Answer to Prayer

Thank you everyone for all your thoughts, prayers, and sweet notes. We just found out today that our quad screen results were wrong. Everything is okay! To make a long story short, the lab messed up the test. They calulated the results at me being 19 weeks, when I was actually 15 weeks at the time of the test. As my doctor said, A Huge Mistake. A week later and lots of tears shed, we figured it out and it is all cleared up. I no longer have to go see the specialist. I will see my regular OB on the 16th for my regular checkup. That's when we find out what we are having. I'll keep everyone posted.

More drama

I received a call from my OB's office yesterday. My quad screen (which screens for possible birth defects in the baby) came back positive. So we have to go see a specialist. It could mean nothing, there are alot of false positives with this test (especially at my age). Or it could mean there is something wrong with the baby. The nurse said that it didn't show any birth defects, but b/c it was positive we need to go for further testing. I have an appointment with a Maternal Fetal Specialist, Dr. BK on Oct 7th. All I know is that at that appointment we will meet with a geneticist, have a high tech ultrasound, and meet with the doctor. Please be praying for us over the next few weeks.

I know so many people say not to have the quad screen done, b/c there are so many false positives. However, I have always had it done with my pregnancies. My opinion is that it doesn't matter if there is anything wrong with the baby, God gave me this baby and he/she is mine. It doesn't change my love or feelings for the baby. However, if something is wrong I would like to know ahead of time so I can start preparing myself for what is to come. The next week and a half is going to be very stressful for me, but I think in the long run it's worth it to me. As many of you know, I'm a very emotional person, so this has hit me pretty hard. The wait until our appointment is the toughest part. I'll keep everyone updated.

Palmer's Test Results

It's been a long couple of weeks. We had the blood drawn, with no problem, except that they had to stick her twice. Collecting the urine was a horrible experience. They gave us a bag to put on her to collect it. That didn't work, we tried for five days. Everytime we put the bag on her, she would hold it all day, all night. We would finally explode, the bag would always come off. So, we had to take her in the be catherized. We survived, the worst part is that Palmer hates being held down. The nurse told me the doctor would call me with the results later, b/c he was busy. With the way she stated it, I just new something was wrong.


The doctor called that evening. He said that everything was fine with her urnine and that almost everything was okay with her blood. He said that her kidneys are fine and her thyroid is fine. Her amino acids were a little low, that that's fine, they worry when they are too high. He said that she has acidosis of the blood. Most of you are probably like me and don't know what that is. Basically, one of the chemicals in her blood is low. The bicarbinate is low. The doctor said that it was not significantly low, but that it was low. He wanted to consult the nephrologist at LeBonheur, the children's hospital here in Memphis. They would talk and decide if everything is okay or if we need to go for further testing. My doctor said that the acidosis could be nothing or it could be something more serious. It could just be that Palmer was a little dehydrated that day or it could mean that she has RTA (Renal Tubual Acidosis). Ryan was able to talk to the doctor. Ryan isn't worried, b/c he has so much medical knowledge and knows that the levels aren't very low, so everything should be okay. However, me being Mommy, it was horrible. The fact that there could be something wrong with my baby about killed me. I've been emotionally a wreck. I'm trying to be postive, but it's hard. The doctor said he would call me once he talked to the other doctors. So here is where the waiting game began.



I talked to my doctor last Monday and hadn't heard anything by Friday, so I called the doctor's office. He called me back that afternoon and apologized that it took so long, but he hadn't heard back from the nephrologist all week. He called him that day until he got him on the phone, so he would have something to tell me. Both doctors agreed that Palmer's bicarbinate levels were low, but not significantly low, so they decided that we need to redo labs in 2 to 4 weeks to recheck and go from there. They also want to recheck her phosphorus level in her blood, b/c it was low. If this is RTA, then that would explain why she is so little. However, we might do bloodwork again and everything will be fine and that just means that she's a petite little girl with a great metabolism. Let me tell you, this girl can eat like a champ. Some nights she eats more than I do, and that's saying a lot considering I'm pregnant. So, now we get to continue the waiting game. I'm going to take Palmer to the lab on Oct. 8 and the doctor said he would read the labs on the the 13th or 14th. So we have to wait until then to get an answer. Please pray for Palmer and myself in the next few weeks. The waiting is the hardest part. I'll let everyone know once we get the results.

Palmer Update

As many of you know, we have been concerned about Palmer's weight. I took Palmer to her one year check up last week. She weighed 15 pounds and was 26 1/2 inches. She gained one pound in two months and grew two inches. I was really expecting her to weigh more, she eats like a champ. The doctor decided to run some baseline tests on her. We think she is just petite, but will feel better once the tests are done. The doctor said he doesn't really expect to find anything from the tests. He also thinks she is just petite, but we need to run some tests just to make sure. She is still growing, she's just really small. She's in the 3rd percentile for weight and height.

We went to the lab today to have urine and blood drawn. Poor little baby, it was so sad. They stuck her arm and drew a lot of blood. While we were waiting for her to urinate, they said they were going to have to stick her again, b/c it wasn't enough blood for all the tests the doctor ordered. So now they stuck her other arm and took more blood. She was actually really good, considering. Of course she screamed, but it wasn't as bad as I anticipated. Emerson was there to help entertain her. Actually, she entertained everyone there. I dont' know when we'll get the results back, hopefully sooner than later. Here are a couple of her one year pictures:

How do you get Sharpie off of skin?

I came downstairs after only a couple of minutes of putting clean clothes away and this is what I saw. Palmer's face covered in bright blue sharpie smiling at me. Emerson had a little on her face and chest. And my living room wall was now blue. I was immediately angry, but had to pause and take a picture first before punishing Emerson. It's times like this that you just have to laugh, don't get me wrong Emerson definitley knew she did wrong. Next step was to get the sharpie off. Palmer has eczema and sensitive skin, so I called the Pediatrician's office. They said soap, water, and time is all I could do. Other things would dry out her skin and I definitley don't want to put anything on her face. So, hopefully it will be gone soon. I'm sure it will still be there tonight at church, I just hope it's gone by Palmer's birthday party on Saturday. I scrubbed the best I could with soap and water. It is definitley lighter, but you can still see it. Oh well, what can I do. Here are some picture for your laughter.

What I saw when I came downstairs

My blue girl
The culprit
All smiles
More blue
This is my wall above my couch in the living room
Emerson mad at me for taking a picture
Time to scrub!

My Baby Turned One Today!

Palmer turned one today. I can't believe it, where has the time gone? She is such a sweet little girl! Here are a few pictures of Palmer today.

Palmer eating a cupcake at Brandy's house

Happy girl!

Just chilling in one of my birthday outfits mom made me.
Here is a video of Emerson signing Happy Birthday to Palmer. She needed a little encouragement in front of the camera. She's been singing happy birthday to her for a week, but of course would not perform on camera. As you can see in the video, she will work for treats.