Week 23

My sister Brittney and her family came to Utah to visit from October 29th to November 5th and it was so wonderful to see them! I know I mentioned earlier how close my sister and I are, and I really needed to see her with everything that was going on.

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. Before we found out about our son’s condition, I planned on making a skeleton costume with a little skeleton baby on the stomach that I found on pinterest.

 

But afterwards I felt it wasn’t really appropriate anymore. I wasn’t planning to dress up at all but last minute I decided to be a witch. Before we got pregnant Scott referred to my being pregnant as having a "baby brewing", so I made a cauldron that said “Baby Brewin’” on the side. Originally I was going to wear it over my tummy but because I decided last minute (literally, I came home from work and threw it together) I couldn’t make it as detailed as I wanted. Scott and I spent the evening at my parent’s house since Britt and Sterling were in town.

 

My nieces and nephews were all ADORABLE. Micah was a robot, Kiah was a rockstar, Kade was a dragon, and Emery was a witch. How cute are they?! I went trick-or-treating with them too and that was fun. I love Halloween!

 

November 3^rd rolled around and I had that as well as the 4^th off work because Britt was in town. Luckily our MFM appointment happened to fall on the third, so I was especially excited they were here for the week because it meant Britt, along with my mom and Scott’s mom, were able to come with Scott and I to our ultrasound! We had a different ultrasound technician this time. She was nice and I enjoyed the fact that she talked us through what she was looking at so everyone in the room could see. By this point I was actually getting quite good at discerning what was on the ultrasound screen…that meant I’d had too many ultrasounds done. But it was good to see that he still had a strong heartbeat and his condition hadn’t changed much…well, it hadn’t gotten worse. But it hadn’t improved either. I was actually terrified that this would be the appointment his heart wouldn’t be beating, but he was still going strong to show off for his grandma’s and aunt Britt!

We also got a chance to see our little boy with the 4D ultrasound, which we hadn’t done before. It was overwhelming to get to see his face, even if it wasn’t perfectly clear. And to see his little hands lying across his stomach. I cried a little. There was my little fighter!

 

I started getting lightheaded lying on back, so the tech had me roll onto my side. I actually got pretty close to fainting! She left the room to get the doctor and we all talked for a few minutes while we waited. When the doctor came she described his condition in more detail –how his skin is so edematous that it’s not connected to his bones. Basically every part of his body is just…floating. She said his current condition is incompatible with life. However, she did set us up with an appointment at Primary Children’s hospital for a Fetal Echocardiogram – a detailed ultrasound of his heart. Heart defects are one of the most common causes of Hydrops, so that’s why we were headed there. We set up another appointment at MFM for the 23^rd of November – the day before Thanksgiving.

 

After our appointment, My mom, Britt and her family, and Schy with Micah met up at our house, since Sterling had never seen it. We didn’t stay long – it was cozy for two people, but get more than four and it starts to get crowded really fast hahah. We then headed down to temple square! Its sad to admit, even though Scott and I lived 5 minutes away, we hadn’t actually visited Temple Square for quite awhile. It was fun spending so much time there. We ate at The Lyon House Pantry, which was super yummy! Then we went to the top of the Church Office Building. It was fun watching the kids look out the windows at the valley, and it was a perfect day to be up there! So clear! We walked around temple square and went into the south visitor’s center so Britt and Sterling could see the awesome replica of the inside of Salt Lake Temple. Then we went to the North visitor center, and finally we made our way over to the Church History Museum. I was so exhausted by this point that I had to sit at every opportunity. But I loved going there!

 

The rest of the evening was spent at my parent’s house. Scott and I drove Kade home so Britt and Sterling could return their rental car. He was such a well-behaved little gentleman! And he fell asleep on the way down hahah. We must have worn him out!

Friday was more hanging out. We went to a few stores, but mostly stayed at my parent’s house relaxing. Time went by way too fast! Before we knew it, we were saying goodbye to Britt and Sterling. But we were so happy to spend time with them!  Before they left, Britt and I took a picture together because we were both pregnant at the same time. I was so grateful Britt and Sterling could come and “meet” our son while he was still alive. We knew it was the only chance they’d have with their unborn nephew.