exhausted

Our four doctor's visits in three days are finally over. And I'm exhausted! Rhys had an eye appointment on Monday, during his nap time. At check-in we were told they were running behind. When asked how much behind I was told 30 minutes. Which of course meant 30 minutes in addition to the time we normally wait past our scheduled appointment. So, one hour and forty-five minutes later, with a very cranky Rhys, we saw the doctor. Um, annoying! Had we not needed paperwork filled out for Rhys's transition to school I would have left. It was a fast, good visit though. Rhys's eyes are great and she thinks he got really lucky not having eye problems as a complication of prematurity. We think so, too! She didn't feel the need to dilate his eye, thank you!, since his farsightedness seemed to be going away at his previous visit. And it wasn't that bad to begin with. So, we'll go back in three years for another checkup. She also offered to check Zoe out for any eye problems, since I have a lazy eye that runs in my family. Zoe hasn't shown us anything that makes us believe she has eye problems, but I'd like to have her looked at just in case.

Yesterday I had my OB appointment, where I waited for nearly two hours as well. Cervix is good and closed, and we'll be doing steroid shots next week just in case. My glucose test came back normal, so I'm glad I won't have to worry over that. This morning Zoe had her one-year well baby visit. Baby girl is 95th percentile all the way around. She weighs about 26 pounds, which isn't much less than Rhys's +/- 28 pounds. And she was less than thrilled with her four shots. The girl has a set of lungs on her! I'm am thoroughly enjoying the age she is at. I'm loving watching her figure things out and explore her world. She's recently started waving bye and pointing the remote at the tv expecting the channel to change. She isn't quite ready to walk on her own, but she's doing great cruising and pushing toys/chairs around the house.

This afternoon Rhys had a neurologistappointment. We aren't concerned about anything, just want to make sure we're covering all our bases and not missing anything. We've decided to do a follow-up MRI on Rhys so we can have a baseline of sorts. Even though this doctor is in the same "system" (there is a huge group of all types of doctors that work in conjunction with the hospital - teaching, seeing private and hospital patients, doing research, etc.) he wasn't able to find (on short notice) the MRI Rhys had done when he was discharged from the NICU. But, he will get it and then we'll have a point of comparison. No one believes Rhys is having complications from his brain bleed other than the obvious, but damage to certain areas of the brain can result in things like potential seizures or cysts so we just want to stay informed. We're scheduling the MRI for 6 months from now. The brain quits changing for the most part after age three, except for growing of course, so this is a great time to do it! After the MRI we'll follow up again and discuss what was found. In the meantime, the neuro is very happy with our choice of physical medicine and rehabilitation doctors (the one who prescribed the baclofen), so I think we're moving in the right direction.

Monday I have an appointment with the perinatal doctor, with another OB appointment next Thursday (yes I am beyond tired of weekly OB visits!), and next Friday Rhys has his transition consultation with the school district. That will conclude our crazy two weeks of doctor's visits. And then maybe I'll again feel up to cleaning the house. Or maybe not.

oh, so busy!

Where does our time go? We've had so much to do around here. Between all the doctor's appointments (mine and Rhys's follow-ups), transition from ECI (which happens when Rhys turns three), the new baby, and our various household projects, we barely have time to sleep.

I am now 24 weeks. Hallelujah! I was sad to get a call from the home health group last week - they wanted to set up my contraction monitor. Boo! I was hoping my OB had forgotten about that. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but monitoring for one hour, twice a day, is a pain.in.the.rump. It stresses me out. And sitting still for that long is nearly impossible with two small kids running around. So far I haven't felt any contractions, just irritability. At this point with Zoe I was having a few contractions here and there, so I am grateful for the decreased activity. I am also on my feet a lot more than I was with Zoe, which is a lot more than I technically should be. Even with help during the day I am up and down all day long. My belly seems like it's enormous, as evidenced by the stretch marks on my stomach! I am not at all vain, but suddenly discovering stretch marks in my third pregnancy, when previously I had none, is rather depressing.

Our week days are jam packed with therapy appointments, make-up ECI visits, my (now) weekly OB check-ups, well baby check-ups, ECI to ISD transition appointments, swim lessons, and every other thing we have to squeeze in. Rhys still gets his same weekly therapy from ECI, but he's also had several follow-ups regarding his CP. Speaking of CP, the bad reaction to the baclofen finally went away! He has an up-coming neuro visit, eye dr visit, he's going to be fitted for a new brace for his CP, he needs x-rays on his hips and we have the evaluation with the school district for his transition to regular school next fall. In addition to that, Zoe has her one-year well baby check-up, and baby boy has a scan at the perinatal doctor. This is all within the next two weeks. We've also recently switched Rhys from group swim lessons to private lessons. This is a one-on-one lesson with the instructor, instead of child-parent group lessons. It's easier on Cody because he doesn't have to rush home after work on Tuesday afternoons to make the lesson time and it's more beneficial to Rhys because it's all about him. So far he hasn't appreciated this change, but I'm hoping he starts liking it because he's really do great in the water lately! And all this would be completely impossible without my daytime help. The nanny has been here for four weeks now and I'm going to be sad to see her go when the new baby arrives.

And poor Cody, he's been really busy around here. I think he's a little stressed with all the stuff we'd like to get accomplished before the baby comes. He is trying really hard to get it all done, in addition to having primary duty with the kids to keep me from having to lift them and chase them around the house. In fact, he is at the grocery store as I type this at 9:30 at night! We were in the middle of a kitchen remodel when I found out I was pregnant, so between him being gone for four months during the summer and my now restricted activity, you can imagine it is taking significantly longer than what was intended. We also had some yard work that needed to be done, part of which was putting together the kids' playset. Hopefully that will be finished within the next couple of weeks so the kids can enjoy it while the weather isn't blazing hot out. I honestly haven't even started contemplating where the new baby is going to live, I guess we'll figure it out when he gets here. I'm so very thankful for a healthy, uneventful pregnancy so far, but man I am ready to be 100% again!

baby boy likes to move!

I think our little guy has a trampoline is my tummy. I only thought Zoe moved a lot. Every nurse who checks his heartbeat walks away with a smile on her face because his constant movements prevent his heartbeat from being easily found.

On Saturday I will be 23 weeks, and to be honest, I have been freaking out a little lately. I have no reason to think anything is wrong, but my head keeps inventing things. I have not had any full blown contractions (yet), as I did by this point with Zoe, but I have had irritability. That may sound great, and it is!, but it makes me fear that I'm dilating with no warning. At least when I was having contractions I had some indicator of what was going on. Not that I am wishing for contractions mind you. Thankfully all was well at my checkup today - cervix is still hanging in there.

To date I've gained 22 pounds. Which is a record for me, in that this is my first pregnancy to not have my weight gain surpass my weeks of gestation. I gained 5 pounds in the last two weeks, which is a lot considering that is nearly 25% of my total gain in only two of my 22+ weeks. But it wasn't unexpected because I've been eating us out of house and home lately. I blame the baby! :) So three months left 'til delivery and so far so good. As with Zoe I will feel much more relaxed once I make it to 28 weeks.

too little too late MOD

It was just announced that KV reduced the price of Makena from $1500 to $690 per dose. How helpful! According to this article (read it if you get a chance, there is a lot of new information in it I'd never seen, namely about KV's financial status), immediately following the announcement MOD severed ties with KV. Of course they needed to do it, but in my opinion they waited far too long. At the end of the article one compounding pharmacist states that he charges $7 per dose for the compounded version of 17p. It does mention that this is probably less than most other pharmacies would be able to charge since he supplies surrounding hospitals and makes large batches as a result. Still, it is an idea of how little this drug costs to make, and how much KV stands to gain.

Excerpt from the article linked above, concerning the MOD: Hours after K-V's announcement, the March of Dimes, which had accepted about $1 million in donations since 2006 from a K-V subsidiary and allowed it to use the charity's logo on its website, said it was severing its relationship with the drug maker. "The company's handling of the launch of Makena, and the initial list price, were highly unsatisfactory and unacceptable to the March of Dimes and the families we represent," the maternal and infant health charity said in a statement.

On MOD's website I found the following:

March of Dimes responds to Ther-Rx and April 1 letter from MOD to KV

Statement from March of Dimes regarding FDA announcement Really?! Now you're welcoming a lower price, MOD, despite not publicly denouncing KV's behavior. Quietly posting on FB and your website does not count as public.

Easter bunny

Better luck next year.