Announcing the arrival of ...... supper.

Just a quick update for everyone.

Kris did indeed go into the hospital this morning and the doctors determined it was time to induce her and have"Junior" join us sooner than later. They've done a couple of things to bring on contractions but so far nothing that resembles anything of any consequence. The doctors told her a vigourous walk or sex might bring them on so.... she's been walking all day and I've admitted defeat and put the candles and red wine away.

We've got her a T.V. for the evening ( at $ 12.50 per day, we could only afford four hours) and it looks like a re-run of "3 men and a baby" is as close as she's going to get tonight.

We thought we might have a chance at the New Year's baby but quickly learned the hospital had delivered 8 babies by noon already and had a full slate for the rest of the day! No lifetime supply of free wet wipes for us.

As for New Year's Eve, it looks like it's Molly, Pat and I whooping it up in Room 708.

Happy New Year to all!

Maybe, Baby!

So after a pretty uneventful weekend (or maybe it was eventful... I don't remember anymore... I kind of sleep alot lately!) I had another ultrasound appointment today. I told the ultrasound technician that I would give her $20 if she could find a reason to get Junior out early. Turns out that that little baby is as happy as a clam in there! I suspect that he is waiting to make his grand entrance as the New Year's Baby. He may have heard that his mother has a bit of a flare for the dramatics, so why not him too!!

Actually, the neonatologist told me today that they would like to induce me no later than the end of the week. He says Junior is ready to make his appearance. I have an appointment with the obstetrician tomorrow morning, and I think as long as there is space available at the Women's Hospital and the Children's ICU they may induce me tomorrow. So if Junior is born tomorrow (December 31st) he will share his birthday with his Grandpa (my Dad). And if he does make his appearance as the New Year's Baby, does that mean we get our picture in the paper? I wonder if I still have time to get my haircut??? Hmmmm....

Anyways... just thought I'd let you all know what was happening so far this week. Maybe the next time I post I'll have pictures of Junior to show you too! That would be so great!!

I hope you have a Happy New Year!

Miss you all so much!
Kristine

Lee's finally gets his 2 cents in

I'm only being allowed to write on this blog on the condition that I first identify myself as the husband of the dictator that runs this blog. Kristine has taken a tremendous amount of time to write each and every entry, spell checking it all, revisions and in the end coming up with light and amusing stories of her adventures here. She prefers quality over quantity. I do not.

I've been only here for a week of this 3 week "adventure" but would best be described it as "hotel arrest". Every day seems to blend into another with no new baby in sight. We're kept somewhat sane with our new daily routine. Pat, (Kris' mother), gets up with Molly about 6:00 a.m. allowing Kris and I to sleep til 10 or so. After a bottle and playtime with Grandma, Molly has another little sleep while Pat does the dishes and cleans up. Pat usually cooks something for lunch. Afternoons are spent watching CSI ( ad nauseum) or Dirty jobs marathons.

At 5:30 on the nose, Ken ( Kris' Dad ) rings us up on Skype for his daily weigh in. It usually starts with a dispute over which party is more bored. I think we win hands down.

Evenings are spent as a family and while Pat feeds, bathes and puts Molly to bed, Kris and I generally watch a movie.

Then at 11:00 or so , Pat cleans up Molly's toys and unrolls her hide a bed next to the furnace while Kris and I retire to our ensuite.

I'm under no illusion that my presence here is required at all. It's been made very plain to me that I'm only a valued member of this commune because I brought a car. Now I'm a glorified chauffer, delivering my lovely "mother to be" to one doctor appointment after another. I wouldn't mind it as much if each hospital visit didn't include a trip to the neighbouring mall. Luckily Kris is as slow as a GST rebate cheque these days, so while she has a nap on a mall bench, Molly, Pat and I go do a quick lap.

We did have my parents ( Elwood and Donna Myers ) come to visit from Manitoba for a few days at Christmas. It was very different day for everyone, and certainly not one of tremendous Christmas Spirit, but we had a nice a turkey dinner and made the best of what we have here. We were very thankful that we had Molly and got to witness her joy and wonderment at the presents, wrapping and new toys.

With still no action on the baby front, Mom and Dad left for home today, which will of course mean Kris will have him tonight. We decided to give CinderPat a few hours of off this afternoon to go to the Casino at the West Edmonton Mall while we came back to hotel for a few hours sleep.

A big thanks to everyone helping out back home. Clint and Bill for watching the horses. Dave, Sonia, Jordan and Emily for babysitting Jaxon and Ken for checking on the house and making sure the home fires will be burning when we get back in March. ( kidding, I hope )

I'm going to have to leave you now as I heard the T.V. announcer kicking off another Alaskan King Crab adventure in the Bering Strait.

Miss you all.

Patience is a virtue???

Whoever said that "patience is a virtue" has likely never been stuck in Edmonton without transportation.

We've been here 2 ½ weeks now and I've been busy going to what seem like endless appointments... where at the end of every appointment the doctors say "Come back next week!" I guess that means that everything is coming along as it should and that the baby is growing strong like he should. Last week I met the obstetrician. She was very nice, but didn’t have too much to tell me that I didn’t already know. The next day I had another ultrasound appointment. Everything checked out fine there too. I didn’t get to see the neonatologist that I had met the previous week at my ultrasound, as it was her day off. No problem. The doctor I saw last week seemed competent, so I didn’t mind too much.

I had another ultrasound appointment today. Everything is still humming along and Junior is growing and apparently having a jolly old time in my tummy. My regular neonatologist was not available again this week, so I saw yet another new doctor. I gotta tell ya... I'm getting a little frustrated. Those of you who know me well (even those of you who only kind of know me) know that patience has never been one of my strongest qualities. I’m getting a little tired of meeting new neonatologists every week. Today I was quizzing the doctor off to see how much he actually knew about my baby. He just smiled and said “Come back next week!” I nearly lost it! No one seems to be telling me what I want to hear... which is “We will be inducing you early next week.” Instead of grabbing this doctor by the collar and “encouraging” him to tell me what I wanted to hear, I instead smiled sweetly and said “OK. See you next week.” Did I mention that he also wants me to go for yet another test between now and next week “just to keep on top of things”? Oh well… what else have I got to do while I’m here!

Tomorrow I go back to the obstetrician, whom I’m guessing will want to see me next week as well. Be sure to check back to see if I’m right!

Other than appointments, Mom and Molly and I have been doing a little shopping. It gets pretty boring here so we jump in a cab, or on a bus, or on the train and see where we end up. One of our adventures took us to City Centre Mall. Can’t say that I’m going to be heading back there in a hurry. The mall has four levels to it, which makes it difficult to get around with a stroller and a person who only walks at a snails pace. The mall is also very open aired… you can look down from the fourth level right down to the basement level. (Kind of like Polo Park, but with glass railings and more levels.) We picked up a few items here and there, and then decided that it was time to go home. We were on the third level and had to get back down to the main level. We found an elevator and thought we would take it down to the main floor. Simple, right? Wrong! Turns out that this glass elevator was suspended in the middle of nowhere. You had to walk this 30 foot gang-plank to get to the elevator. I got ½ way across it when my vertigo decided to kick in. NOT FUN! I thought I was going to pass out. I closed my eyes as tight as I could and told my Mom that she had to “get me off this thing right now!” She had no idea what was going on, but did manage to back me off the gang-plank. She didn’t stop backing me up until I was safely on solid ground again, surrounded by shops and no glass railings anywhere nearby. Once I regained my composure, I decided that I should try to get to the elevator again. After all… there was no way I could fall off the edge of the gang-plank as it was surrounded by railings (albeit glass railings that one could see straight down to the basement through!) Attempt #2 turned out no better than the first one… only now I had spectators wondering why this crazy pregnant lady kept only going ½ way to the elevator before squeezing her eyes tightly shut and slowly backing off the gang-plank. By now I was sweating. I had to get down to the main level, but I couldn’t get on the damn elevator. What was I supposed to do?! Mom and I formed a quick plan. She was going to go press the elevator button while I waited with Molly and the stroller a very safe distance back. When the elevator door opened, I was supposed to shut my eyes and make a dash for the elevator… guided by my Mother’s voice. Now… I didn’t say it was a good plan. It didn’t work the way it was supposed to. I did, however, manage to back off the gang-plank all by myself this time, and at quite a brisk pace I might add. By now I’m sure all the spectators were ready to call the nice people who bring you the nice white coats and put you in a nice padded room. I thought I’d be spending the rest of my stay in Edmonton on the third floor of that mall. Then I noticed the escalators. A new plan was quickly formed and Mom took Molly and the stroller down to the main level. I took the escalator. But even that was not an easy task with my vertigo on high alert. I’m not sure who decided that glass makes good railing and that open air malls are a good idea. By the time I white knuckled it down the glass escalator (with my eyes ½ shut) I was ready for the nice people with the padded room to come and take me away. 45 minutes later, once we were safely back in our hotel room, I vowed I was never leaving it again! That lasted about one day until we got bored again and headed out for another shopping adventure. This time I made sure it was a single level mall with no elevators!

Last Tuesday, Molly and I were invited to a playgroup here in Edmonton where we met several nice Moms and babies. It sure is good to meet people and make new friends, considering we may be out here for awhile.

The weekend was very cold here. We didn’t do too much. But I did get a very excellent surprise when Lee (my husband) showed up a day earlier than expected! It was soooo good to see him! Plus he brought a vehicle with him! Woo hoo! No more busses, cabs, and trains! Molly was especially happy to see her Daddy. For the last few days, all she wants to do is hang out with Daddy. She’s always looking around for him and reaching out for him when she sees him. Plus, when she gets up in the middle of the night, she prefers that Daddy take care of her. Which makes me very, very happy!

So now Mom and Molly and Lee and I are all here together. One big happy family in a tiny little apartment… all patiently waiting for Junior to make his appearance.

I’ll try to get better and post more often. Right now though, there’s not too much to report. Once Junior arrives I’ll have a lot more to update everyone on. So stay tuned, and thanks again for all of your support and love and prayers!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Why We're in Edmonton

I was thinking about it the other night, and I realized that some of you may not know why we're in Edmonton waiting for our baby to arrive. So I guess I should take a few minutes to explain why we're in Edmonton.

Lee and I found out at our first ultrasound appointment that the baby (a little boy we currently call Junior) has a problem with his heart. The doctors told us that he has Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Basically what that means is that his left ventricle has not developed and it can't effectively pump blood to the body, so the right side of the heart must pump blood both to the lungs and to the rest of the body. He will have to undergo a series of three surgeries to create normal blood flow in and out of his heart.

The doctors have been keeping a close eye on Junior as he develops, and they have decided that it would be best that I deliver the baby in Edmonton, since this is where the open heart surgery will be performed. He will have his first surgery sometime during the first week of his life. The second surgery will be performed when he is about 5 or 6 months old. The third, and final surgery, will be performed when he is 3 years old. The survival rate is over 90% for all three surgeries, so Lee and I are very confident that Junior will make a full recovery.

After the surgery is performed, Junior will need about 6-8 weeks to recover from his first operation. We've been told that if he is doing well and is stable that we will be able to transfer him to the Children's Hospital in Winnipeg, hopefully after about three weeks.

I have included a couple of links in the top left had corner of my blog about Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) if you would like to learn more about Junior's condition. The Mayo Clinic link is fairly straight forward. The Variety Children's Heart Centre link is very good (it has pictures of HLHS), but it is a little more difficult to navigate. If you choose the Variety Heart Centre link, then you must also choose the "Education" option on the left hand side of their webpage, then choose "Congenital Heart Disease" in the middle of the page, then choose "Hpyoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS)" under the Cyanotic Heart Defects column. It is a little more work to find this information, but I really do like it better.

I hope this helps to clear things up for anyone who may have been confused as to why we're here in Edmonton. Keep your comments coming, and thanks so much for caring enough to keep checking in on us in Edmonton!

The first week

Well, we made it to Edmonton... but just barely!

Our adventure started off in the Winnipeg Airport. After Mom nearly got arrested and body searched for having too much contraband in her carry-on (terrible things like shampoo, conditioner, hairspray... real nasty stuff) we were told to wait at gate M for our flight. After waiting for 20 minutes with a few other travellers we began to wonder where our plane was. We thought it a little odd that our flight would be leaving in 15 mintues and the plane wasn't even there yet, even if the flight was delayed. Lee went to check how delayed the flight was when he discovered that severeal of the wonderful airport staff had sent us to the wrong gate. So we gathered up our things (two carry-ons, one baby, a stroller, car seat, diaper bag, and laptop) and made a mad dash to find gate F. I don't know if you've ever made a mad dash while you're 8 months pregnant... but it is NOT fun. I looked more like a penguin waddling along trying to catch up to everyone else. As we were running across the airport, we heard the final boarding call annoucement for our flight. We made it to the gate just in the nick of time!

I'm sure you can imagine the looks of dread on everyone's face when they saw a pregnant lady, carrying a baby, two carry-ons, and dragging her mother down the aisle of the plane looking for our seats. I noticed the relief in each person's face as I passed their row... delighted that we would not be trying to squeeze in next to them.

We finally made it to our seats and sat next to woman who listened to music all the way to Edmonton. Molly was a real delight on the flight. She didn't even make a tiny fuss. What a trooper! She was an absolute angel all the way to our hotel in Edmonton. That's my girl!

Once we got to the hotel, things seemed to go downhill. The crib they were supposed to have ready for Molly had not been sent up. The pizza we ordered for supper was horrible, cold, dry, and expensive. And... to top everything off... the remote control for the TV didn't work. Needless to say, I cried.

Day two was better. It turns out the lady we sat beside on the plane is staying at the hotel with her husband. They also have a "heart baby" in the hospital. The lady was kind enough to tell me her name and room number. I gave them a call, and they showed Mom and I around the hospital and gave us a bit of a head's up on what to expect after Junior is born. The husband offered to take us to Safeway the next day for grogeries. And, since the crib the hotel sent up looked like it was from the 1930's, they lent us their playpen/crib for Molly to sleep in until Lee gets here with ours. Needless to say... they quickly became my new best friends in Edmonton!

On day three we met Michelle. A friend of mine in Winnipeg told Michelle (who lives in Edmonton) that I was coming, and she and her friend Des had a bunch of toys and books for Molly waiting for us when we checked into the hotel. Michelle (also my new best friend in Edmonton) took us to Wal-Mart! Mom and I did a mega-shop since we had nothing here and had to stock up the room with such things as diapers, formula, food, etc. Michelle has really been good to us since we've been here. Thank you so much Erin for hooking us up!!

Molly has been a little out of sorts since we've been here. She misses her Daddy and her dog and all her toys. All in all, she's still an angel! But she can't wait for Daddy to get here to have a cuddle with her.

I had a couple of appointments on Thursday. I met the neonatologist and the pediatric cardiologist at the Women's Hospital where I'll be delivering the baby. They both did their ultrasounds and fetal echo and decided to send me for even MORE appointments. On Friday I spent a long afternoon at the Children's Hospital for our video team meeting with all the doctors and social workers from Winnipeg and Edmonton. Lee sat in on the Winnipeg end of the video. Turns out all the doctors are on the same page about Junior's condition, so I guess I should relax, knowing I'm in good hands. After the conference video call, the social worker took me around and showed me where Junior will be spending his time in the NICU and PICU. On Saturday I spent the afternoon back at the Women's Hospital for another test. The doctors are saying that they may induce me during the last week of December. I'm trying to will Junior to make an appearance sooner than that but so far, I don't think it's working.

Mom and I have been able to get some shopping in. We haven't been to West Edmonton Mall yet, but we have been to a couple of other malls. On Wednesday we ventured out on the bus and headed south to one mall to get more supplies. Then on Sunday we took a cab north to another mall because we were bored and had been house-bound for a couple of days since it's been so cold here. I heard on the news that it was -51 with the wind chill the other night.

So we've made it through week one. We've decorated the hotel room a little to make it look some-what Christmassy. Thanks to everyone for all the prayers and phone calls and emails and Skype-ing. I have more appointments coming up this week, so I'll keep you all posted on how everything is coming along.