"I Shall Call Him Mini-Me"

I can’t believe I’m already 33 weeks…looking back it seems this pregnancy has gone by SO fast—looking forward it still seems like a long road—but I thank God daily for our little boy who never (NEVER EVER) seems to quit wiggling inside me. From corresponding with other CDH moms, it seems this (the constant moving, kicking and bladder squeezing) is a gift that God gives to us so we have some “extra” bonding time with our precious baby before we give him over to the doctors and nurses to care for him for an undetermined amount of time.

On Wednesday of this week I met with my regular OB who said everything looks great—I’m still measuring perfectly for my due date which probably doesn’t mean much but it is nice to know something is going right! She listened to his heart beat (130BPM) and that was about it. I see her one more time before I leave for Gainesville—this next time they’ll do an ultrasound and a non-stress test (as requested by Dr. Kays in Gainesville).

Thursday morning Rusty and I met with the pediatric cardiologist at UAB. We really didn’t know what to expect but they took us into an exam room with an ultrasound machine. We immediately gave Philip Andrew a pep talk about cooperating and being still (remember last time I had an ultrasound I got really fainty). Well, no doubt he is my son because little Philip Andrew is already a VERY defiant little boy. He would not be still for the doctor and kept moving the entire time—on top of that I kept feeling like I was going to pass out. By the end of the ultrasound I was in a full upright position and turned on my side while the doctor continued to try and get a look at the baby’s heart (normal ultrasound position is flat and on your back). Unfortunately, the doctor couldn’t see everything because he was moving around so much—but what he could see he said looked fine and that he feels strongly we are dealing with just the CDH and no heart issues. This isn’t anything new for us to hear, Dr. Richards at SHANDS told us the same thing. The purpose of this meeting was precautionary—if I go into labor in Birmingham (within the next 2 weeks) then we want to make sure everyone that would be involved is familiar with us and our baby.

After our meeting with the cardiologist, we grabbed a bite to eat (I ate a huge chef salad in hopes it would send Philip Andrew into a comatose state). It worked! We met with our high-risk OB at the Kirklin Clinic at 1pm and he was an angel during the ultrasound—he was still and very cooperative—we even got a beautiful picture of him! This was our last visit with the high-risk OB here in Birmingham—she said everything looks normal (my fluid levels, his growth).

Back to the picture (ultrasound picture)—well, he looks just like Rusty. I can’t help but be jealous that this baby who keeps me from sleeping and has me going to the bathroom an average of 3 times in the middle of the night doesn’t look like me. Thank goodness I am madly in love with my husband and that I think he is so handsome—otherwise this would be difficult to swallow. But he does look like Rusty (the lips and chin)—as any little boy should look like their daddy!

But…the best part…HE HAS HAIR! I have been praying for him to have hair (among other things such as a miracle repair of the CDH before birth) and the doctor showed us that he does have hair on his head!!!!!! I just can’t wait to meet this little boy!!!!!!!

Thank you for your continued prayers—we appreciate them so much. Love, Liz & Rusty

PS- I've enclosed a picture of Rusty when he was 3 days old to compare to our ultrasound pics...you can't not imagine how annoying it is to have your husband walking around saying "I shall call him mini-me."