When you give birth to a baby with special needs, the thought of having more children is wrecked with anxiety, hope, fear, guilt, and love. You wonder if “it” will happen again. Then you feel guilty because frankly, you love your child, special needs and all, and accept them just as they are. In one […]
Yesterday I had my last OB/Gyn appointment with Dr. Herta. Nothing special, just some information for prepping for the c-section and what to expect afterwards. We were scheduled for 2:00 PM tomorrow, Wednesday, with a check-in time of 12:00 PM. Then received a call this morning that they’re moving it to a 12:00 PM delivery, […]
One of the local families we met last weekend at the Sparrow picnic recommended a book for us – Children with Spina Bifida – A Parent’s Guide, edited by Marlene Lutkenhoff. I immediately found the book on Amazon and ordered it. It arrived yesterday and I started reading it today. Despite all the complications and […]
I must say, not knowing the gender or arrival date of either of our other two children, it’s VERY weird to know the gender, have a planned birth date, and have the name publicly known! New normal, right? Today we met with our WONDERFUL OBGYN, Dr. Nancy Herta. We were SO glad to be able […]
Today we went for our consultation at the RNICU (Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) and met with Dr. Said Omar, the head Neonatologist at Sparrow. It was quite informative and answered a good chunk of our questions about Colten’s care after he is delivered, and a few about the surgery itself. There are still many […]
On Saturday, Richard and I had our second meeting with our Doula, Christin, from In Harmony Doula. This was a late-addition to our pre-natal team and was by complete chance. Christin had a flyer up at Greenhouse Birth Center advertising her services for free for moms due in October and November. I had recently met […]
Today was an interesting day – a welcoming into one community and a farewell to another. We started the day at a picnic for the Sparrow Clinic that treats kids with Spina Bifida. What good timing that this picnic took place after we found out about Colten’s diagnosis, but before we’ve been thrown into the […]
As mentioned, we had a full diagnostic ultrasound done on September 18, 2012, exactly one month before our due date. This is what led to the diagnosis of Spina Bifida, and the revelation of our third child being a boy. In order to lay the groundwork for what is coming our way, I wanted to […]
So my husband and I appear to be approaching this Spina Bifida diagnosis in two very different ways, which is typical of our personality styles… I am envisioning that Colten will be born, have a simple surgery to remove a cyst/sac, and we’ll go on with our lives. If it is anything more than that, […]
Yesterday we had our first ultrasound for this pregnancy, at about 35.5 weeks along. We’ve had two other very healthy, natural pregnancies and births and saw no reason to need an ultrasound with this pregnancy (or the one prior!). However, this baby is presenting breech according to our midwife so off we were sent to […]
The Adventures of Colten Robert 