March 12th 2017: Update

I had my Detailed Fetal Echocardiogram, on 2/27/2017. The Cardiologist told me that the babies heart looked good. She told me that she could not rule out if the Baby has 4 chambers, still. Left side fully developed. Baby has the PFO and PDA open which is normal should close after birth. If it doesn't, than there would be further testing to check for CHDs. 2 of 4 arteries/veins visualized. Doctor couldn't properly visualize them entirely which means she couldn't tell if they were going the wrong way or not. Baby is lagging behind by a few weeks measurement wise. There is also a bright spot on the heart called an echogenic intracardial focus. It's a marker of downs syndrome, but since MaterniT21 came back normal, doctor doesn't want to worry about it. (Gabby also had this, so I wonder if its a genetic thing?) Doctor is concerned that with my lupus the baby could have heart rhythm issues associated with specific antibodies and with diabetes could have thickening of the heart but that they will wait for the results of the antibodies to come back and if needed follow up with a second fetal echo in 4 weeks. She also mentioned because of my Diabetes, there could also be risks associated with thickening of the heart. She mentioned that the baby should have follow up echo done at the hospital upon birth because of history and can't tell if any holes are present or not because baby isn't born yet and those typically aren't detected in utero in fetal echos.

I had my Rheumatologist Appt on 3/1/2017, Basic follow up. Rheumatologist decided, that like other specialists, he cannot properly see me/treat me for my issues, during pregnancy. To continue my Plaquenil, Tramadol and Prednisone.

I met with the Doula on March 9th and decided to hire her. So Vivi is going to be my birthing support/labor coach/advocate. For those who don't know what a Doula is, a Doula is a woman who is trained to assist another woman during childbirth and who may provide support to the family after the baby is born.

I had my pain management appointment on 3/10/2017, and the pain management doctor decided there is not anything she can really do for me while being pregnant. It was decided that it would likely be best to wait until the baby is born prior to proceeding with further care. She did mention that she can always safely repeat the trigger point injections during pregnancy if I should need them. Follow up was scheduled for the end of June after the baby is born..

I had my Gender Photo Reveal Photoshoot on March 12 2017 with the AMAZING Nicole DeHoff. It was cold, windy, and the sun was not in our favor, but I hope to see awesome photos from my photographer friend. Once they are in, I will be sure to post them.