Life's a Great BIg Mystery Show

Aww, my heart is so warm today! Thank you all for your sweet comments on my last post. I am feeling much better now. :) :)

Yesterday really didn't get much better. After spewing all over my blog I did feel better, but then later on that evening, as I was cooking dinner, Hubby called to inform me that he had locked his keys in his car when he went for a bike ride. Across town. And at that moment he was sitting in the dark using a stranger's cell phone to call me and he needed me to come and unlock the car. Why oh why do we not have AAA???

The problem was I was in the middle of cooking fish - not exactly something I could stop cooking and cover until later. Plus Kiddo and I were starving - I didn't really know what to do. I didn't want to waste good salmon and yet my Hubby was stranded.... what to do, what to do?

I'll have to admit I was not being a Godly wife. I was mad and frustrated. The day had been so emotional already and all I could do was get angry. Hubby didn't do any of that on purpose of course, but I just didn't see it as anything but an inconvenience to me. I vented to a friend on instant messenger and huffed and puffed for a good five minutes or so and my phone rang again. Hubby had managed to pull off a windshield wiper and poke around in the window until he got the door unlocked. The boy could be MacGyver I tell you.

Anyway, by the time he got home I had cooled off. But I have to say God had a good talk with me when I went to bed last night. Consider me lovingly scolded.

So today was the big level II ultrasound. I have to say it was at one of the most beautiful doctor's offices I've ever seen. They used to be in a ratty old office by the medical center, and boy have they stepped up! Anyway, the doctor was wonderful - very personable, knowledgeable and informative. He listened to what I had to say, really knew what he was talking about and treated me like I actually have a brain in my head (though the jury is still out on that one!). And I am completely thrilled to report that after thorough inspection, the baby looks amazing and healthy and wonderful! Everything is where it should be, the size it should be and functioning properly. He is actually measuring about 4-5 days ahead, as opposed to earlier reports of 2-3 weeks. The doctor was very positive about that because most Lupus babies run the risk of being small. So as long as he stays on track things should be good. He wants to see me once a month until 36 weeks and then every week after that. He also wants me to start taking a baby aspirin a day, extra calcium and flax seed oil to hopefully help delay and/or prevent the onset of pre-e. It's not a proven method, but it couldn't hurt.

The unfortunate side of the visit is that I have to do a couple of tests. The first being a 24 hour pee test. Ugh! I got the wonderful parting gift of a half gallon jug and instructions on collecting my samples for 24 hours. Joy. His parting words were, "just don't go hunting for the apple juice in the fridge in the middle of the night!" Oh the humor! Once the samples have been collected, I have to go to the lab for some more blood tests. Vampires! Oh well, it is totally worth it. But I fear I am going to need a bigger jug.... do they know how much a pregnant woman pees??!? I wonder what they'll do when I walk in with a couple of milk jugs in tow...

I warned you all I would tell you the good, the bad and the gross. Don't act like that. ;)

I have lots of good ultrasound pics from the visit. This boy is not near as cheeky as Kiddo was. He was lounging most of the time during the exam; his little legs were crossed at the ankle and he was using the placenta as a pillow under his head. It certainly didn't stop him from kicking the ultrasound tech a few times though. He's an active little bugger!

So if you want some stats on lupus, heartblock, preeclampsia and second pregnancies I can give you a few. For pre-e, a first pregnancy woman has about a 15% chance of developing it overall. If you add Lupus to that the chances multiply by 6. So, it was inevitable that I had pre-e the first time. The second time around (if the father of the baby is the same) the normal chances are about 5%. A woman with Lupus on her second pregnancy (with the same father) is again multiplied by 6 - so about 30%. If the father is different the second time around, the normal percentage is again 30% and with Lupus x6.

If I do actually have Lupus (which we still are not sure because it is such a hard disease to diagnose; AND I am missing one symptom to actually diagnose me with it) the chance of the baby having heart block is about 5%. The chances of the baby having heart block severe enough to require a pacemaker is less than 1%. Since my SS-A antibodies are severely elevated, pointing to the possibility of Sjögren's syndrome, the chance of heartblock is slightly higher, but I think it still breaks down to less than 1% for pacemaker. Are you confused yet? I certainly am. The point is, the chance of anything going wrong is very small - which is glorious news, but the chance of Kiddo having the troubles he had was very small as well. He was practically a medical miracle if you look at all the "odds". But anyway, it is good to focus on the positive.

So, all in all, Hubby and I are in love with my Perinatologist. He is a great guy and I am looking forward to having him on the "team". Now to find a rheumatologist.... the hunt begins. ;)

Until,
D :)