Flip-Flop weather in Texas!!!

Ok, so the weather here is WARM.  It's been in the 50's 60's and 70's.  I had to buy flip-flops (pink ones)!!  My swollen little feet are SO happy!!  I also found myself a cute skirt at Sam's Club (like COSTCO) for $3!!! 

Texans aren't so sure it's warm yet... but I say... FLIP-FLOP's baby!!

Caleb travels to Boise Idaho, Jonathan has his first BPP

So, I guess since I get to travel so much Caleb and Nick thought it might be fun to do a weekend trip to IDAHO to visit Dusty.  LOL boys are crazy!  They left last night (Thurs) at 5:30pm from Billings and made it to Boise at 5:30am this morning.  Apparently the roads were a bit slick and snowy.  They have rested today.  They will "party" hard tomorrow and head back home early Sunday.  WOW!

UPDATE: The weather is not cooperating so the boys are playing it safe and waiting until Monday to head back.  Keep them in your prayers.

Jonathan had his first BPP (biophysical profile) today.  We will be having BPP's twice a week (on Tues's and Fri's) until his birth.  The BPP is a basic ultrasound that measures Jonathan's heart rate, movement, muscle tone, breathing and the amount of amniotic fluid surrounding him.  We will be keeping an eye on him since the amniotic fluid is at the lower end of normal.  We will also be keeping an eye on his kidneys.  Anyway, he passed his BPP today with flying colors!!  He was moving all over, we even saw movement in his upper legs!  He also practiced his breathing like a good boy, his heart rate was good and strong (as always:) and he peed a bit since his last ultrasound, the amniotic fluid levels were up a little!  He still has slight inflammation in his kidneys due to reflux but the Dr reminded us it happens in 5% of boy baby's and could be completely unrelated to his SB.  If that is the case, it usually corrects its self sometime after birth.  I'm praying it's a "boy thing":)

MRI results, meeting the OB at Baylor Clinic and A BIRTH DATE!

We got the MRI results!  

Jonathan has a L4-upper Sacral open Spina Bifida.  This is a tiny bit higher than we thought, but still very low.  They confirmed his Chiari II and the scan showed that his cerebellum is on the small side. It's hard to tell what this will mean in the long run, however the brain is a very accommodating organ!  They also found slight inflammation in Jonathan's kidneys due to reflux.  Because of this his amniotic fluid levels are also at the low end of normal (which means he needs to pee more, stinker!).  The Dr's are not worried but want to keep an eye on him to make sure things stay stable.   Other than that, everything looks good and healthy!

I met my OB, Dr. Vyas today, she's very nice!  She wants to wait until at least 39 weeks to deliver Jonathan and thinks a c-section will be a safer option for everyone.  

SO!!!!!!  Jonathan has a scheduled birth date.... Monday, February 16, 2009.  

Texas Children's Hospital

Today was a LONG day!   Here at Mom/Pop's house we set our alarms for 5:30am (ouch:)  We were in the car and on the road by 6:30am, headed to downtown Houston and Texas Children's Hospital.  It took an hour to get to Houston, and another 30min to navigate downtown and arrive at the hospital... thank goodness for GPS, traffic in Houston, NOT FUN!  We made it into the building by 8am, our first stop, the cafe... we were all starving!  After a kolochie (yummmm) we made it to the the 4th floor at 8:30am to check-in (at which time they took all my money lol:).  There were a lot of parents and kiddos already there waiting.  My actual ultrasound was scheduled for 9am, I didn't get seen until 10:30am.  The ultrasound its self was kinda disappointing, I didn't have a screen to watch and it was all diagnostic, so no fun shot's of looking at Jonathan's face and no pictures:(.  Mom was there and had a better view though.  I lived vicariously through her little ohh's and ahh's over his "adorable feet and hands":)  He's grown 6oz since my ultrasound Wed.  He's tipping the scales at 5lbs 10oz!

That took 30min, then the Radiology Dr came in and did some more ultrasound, he was very nice.  Then they took me to MRI, where.... I waited for "15 min" three different times (for those of you who missed that, 45+min) :)  It was after noon by the time they got me on the table.  Ok, I've had 3 MRI's before... never had a problem... This time though, as they began launching me into the pod, I started to cry.  I had a mental "freak out" about being in a little tube for 30+ min.  The tech was kind, she backed me back out and held my hand while I prayed for peace.  Then I shut my eyes (avoid and deny:) and back in I went.  The MRI started, the noise even made Jonathan jump around at first, then he got pretty still and I fell asleep.  I woke up when the noise stopped 45min later, I couldn't feel my arms (which were stretched out over my head).  I made the mistake of opening my eyes... I took a deep breath and cried out "hello"... nothing, again "hello"... still nothing.  I thought, "ok, Kim suck it up" (I really wanted to crawl backwards out of the tube at this point, but I was a good girl:)  Once more... near tears... "hello"????  This time an answer and the tube began to move... FREEDOM!!!  The Dr decided he had what he needed and I was done!  I rescued my parents from the waiting room around 2pm, we were all starving again, we had some lunch and made the hour trek home.  I was pooped!  I put on some comfy cloths, laid down, and passed out for 2 hours.  It has been a LONG emotional day.  I'm looking forward to doing devotionals with Caleb over Skype and then going back to bed:)

Tomorrow we head back to Houston to meet my OB and hopefully get some info and dates.  Fingers crossed!!  I'll let you all know!  

Greetings from Texas

                                           2/3rds of the Dill family have arrived in the Lone Star State. 

Kimberly and Jonathan (in utero still- no births on the plane thank the Lord!) We left Billings MT at 6:30 am and arrived in Texas at 12:30 pm.  I'm glad the flight is over, those seats keep getting smaller lol:)  Oh, and compression hose... WONDERFUL invention, my feet feel great!  

I'm here... let the whirlwind begin!!!!

Follow up #3: Last Dr. Appointment in MT

                                                                                   Jonathan winking ;-)

First of all I just want to say, it has been such a nice experience having the staff here in Billings care for us.  Dr. Dana Damron, our Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist, has been a pleasure to visit, an excellent support and a very great resource.   Susan Landgren, the Genetic Counselor, has been awesome when we have questions and did me a great service in getting us connected with the Tx team of Dr's.  We feel blessed to have such compassionate, educated and positive Dr's working to insure that both we and Jonathan receive the best care possible.  Thank you!  We look forward to bringing Jonathan home in a few months to meet those who have invested so much in his earliest health care.

Today's visit was a standard follow-up.  We had an ultrasound to make sure everything is checking out.  Everything is looking good, nothing new or different to report.  Jonathan is getting bigger, at 34 weeks he's measuring 5lbs 4oz right in the 50th percentile, it's getting a little squished in there!  At this point it's just a waiting game.  We will wait and see what the Dr's in Tx have to say, wait and see what the MRI on Tues shows, wait and see if and when he'll need a shunt, wait and see how much the SB effects his nerves and how much paralysis we are looking at, wait and see if the Chiari/fluid effects his neurological function, wait and see Jonathan!  

We are facing a lot of unknowns and it's hard.  However we DO know one thing... We serve a loving God, and HE knows what the future holds, for HE holds the future!  

Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ, for He is my strength."

Coming up:

Last prenatal visit with our Midwives- Sat Jan 17th

Kim's flight to Tx- Sun Jan 18th

MRI/ultrasound at Texas Children's- Tues Jan 20th

Meet my OB at Baylor Med Center- Wed Jan 21st

Leaving for Texas in 1 week

I'm having trouble sleeping, so I feel like blogging...

I can't believe I'll be leaving Caleb to head to Texas in just one week.  I'm going to miss him SO much!  Things are really going to start rolling, Jonathan will be here before we know it! 

Caleb's parents came up this weekend for a last pre-baby visit and a late Christmas.  They gave us a bread machine!  I'm not sure if I'll get around to baking before I leave, but I have a feeling Caleb will have it figured out before I come home in March lol:)  

Since today was my last Sunday, the church honored and blessed us with a huge group prayer.  We as a family, and especially Jonathan, are covered head to toe in prayer!

Tomorrow we will be starting "21" with our friends at Connections, visit their blog/site to learn more and join us!!  

Kimberly's 21 Day Goals:

*Spark daily (basically keep healthy and on track with what I'm eating)

*Exercise 3X's a week for at least 30 min (I've gotten a bit lazy over the holidays)

Caleb's 21 Day Goals:

*Start each morning with prayer, worship music and breakfast.

*Exercise 3X's a week (push-ups, sit-ups, lunges)

Our 21 Day Goals as a couple:

*Do a couples devotional and pray together every evening before bed. (Via phone and Skype while I'm in Texas)