Doctor update

Well, I went to the doctor on Wednesday and the news wasn't too bad. She wasn't worried about my placenta too much since it was clear that the baby was still getting enough oxygen and nutrients but she was worried about the low amniotic fluid. I guess I'm a level 8, which is the lowest level that is still considered okay. So she told me to drink 2 liters of water a day and twice a week to get an IV that would send a water solution straight into my bloodstream. Then she told me to take another ultrasound in two weeks and if my fluid level was any lower I would need to do a C-Section. If the fluid level is around the same, and 8 or a 9, we would wait a week (until I hit 38 weeks of pregnancy) and then induce labor. I'm not sure if that would have to be a C-Section or not. But hopefully the fluid levels will go up and labor can proceed normally.

I'm planning on doing another ultrasound on Wednesday. I decided there is no way I want to wait two weeks to find out if the problem is getting worse. The doctor had said that if the fluid levels go too low the baby will have trouble breathing and will be in pain. So after she told me that, it's pretty much impossible to wait two weeks not knowing if Sofia is in pain or the situation is getting worse for her. If it ends up being that it's too early to tell and I have to take another ultrasound a week after that one, so be it. I'll gladly pay for an extra ultrasound, to know things haven't gotten worse.

Until then I'm drinking tons of water....(and spending most of my time in the bathroom) :) I'll be sure to update next week after I find out how the next ultrasound goes.

A little worried

Up till now I've had a very easy and healthy pregnancy, nothing to be worried about. On Monday I had a routine ultrasound done and the technician found two things that could turn into a problem. One is that my amniotic fluid levels are pretty low. Second, my placenta has aged faster than it should. As the pregnancy progresses, the placenta ages and becomes less able to supply nutrients to the baby. They "grade" the placenta based on the amount of calcification. There is a normal progression of aging that is to be expected, but it can also age more quickly than expected. The technician said my placenta was a grade 2, which shouldn't happen for another 2 weeks.

"Placenta calcification refers to calcium deposits that appear on the placenta. These calcium deposits indicate an aging of the placenta that occurs near the end of pregnancy. These deposits of calcium can cause certain small parts of the placenta to die. The calcium deposits may also cause some parts of the placenta to be replaced with fibrous tissue. The calcium deposits can also obstruct parts of the placenta with clots of maternal blood. They can also harden or block the maternal blood vessels. In most cases, placental calcification does not affect the functioning of the placenta, and the fetus is generally not harmed."

The good news is, this doesn't seem to usually cause a problem for the baby. Even in a worst case scenario, where they would have to take the baby out early, Sofia should do fine on the outside. She weighs a little over 5 pounds now and is healthy. She just needs to stay in me a little bit longer to get fatter and develop her lungs a little more.

I have a doctor's appt. today and I'm really eager to hear what the doctor thinks about all of this. The technician said that my doctor would probably put me on bed rest. While I hope that doesn't happen, it'll be worth it if it keeps Sofia inside me until she's full-term in a few weeks. Please pray with us, that God keeps Sofia healthy and that these things don't turn into a problem.

I'll update after I find out more information from my doctor.

34 weeks pregnant

Well, here's the latest photo that Micah took yesterday of me at 34 weeks.

I've had a really rough couple of days with a cold that's going around. I'm finally starting to feel better, I just have a stubborn cough that's refusing to leave. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be as good as new. Despite that, Sofia seems as great as ever. She's been moving all the time and her greatest fun now seems to be kicking me in the ribs. Oh well, she better enjoy it while she can, in a few weeks I want my body back!

In other news, Spring Break has ended so it's back to work for us. Micah still was doing his deviantart work last week and taking care of me while I was sick so I'm not sure he actually had much of a vacation. I'm so lucky I have such a caring husband - he really took good care of me when I was feeling bad. Thanks Micah!

Flashbacks from the past year

Micah's sister, Rebeka, married Jimmy, his college roommate, on Dec. 22, 2006. They got married in Goias, Brazil at the same place where Micah and I were married a year and a half earlier. It was really neat to go back to the same place and remember our own wedding. Despite just about everything going wrong during the week before the wedding (so many people cancelled, the cake lady, the flowers, the food, etc) the actual wedding day turned out absolutely beautiful. Jimmy and Rebeka are now living in Canada and Rebeka is planning on going to school there in the Fall.

After their wedding Micah and I headed to the states to spend Christmas with my family. We barely made it, we arrived Christmas Day. It was so awesome to spend time with my family again. We also were able to do an ultrasound on Dec. 28th and found out we were having a little girl. So you can imagine the fun time I had shopping for the next two weeks for my little girl. It was so fun to get to do that kind of shopping with my Mom. Here's a few photos of our time in Missouri. One photo is my mom and I on a walk, that's one of our favorite things to do together. The other photo is us at the Berto's house, playing a fun Christmas game.











Next up, came Micah's 26th birthday party on Feb. 5th. I threw him what would probably be considered the saddest surprise birthday party ever! I invited all the people around our age that work here at AVA which added up to a grand total of five people!! Oh well, I think Micah was surprised and there was lots more cake for us :D

Lastly, is a picture of Micah and I at the Valentine's Banquet for the High School and staff. It was a good time, lots of food. Everyone did kareoke, except Micah, Isac, and I. The High Schoolers don't know how lucky they are that I spared them from listening to my voice!

We're Back!!

After almost a year of no new posts, I guess it's time to get back into gear. The sad truth is one day I just couldn't sign into this site to update and as time went on I just forgot about it altogether. But Micah recently fixed it for me (a subtle signal for me to start updating again I think :D)

The biggest news for us since July has been getting pregnant!! Our little girl, Sofia, is due May 28th and we're so excited for her to arrive. I think I'm a little more eager, as my body is starting to feel the aches and pains of pregnancy a lot more recently. Here's a few photos of my growing belly - I'll be sure to post more as I get even bigger.
22 weeks pregnant

28 weeks pregnant

We were also excited to find out that we have been accepted into New Tribes Missions Institute for the August 2007 semester. We plan on moving to Missouri at the end of July. It will be difficult to leave Micah's family behind but we're also happy to spend the time so close to my parents.

On a side note, Micah's parents just bought a new little puppy, called Kibe. Check out some cute photos of the little guy.
Well, that's all for now. In the next couple of days I'll be posting some photos and info. from the last year so be sure to check it out!