No Go on the Baby-O

Well, we've had quite an interesting morning, but to sum it up, we are not having a baby today. When we left the house this morning, our bags were packed and we were prepared for Max to be born today. But that didn't happen. We thought we would have a quick appointment with Dr. Bennett this morning to check my amniotic fluid levels and either we would go home or go to labor and delivery, but the visit took an interesting turn. Dr. Bennett said if my fluid levels drop below 5, they will deliver me. They were 5 on Monday, but have drastically improved to 9.5 today! That's great news so we are counting that as a blessing although it will continue to be monitored closely.

While the ultrasound tech was doing her scan, she said she thought there was an interesting change in the heart rate and rhythm. She thought that his atria and ventricles were both beating normally now (and in sync) but both at half speed. This would definitely be a significant change and they did not know what it meant, good or bad. So, Dr. Bennett called our cardiologist and asked her to see us today. In the meantime, Tyler and I went to breakfast and tried to figure out what the heck that could mean. (Is this a new problem we didn't know about; is this an emergency situation; is Max's heart better?). We had no idea.

Then we saw the cardiologist, and all in all, she said she feels sure things are exactly as they have been and there has been n0 change. She can't explain it, but thinks perhaps the initial scan was inaccurate, after all. So, we are now home and are still planning on a July 5th birthday.

What a crazy morning filled with lots of emotion and questions! Tyler said, after the roller coaster today, he thinks we are both going to need pacemakers and wonders if they offer package deals!

This Whole Pregnancy Deal....from a man's perspective

I tend to throw out whatever comes to my mind. So, as I've been introduced to a whole new world of interesting baby gadgets, I've had a few things to say. Amy thinks they're funny, so she's been begging me to post my perspective on a few interesting items we have come to own.

The first item on our list of interesting gadgets is the bassinet. At first, I thought this was a really nice portable crib. I didn't understand the concept nor did I know how we were supposed to fold this thing up to take it on trips with us. Then Amy explained to me that this lovely item is called a bassinet and it's a crib that goes in our room. What?! Max has the nicest room in the house...upstairs...where he can sleep and so can I. Thank you Mr. or Mrs. Whomever Created This Little Piece of Heaven. I'm sure it will do wonders for my sleep habits.


The infamous Snoogle. It's a huge friggin pillow that, as you can see, takes up more than half the bed. Throw a dog in there and you can guarantee yourself 8 months of restless sleep...I guess it's meant to prepare me for the bassinet.


Next is the diaper genie. Sounds like a great idea, but then I started to really think about it. What the heck is coming out of this kid that he needs is own, special trash can? Seriously?


The Pump In Style. This just looks outright scary. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure this is a wonderful contraption, but two words come to my mind when I see this...weird and painful. And, I don't really get the name. You don't actually use this in front of people, right? So why does it have to be fashionable and in style? I think a better name would be "Double Pump Chump", but nobody asked me.


Some of you may be asking "why did he post a picture of a neck pillow". Well those of you asking that question are men and apparently I wasn't using it for it's intended purpose. This little guy is called a boppy breast feeding pillow. This one actually makes sense to me since it has multiple uses and doubles as a neck pillow for adults...quite comfortable too.


Seriously? This thing actually exists? It's called a "pumping bra". I don't think any further explanation is necessary.

Now, there are only 2 items that really make any legitimate sense at all to me. The first being the pee pee tepee. I've been told I probably won't use it, but I don't know why. I'm not a big fan of the thought of my kid spraying his fire hose all over the place...so cover it up with the tepee. Seems logical.

Last but definitely not least is the daddy caddy. This thing has it all. Glasses, gloves, diapers, wipes, bottles, bulb thingy, etc. And with this thing, you may not even need the pee pee tepees.

In all seriousness, Amy and I have had a good laugh about most of this stuff. We have a lot to learn about this new world of babies, diapers and poo and I'm sure we'll come to appreciate all these fun little gadgets. In the meantime, we'll just keep having fun with stuff.

Here We Go....Maybe

Ok everyone, Max apparently didn't like the birthday we set for him and is looking for an early escape. We went back for our BPP this morning. Max's heart rate was still holding strong between 65 and 75 beats per minute and he continues to grow....they estimate he's around 4.5 lbs now. Everything looked really good other than Amy's amniotic fluid levels. They have been trending down but now they are pretty low. Amy's OB put her on bed rest today but the high risk OB wants us to come in early Wednesday morning to re-check her levels. If they don't improve, then we're having a kid! They will send us directly to Labor and Delivery and do the c-section. It's a bit earlier than expected but it's right in line with the original goal of 36 weeks. So, we're assuming Amy will deliver on Wednesday and getting everything in order. Amy is completely different than me in that she is essentially prepared already...bags are packed, clothes are washed...all we need is the actual baby. I think Max is a lot like me. Not a big fan of plans, hence the potentially early arrival. That's all we know for now. Next time we update, it could be to announce Max's arrival....scary. Please continue to pray for us and the doctors who will be delivering and caring for Max. Thanks so much.

Amy's shower from the leadership team at work

Last week the leadership team at work helped us celebrate Max by throwing us a shower at Joann's house. Joann is our hospital's COO and she graciously offered for us to come to her house for a lovely evening, after work. I work very closely with all of these women and can't imagine a better group to work with. Everyone has been so supportive and encouraging to me and I appreciate that more than they know. They have also been very patient with me and flexible with my schedule since I have a lot of doctor's appointments.

We had a very nice evening together. The food was amazing and Max and I both got some really great gifts. Thank you for making us feel so special. Here are some photos...

What a cute and yummy cake!

I LOVE these lego sweet tarts!

The food was awesome!

We ate on Joann's covered patio. It was so relaxing and beautiful! I could have set out there all night.

Joann and her granddaughter, Layla

Jenny, Kasey, Trisha, and Jennifer

Diana, hanging out with Jack, Joann's dog

perfect for Nashville!

Mom needs to be pampered too, right!

Vera Good Cardiologist Visit and The Big Day Has Been Set

First of all, our doctor's appointments continue to go really well. Max is still active as ever and continues to surprise the ultrasound techs and the cardiologist.

Last Friday was our cardiologist visit and his heart rate continued to maintain in the 60's. Dr. Vera (hence the post title...I know it's cheesy) was very optimistic after the visit. There continues to be no further deterioration in the structure of his heart and she said he may even be a little better. More importantly, she thinks there is a strong chance that Max may even be able to go home without a pacemaker. There are still a lot of unknowns, but Max has really impressed everyone so far. If he continues to maintain a heart rate in the 60's post birth and his overall health is good, then we may only be in the NICU for a few days before they let us take the little guy home. Let's pray for that.

Today, we went back to Vandy to meet with the high risk OB (Dr. Bennett) and the chief neonatologist (Dr. Walsh). Max weighed in at 4 lbs, 9 ozs. and his heart rate was in the mid 60's. Max is still a little guy and falls in the 7th percentile, but last time he was in the less than 5th percentile, so we'll take that. Oh, and Amy will be 35 weeks tomorrow.

Dr. Walsh is essentially in charge of all the nurseries at Vandy. He is such a nice guy and did a great job of walking us through Max's plan of care. He felt we were in a great spot and was also optimistic that Max could go home within a week or so.....without a pacemaker. Can you believe where we are today compared to 6 weeks ago when we started this blog?

We also picked out Max's birthday today. He may disagree with us and pick an earlier date, but everyone is lined up and prepared at this point. So, Max will be here via C-section on July 5. And in honor of the 4th of July we have decided to name him Max Lee Greenwood Muesch....just kidding. It will be Max Thomas Muesch. We will still have bi-weekly BPP's up until the delivery and have 1 last appointment with the cardiologist next week, so we will continue to keep you updated. We are thrilled with all the great news we have been getting and are so proud of Max already. We aren't out of the woods yet, but we are incredibly optimistic. Thanks so much for all your prayers and keep em coming.

Dr. Walsh, the neonatologist

Dr. Bennett, the high risk OB that will deliver Max

Regions Baby Shower

Tyler works with a very special group of people at Regions Bank and today they threw us a baby shower. It was amazing! Everyone was so sweet and they "showered" us with gifts for baby Max. I don't get up to the office very often, so it was great to see everyone Tyler works with and visit with them. Here are some photos of the shower...

Tyler's coworkers

Look at that cake!! How cute it that?! I absolutely love it and it tasted so good!

Everyone was very generous and got us great gifts!

Grow Baby, Grow!

Tyler and I couldn't wait for our appointment on Monday because we were anxious to see how Max was doing and if he has gained much weight. Well, Monday was "weigh day" and things went well. It was a good appointment and Max seems to be doing very well and is continuing to gain weight. Two weeks ago he weighed 3lbs 2oz, and now they think he weighs 3lbs 15oz. We are hoping he will continue to rapidly gain weight over the next few weeks. The more he weighs at birth, the better, and the sooner they can do surgery if it is needed.

He continues to grow symmetrically and there are still no signs of hydrops. His heart rate was 59 and he was very active. The umbilical cord doppler is continuing to improve and we are very excited about that. We were told that it would not improve, so you can imagine our elation that it has been drastically improving over the last two weeks. This is important because it has to do with the amount of resistance in the umbilical cord. The less the resistance, the better the blood flow is to Max. When we were first diagnosed, our levels were 2-3 times the normal limit. Now, the levels have improved to almost normal! We are very pleased!

Overall, it was a great appointment. We have another BPP on Monday and then see the cardiologist on Friday. We will let you know how things go.

Weekly Update

Just a quick update... We had two doctor's appointments with our OB this week and they both went really well. Max seems to be doing everything he is supposed to. He passed both his BPP's very easily this week and his heart rate was consistently in the upper 60's and 70's. He has also been very active, so that tells me he is feeling good. Today the ultrasound tech said she thinks he has probably gained quite a bit of weight in the last week and a half. She does not measure him again until Monday, but I think she's right. Can't wait to see if we're right! That's all the news we have for now, and we are pleased.

We have 3 appointments next week; 2 with the OB and then we see the cardiologist next Friday. We will keep you updated!

Updated Photos of Max's Room

Max's room is almost ready for him. Thought you might want to see what it looks like...

I can't wait to snuggle and read lots of bedtime stories in this chair!

The pee-pee teepees are ready and waiting!

Looks comfy to me!

Amy's Work Shower

I work with an amazing group of women that I love so much, and last week they threw us a shower for Max. I was overwhelmed by everyone's generosity and their excitement for us. I truly feel that it is rare to work with such a special group of women that care so much for each other. Tyler and I really appreciate all the support and encouragement from our coworkers. People ask how we are doing on a daily basis and mention that they are reading the blog; that means a lot to us.

Here are a few photos of my super fun work shower...

What a cute diaper cake!!

The cake was very tasty!

Annette

My sweet friends Annette and Michelle planned the shower

I love me some Sherry!

cute preemie clothes!

Val, Beth, Audrey and the kiddos

Ashlee

Sheree, Christy, and Kristen

Thank you to everyone for all Max's wonderful gifts! He will be one spoiled little squirt!