Ayla pictures and quick update

Hello everyone, this is Big Chris. I want to thank all of you for all of your prayers and encouraging comments throughout the pregnancy.

Quick update on M: She just called and said that they will be doing a D&C on her tonight. She is still having some bleeding and they want to make sure they get any left over tissue to get everything under control. Please continue to keep her in your prayers so the proceedure will go smoothly. I feel bad because I can't be there with her right now as she has to go through this alone.

Quick Ayla update: So far everything is going perfectly for Ayla. She is doing great, and already has had three bowel movements. There is no bowel obstruction which is wonderful news. Still won't know the CF outcome for probably 2 weeks when the newborn screening tests come back. All in all she looks and sounds great.

Here are just a few pictures of Ayla and of Lil' Chris meeting his sister.

3 cm!!!!

I had my OB visit today. She said I am 3 cm dilated and 25% effaced(or however you spell it;) I am 37 weeks, which is considered 9 months pregnant!!

She seemed pretty surprised as to how far along I am! When I was pregnant with lil' Chris, I was 2 cm at this point and ended up having him 1 week early! So maybe I'll go 2 weeks early with Ayla!! I wouldn't mind;)

She thinks Ayla will be between 7 and 8 pounds. Same as lil' Chris, he was 7 lbs 9.5 oz. She said I could go any day now, I am considered full term.

She did a Strep B test today, at least I think that is what it was called;) I was still in shock about the 3 cm. LOL :) She said that if I test positive for it, and if they don't treat me right away, then Ayla could have problems when she is born...she listed a few things, but breathing problems is what stood out for me! I was like great, as if I don't already have to worry about possible breathing problems! I'm just going to leave it in God's hands and try not to worry about anything the next couple of weeks. I just want to enjoy it just being me and my 2 favorite boys:)

I'll let you know the results when I get it.
M

CF Clinic Visit and Ultrasound Update

Despite my sleepless night, we had a great day! The ultrasound went quick. We were in and out in 30 minutes! She said that there was no evidence of any bowel obstruction! YEA!!! :) That was a big relief, but it doesn't mean that it won't still happen. She also said that all the measurements looked good and that she is just the right size she's supposed to be at this point! Ayla is 6 lbs. 4 oz. right now! No wonder I look so huge! LOL I asked her what her estimated birth weight would be and she said that they usually grow about 1/2 lb. each week at this point. So I have 3 weeks left, so that means around 8 lbs I guess. Lil' Chris was born 1 week early and he weighed 7 lbs. 9.5 oz. The lady also said that she is head down and face down and ready to come out:) We'll see if she decides to come a week early like her brother=)

Lil' Chris' appointment went well too:) His weight is over 26 lbs. which puts him in the 50th percentile, and his height is 33 inches which puts him in the 60th percentile! His BMI is 60%. The doctor says that's great! He doesn't think we should change anything! So, we are going to continue 3 Creon 5 enzymes for meals, 2 for snacks; 2 ml of Vitamax once a day; one 15 mg Prevacid Solutab once a day; and continue the Vest 2 times a day at 20 minutes each.

We got to see all our favorite nurses on our way out! One nurse asked if we needed any samples of anything, and I told her that we could use more of the Prevecid Solutab syringes. I told her my lil' story of how I put one in the dishwasher...big mistake....and the other one we have been using for months and months now. It just started not working properly. You have to push it real hard, and then sometimes it comes out SO fast and gets ALL over! One day it exploded in lil' Chris' face! I felt SO bad for him! I thought he was going to be scared of it after that, but luckily he wasn't. Anyway, I asked the nurse for more and she said "Sure no problem" and she came back with 4 of them! That should last us a while:)

All in all, we had a great day! We even stopped and picked up lil' Chris a slide since he was such a good boy all day long! I'll post pics of it later;)

Thanks for all the prayers. I guess I was worrying for no reason;)
M
PS. The doctor took a throat culture, but we won't get the results till next week. I'll let you know the results...hopefully normal, but he did just get over a cough.

No Sleep and Susanna Update

Well, I thought I would update before we leave...I have a few minutes since lil' Chris is doing his Vest right now.

I barely got any sleep last night. I guess I'm just nervous and anxious about our Level 2 ultrasound today and lil' Chris' CF clinic appointment. And then when I woke up this morning, I started to get a lot of cramping in the middle of my shower. I thought we were going to have to cancel our appointments today and end up going to our hospital up the road to have our baby girl today! But I laid down for a little and they eventually went away:) So far they have not come back yet.

Hopefully lil' Chris has a good appointment like usual, but you just never know when that corner is going to turn for the worse. His cough is pretty much gone, and his nose hasn't ran in almost a week! But I feel like he should be eating more. I hope his weight is ok.

Please keep us in your prayers today:)

For those who have been following for awhile...here is an update on Susanna's 2 girls with CF, Janna and Chloe. I was so glad to hear from her:)

Dear M,
What a rough night! Aren't these CF kids such troopers though? I'm glad to hear he is doing better.
I know I haven't been in touch for a long time, but I still think of you very, very often. We've had a move, my husband is gearing up for deployment, and of course the holidays are always busy too. I have had very little computer access these past few months, but every time I do, I check up on you guys.
Janna and Chloe seem to be doing ok. Chloe is finishing up augmentin, after a long cold/cough. And Janna is almost 2 weeks into Bactrium because she grew the MRSA bacteria from her last throat culture!!! That really gave me a very hard time at first, because it's so scary and I didn't know what it meant for her, her lungs, for Chloe, for Baby Levi, for those around us... (The short explaination is that they are not as worried about the bacteria as long as they can try to get rid of it, and she doesn't get an Infection with it on board)I really struggled with it at first, and tried to learn and do everything I could, but then I had to put it in God's hands, and He has helped me to rest.
They started both girls on BOOST 1.5 (has 355cal/8ozs) instead of Pediasure (246cal/8oz)! Janna (3yrs, 3mnths) weighed 32 lbs tonight--a record!! I think Chloe(19 months) is around 22-23 lbs. And boy is she turning into a talker! If her words weighed anything, she'd weigh a ton! :-)
Back to you - I can't believe you are soo close to your due date already! That is very exciting. And your baby's name is beautiful.
I must go. Let those who remember us know that we're doing ok:) Email me if you want to. (my husband gets our email on his phone) I'll still check in every time I can. I can't wait to hear all about Little Ayla! Please know that my thoughts and prayers are with your family. Let me know if I can ever do anything for you.
Sincerely,
Susanna

Ayla Update

I've changed my baby countdown, check out the right side of the page. This one breaks down everything! I can't believe there are only 4 weeks left!!

I finally have my hospital bag packed, and Ayla's bag packed. We still have to move Lil' Chris' car seat and put Ayla's car seat in though. I did get some more of her clothes washed and ready! But we still have to break out the bassinet, and we still have to get her room ready. First we have to move Lil' Chris into the bigger room, and then put Ayla's furniture in Lil' Chris' old room. Hopefully he adjusts well to the new room.

I guess I forgot to tell you...we finally bought her furniture! It's beautiful! Not sure how we are going to pay for it, but at least it will last her forever. It changes into a toddler bed, and then a full size bed later on. It's here, just partially still in boxes until we move Lil' Chris into his new room. It's hard to find time to do everything since my husband and I work opposite shifts from each other. But I am using up my last few vacation days in January, so maybe then we'll get some stuff done and ready for the bring home of our baby girl, Ayla :) Can you tell I love saying and typing her name??? LOL

I also forgot to tell you that my last OB appointment went well! She said everything looks and sounds great! My next OB appointment is on Jan 8th. After that one I will be going EVERY week! Which is hopefully only 3 more weeks. I really hope that I don't go past my due date.

I have my Level 2 ultrasound on Wed Jan 7th at 9:30am at the same hospital that we take Lil' Chris to for his CF clinic appointments. He was supposed to have a clinic appointment the following Wed on the 14th, but I called today and switched it to the 7th since we will be up there already and it is like a 45 minute drive. His appointment is at 2:00pm. It's going to be a busy day!! Wish us luck:)
M

Second Surprise!!

(Click here for surprise #1.)

Are you ready for surprise #2???

Ok, well here it is...we have finally agreed on a name for our baby girl due on January 29th 2009. Many people have been waiting a LONG time to hear her name.

We have decided on the name...

Ayla Christi

If you're wondering where we got these names from, I'll be glad to tell you.

"Ayla" I got from a girl at work. She was telling me how she really wanted to name her daughter Ayla a couple of years ago was she was born, but her husband wouldn't let her. I thought..."Ayla"...I like that name! It is pronounced like the song "Layla" by Eric Clapton, but without the "L". My husband wasn't thrilled with it at first, but he got used to it once I kept calling her Ayla instead of baby girl. We both got so used to it so much, that it was hard to even consider another name. I guess it was just meant to be:)

"Christi" is after my BEST friend that I have known since I was 3 years old. We went to preschool together, and then elementary through high school together. Our moms, and sometimes teachers, used to say that we were joined at the hip. What can I say, we were always more like sisters. Plus, you can't go wrong with a name that has "Chris" in it:)

Well, there you have it. My 2 big surprises...Pics with myself in them(some of you will be very surprised that I did that) and our baby girl's name. Hope you enjoyed them:) I'll be taking off my pics soon, I can't stand looking at pictures with me in them. All I see are the flaws, like the lil' piece of hair that was out of place. How can a picture place not have a MIRROR??? Honestly!!! I'll never understand it.

Anyways, HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Enjoy this time with your family and friends, it only comes around once a year;)

M

Update

He is still coughing. He coughs the most when he wakes up in the morning or after a nap. He must be getting some drainage. Poor kid. His nose wasn't as runny today though, so that's good news!

We got our Christmas pics the other day! YEA!! They are so cute! We haven't had time to scan them into the computer, but when we do, I'll make it the new header=)

This Tuesday we were supposed to go get the Level 2 ultrasound, but it got change til the beginning of Jan. So instead, I have an OB appointment on Tues. I'll let you know how it goes.

I added a new widget to the right side of the page. Let me know what you think. I like the second one better b/c you can click on the buttons underneath the pic to tickle the baby, hear the heartbeat, turn a light on(???), and zoom in. I like the top one though, b/c you can see the wording better. I get asked every day it seems like..."How many days do you have left?" Now I know=)
M

God's Pregnancy Plan for Us

Well, as you may already know, I have one CF child(Lil' Chris) and am due to have another child next month. If you read the beginning of my blog(click here for that post), you'll see that I kinda went through the same stage that a lot of CF moms go through after diagnosis or after finding out that both parents are CF carriers. I always wanted 2 or 3 kids. I was upset that I couldn't have more children. I thought there is no way I can possibly bring another CFer into this world and have it suffer it's whole life. But...then God intervened and presto...we were pregnant 10 months later. We felt like Mary and Joseph, not knowing how it happened(well, we know how...well, you catch my drift;)

I was upset at first not knowing our babies fate, but soon realized that this is what God had in store for us. He always has a plan for everybody. And some days it's hard for me to think about my baby girl being born with CF too. But I know that the Lord is right by our side and will guide us through any situation that comes our way. He won't give us anything He knows we can't handle. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. We just have to trust and have faith in God and ourselves to have the strength to get through anything, even 2 CF children =)

How will I handle it if she does have CF? I will accept it and take it one day at a time. I will put one foot forward and not look back. I will love her with all my heart. I will give her the best life I possibly can...she deserves that much.
M

Omega-3 and Asthma and CF

YEA!! I've been tagged by Cindy for the Honest Scrap Award, which means I have to write 10 honest truths about myself or my life! I don't have time right now to do it, since I have been on the computer this whole time Lil' Chris was taking a nap and now he is awake. But I did find some new blogger friends!! I'd like to share Christy's blog with you. I added her to my blog list under Color Me Healthy. She had a great post about Asthma. It's really interesting! Check it out, click here!

Her post reminded me of a topic that I have been meaning to blog about for a while now.
A few months ago, my Dad told me about a vitamin I could take during my pregnancy to help reduce the chances of my baby having asthma problems. It won't cure CF if she has it, but it can't hurt. It also makes babies smarter too! That's a plus. It's called Omega-3. It has a full spectrum of 7 Omega-3s, DHA, EPA, and more(yes, that was straight from the bottle:). These Omega-3 fish oil capsules have lots of fatty acids, which are good for CFers. Back in the old days, Omega-3 used to be in a lot of the food we eat, but today it has been replaced by Omega-6 which is no good. Omega-3 can be found in fish, flax seed, and a few other things if you don't want to take the pill. The only fish I eat is fish sticks and that doesn't really help, so I take 3 Omega-3s a day.

He also told me that it is good for Lil' Chris too b/c of his CF. So, I have been breaking one of the capsules and have been pouring it on a spoonful of food for him once a day. I pour it on kinda like I do with his enzymes, but it is a liquid type. He doesn't seem to mind it. I was shocked, b/c it smells like fish when it is broken open. I know...gross right? Anything to keep my kids as healthy as possible though.

Anyway, my Dad has read that it may have beneficial anti inflammatory effects for people with chronic diseases such as CF. There was a study done in Italy that showed a drop in need of antibiotic medication. There was another study showing that it helps or prevents ADD or ADHD too.

When Lil' Chris was first diagnosed, my husband was researching on the Internet and found studies that Omega-3 was good for CFers. So the next time we went to our CF Clinic, he asked our CF doctor about it and the doctor said "There has been no studies on it or any proof." We were confused, b/c there have been studies on it, but I guess we just kind of dismissed it since he didn't think that it would do anything. Now, we are thinking "but what if it is good for him?" It can't hurt to give it to him just in case it does do some good and maybe it will improve his future! Has anyone else ever done any studies on Omega-3?

Here is one study:
Cystic fibrosis and fish oils
GENT, BELGIUM. There is evidence that cystic fibrosis patients with high plasma phospholipid levels of omega-3 fatty acids have better lung function than patients with lower levels. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is, unfortunately, often accompanied by fat malabsorption so it is not clear whether oral fat supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids would benefit CF patients.

Researchers at the State University of Gent set up an experiment to see if CF patients are able to absorb omega-3s effectively by mouth. The trial involved 9 CF patients (4 females and 5 males) ranging in age from 7 to 20 years. All had been diagnosed with pancreatic insufficiency and had poor fat absorption despite supplementing with pancreatic enzyme preparations. The patients were assigned to receive either 6 fish oil capsules per day for a month followed by 6 placebo capsules for a month or 6 placebo capsules daily for a month followed by 6 fish oil capsules daily for a month. Each fish oil capsule contained 335 mg of salmon oil and 165 mg of commercial soy lecithin and provided 152 mg of omega-3 fatty acids. The placebo capsules contained 500 mg of pharmaceutical-grade liquid paraffin.

The researchers found that the CF patients who took fish oil showed a marked increase in their phospholipid levels of eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] (increase of 327%) and docosahexaenoic acid [DHA] (increase of 215%). The levels of EPA and DHA returned to baseline 2 weeks after discontinuing supplementation. The researchers also noted that patients with low initial levels of EPA showed the greatest increase in EPA levels after supplementation. They conclude that oral supplementation with fish oil and lecithin is effective in increasing the levels of omega-3 fatty acids especially EPA and DHA in cystic fibrosis patients.
Christophe, Armand, et al. Increase of long chain omega-3 fatty acids in the major serum lipid classes of patients with cystic fibrosis. Ann Nutr Metab, Vol. 36, 1992, pp. 304-12

Here is another study relating it to helping with Asthma:
Asthma
Diet rich in fish may help prevent childhood asthma
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. Childhood asthma is now a major health problem in Australia with 31% of West Australian children having been diagnosed with the condition. Chronic inflammation of the airways is also a major problem with 12% of the population reporting wheeze severe enough to disturb sleep. Studies involving Australian school children have shown that those who consume oily fish more than once a week have a significantly reduced risk of asthma.

Australian researchers now suggest that the epidemic of childhood asthma is associated with a change in the omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio in the Australian diet. It used to be around 5:1, but is now 15:1 or higher. They recently concluded a study of 355 school children of which 166 had been diagnosed with asthma at 6 years of age and the remaining 169 acted as asthma-free controls. A comparison of the two groups showed that the significant risk factors for asthma were:

Gestational age less than 37 months (OR=2.93)
Maternal asthma (OR=6.13)
Breastfeeding for less than 6 months (OR=2.25)
A high omega-6/omega-3 ratio in the diet (OR=1.93)
After adjustment for other known risk factors the risk of asthma was 2.89 times higher among children with an average dietary omega-6/omega-3 ratio of 18 than among children with a ratio of 8. The researchers believe that the benefits of a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids are due to the inclusion of more EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), the two main components of fish oil.
Oddy, W.H., et al. Ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids and childhood asthma. Journal of Asthma, Vol. 41, No. 3, 2005, pp. 319-26

If you'd like more info about it, or have any question, just let me know. Here is a good link to check out about the studies they have done on this...http://www.oilofpisces.com/children.html#fibrosis. I hope this info is useful to you,
M

PS. I've added a picture to the top of this post. They are pudding like packets of Omega-3 that is easier to give to a child. We are going to get them soon and try them on Lil' Chris. I'll let you know how it goes.

Climbing the Couch and OB Appointment

Guess what Lil' Chris learned to do?




That lil' stinker can climb up on the couch now! He'll do anything to get that remote! My husband was in the other room and heard him change the channel. He knew he put the remote on top of the couch so he couldn't reach it. So he peeked in and saw Lil' Chris sitting on the couch with the remote in hand and a BIG smile on his face=) He's just too smart:)

In the first video, he was crying a little b/c he was having trouble getting up. Now...he's a pro!! Notice how he gets up there, but only looks at the remote. He knew he was being watched, otherwise he would have snatched it as soon as he got up there=)

Now I'm kinda scared about leaving him in the room by himself. What if he climbs up there and then falls off? What's a parent to do? I can't be by his side 24/7! Then nothing would ever get done around here! What did you do when your child first starting climbing up on things?

I had my OB appointment today. She said everything looks and sounds great! I am 33 weeks and in my 8th month, I can't believe it!! My due date is still Jan 29th. I guess we better get that baby furniture soon! I feel so behind with this pregnancy. With Lil' Chris, at this time I had my bags packed, his bag packed, the car seat in the car, toys washed, bottles washed, his clothes washed, crib set washed and made up for him. With this pregnancy, I have some clothes washed....THAT'S IT!!! Hopefully after the holidays, I'll get all caught up. And hopefully she won't come before then=) LOL
M
PS. His nose is still runny, and he coughs every now and then. Hopefully it goes away soon:(

PPS. Still looking for some great girl names. Does anybody have any suggestions?

Santa Picture As New Header

Today Lil' Chris got his picture taken with Santa. He had just woke up from his nap, so he wasn't very happy. We then got our 2nd annual family Christmas pictures taken. They turned out really cute. There is one picture with Lil' Chris' hand on my belly and he has a BIG smile on his face...too cute! Unfortunately we won't get those pictures until the 19th. I'll put one as the header as soon as we get them. For now, I'll make it his Santa picture:)

Guess what? Alicia nominated me for a blog award, click here to see!!! YEA, my first one!! Once I figure out how to get that award picture on my blog, I'll post more about it and nominate 5 other blogs myself. I'm new to this blog award stuff, but hopefully I'll figure it out soon;)


I have a favor to ask...2 of our blogger friends could use some prayers. Please check out Ashley's blog by clicking here, and Phoenix's blog by clicking here. They could both really use your prayers.


Lil' Chris still has a little runny nose, but is doing much better. Thanks for all the prayers,
M

Appointment

We found out that our appointment for our Level 2 ultrasound (to try to detect if the baby has CF or not) is scheduled for Tues Dec. 23rd at 10:00. Hopefully everything will be fine.

It's too soon for me to give an update on Lil' Chris' cold. I worked all last night and all day today, and now I have to leave for our CF Mom meeting. My husband says he is doing much better though.

I'll fill you in later.
M

3D Ultrasound of our Lil' Baby Girl!!

We just got back from doing a 3D ultrasound for our lil' baby girl. Yup, that's right! They confirmed it, IT'S A GIRL! YEA!!

It's sad that before I could even get onto the bed, I was asking if they would be able to see any bowl obstruction. They said that they are not allowed to do anything like that, b/c they are not doctors and they could get sued. I guess we'll just have to wait until we get our Level 2 ultrasound around 35 weeks.

We had so much fun seeing our baby girl wiggle around and kick and smile! She actually looks a lot like her brother! Lil' Chris enjoyed it at first, he kept saying "Baby!" But then he started to get fussy. Daddy had to take him for a walk a couple of times. The ladies there were so nice! I told them about the CF possibility and how Lil' Chris has it, and they both said that they would pray for both of them. The one lady actually washed a lil' toy so Lil' Chris could play with it, b/c he was being fussy! I couldn't believe it! She washed it first!! That was so nice of her. She seemed to really know a lot about CF. She was trying to comfort us by saying "these days, they live much longer"(she was kinda an older lady).

The other lady said something that kinda stuck with me. She said that she would pray that Lil' Chris won't have any symptoms of CF and will stump all the doctors and will be a miracle baby! I thought to myself, "Why didn't I ever think of that?" It could happen, you hear of things like that all the time! One can only pray.

BTW, right before we left for our appointment, I got a call from my OB saying that my glucose test came back ok. Then she proceeded to say "But you are anemic." My reaction was "REALLY?" She asked if I felt tired a lot or out of breath sometimes. I thought I was tired just from not being able to sleep comfortably with this big basketball stomach and being tired from working a full time job on my feet all day! I'm sure that all has something to do with it too, but I guess there was more to it. She wants me to take an iron supplement twice a day to help and also drink lots of water. I'm trying not to worry about, I got enough to worry about. Can anybody give me any tips?

Here are some pics of my 3D ultrasound at 30 weeks pregnant with my baby girl=)

Hope you enjoyed them,
M

Appointments Update

Our appointments went great! Our baby girl is doing fine, her heart rate sounds great! I drank my orange drink and got my blood work done(I have a lil' bruise to prove it:) My next appointment is in 2 weeks! Yup, this is the beginning of going every 2 weeks now. I asked my OB about the Level 2 ultrasound, and she said that she is going to put in a referral for me to have it done at the same hospital we take Lil' Chris for his CF Clinic Visits, b/c they don't do Level 2 ultrasounds at the hospital around here. I asked her when would be a good time to go, she said more towards the end of the pregnancy. So, we are probably going to go around 34 or 35 weeks. When my OB got done explaining this to us and walked out of the room, I said to my husband..."If she knew about this Level 2 ultrasound already, than why didn't she suggest it to us when we were pregnant with Lil' Chris, or even with this baby?" It made me kinda mad, but thanks to Daniel's mom I know about it now. Hopefully it won't show any bowl obstruction which is a sign of CF. I also asked her if insurance would cover it and she said that they most likely will, b/c our other child has CF.

Next, we went to Lil' Chris' appointment and everything there went great too! Well, it went great up until he had to get his 3 shots:( Sorry baby:,( It's a few days later now, and one of the shots has a big red mark around it. It also seems to hurt him when we touch it. Should I be worried? Or is this normal? This never happened with any of his other shots. He had no other problems with the shots, no fever or anything like that. I hope the red circle goes away soon.

Oops, I almost forgot...He got to stand on the big scale to be weighed for the first time!! He looked like such a big boy!! Why do they have to grow up so quick?

I almost forgot this big news too...The doctor noticed that he is starting to get his molars...YEA!! Finally some more teeth!! I was looking for the teeth next to his 6 that he already has to come in, not thinking that the back ones would come in first. I'm so glad, b/c that means he'll be able to eat more foods and get more calories! YEA!!
M

Doctor Appointments Thursday and Hand Sanitizer Video

I can't believe how fast this month is going by!! We have our OB appointment tomorrow where I have to remember to drink my orange glucose drink a 1/2 hour before I go to my appointment at 11:15am. I think I may have to get a shot and some blood work done too:(

Then at 1:30, Lil' Chris has his appointment with the Pediatrician. It's just a check up, but he does have to get some shots unfortunately. I hate seeing his face when he gets shots. It sometimes scares me, b/c it's like he doesn't breath for a few minutes...but I'm sure it's only like a few seconds. But then he finally lets out a loud cry, which just breaks your heart:(

Please keep him in your prayers tomorrow between 1:30 and 3pm that everything goes well, that the shots don't give him too much trouble, and that he doesn't pick up any germs from the doctors office. We have been so lucky so far. He has only had one cold in 17 months. I guess not letting him play with the toys in the doctors office helps, and I'm sure all the hand sanitizing that we do to him must help too. We sanitize his hands any time he touches anything in public or if someone touches him, we sanitize that area whether it is his hand or cheek or whatever(once they walk away that is:). And we always make sure we sanitize before we touch him, and we make sure family, friends, and the sitters sanitize before touching him also. We should buy stock in Purell:) LOL.

Here is a quick video of the best thing we ever got! It is a hand sanitizer that is a pump instead of a flip cap, and it is on a zip cord that can be attached to just about anything. I love it! It comes with a cap, but I never use the cap, b/c it never spills. I have one on everything...the diaper bag, the bottle bag, the stroller, and especially my purse. They are refillable and I love it the most b/c it is quick easy access to a hand sanitizer that keeps my son and us healthy and away from those pesty germs:) It's not the best video, but you can tell I use it a lot b/c it is almost time for me to refill it:) You can order them on-line only I believe. We have never seen them in any store.

I'll let you know how things go.
Thanks,
M

CF Update

Lil' Chris has been doing GREAT!! Thanks for all the prayers for him to stay healthy. We have our CF Clinic visit this Wednesday. They want him to take another sweat test, b/c he didn't sweat the last time they tried it. I doubt he will sweat this time either, but I guess we'll do what the Dr.'s say. My husband and I think it is pointless since we already know he definitely has CF, but I guess they need it on record that he was tested positive by blood work and the sweat test. Weird!

Today I scheduled a Dr.'s appointment with the pediatrician to get Lil' Chris' flu shot. He also has to get his 15 months shots too. I know, I know, he's 16 months. Somehow we didn't schedule our next appt. the last time we were there, so I forgot about it. We actually thought they said he didn't have to go back until he was 18 months to get more shots. When I called today, I thought I was a couple of months ahead of schedule, but I guess not. Sorry Lil' Chris:( They said it's no big deal, but we want to get those shots soon. So we have our appt. for next Thursday at 1:30. It's going to be a busy day, b/c I have my 7 months OB appt. that morning. Yea! I get to drink the orange stuff!!

Wish us luck,
M

Baby Sister Appointment

Our doctors appointment went great yesterday! The doctor said her heartbeat sounds great and that I have gained the right amount of weight she expected me to(12 lbs. overall) and my blood pressure was great too! All in all a good visit! My next appointment is in 6 weeks, b/c I have to be at so many weeks to take the orange drink thing. I will also have to get my shot then, and they will do blood work then too. After that visit, she said that I will start going every 2 weeks! I can't believe how fast it is coming! I feel like we have nothing ready! I'm itching to get a crib and set her room up, but we are going to wait until after Thanksgiving b/c we need that room for our guests that are coming to stay with us. I don't know where everyone is going to sleep next year at Thanksgiving. We're gonna need a bigger house! =)
M

IT'S A GIRL!!

Isn't she beautiful?

Now comes the hard part...picking a name:0

They said her weight and everything looked normal for 19 weeks, that doesn't mean she doesn't have CF. We won't find that out until a few days after she is born probably. There is a 1 in 4 chance she could have CF and a 1 in 2 chance she will be a carrier.

She was sooooo active the whole time during the ultrasound! (I have been feeling her move since last week). In the first few pics we got, her head was on the right side(like the pic above), and halfway through, she flipped and her head was on the left side. Too funny!!

The estimated due date is still 1/29/09.

M

Big Day Tomorrow!!

Tomorrow we have our ultrasound appointment to find out if we are having a boy or a girl! YEA!! We can't wait! I'll let you know.

Also, I called the CF clinic today to find out what the throat culture result was. He grew a bacteria, but it is not a CF bacteria. I think she said it is a mouth bacteria, whatever that means. He actually grew this once before. It is something that does not need to be treated, I believe. But later, they called back saying that the doctor wants us to come in tomorrow. If it's not a CF bacteria, I don't know why they want us to come in so soon, but we'll do as they say. Luckily I had requested the day off from work. Hopefully everything is ok. His cough has gotten a little bit better since being on the Sulfatrim. Maybe they will take him off of it. That would be great, since it is sooooooooo hard to force down his throat. He hates the taste of it. We have tried every way possible to give it to him, but nothing works the second time. He is too smart and catches on too fast. Sometimes I feel like we end up spilling more than what he gets in his mouth. We'll see tomorrow what they say.
M

Sweat Test and Bloodwork

Yesterdays clinic visits went really well. Lil' Chris was such a trooper through everything(except getting his blood work done;)

I had an OB appointment at 9:30am and it was running a little behind, so I called and pushed back the sweat test at the clinic from 11:00am to 1:00pm. Why they didn't schedule us that in the first place so we wouldn't have to wait around there all day, I don't know. BTW, the OB appt went great. We heard the heart beating nice and strong. Our next appt is in 4 weeks for an ultrasound to find out if it's a boy or girl!!! YEA!!! We can't wait!!

Ok, back to the sweat test. We got there early and they were still out to lunch and the door was locked. So we had to wait out in the hallway where you don't know who has CF and is walking by coughing on your kid. So, we went and stood over in a corner by the bathrooms where we could still see the door and not have too many people walking past us. There was another lil' boy a little older than Lil' Chris waiting outside the door with his mom and some other lady. I just had a feeling that he had CF too, so that's another reason why we stayed away.

So when they finally got back from lunch, the other family went in, and then I followed. I told Chris to stay out there in the hallway with Lil' Chris, b/c I had a feeling that he shouldn't be around that lil' boy. As I was registering, I overheard them talking about the lil' boy and how he had CF too. So then I felt relieved that we stayed away, b/c you just never know if they could pass any bacteria to each other, esp since Lil' Chris has a cough right now.

So when they called for Lil' Chris, I went and got them out of the hallway(by the way, we do this same thing at the pediatricians too so he's not around any sick kids:) The sweat test was very weird. It was not what we were expecting at all. They put these 2 lil' things on his arm for 5 minutes, which stimulate the sweat glands. Then they put something else on there for 20 minutes. This thing was another small circle thing that collected the sweat. They did the same thing with the other arm too. We did get a couple of pictures, but only when his arm was bandaged up with the sweat collector underneath the bandage. When they took it off, it left a lil' blue stain on his arm(see pic above). He did such a good job. He didn't cry or try to pull on the cords or the things on his arms at all. They were all impressed as to how good he was the whole time. They gave him some toys and books to play with, which we totally skeeved. But we bit our tongue and just washed his hands afterward. He loved the Kermit the Frog they had that sang.

When he got done, they said that they don't think that he sweat enough. So we'll have to wait and see what the results will be. After that, it was 2:00pm and time for our speech class, but they still had to do his blood work. So I called and said we would be late. The first attempt didn't go so well. Nothing came out, meanwhile Lil' Chris was screaming his head off and of course sweating like a pig. They should've done the blood work first, then the sweat test. It definitely would've worked then, but oh well they didn't know. The second attempt was successful thank God. Once they finished, they gave him a lil' teddy bear and we rushed over to where the speech class was...
M