Sunday, August 18, 2013

Kanaan 34ish Week Update

On 8/12/13 Kanaan got a 10/10 on his BPP/NST. The fluid was at 6.5cm. That doesn't mean that the fluid has  necessarily gone down, it could have been the way he was laying. Otherwise he was doing fine. The infected milk duct has come back and my OB Dr. K referred me to a general surgeon to have it looked at.

On 8/13/13 I met with the general surgeon Dr. P. He tried to remove the infection with a syringe, but that wasn't working, so he ended up having to cut it out. I was glad Andy was off work so he could take me and stay with. It was pretty painful, but is on the mend now. I go back next Tuesday for a follow up. Hopefully it's healing as it should and will not be an ongoing problem.

0n 8/15/13 Kanaan once again got a 10/10 on his BPP/NST. The fluid was at 10.3! If it's lower next Monday I won't be surprised, because he was curled up in a tight little ball so he wasn't really covering any of the pockets up.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Crock-pot Turkey

Around Thanksgiving, a local store had a coupon stating: Buy 1 ham and get 1 free turkey. We went ahead and took advantage of the deal even though we weren't hosting any holiday meal. I froze the turkey right away, and decided to go ahead and make it now to freeze and have on hand for after Kanaan is born. I don't have a roaster pan or a pan big enough for a turkey that goes in the oven, so I made it in the crock pot. I had an 11 pound turkey and used a 7qt crock pot.

Crock-Pot Turkey
Carrots
Celery
Onion
Vegetable bouillon base
Chicken bouillon base
Olive oil
Water
Turkey
Poultry Seasoning

I didn't use any measurements and you can do this with what you have on hand. That just happened to be what I had on hand.

First I put enough water in the bottom of the crock pot to barely cover the bottom. Then added 1 teaspoon of vegetable broth base and 1 teaspoon of chicken broth base. Added some baby carrots, celery, and 1 onion cut into large pieces. I rinsed the turkey and removed the giblets and neck. Then rubbed olive oil and sprinkled and rubbed my poultry seasoning all over that side of the turkey. I put the breast side down on top of the veggies in the crock pot while I oiled and seasoned the other side. Then I put the lid on and let it cook on low 10-12 hours. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the cooked turkey. The skin did not get crispy like if you had cooked it in the oven, but I don't like the skin anyway so it didn't really matter to me. Also it doesn't hold together for a fancy presentation if you are going for that. For our family holidays we always take the meat off the bones before dinner so people can just grab the meat and go through the line, we have a big family. We ate some for supper, and I had some for lunch the next day, but I was still able to have 13 cups of shredded meat to freeze. I probably would have had more if I hadn't munched on it while I was measuring it out to freeze.

Chicken Bouillon I used
Vegetable Bouillon I used


veggies and liquid before I added turkey




Thursday, August 15, 2013

Make Your Own...Poultry Seasoning

Making your own poultry seasoning is a great way to cater the flavors and spices to your taste. Also you will know exactly what's going in to it. This is the recipe I used for Poultry Seasoning.


Poultry Seasoning
4 tbsp Sage
2 tbsp Thyme
2 tbsp Marjoram
1 tbsp Rosemary
1 tbsp Ground White Pepper
Pinch of Allspice
Pinch of Nutmeg

Mix all together. If desired, mix in blender or food processor for finer texture. (I did not blend/process). Store in airtight container.

Uses:
- Rub on surface of poultry before cooking.
- Season chicken or turkey soups.
- Season stuffing/dressing: add 1/2 to 1 tsp for 4 cups of stuffing/dressing

These are all dried spices/herbs.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Kanaan 33 Week Updates

On Monday 8/5/13 at our BPP/NST Kanaan earned 10/10. His fluid was at 9.4 and he was still head down. My infected milk duct, was a lot better, still there but not red and much less painful. The ultrasound tech said she had never seen the fluid go up like this before, I mentioned that to Dr K and she said she's never seen anything like that either.

On Thursday 8/8/13 I met with Dr. A the MFM/specialist again. Kanaan's fluid was at 8.5, the doctor was not concerned about that as it could just be how he was lying. As long as his fluid is above 5 they aren't too concerned. Kanaan weighed 5lbs! I was born at 35 weeks and weighed 4lbs 10oz, he's already bigger than I was at 2 weeks later in the pregnancy. Dr A said "I'm really impressed with this kid". I will see Dr A on 8/29/13 for another growth check and he will check me at that time to see if I'm starting to dilate at all and schedule the induction for 37 weeks. He said if I'm my cervix is not favorable then I will go in 9/2/13 in the evening to get that ready before the induction on 9/3/13. If it is favorable then I won't have to be at the hospital until 9/3/13. He said he'd rather do a slow induction over a few days than try to rush it and need a c section. That makes me feel a lot better, I'd prefer to avoid a c section as much as possible. The induction dates are tentative at this point we will know an exact plan after the 29th.


Sunday, August 4, 2013

Kanaan 32ish Week Updates and Prayer Requests.

We're still plugging away at home on modified bed rest. On 7/29/13 Kanaan was still in the vertex position and the fluid was at 8.8cm. The doctor lumps the BPP(Biophysical Profile) ultrasound scores and the NST scores together to make a scale of 10. Remember Kanaan gets 2 points for each of the following, muscle tone, heart rate, movement, practice breathing, and 2 normal heart accelerations on the NST. He scored 10/10!! At my doctor appointment after the BPP my doctor said it was "the little kidney that could" lol. She asked what position he was in and I said he was still head down, she said "how in the world did he change positions every week with no fluid and now that it is in the normal range he is staying put?" I have no idea, but I'm happy he's staying head down. I ended up with a clogged milk duct, that was very painful, swollen and red, Dr K gave me 2 antibiotic shots and an oral antibiotic to take. If that doesn't clear it up I will need to have a surgeon cut it out. OUCH!!. It is still there and tender, but smaller, no longer red and the pain is much better. She also said my blood pressure was starting to creep up so if it is high again next week I will have to do a 24 hour urine collection. ICK. I really don't think it is high at all, it was fine at the hospital right before we got to the appointment and hasn't been remotely high during my hospital stay or any of the NSTs. I think it was just up a bit from rushing to the appointment.

On 7/30/13 I had to take off my wedding ring. They were getting too tight. I did get a vaccination shot in my left arm at my appointment on Monday so it may be swelling from that. My arm was extremely sore and I could hardly move it for several days. It is still a tad sore, but basically back to normal now. 

On 8/1/13 Kanaan was still vertex and fluid was at 9.1cm. He got 10/10 on BPP/NST.

PRAYER REQUESTS:
  • Continue to pray that the fluid increases. We are in the normal range, but the low end of normal. We are about to the stage where fluid levels typically peak and then start to drop for normal pregnancies. Pray that it continues to increase and does not drop at all. 
  • Continue to pray that his lungs will be developed in order for him to survive after birth. Even though he does do practice breathing, that has no impact on whether his lung function will be able to support life after he is born. Nobody is really sure how/when the fluid-lung connection works, his increasing fluid now may be good for his lungs, but it may be too late and missed the time to build his lungs. We won't have any idea if his lungs will be developed at all until he is born. His lungs may be fine, he may need respiratory help, or they may be so underdeveloped there is nothing to be done and he won't make it longer than a few minutes. Even though the increased fluid reduces the chance of still birth, he is still at a great danger of not having the lung function to survive. We aren't out of the woods yet. 
  • Pray that the clogged milk duct clears up and I will not have to have surgery to remove it. 
  • Pray that my blood pressure is fine at my next appointment and continues to be so for the remainder of the pregnancy. 
  • Pray Kanaan continues to remain head down, so that I can have a chance at a natural delivery. I really do not want a c-section. 

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