22 Weeks

The biggest event of the week was definitely our second MCA scan!  Thankfully it went really well and Austin continues to please his parents and the doctors.  They had a difficult time getting a good reading because he was moving around so much so the tech would push on my stomach to help him move to a better position and he would just put his head higher and higher in my ribs.  At one point the tech said that she hadn't seen such an active baby in a long time.  We loved hearing that!  **When I told my family about that my brother said: "We will call him Wiggles."  I won't be one bit surprised if that happens and if it sticks...haha.** After about 30 minutes of trying they were finally able to get an accurate reading.  I've included the graph they mark each time for our future reference and for anyone else that's interested.

The graph is pretty self explanatory so you can see that we hope to stay in Zone D the entire time.  The bottom number is how many weeks I am and the number on the left side shows the rate at which he pumps blood to his brain.  The first dot (19 weeks, 4 days) was right around a peak velocity of 19 and the second dot (21 weeks 5 days) was about 21.  His peak velocity is expected to steadily increase over the course of my pregnancy, we just hope it's gradual so we can stay in the safe zone.  As long as Austin stays in Zone D, we only have to go back every 2-3 weeks.

I asked for clarification on when I will be induced if he continues to do well and not need any transfusions.  As we expected, I won't go longer than 37-38 weeks.  We will do an MCA scan at 35 weeks and depending on what his level is at that appointment, they will determine when I will be induced but it would no later than three weeks from then.  Another question I asked was if Austin would have to be taken to the NICU right away or if we'll get a chance to see him first and the doctor said that if he is stable up until delivery there's no reason we shouldn't be able to stay with him for awhile.  That made my mommy heart happy!  He did remind us that he'll likely be born with jaundice but that's totally fine because we've always loved yellow anyway ;)  Overall we are very pleased with how the appointment went!  Baby boy continues to cooperate well and make us all proud.

I still haven't had a chance to talk to my OB since he got back in town yesterday but we have our regular monthly appointment with him next week so we'll be able to talk to him about everything and find out whether or not he can deliver at IMC at that time.  My fingers and toes are still crossed that he'll be able to come deliver!

Even though we still have a ways to go with this pregnancy, the doctors at PCH have been so great about getting the orders ready for Austin's lab work once he's born that will confirm he doesn't have SCID.  Our pediatrician has a copy of the orders and so do we.  It's comforting knowing we'll be all set in that regard when delivery comes. 

My nausea is just about gone!  I threw up once this week and had a couple close calls after that but for the most part I feel so much better.  I sleep great right now and often sleep through the night without having to use the bathroom.  I try to get all my water drinking in by dinner time so my bladder can be as empty as possible when I go to bed and it seems to really help.  I know I'll get to the point where I'm waking up at least once a night so I will cherish this time while it lasts.

Little man's movements started to become much stronger this week and it's so much fun!  Logan has felt tiny movements a couple times but nothing super strong yet so we're both looking forward to that happening!  I feel him the most at night and in the morning and I can't think of a better way to go to sleep or wake up each day :)

The paint in the nursery is up and it looks better than I could have imagined!  I was nervous choosing the color because the bedroom only has one tiny window so natural light is hard to come by but it looks awesome!  Before we have the carpet installed there's a few finishing touches that need to be completed and that should happen within the next few days.  The room should be completely finished and ready to be decorated in about two weeks!

Weight: 134.0 (This week: -.2 | Total: +13.2)

22 weeks down, 16 (hopefully!) to go! **I will deliver no later than 38 weeks**