Heartbreak

Yesterday did not go as planned at our Ultrasound. First the good news, LB is growing perfectly, has 4 limbs and does not have Down Syndrome or Cystic Fibrosis.

Now onto the bad news. LB has a medium-large lung tumor on the side of heart. It is pretty much engulfing the entire cavity and is starting to encroach on the heart.

The doctors at this point have pointed out two possible conditions that this could be:
1. Congenital Cystic Adenomatoid Malformation (CCAM)
2. Broncho (pulmonary) sequestration

They will not know which condition the baby has until we have a series of ultrasounds and a MRI. I will be having ultrasounds every two weeks going forward.

Once they know which one this is, they will have a better idea of how to progress.

Regardless, Maternal Fetal Medicine is assembling a core team of surgeons to represent our little LB. 

The fact remains that there is a extremely high likely hood that regardless of which condition LB has there is a major surgery that will have to take place. It is unknown at this point if it will be directly after delivery or within the first year of LBs life.

Apparently, for CCAM the chances of a baby having this condition is 1 in 10 thousand. I guess our little LB will be a fighter from day 1. It's going to have to be!

It's all so heartbreaking, you do everything you can to provide a safe environment for your baby and it's still not enough... How do I comprehend that no matter what I do it's not going to change this situation nor make it better? At this point how do I prepare myself and Chris for the unknown of when I deliver they will take LB away and possibly perform major surgery on LB and I as the mother can not even be there to comfort him/her.

Honestly, I've never felt more helpless in my life. I'm a educated and very resonable person but none of this makes sense to me.

I believe in Nature and the stars above to help us get through it all, but at the end of the day I don't want our baby to suffer ever! Apparently this is what being a mom is all about.

I am beyond thankful for my amazing and supportive husband, loving family and great friends. Without them I would be so lost.

So now we just sit back and wait....wait for two weeks to pass for the next ultrasound to revel more information..... tick.. tock...tick..tock.

A big day tomorrow

Tomorrow is a big day, it's the day that most people wait for to find out the gender of their baby. We are choosing not find out. I'm excited for the surprise and so is Chris.

We will have a very through ultrasound tomorrow to check the baby's heart to make sure LB is ok.

I am very excited to see how much LB has grown since our last viewing, they say the baby should look more human now and in better proportion.

I'll post the photos when I get home. Wish us luck that we have a healthy little Bean.

17 Week Checkup

Today was my 17 week checkup. All is going great. Got to hear LB's little hearbeat, it's going strong at over 150 BPM.

Some people are guessing LB is a girl with that kind of heart rate. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

The doctor is very pleased, I've gained a total of 6.1 pounds and with being almost 4.5 months along she says "keep doing what your doing".

Makes me feel good that I'm providing a good environment for the little one to bake in.

LB's Quilt

Well, since I have made everyone else I know a baby quilt it's finally my turn to make our little LB his/her own.

Since we are going with the ocean theme I thought this fabric was perfect. I will go with a standard 4 square quilt.

I've been doing some reading and apparently baby's like tags and textures, so I have textured material and two different ribbons to add to the edges for LB to play with.

All the fabric and ribbon

Cream colored textured material

Teal colored textured material

Fish Fabric (Flannel)

Whale Fabric (Flannel)

Ribbed Ribbon

Silkey Ribbon

Chalk Board for LB

I saw the cutest idea the other day. It was to refinish an old chalk board and use it for baby info. For example you can hang it outside of the baby's door and mark when baby went to sleep, when they last ate, etc. Helpful if multiple people are helping with the baby to keep it on track.

I purchased a plain chalk board for $3.00, used the same paint as the dresser and added the same glass tiles. Plus a box of Chalk for $1.00.

Not a pricy project but pretty darn cute and useful.

Plain Chalk Board

Painted Chalk Board

Painted and glass tiles added

Cute project for under $10.00

All Done!

Target Registery

Ok, so the Target registery is also up and running now :)

Keep checking back for updates. There are so many cute / fun things..

Heather and Christoper Barber
Manchester, CT

Babies R Us

Yesterday Lesley and I had a girls day filled with having a yummy lunch and going to Babies R Us to register for little LB.

It was so nice to have her there since she already has Aiden she was able to tell me things I needed and didn't need.

So we got a good start to the registery at least.

I'll also be registering at Target since for some of the the little stuff it is just plain cheaper!

I can't see asking for nail clippers that are priced at $10 at Babies R Us when I can surely register for them at Target for probably 1/2 that. It just makes more sense.

Here is the link for the registry. I'll keep updating it and adding things as we go.

Babies R Us Registery

HEATHER BARBER and CHRISTOPHER BARBER 's Baby Registry

Registry #: 49514737

Location: MANCHESTER, CT

Expected Arrival Date: 08/23/2013

HEATHER BARBER's Message:

IT'S A SURPRISE!  GIFT RECEIPTS ARE APPRECIATED, THANKS!

Whale Sheets

Ok so we've decided to go with an ocean theme for the babys room as far as colors. (Blues, Teals, Greys, Greens... you get the idea.

Last night I went to Target to do some shopping and found the cutest sheets!

Check out how fun these are!!

17 Weeks and counting

So I decided to take a photo of what I look like at 17 weeks. Since this is a small blog I don't feel like I'm sharing this with the world. Hahah.

All is going well, and I feel great.

LB's Dresser is almost completed

So I finished the handles for LB's dresser. They are Metal flat handles with glass stone siliconed to the top of them to make them fancy.

LB's new dresser thanks to Memaw and Papa

This was the dresser that Mom and Dad gave me when I moved out to CT. It seems pretty old, but is in great shape and will be perfect to use as a changing table/dresser for LB.

Here are my color choices for the paint. I'm going with greens for my color choice.

The drawers are complete.

The body is complete

I think it turned out amazing. Now I just need to make the handles... Not quite finished.

LB's Onezies

I visited the consignment store again and found some more adorable outfits for the baby. For a $1.00 a piece you can't go wrong.

Mom Finally Did Some Shopping

So I finally did some shopping for LB today. There is an amazing consignment store right here in Manchester. They sell used clothes at extremly reasonable prices.

I was able to get 10 onezies for $10.

Here they are.

Clothes from Aunti Kelly and Cousin Zack

My girlfriend from work, Kelly and her son Zack brought over two very cute outfits for LB today.

LB is introduced

We decided to tell everyone now that I'm over the first Trimester. Here is the photo we used to tell the world. It's a pair of Mommy's, Daddy's and LB's shoes.

My First Outfit from Aunti Kat

Today I received my first outfit for LB from Aunti Kat. The shirt was one of her very favorites that Micah had. She said she just loved the little booties too so LB had to have two pairs.

What a sweet gift for LB.