Baby Boy's Birth Story... on the eve of his 2nd birthday

He's here!!! And has been for almost exactly 2 years!! Mom of two babies in under 16 months!!! Yeesh!

I figured NOW is a good time to tell HIS story now that it has taken me 2 years to catch up on all my other stuff.

On 10/10/14 we arrived at the hospital at 11:49am for my 12:00 c-section appointment . I remember because I had 11 minutes to just sit in the car before going into the birthing center to be willingly cut open while conscious to have my baby surgically removed from my belly. Even though abdominal surgery is basically a hobby for me, I was a little nervous. I checked my phone and noticed I had a voicemail from a 540 number. I checked it with 9 minutes left on the clock and SURPRISE it was my OB telling me the surgical staff was waiting for me and had been since 11am. Super.

We rushed in and explained that the pre-op nurse told me two days ago to arrive at NOON. They were understanding as this wasn't the first time that had happened and it was a slow baby day any way. It's actually a little weird because EVERYONE is ALWAYS pregnant in SWVA. I mean ladies here average at like 5 kids. ANYWAYS.

I get weighed in. Total weight gain: 14 pounds. Thank you, son! I check into my room and get all ready in my surgical gown, nervous, but I start to recognize some of the nursing staff because I was here just 15 short months ago with my girl. I'm at ease; The nurses here are wonderful. I go through  a few more pre-op questions. The nurse asks "just a cesarean, right? you're not getting your tubes tied as well?" "that's right, just the C-section". Rob affectionately chimes in "are you sure?". I laugh, but it's not cute -_- lol

45 minute of check in and I'm off to the operating room, by myself. The spinal takes forever and I'm a huge baby. I'm scared. I wince. I squeal. A needle in your back is so much more appealing when you're experiencing the pain of labor with the promise of comfort. Spinal takes. I lay down. Rob comes in.

I'm nervous. Very nervous. I don't know why. There is a lot of pulling, much more than last time. Finally he's out! We don't hear anything. Finally the faintest little "wah" rings out, then silence. We're worried. "Is he okay?" No answer. "Is he okay?" Another "wah!" Rob jumps up and shouts "Oh my God, Riley, he is huge! He looks JUST like your dad!"

I laugh. And cry.

"His hands are enormous! He is monstrous!"

The the staff chimes in actually making bets on how much he weighs.

"How big is he?!" I ask in both relief and concern. (They said he was measuring small in the 38th percentile.. HA! Now I'm thinking I gave birth to a preschooler)

They put him on my chest. HE IS HUGE. And quiet. And DOES look like my dad from what I can see. I'm annoyed I can't see his face very well. I say "Happy Birthday" with tears in my eyes. After a while they wheel me to recovery as Rob takes our son to get weighed and cleaned up.

I finally get wheeled back to my room. I realize I wasn't there when my children first met -_- but Rob is holding our boy and asks what we should name him. I say "He looks like a Rory to me", relenting on my name choice to honor my husband. It was a top moment in our marriage. For sure.

Rob tells me our son, born at exactly 39 weeks weighed in at a whopping 8 pounds 10.9 ounces, 21 inches long. Perfect in every way. Texts and announcements are sent out. We cannot believe he is so perfectly in our arms after the terrifying pregnancy. ALL the glory to God!

Rory Reagan
10/10/14 12:43pm
8lbs 10.9oz 21inches long

ONE WEEK to go & Maternity Pics

Last minute, game time decision to have some maternity pictures taken last weekend. I always thought these kind of photoshoots were silly... Who wants to have their picture taken when they're carrying all that extra weight?! 

But honestly, I'm SO glad we did this. SO. GLAD! 

If you're in the fence about getting some taken- I highly recommend it. Just do it. I wish we did this with Ro but I don't feel too badly because we documented that pregnancy way more than we did this one. (This is how I reconcile my mom-guilt)

Our last days as a family of three. Possibly our last ever pregnancy. And the super exciting time right before we add a new family member. Who wouldn't want these precious moments captured? Sure, I look like I'm wearing a tent in some of these, but after all we've been through in this pregnancy, I am just glad we made it this far!

All these photos were taken by the talented Anna of Anna Kathryn Photography, the sweetest photographer in Virginia, at the Smithfield Plantation.  

PS could this little girl look any more like her daddy? Twins. And they both LOVE the camera. Hams.

One week to go and this is a list of everything we still have to do:

All while soaking up every last second of quality time with our sweet sweet girl.

Home stretch!!! This time next week I'll be holding him!

Xo

Riley 

Full Term!

With only 14 days left of being a family of 3 we had our final growth ultrasound this week before we finally get to meet our fourth member! With the overwhelming mommy-guilt I've been feeling for journaling way more for baby number 1 than with baby number 2, I wanted to catch up on little man's progress:

Total gestation thus far: January 10th-September 26th (Yes, I've been pregnant practically all of 2014. ALL. YEAR. people!)

Estimated due date: October 17th. Scheduled a repeat C-section (first c-section was an "emergency" c--section, not elective) for October 10th after our doctor expressed concern over a greater possibility of a uterine rupture during labor/natural delivery given the pregnancies being VERY close together. He could, of course, come any day but I have a feeling he will stay put til the 10th. 

Total weight gain: 15 pounds. The baby bump is measuring just right for 37 weeks- though I only can fit into about 4 outfits... And one of those is my robe, because, yeah, I count that as an outfit now #pregnantproblems

My measurements: As of my last appointment I'm at -2, 25% effaced, and a measly 1/2cm dilated (I don't really want to explain these, but I know all my veteran mommies and nurses understand)

NSTs: (Non Stress Tests) bi-weekly, standard protocol at my OBs office for all "high-risk" pregnancies. I did the same thing with Rowan. Everything has been looking GREAT so far! 

Contractions: OH YEAH. Plenty.

Movement: Always. He is a lot "lower" than Rowan ever was so there is much less baby-feet-in-ribs discomfort which I am very grateful for :) 

Cravings: peanut butter (as always), peppermint patties (Palmer brand!), Taco Bell (we never eat fast food- like NEVER- but it's my pregnancy weakness! In fact, I think Rob "agreed" to a second baby because he knew he could get some TBell out of the pregnancy. PS their new $1 menu is off. the. hook.) PPS I also eat plenty of fruits and veggies so don't worry, Grandma... I know you're reading this! Hehe!

Baby: measuring 6 pounds 5oz (estimated), right about the 40th percentile. His AFI (fluid) measured a whopping 22.6- so, yeah, those kidneys are working like iron horses and we are THRILLED about it!

Name: Not telling this time! Both times we shared our thoughts on names it was a decision we both immediately regretted. Lesson learned- we'll be officially naming him after he's born. I will say we have it narrowed down to a handful of names and we're waiting to see what he looks like before giving him a name.

Ultrasound Pic: One (sort of) upside to having a complicated pregnancy is getting LOTS of ultrasound pictures! Here is our last one: we think he looks like a grumpy old man! Hahaha! He wasn't very cooperative (shocker! neither of my babies are) but the ultrasound tech said we for sure know he has "a lot of cheek and he's very smushed in there" ... Very technical stuff, right?! ;) the bottom pic is his foot

Well, that's all for now! More pictures coming soon ;) 

Xox

Riley 

3rd Place!

About a month or so ago I saw via Facebook that the Renal Support Network was offering an essay contest for those with chronic kidney disease.

The prompt was "talk about a healthy decision you made and how it could affect others"

I decided, on a whim, to enter as I have been looking into getting more involved with kidney disease awareness and advocacy so I thought this may be a good place to start. Also, first place prize was $500, and with a new baby on the way, I'd be lying if I said the possibility of some extra cash wasn't a motivating factor.

I spent little time on it, and as always, my essay read more like a journal entry than something more sophisticated. I wanted my message of acceptance to be very honest and real. I didn't want to talk about this disease and paint it as something that it isn't (easy) and therefor had little faith that my essay would place because I felt it was too honest.

To my surprise, I recieved a call a few weeks later from the founder of RSN congratulating me on having my essay selected for the third place award! Lori said the message of acceptance was very inspiring and important. I won $100 and lots of confidence in becoming more involved and active in CKD awareness!!! The essay was soon published on their website and the link was posted on their facebook site.

You can read my essay HERE

After reading the essays that placed first and second, I was VERY self conscious of my essay that seemed lacking compared to theirs. The other authors were so eloquent and impressive I was hoping very few people would read mine.

Thankfully, people DID read it and the message of acceptance was SO well recieved by the CKD community! I was so touched by all the "likes" and comments the facebook link received, some of them moved me to tears. Here are some samples:

I'm so JOYFUL so many could relate to my own personal story but more than that- the message of acceptance and taking good care of yourself. This lesson transcends kidney disease alone, it can be applied to literally any hardship. I'm embarrassed it took me 20 years to learn it, but so thankful the Lord was patient with me so I could learn it, live it, and share it!

I encourage all of you who are reading this to "like" RSN on Facebook to keep up with all the latest news and stories on Kidney Disease! What an encouraging and strong community! :)

Xox

Riley

Confessions of a (soon to be) Second Time Mom

In the interest of "full disclosure" this post contains some serious truths! 

No rush to finish the nursery. No stress about what to expect during labor. No enormous stockpile of formula and diapers....

....Just anxiously awaiting his arrival. Dreaming of holding him for the first time. Enjoying every kick and movement. Wincing through every Braxton Hicks contraction. Spoiling our daughter with her last four weeks of our complete, undivided attention.

HA! While all that is true we still have a to-do list as long as my arm. At this point we've done so much the past two weekends I'm now at a point where I think we could be "ok" if he were to arrive this very second. We went through all of Rowan's old clothes, bottles, blankets and pulled out all that could be repurposed for a boy (thankfully we had a good amount of gender-neutral items!). The bottles are all organized and washed, clothes, hats, bibs, blankets and pacifiers washed and put away, pack n plays up and ready to go, baby swing washed and ready, both car seats installed, both kids' memory books and boxes up-to-date, hospital bags packed, Rowan's care plan (for while I'm recovering) typed, vehicles cleaned, 2 boxes of diapers purchased, closets organized, post pregnancy meals planned (and ready to be made and frozen for quick suppers) and shopping lists made, baby books out for a quick "refresher", pre baby pedicure booked, preregistered at the birthing center, read over infant CPR class notes from last time, etc etc etc. 

If you can believe it, that was only half of our to-do list so we still have plenty to do. But we got most of the absolute necessities out of the way.

Last time at this point we had two GIANT baby registries, two baby showers, a diaper party, 2 classes at the hospital, 5 books between the two of us to try to prepare as best we could to be first time parents. She was our first- it was just us three, alone, all the way in VA and we had to figure out how to care for her together; it was a huge challenge but looking back it was such a sweet, sweet, time and I'm thankful we could be our own little family :)

This time we have one small little registry on Amazon because he IS the first boy, ya know! :) and we had a virtual "baby sprinkle" that my sister arranged but for the most part the last third of this pregnancy has (thankfully) been smooth sailing while I try to figure out how to manage a growing toddler and third trimester fatigue.

This pregnancy has been easier and more difficult than the first in so many ways. With his initial health scare for pretty much the entire second trimester, I was really pushed to my spiritual and emotional limits; Rob and I were so. incredibly. scared. We feared the worst, of course. But since he has been cleared from MFM he has been the easiest little babe to carry around. I am definitely not as big, uncomfortable or tired as I was with Rowan. But, with Rowan I definitely had more time to relax because I obviously didn't already have a child at home to take care of. However I was working up until the day after her due date so it's not like I was just at home eating Bon-bons.... Not that there is anything wrong with that! I wish that's what I was doing. 

Maybe I'm just used to being pregnant. After all, I've been pregnant 19 of the 26 months we've married and that accounts for over half of Rowan's life so maybe pregnant is my new normal.

& I'm okay with it. It's a real honor and privilege. And it's pretty easy for me, against the odds, thank the Lord!

While we do kind of feel like old "pros" at parenting and thought this time around we would feel more "been there, done that" but we have a whole new list of worries. The reality of the challenge of two babies under 2 (more like 2 babies under 18 months-- ok ok actually more like 2 babies under 16
 months) is becoming more and more daunting by the day. Especially because I explicitly remember
thinking "how do people do this with other children?" when Ro was about 3 weeks old. I guess we're about to find out! 2 separate meal, nap, play, sleep schedules on top of recovering AND being a day's drive away from our families (ie no assistance) is a little scary. BUT the excitement, joy, and blessing of children born close together outweighs the worries- and that's the honest truth!

So any mommies of two under two or just more than one child in general please feel free to share any and all advice!

Xo
Riley

Rowan's Playlist

Now that our daily routine is in for a little mix-up with the pending arrival of baby boy, I wanted to journal our days while they are just mommy-daughter quality time. But set it to music!

We listen to music mostly all day everyday- but different music for different times of day. I can pretty much tell what time it is by what song is playing.

Wake Up: we mostly listen to Sam Cooke, Classical Piano, & Traditional Worship Hymns (think be thou my vision & come thou fount...nothing contemporary). Some days I need a little something to get me going if I'm a little slow getting breakfasts and Rob's lunch together and need a 'pump-up' so I use my Pop and Hip Hop Power Workout Pandora station.

Morning Play Session: Disney Radio, Sound of Music soundtrack, sing alongs, etc.

Daily Errands: I have two CDs in my little civic- Elvis Presely "The Essentails" & Gavin DeGraw's "Chariot". So unless we are listening to NPR, we are listening to one of those.

Nap time: She falls asleep to Spirit FM playing very softly on her radio

Afternoon Play Session: This time of day I tend to drag a little bit so we need a little energy. Our go-to jams are Annie Lennox "walking on broken glass" and Queen "don't stop me now" (yes, Queen.. Judge me). 

Dinner: Sam Cooke or Phil Collins Radio, typically. 

Evening: this is a wild card-- anything goes.

Bed Time: She typically falls asleep to Piano lullabies, Notre Dame Lullabies CD or Spirt FM's "Delilah". Her favorite lullabies are "Edelweiss", "Come thou fount", and "Be thou my vision"

Then Rob and I listen to the sweet sweet sound of silence ;)

Xo

Riley

Baby Boy Update 7/25/14

Well, today MFM kicked us out. They told us not to come back....

..... because baby boy looks SUPER and no longer needs to be monitored by a specialist! Woohoo!!

His AFI (fluid level) measured well within normal range at 10.7 and his growth is right on point, weighing in at a whopping 2 pounds 5 ounces. They were able to see both kidneys on ultrasound, both normal sized and shape, fully functioning, and located where they are supposed to be (as we learned from the fetal MRI last week). Today was the first time they were able to see both on ultrasound, though.  All other internal structures also look good. It was confirmed (as it is at every ultrasound and our blood screens) that he is, in fact, a boy and his HR was 156. 

These past two months have been such an emotional roller coaster. Thank you all who continue to reach out and support us in prayer and in so many other ways. We are so grateful for God's provision and our support system! With my health history, all our pregnancies are considered "high risk"/"complicated" so while we do not anticipate any more issues with me or the baby, continued prayers are welcome and much appreciated. Please keep other families with complicated pregnancies in your prayers as well; MFM can be a very scary and heartbreaking place for lots of families!

We are blessed and elated with this great news today as we officially welcome the third trimester! 28 weeks along!

Thank you, Lord!!

XO

Rob Riley Rowan & Baby Boy

Philippians 4:19

Baby Boy 7/17/14 Update

Quick update on our little fighter-

Yesterday we went for our fetal MRI. In typical fashion, baby boy was SUPER active and wiggly so the test took about three times as long as it should have because he would not sit still. But that is okay with us :) 

This morning we got a call from one of the MFM nurses with a message from our doctor. He wanted us to know.....

....The images show BOTH of baby's kidneys are in their appropriate position and of normal size!

PRAISE GOD!!! 

7 weeks ago they didn't think he would survive the week because of little-to-no fluid/kidney function, one missing kidney, one kidney that was very small with very minimal output, and suspicions of a heart defect and/or a chromosomal anomaly... Now he has clear blood screens all negative for chromosomal abnormalities, a perfect fetal echocardiogram (heart screen), perfect fluid levels and TWO perfect kidneys!! I'm so speechless I'm having a hard time just typing full sentences at this point. Truly amazed and changed by the overwhelming grace of The Lord. 

THANK YOU ALL who have kept him in your thoughts and prayers. We are so BEYOND grateful.

We have a follow up ultrasound/appointment on the 25th to go over the rest of the results, track his growth, and check his AFI levels again. Please keep praying! 

So Much Love,

Rob Riley Rowan & Baby Boy W

Luke 8:39

Baby Boy Walbom

As a testimony to the true grace of God working in our son's life so far, we thought it important to share his story with you all. I've journaled all the emails we've sent to friends and family to update everyone on his progress.

We loved (and still LOVE) being parents to our sweet little daughter Rowan so much that we desperately wanted another baby right away. We hoped if we were blessed with another life it would be soon so our children would be close in age, to grow up with each other. We worked with our doctors & prayed for this child. Soon we were elated by the news of another baby in early February. 

We had just assumed that we would have daughters, and we were so excited at the thought of welcoming another little girl into our family. In mid-late May at our routine 18 week anatomy ultrasound, we were stunned and thrilled (plenty of happy tears!) at the news we were expecting a SON!

  The day after the ultrasound my OB/GYN called with some concerns about his heart and blood screen.

The doctor said the ultrasound tech could not find all four chambers of the heart, there was an abnormal amount of fluid surrounding it, and my second trimester blood screen came back with an elevated risk of a neural tube defect, such as spina bifida. She referred us to the perinatologist's at Maternal Fetal Medicine. 

June 3 2014

"We have been experiencing some unexpected difficulties with this pregnancy and wanted to extend to you our request for prayers and moral support.

2 weeks ago we had our 18week anatomy ultrasound (when we found out we were having a BOY!). The doctor called the next day with some concerns regarding an abnormal amount of fluid around the heart and the ultrasound could not get a view of all four chambers of it. Also, my quad screen blood test had come back with an elevated risk of a neural tube defect (such as spina bifida). Our doctor referred us to specialists at Maternal Fetal Medince at the big hospital about 45 minutes away to get a better ultrasound and meet with a perinatologist.

Today we had our level 2 ultrasound and meeting with our perinatologist at Maternal Fetal Medicine in Roanoke and received some new information regarding our son. 

According to the scan, one of his kidneys appeared small yet "echogenic" or bright (instead of darker grey- which is normal) and they could not find a second. (This could be due to his unfavorable position for ultrasound viewing or the kidney may be too small).  This could be due to a number of things such as a chromosomal defect or some form of kidney disease. Also, the baby has a very low amount of fluid surrounding him. This is of concern because he will need an adequate amount of fluid for his lungs to develop properly, to be able to breathe on his own if he makes it to term and is born alive. It could also lead to low birth weight, other superficial facial defects and clubbed hands and feet. These two issues are more than likely related as the kidneys need to make the urine to supply the amniotic fluid. Though measuring a little small, his HR was a healthy 150. 

As of now we have no diagnosis because of suboptimal views of the heart, one kidney & spine due to his positioning and severely low fluid levels, and it is still fairly early on in the pregnancy. We declined the idea of terminating the pregnancy and opted not to go through with an amniocentesis due to the elevated risk of miscarriage because of the already low fluid level. I had some extra blood drawn today for a more accurate screening of potential chromosomal abnormalities and will schedule a fetal echocardiogram at our local hospital per our perinatologist's request. For now we are focused on praying, resting, hydrating, keeping my blood pressure down & counting our many, many blessings (including one healthy, beautiful, rascally daughter!).

There was no mention of the fluid around the heart or neural tube defect risk that had been a concern at our previous ultrasound appointment which warranted our trip to MFM to begin with, nor was there mention of a potential kidney problem at our last ultrasound. So as you can imagine, this came as a shock to us. 

From here my care will be shared by my regular OB doctor here in Blacksburg and the high risk OBs at MFM in Roanoke, where I will now most likely deliver as they have a state-of-the-art NICU. I am scheduled to go back to MFM for an ultrasound to check fluid levels next Wednesday and a subsequent ultrasound at MFM on Thursday the 19th to measure any growth. 

We remain optimistic, though not naive & we hope and pray to see some improvement in the coming weeks. We have an experienced team of expert doctors and nurses & we place all our trust in the Almighty and know He will provide strength through this process. 

We are so grateful for your ongoing prayers and support and will provide updates as they come.

Love 

Rob & Riley & Rowan"

We had to meet with a genetic counselor to go through this news after the ultrasound. While the doctor said things "might" improve neonatally (but even so he would more than likely need dialysis/transplantation if he were to survive) but warned us he was not going to give us "false hope". The counselor had given us a few pamphlets and gave us no indication that conditions could improve. She put everything in terms of what WILL happen, such as his lungs would fail at birth if he were to make it that far, that he would be small and disfigured from the compression due to lack of fluid, and asked again if we might consider the option of terminating the pregnancy, which was absolutely not an option for us. 

When we got home, I read everything I possibly could to try and make sense of this. The information I came across was not encouraging, and I slipped further and further into despair. I joined online support groups for prenatal loss, mothers of stillborns, and mothers of babies with potter's syndrome (what this looked like to me after my online "research") to try and prepare myself as best I could. I did not share this with Rob. But as the days wore on and when I was alone in the silence the reality of the situation was too much for me; I couldn't keep from crying myself to sleep. Rob was trying to be strong and positive, but it was weighing on him as well, probably more than I will ever know. He said while he was at work later that day when he was feeling immense despair, a strange calm came over him as if God was saying "I am Lord. Do not despair. I am in charge". It was totally out of our control. Instead of losing hope, we decided we were going to pray our hearts out and just completely turn ourselves and our son over to The Lord.

"I'm trying to be strong, but I feel so hopeless... My heart breaks for our son". My sweet, sweet, strong husband grabbed my hand and whispered "We can pray for a miracle" -June 5th 2014 

June 11 2014

"Today we had another ultrasound and meeting with our perinatologist at MFM in Roanoke.

According to the scan, his fluid level has improved from 1.9 to 3.4 (yay!); this is still low - out of "severely low" and into "low-end of normal" levels. We were finally able to see him move around and get a few good profile pictures of our handsome son! :) 

 

Dr. Dennis said the increase in fluid is encouraging, but we are a long ways away from being "out of the woods". They still could not find a right kidney and have resigned that it is simply not there. His left kidney is still small and slightly ecogenic (bright, but not cystic as of now), but they were able to see some fluid in his bladder which means his kidney IS functioning some. These kidney problems are completely unrelated to my own.

His HR was 146.

Because of the increased fluid levels, they were able to get better views of the heart and spine. The nuchal fold on the back of his neck measured 11, substantially thicker than the "normal" level of 6. This is of concern because thickness of the nuchal fold in the second trimester is usually comorbid with a heart defect. This furthers the suspicion of a chromosomal cause to these abnormalities. 

 We are still waiting for our blood work screen (Harmony test) to come back with results of any chromosomal abnormalities. It should be back by the time of our next ultrasound/appointment on the 19th. Should anything come back positive on the screen, we should be able to go ahead with an amniocentesis (given the fluid level stabilizes or increases in the coming weeks) to get an exact diagnosis.

My fetal echocardiogram is scheduled for June 26th; we will learn more about potential heart issues after that. 

Please keep these dates on your calendars to remember to pray a little extra.

Our current diagnoses are: oligohydramnios (low fluid) & unilateral renal agenesis (missing one kidney). 

Overall, while we did see improvements, Dr Dennis is still very concerned for his health saying he's "less pessimistic" than last week, but wouldn't necessarily say he's optimistic. He said we are better than last week, that every week closer to week 26 (viable outside the womb) is a victory, and that I should continue to rest and hydrate as much as possible. 

(I am 21weeks 5 days along today)

There is no prognosis, favorable or poor, at this time because the kidney function could go either way. There are no means to intervene to improve functionality. It is completely in God's hands. Only God really knows what is going on in there and what his future holds, and He will provide the strength and grace on which we so desperately rely. 

 Whatever the outcome, we are tremendously blessed by this little life and incredibly grateful for him. It's a privilege to be his parents. 

For now we will continue praying, drinking lots of water, preparing for our move this weekend, and gearing up to celebrate Rowan's 1st birthday next week :) 

Thank you all so much for your many prayers. Thank you for reaching out to us and offering your comforting words, cards, Mass intentions, etc. ((Thanks especially to Eileen, who took great care of Rowan today while we went to the Hospital.)) We are so comforted by your support! 

You are more than welcome to share his story with others- the more prayers, the better :)

We will continue to share updates as they come, if you so wish to be updated. 

XO

Rob Riley & Rowan

1 Samuel 1:27

Exodus 14:14"

We saw God working in these small improvements and while the reality of his poor kidney function and still very low fluid was weighing on our hearts, we were hopeful and encouraged.

June 19 2014

"Today we had another ultrasound/meeting at Maternal Fetal Medicine.

According to the scan his fluid increased from 3.4 to 3.6 (yay!) Though we'd like to see it around 5/6/7 this should cover his basic needs for growth and development (given the levels stabilize or increase) as it is within normal range.

His left kidney is still small, about half the size of what it should be- but it is working very hard to supply what he needs and we are thankful for that! Today they did see something that looked like it MIGHT be a right kidney but they can't say for sure- even so, they confidently said that if it is, in fact, a kidney it is non-functioning.

Also, our Harmony blood test came back negative for all chromosomal abnormalities. (Yay!)

His HR was a healthy 153. I am 22w6d along- another week, another victory!

The doctor says he is pleased with where we are at right now- just need to keep an eye on that little kidney and his fluid levels. This next month, however, is the critical period for lung development - so his fluid levels are especially important in the coming weeks.

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for all your prayers!!! They ARE working! God listens to our hearts and has made this little man a fighter! Please keep praying for progress & growth of his kidney that will function sufficiently for him in the long term.

We have our fetal echocardiogram on the 26th and another MFM appointment on July 8th. Please keep him in your prayers especially on those dates.

For now we are continuing to rest, hydrate, pray, play with our silly 1 YEAR OLD daughter and celebrate every little kick and movement from our son.

We are so thankful for your support <3 please feel free to share his story with others; the more prayers, the better :)

XO

Rob Riley & Rowan

Isaiah 46:4

Job 23:10

Joshua 19

1 Chronicles 16:8

1 Samuel 1:27

Exodus 14:14" 

After this we received a call from our Priest who invited us to the Church to have a special blessing done for our son. It was just us, Father Remi, and a few church staff members (who knew us through my work at the Parish pre-school before, during, and after my pregnancy with Rowan) who wanted to join us in prayer. We were also given two prayer shawls made by the church ladies who meet to pray while knitting and give the shawls to families going through difficult times. It is so comforting! I take them with me to appointments and even just have them on my lap while I'm reading at night.

June 26 2014

"Today we had the fetal echocardiogram at the pediatric cardiologist's office in Roanoke. The doctor said his little heart looks GREAT. His HR was 143 and there were no apparent major heart defects (yay!) so we can cross that worry off our list. 

Baby Boy was very wiggly and even completely changed his positioning through the course of the ultrasound; but they were able to see everything they needed and all arteries, blood flows, and structures look normal. They did not measure fluid levels or anything like that- just specifically studied his heart.

We're not sure at this point why his nuchal fold is substantially thicker than normal after learning  our chromosomal blood screen came back clear and his heart is in good condition because these were the two major concerns upon getting that measurement (fold measured 11.7, 6 is normal). Hopefully his health concerns are isolated to the kidney and we can focus all our prayers on hoping his little kidney grows into a super kidney and functions sufficiently for him neonatally, and God-willing, in the long term.

We cannot tell you how much your ongoing support and prayers mean to us. Thank you to those who continue to reach out and check in on him and his progress, who call or text the morning of appointments, who have sent cards and good wishes, and all who have been united with us in prayer. We know all of you are so busy; it is a huge source of comfort to know that you're keeping him in your thoughts and prayers. Yesterday we had a special blessing done at the Church and had a few fellow parishioners pray with us for the health and well-being of Baby Boy. We are so grateful we can openly pray for our son and others, and pray that the Christians around the world who cannot pray freely will one day be free to do so. 

Please also consider praying for other families going through complicated pregnancies or families with adverse diagnoses for their infants. We see so many families walk through the doors of the MFM building and many of their babies are in much worse shape than ours. Remember God is good!

Our next MFM appointment is July 8th. Please keep him in your prayers especially on that date."

July 8 2014 

"Today we had our ultrasound/appointment with the perinatologist at MFM in Roanoke. 

We are thrilled to share the encouraging news that the baby's fluid has risen from 3.6 to a whopping 13.5!!!!!! (Less than 2 is "severe oligohydramnios" -Anything from 5-25 is normal). So his fluid isn't even a little low! I had the same sonographer I had last time and she was amazed at this little (& very very wiggly) boy and how much better his fluid was. We could see him opening his mouth and swallowing the fluid - practicing breathing- and that was a huge relief! 

We saw Dr Dennis' partner, Dr Durica, and she could offer NO explanation for this dramatic improvement- but was thrilled that the fluid was well within normal range. They did see the left kidney again- and the doctor said it was not, in fact, small OR bright, and she guessed that maybe it had appeared small in previous ultrasounds because the fluid was so low that they could not get a good look at it. They also thought they "might" have seen the right kidney in a lower than normal position (maybe a horseshoe or pelvic kidney), but the picture was not clear enough for the doctor to say for sure. 

We are going to schedule an MRI to get a better look and continue to have regular ultrasounds to track the development of his "renal tissue" (kidneys). As he gets bigger we should get a clearer answer as to if he has one or two kidneys, how well they are functioning, and where exactly they are located. 

While we are very VERY pleased with this amazing and truly miraculous improvement, the kidneys are very fickle organs. We hope and pray that the kidney(s) continue to improve and the fluid level stays well within normal range. 

All of his other measurements were right on track: heart, head, stomach, bladder, legs, and we're pretty sure we counted all 10 fingers. He weighs 1 pound 11 ounces and is really REALLY cute! (See attached pics) I'm 25 weeks 4 days along.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. We know they are working! We will continue to provide updates as they come, and hopefully it is all good news! 

Love,

Rob Riley & Rowan

Hebrews 6:19

James 4:6

2 Timothy 4:17

Psalm 147:11

Isaiah 46:4

Job 23:10

Joshua 19

1 Chronicles 16:8

1 Samuel 1:27

Exodus 14:14"

We are not out of the woods yet, but God is providing for our son in ways nobody expected! Please continue to keep him in your prayers. <3 

SHE'S HERE! Our Birth Story

SHE'S FINALLY HERE!!!

Our little darling made her debut!

Little Miss Rowan

June 18, 2013

5:11pm

8 pounds, 20 inches

Virginia

We couldn't be more thrilled to have her with us at last! She is such a miracle; a true dream come true.

& already such a daddy's girl!

Here's how our girl came into the world:

Remember that story I told you about how I thought I'd peed my pants on the walk on June 17th?

Well, at about 3 am on June 18th I awoke from my sleep with realllllyyyy bad abdominal cramps. I tried to fall back asleep but I couldn't! In the course of an hour these cramps started coming in intervals.. there was no doubt in my mind: these were contractions.

Not wanting to wake Rob until absolutely necessary, I paced through our apartment until about 6 am, keeping time in between the contractions. They were irregular, but already mostly 5-7 minutes apart. I kept a log on my phone and sent it to my BF Ashley, an RN. Luckily, she was up and working... and she told me to get to the hospital!

When Rob woke up and saw me pacing in pain he knew it was time. I called the birthing center and told them my situation and the nurse told me to come in and get checked out. In no hurry, because I all the sudden had cold feet, I took my time getting my things together and showering while Rob frantically got his things together in excitement.  

By the time we left the apartment at about 7:45 am the contractions were already 3-4 minutes apart and getting progressively more intense. I got all checked in and hooked up to a contraction monitor. Of course, my once frequent contractions slowed down to like, 12 minutes apart and the nurse said I was only one centimeter dilated. She said OB doctor on-call wanted me to get up and walk around and see if we could see some progress before she made her rounds in about 2 hours.

The 2 hours came and went and we walked through the halls of the birthing center- we were the only ones there! The OB on-call came in at about 11:30 am to check me out- still only one centimeter. She said to give it two more hours and if nothing progresses she'll send us home. Before she left, she asked if I had experienced any "leaking fluid" and I said 

"I don't think so, but last night I felt a little something. It was only a little so I'm sure it was nothing"

duuuhhh. SO dumb. She had the nurse run a test to see if it was some of my water and what do you know IT WAS!

All of the sudden we went from possibly going home to the doctor saying:

"Okay we're going to need to induce labor to get things moving; lie back, we're going to break the rest of your water"

WHAT. 

I was not prepared for this. We were not prepared for this. Rob held my hand and all of the sudden there were four nurses in our birthing suite hooking me up to all sorts of things. The doc broke my water, and, let me tell you, that was an experience. Suddenly, I was dilated to 3.5 centimeters. They started pitocin through my IV and the contractions came back slowly but surely.

The nurse, seeing the look of pure shock on our faces, smiled and said

"you get to meet your baby today"

...

At about 2:30 pm, after about 12 hours of labor, I finally caved and pleaded asked for an epidural.

I was only 4 centimeters dilated but in so much pain from that pitocin!

I was so out of it I wasn't even scared of that enormous needle going in my spine. Rob and our nurse held my hands and by 3 pm the anesthesiologist got me all set up - pain FREE! It was amazing. I was even able to doze off a bit - but not for long.

My own OB doctor took over my case and said that the baby was not coming down as much as she'd like, the contractions were still not as close together as they wanted them to be, and that Ro's heart rate had started to decline. She said they would keep and eye on it for the next hour or so. We were obviously concerned but hoped for the best. 

She came back in after about an hour and said she was really uncomfortable with her low heart rate. She tried to get her to move but even that didn't really help much. That, paired with the fact she wasn't dropping, our doctor said she wanted to go ahead and do a cesarean. She reassured us that, although relatively urgent, this was not an emergency and they wouldn't be rushing through the procedure. She said she was assembling a very experienced surgical team and they were going to take really good care of us.

We were both so scared. I started to cry. I didn't want anything to happen to our sweet baby! & this was not going to be a routine c-section. I know Rob was trying to stay strong for me, but when I saw him come back from the hallway to call our families, I saw that he had been crying too! We said a prayer and got ready to meet our little girl.

ready to go!

Within the hour, we were all ready to go into the OR. They wheeled me back first and put the spinal meds through my epi. Completely numb. The team was so nice and made me feel really comfortable. They let Rob into the room with me and he held my hand.

After a little while, the anesthesiologist by my head said 

"You're going to feel a lot of pressure on your chest, like someone is standing on you"

from the other side of the curtain, I heard my doctor say 

"She's about to be born... She's opening her eyes!" 

I didn't really feel the pressure he was talking about, but all the sudden they lifted her up from other side of the curtain and we heard her very first cries... which sparked our first proud-parent tears!

Rob watched as they got her all cleaned up. I couldn't see anything; I just laid there wondering if that really just happened. I couldn't believe it. The nurse walked over and placed her swaddled in Rob's arms. 

It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Rob was just beaming, of course.

I can't remember who put her on my chest.. I think it was Rob... by that time I was a little out of it.

I remember saying 

"Oh my God! Hi, baby! She's so cute."

doesn't she look happy to meet me?

Not really what I planned on saying.. but I was so exhausted and on such a baby high I was sort of speechless. One of the team members offered to take our family picture, and I'm so glad he did!

our first family photo! just a few tears of joy...

I got to hold her for a few minutes and then they gave her back to Rob. A nurse led him back to our birthing suite where they were going to clean her up a bit more get weight, height, etc. I stayed in the OR while they finished up the procedure (I actually fell asleep!) Then I was off to recovery! I stayed there for about an hour , where they pushed on my belly every 15 minutes (ouch!). 

When I finally got back to the birthing suite, Rob & Rowan were waiting for me! Rob was holding her like he'd been doing it his whole life. It was so sweet. I have to admit, I was a little jealous of their bonding time while I was dealing with all the surgery stuff :/ But SO grateful for a happy healthy girl and successful surgery!

 

My nurse quickly put Ro on my chest just under my gown and I finally got my bonding time with my little girl.

pretty fresh after 14 hours of labor, eh? ;)

Later that night, Rob's mom, dad, and brother came in and got to meet her on her birth day! 

We were so grateful to have had them there to celebrate with us.
& share in the new-baby cuteness!

 

Since then, I've been recovering well and we've been adjusting to life with a newborn. 

We are SO in love with our little girl.

Thank you to everyone who kept us in your thoughts & prayers. We so appreciate you lifting us up in hopes of a happy, healthy, family :) & most importantly...

Thank You, God!

xox,

    Riley & Rob (& Rowan)