-up to check his growth because of my low PAPP-A. We were so excited to see him and I knew his growth had to be good because he FEELS so big! The technician did her measurements and he showed up again suddenly on the monitor with his chubby cheeks and eyes wide open as if they were looking right at us. I wish she would have kept the "camera" there longer but she had her work to do. At least she gave us a photo. :) She told us he was weighing in at 4.5 lbs., which is in keeping with what I have read the average weight gain should be at this point in his development. If he gains a 1/2 lb. every week (as they are supposed to do) and arrives on or near his due date, he will have a birth weight of roughly 8 lbs. I will gladly take that instead of something similar to Dan's 10 lb birth weight!!!! LOL.

Pleased to have seen our healthy boy, we happily started our first birth class (1 of 5) that following evening. The goal of the birth education classes (provided by my insurance company) is to explain the stages of labor and the delivery process at our specific hospital, offer instruction for non-medicated relaxation techniques, and education on breastfeeding and post-delivery infant care. Dan and I both read up on what to expect for labor but this gives us a chance to ask questions with someone who knows our hospital's procedures as well as interact with other couples who are expecting babies around the same time as us. Of course Dan was a big hit with the other men and took the leadership role when they met on their own. He also had his usual scientific questions....What exactly IS the amniotic fluid made of??? :-)

Yesterday we received a call from our doctor and he has a small concern about something he saw in one of the photos from the ultrasound. Apparently, Blasty's right ureter (the tube that connects his kidney to his bladder) is looking a little larger than they would like to see. Dr. O. said the maximum they want to see is 7 mm and Blasty's was 8 mm. He consulted our perinatalogist, and they both agreed that having another (better) look at it was a good idea. Best case scenario: the technician took a bad photo or wrong measurement and there is no problem at all. Worst case scenario is that there is some sort of blockage happening and we would need an operation to fix it after he is born. Dr. O. told me not to worry and they didn't even schedule the ultrasound until the first week of August so apparently they aren't tremendously concerned. I suppose if it was much bigger they would want to take a look again right away. It wasn't great getting less than perfect news, but I am confident it will be okay. I am trusting the doctors and so far we have survived all of our little hiccups with nothing but a healthy, (I am assuming happy), growing baby!

We also got some super great news in terms of our insurance for Blasty. Previously I mentioned that I had the option to cover Blasty through my plan with Kaiser at work but it was expensive. To get a less expensive independent individual plan, we needed Blasty to be born in August so we could get paperwork in for a September 1st enrollment. (Oregon only allows enrollment for children under 18 twice a year). I was getting very anxious about this! I don't know when he is going to be born and I hated to leave his insurance up in the air until the last minute. I was also worried about getting paperwork through if he was born at the very end of the month. Suddenly I realized I had to figure out all of those things like how to get the birth certificate and social security number, etc. Would the insurance company take paperwork without his SS#? Because I read they take 4-6 weeks to get in the mail. All of my worries were laid to rest, however, when my angel of an insurance broker gave us the news that Oregon is changing the law as of August 1st! Children will be able to enroll ANY TIME OF THE YEAR. Yea!!!! Problem solved!!! Blasty, you can be born WHENEVER YOU WANT! :-)

In the meantime, we are trying to get as "ready" for that moment as possible. There are lots of "TO DO" lists that I have converted into color coded post-it notes on the refrigerator. Dan is doing a great job of completing his post-it notes tasks. :-) I'm a little slower but I'm MOVING slower and Hey! I have the biggest post-it note of all: grow the baby! LOL.

In preparation, we have been doing a lot. Some fun things have been: finishing the nursery decor, laundering Blasty's blankets, clothing, and diapers (he has already lost 2 socks to the washer/dryer universe and he's not even born yet!), and picking out the birth announcements. Our Oregon *family* baby shower is tomorrow and I can't wait! We have some friends coming that we haven't seen forever! Photos to follow... :-)