MFM Ultrasound....Much Better :-)

Sleepy Girl :-)

Always has her hands by her face....they are her pillows

Sweetest thing ever....love her so much

We went to Rockford Memorial to visit Maternal Fetal Medicine once again :-) We are becoming very close to the ultrasound techs & doctors. Haha. We had an appointment at 8:00 a.m. w/ a doctor visit to follow. The ultrasound today measured at 2.8...better than yesterday, but not the best we've ever had. The doctor we saw, Dr. Melone was not concerned w/ the shortening. She was concerned if there was any opening, which there was not. She also asked if we had felt any contractions. I said, "I don't really know what I'm looking for" She had us do a Non-Stress Test (NST) for the next 1/2 hour.

I was hooked up to the machine & they only spotted one contraction, but we think it was because I moved. I'm not very good at keeping still for those of you who know me well :-) Our next move is to have another NST at my office tomorrow just to double check the contractions. Next week, Tuesday July 7th we will return to MFM @ RMH for another ultrasound.

We also had another appointment for baby today. We went to see a hematologist to discuss my low platelet count. My platelets have been dropping lower every week. I am borderline anemic now. They are unsure if this is because I'm pregnant or if I was this way before the baby. Since we have no blood work from before there is not much they can compare to. For now the doctor wants to see me in 4 weeks to observe any changes. If my platelets fall below 100 I may not be able to have an epidural & it would be difficult to have a c-section (if I had to). In order to increase my platelet count I may be put on a steroid, but that would be a last resort.

We will of course keep you all posted on any updates. A few more pictures of Jordan for you to enjoy.

Love xoxoxo,
The Helgerson's

Ultrasound Time....Not So Good

Always sleeping....let's see how she does when she's born.

She looks so comfy

Nate thinks she looks like me....I think she's gorgeous

Look at those pretty lips

Oh it's so exhausting being so cute

Monday, June 28th we had another cervical length ultrasound & it wasn't so wonderful. The only good part that has come out of any of these ultrasounds is getting to see Jordan weekly. It's amazing how much she has changed. She is looking like a real baby. It's very exciting.

So I rested all day Sunday after my girlfriends threw me a fabulous baby shower. We got to our appointment & we were in the ultrasound room doing our normal weekly measurements. The first measurement was at a 3.5 (Nate & I high fived), the 2nd measurement was at a 3.4 & then the last one measured at 2.5....NOT GOOD :-( We could see the length shortening while we were in the room. Dr. Holbrook said the length was shorter, but there was no signs of opening. She put in a referral to MFM for an immediate visit w/ an ultrasound. My Doctor said she is going to guess bed rest, but wants a 2nd opinion just to make sure.

Our appointment is scheduled for Tuesday, June 29th @ 8:00 a.m. More to come!!!

Hope you enjoy our new ultrasound pics...We love how Jordan is yawning. It's so tough to be so cute & her little nose & face is getting cuter all the time :-)

Love xoxoxo,
The Helgerson's

Another CV Length Ultrasound...

You can see her lungs

Cute little baby...keep growing big & strong

Little blurry...but she's still cute

She's developing so much right now

She's still soooo tiny

Well, we had ANOTHER cervical length ultrasound yesterday, June 22nd @ my workplace. This time Grammie LePla was able to join us to see baby Jordan. It was very nice to have her there with us & such a fun experience for her, too.

This week we measured at 2.7/2.8 :-( Not the best measurement we've had so far, but not bad enough for bed rest. If we fall below 2.5 we are on bed rest for sure...no ifs, ands or buts! My doctor, Dr. Jodi Holbrook, said that we are not as concerned with the length anymore since it has been so up & down. We are, however, concerned with any funneling/opening of the cervix. The ultrasound did not show any signs of funneling so we are to still take it easy. Sit at all times & lie down when able to.

The further along we get with Jordan the better. We are taking all of this very seriously & listening to the doctor. We will continue to get ultrasounds every Monday for the next 3 weeks now. Every day after work I am to do nothing but sit around &/or lay down. Also, my coworkers are now MAKING me sit & not get up unless I have to go to the bathroom. I am very lucky to have such caring doctors & coworkers.

Speaking of caring people...Nate has been AMAZING!!! He's cleaning the house, doing laundry, taking care of Doozer morning & night, making dinners, packing my lunch for work, getting me breakfast & any other odds & ends that I usually don't do he is doing as well. He's even bossing me around...which we all know I am the boss usually. Haha. I'm so proud of him for stepping up & taking care of me & Jordan. He's a wonderful husband & dad (not that I had any doubt).

There are even more pics for you to view this week. Hope you enjoy...we love getting the pics. We can't wait to meet her in 16 weeks :-) Time is going to fly! Our first baby shower is already this Sunday. My girlfriends are throwing me a shower...I'll be posting pics of all the cute outfits Jordan receives. Girls clothes are just too cute.

We will of course keep you up to date with all the news...stay tuned for next Mondays appointment.

Love xoxoxoxo,
The Helgerson's

Last MFM Appointment....We hope :-)

Her scalp is still forming

Her little eyes, nose & mouth are too cute

Look at those tiny fingers

We hopefully had our last MFM (Maternal Fetal Medicine) appointment this past Monday, June 15th. We had another cervical length ultrasound & the length is 3.5 :-) Which is wonderful!!!!! We were worried that it would be lower since I have been back to work, but I have still been "taking it easy" after work. Doing a lot of sitting, laying on the couch & pretty much being a bum. For those of you that know me...I'm not good at sitting still & I hate not doing things around the house, but the baby is worth all of this :-)

So, the appointment was great...we are at 3.5, the doctor we met this time was Dr. Melone. She was really great & helpful. She said to continue working, taking it easy, no lifting, housework, running or standing up for long periods of time. The doctor does want us to have cervical length ultrasounds until 26 weeks along. We are now 22 weeks along (time is sure flying). The great part is that I can have the ultrasounds done at my work place. Saves me time off work & all I have to do is clock out & get an ultrasound. We like going to my work, because we get more pictures & get to take longer in the ultrasound to get just the right pic of Jordan. The benefits of working at an OB/GYN office during pregnancy. Love it!!!

Not a whole lot else is new with us...Nate's been on vacation this past week. He was supposed to go to Lake Chetek, WI w/ his family for a week of boating & fishing, but his parents decided to cancel the trip due to our stuff going on & Nate's grandfather. For those of you who do not know, Nate's grandfather has stage 4 cancer. Nate is extremely close to his grandfather, we are just enjoying the time we get to spend with him. We are praying things turn out in our favor. All of your prayers would be appreciated.

Well, we hope you enjoy the pics of little Jordan :-) We are calling her our little monkey, because I think she looks like a monkey w/ her small hands & fingers. Plus, I love monkeys. Haha. We have our next ultrasounds every Monday until July 13th....so, I'll be informing you all every week. Thanks for all the prayers!!! They definitely helped ;-)

Love xoxoxox,
The Helgerson's

MFM Appointment Outcome...

Jordan's profile...hands are always moving

She turned to look at us....look at her eyes & her big belly

Well, today we had our appointment to determine what's next, either bed rest or no bed rest?! My cervical length is now a 4.1 :-) That is wonderful!!! Problem is that the Doctor we saw today @ MFM was a typical Doctor that didn't want to tell us "exactly" what we should do. He gave us a lot of scenarios & what if situations. We both like to know definite answers & we are finding that we aren't going to get what we want. Haha.

The doctor at MFM, Dr. Briggs was very nice & gave us all the options & troubles we would face. To me he was a typical male, giving too much info & almost giving us a lesson on obstetrics. We were told that maybe house arrest was a good idea for this week & we would come back next Monday for another ultrasound & see if anything has changed. I asked if there was any way I could go back to work. I don't do a lot of moving around, it's a busy office, but I mostly sit at a desk. Dr. Briggs said, "that's your choice, you do what you want." He then proceeded to inform us that if next Monday we come back & the cervix is lower than 3.0 they would put a cerclage in (sewing of the cervix). Or if the cervix is at a 2.0 or lower they would admit me into the hospital. Very extreme...

First of all...I'm at a 4.1, so that is fabulous. Why this doctor is trying to give all the worst case scenarios right now is not his place. His place is to tell us if I'm ok to be up & about. So, I contacted my OB doctor, Dr. Holbrook & also my boss. She says that was wrong of Dr. Briggs to even go into detail & give the "what ifs". She also said that if I was at a 3.0 or above that I should be back at work, but taking it easy at home & in every day life. She said they miss me at work & would love to see me back & she would be the first one to put me back on bed rest if there was any risk. She understands being cautious & likes to take the extra steps to make sure the baby & myself are doing well, but if we play the "what if" game the whole pregnancy we'll all go nuts & I'd be in bed the rest of the time.

So, we will take my pregnancy week by week. I'm to have another cervical length ultrasound next week & 2 more weeks after that. They want me to have an ultrasound up to 24 weeks. Right now we are at 21 weeks. We will see how each appointment goes. Nate & I are just glad I work at an OB/GYN office where I have doctors there & use of an ultrasound & lab work anytime I need it.

My orders are to go to work, do my job but don't do a lot of standing or walking around, come home & do nothing :-) We'll take it week by week & just pray for the rest of the pregnancy to go well & before we know it Jordan will be here. We just want Mom & Baby to be ok.

The great thing about getting the ultrasounds is that we get more pics of Jordan :-) This child already could fill up a photo album. Haha. We heard her heart beat & it's great!! Also, we had the ultrasound tech double check that we are really having a girl & she said it definitely is....so get ready for pink!

Thanks to everyone that helped out Nate & I last week. It was nice to have so many people checking in on us & bringing us dinners for the week. We are very blessed to have such wonderful family members & friends. Keep up the prayers, they are helping!

Love xoxoxo,
The Helgerson's

Pics of Jordan (6/1/09)...

Looks nice & cozy in there :-)

Jordan's left arm, left leg & big foot...just like her parents

Both of her feet & all her toes

A profile shot of the beauty

Her belly, hands, & face

A side view of Jordan...always moving those arms

We had the ultrasound pics done on 6/1/09 @ MFM. It was very exciting to see arms, legs, feet, toes, eyes, ears, hands & so much more of our beautiful baby girl :-)

We have our MFM appointment tomorrow 6/8/09 @ 3:30 to determine what our next step is in our baby adventure. Either we are on bed rest for the next 18 weeks or so, or we are ok & Rachel can return to work & being her self ;-) I have told her she is to rest no matter what & take it easy...she likes to be up & about doing things all the time. She's been pretty good this past week, but if we need 18 more weeks of bed rest she's going to need things to keep her busy. Haha.

We will keep you all posted on the outcome of the appointment. Have a great week!!!

Love xoxoxoxox,
The Helgerson's :-)

It's a ___________________ ????

Well, we have decided to let everyone know what Baby H is going to be. We found out on Monday 6/1 & wanted to let our parents know first before we told everyone else.

For those of you who guessed it is going to be a boy, you are WRONG!!! We will be having a beautiful little girl. Jordan Deborah Helgerson will be our newest member of our family. We are just praying she stays put for at least 16 weeks :-)

I'm in big trouble though...all the little girls clothes are too cute. I'm going to love to shop even more than I already do. Hahaha.

Well, that's all the news for now. Our next doctor appointment is on Monday, 6/8 & we'll keep everyone posted with updates.

Love xoxoxox,
Nate, Rachel, Doozer & Jordan

Bump in the Baby Road...

Well, for those who haven't heard...we had a little bump in the road to Baby H. Friday 5/29 I had a cervical length ultrasound at Cornerstone Clinic (my work place). I was told to have an ultrasound for my cervix at 14 weeks & 18 weeks. I was told to have these ultrasounds done because I had a procedure done in 2002 that makes me at risk for a thin cervical wall. I was at a 3.4 at my 14 week ultrasound. This past Friday I was at 2.3, which is not good.

My OB doctor & boss, referred me to MFM (again) for another cervical length ultrasound. We want my cervical length above 3.0. The thinner my cervical wall gets the sooner the baby comes. We DO NOT want the baby coming early!!! I was told by my OB doctor that I will either be on bedrest for as long as I can or I will have a cerclage done. A cerclage is where they sew my cervix to keep baby in there.

The referral was sent to MFM & they got me in for an emergency appointment on Monday 6/1. Since I was already going to be @ MFM on 6/1 we moved the level II ultrasound to the same day instead of coming back on Monday 6/8.

My husband finally came home, he ended up coming home Friday late night/Saturday early morning to come take care of me :-) He has been a wonderful "nurse" & I hope I've been a good "patient" so far. I stayed in bed all day & night Friday until Monday. I am too antsy of a person to be held hostage for that long....but, whatever is best for the baby!!! I had lots of people calling to check in & some visitors stop by. Thank you everyone who was there for us...your thoughts & prayers are very much appreciated.

Well, today was the day of our appointment. I didn't get much sleep last night, because I was worried, nervous, & anxious. The cervical length was done first & it turns out it's at 3.0 :-) The ultrasound they did today showed an area of the cervix that they are counting as the length. MFM believes maybe Dr. Holbrook (my doctor) & the ultrasound tech may not have seen the area MFM is looking at or they didn't count it as part of the cervical wall. Either way, it's better news than we were expecting. They want us to come back next Monday 6/8 for another cervical length ultrasound to make sure it's at the same length of 3.0 & we didn't miss anything. So, I'm on bed rest for the rest of the week until our appointment on Monday 6/8.

We also had a Level II ultrasound done today & the baby is doing GREAT!!! We got to see all areas of the baby. We saw the 4 chambers of the heart, ears, nose, mouth, chin, toes, feet, arms, legs & much more :-) We ended up seeing sooooo many things that we now know what Baby H will be.... Sorry, but we aren't telling.

The doctor at MFM was very nice. We don't have too much info on what is next. All we know is to rest for one week & return for another visit & ultrasound Monday 6/8. We will keep you all posted as updates arrive. We did get more pics of the baby. As soon as I get them scanned in, they will be posted :-)

Love xoxoxoxo,
Rachel, Nate, Doozer & Baby H