Yesterday we were blessed with the first glimpse of our beautiful baby!  We had our anatomy scan and echo at BC Children’s women’s hospital at the high risk pregnancy clinic.  It feels so very real now.  Our ultrasound was at 11 am.  The technician was very detailed and walked us through the scan. They had a big TV in the room so cole and I could watch. It was the black and white 2d scan. We saw babys spine, hands , fingers, toes, legs. We watched them measure the belly, the femur and humerus. They took photos of the brain and heart. We heard the heartbeat again. This time it was 141 bpm. The lowest it has been. its been 155 pretty steady.  We saw baby move, wave and suck it hands.  it was a little bit creepy and looked like an Alien, all skeletal.  The Technician asked us if we wanted to find out the gender, We told her know, and i asked her if she already knew.  . She said she did not and was about to try to look but she would now avoid that area for us. So she did not check. When we filled out the form at the beginning it asked if we wanted the gender reported to our medical team and we chose not too.

She took photos of all the organs they could see including the kidneys and lungs and brain. After the technician took all the images she needed they called in the cardiologist to perform the Echo. The cardiologist surprised us and turned on the 3d scan! I was blown away and my heart instantly melted. I was finally seeing my baby. Not just a skeleton, but little ears, eyes, hands, everything. So detailed. The image turned right on over baby’s face. I could not believe that this was the little face that in a few months i will be cuddling and kissing. It all of a sudden was very real. The 3D images are incredible. Our baby is so cute! I just kept staring at that little nose.  The cardiologist said ” aww look at him, he is adorable”  she said she did not actually know it was a boy , she just doesn’t like to call baby an “it” She assured us she really did not know what baby was but in my heart I do think baby is a boy. That has been my instinct since day 1.

The cardiologist let us watch for a little bit.  We watched baby grab its hands, suck on its hands. Wave and move around.  She told us everything looks wonderful and right on track. Baby’s heart is actually no bigger than a thumbnail right now but everything is there and in the right spot.  No deformities, no abnormalities. all 4 chambers and beating strong.  The brain is developing right on track.  Everything is right on track.  She printed out the photos for us and told us how happy they are with the way things are progressing.

We finished up with the scan and then we went to lunch . We met with my childhood dietitian Alette. Who I love and adore. I was excited to show her baby’s photos and catch up. We met at second cup in the hospital lobby. Walking through those halls and meeting with her sure brought back memories. Good and bad.  Alette saved my life. I don’t know who I would be without her guidance and intervention in my life when I needed her most.  I didn’t really understand the impact she had until I was much older. It was a brief meet up as we had to run to meet the maternal fetal medicine specialist right after lunch.

Our MFM doctor is a lovely lady she seems very nice. I am very lucky that all the member of my team seem very kind. I have lucked out with my OBGYN and midwife and feel very comfortable with all the members of my team and confident my baby is getting the best care. Our MFM did give me a bit of a scare and me emotions got a best of me and I cried. It turns out my dates are a few days off. I am actually Due February 25th and I am 21 weeks tomorrow. I had me at 21 weeks 3 days today. So when she made the calculations to see how along I was when I got my levels down. Her app made an error and told her i was 9 weeks . This is where I freaked out , as I have always been told if we didn’t get my levels down before 6 weeks the baby could have damage. Cole and I knew that had to be wrong and I cried. We re did the math and we did get the levels down before 5 weeks . So I was very relieved. The MFM recommended we do another scan at 32 weeks as currently the brain is flat, which it is suppose to be. The brain is constantly developing and changing and developing the cavities and crevices we are familiar with, even way after birth so another scan at 32 weeks would just show us that it’s continuing to develop correctly. I shouldn’t need any more scans than that , unless it would help me psychologically I can request one at 26 weeks so it’s not as long as in between as these last 2 where.

The reason my dates where off, as when I had our dating ultrasound baby was less than 7 weeks along and they cannot accurately date baby’s development.  This is the scan and how many weeks they can accurately measure.

After our MFM appt , we had our 2nd trimester PKU appt. With a surprise visit with Oliver at the clinic. I am always happy to see Oliver! So that was an extra added bonus.

After our appt started I had my vitals taken by the nurse, my blood pressure has greatly improved and was 130/ 80 and pulse 84. I am 158.5 cm tall, or 5 ft 2 3/4  lol.  My weight has not changed. I lost 10 lbs prior to getting pregnant and another 9 in the first trimester and I am starting to go back up I have only gone up 4 lbs from my lowest weight at the end of 1st trimester .

Then we saw Dr . Sirrs who was very happy. She said normally she has to come in and ” kick butt” but no but kicking needed with me! We talked abit about post pregnancy care and making sure I am maintaining my levels while breastfeeding and after the birth , during sleep deprivation and staying healthy.  I was given some samples of pre made formulas that don’t require me to mix, Incase I wanted to take some from when I am in the hospital and for ease after when we are home. She recommended having pre made foods and dishes and asked cole to help me prepare a stock so I don’t need to worry about meal prep and cooking after.

Next was Jen so we could go over my levels and blood work with me and we chatted.

My last level from October 8th was 1.8 so hopefully my tolerance will start going up. My tyrosine levels are fluctuating which is normal in pregnancy.So my dose that I add to my formula has been adjusted to 8 grams a day.  I am having 5 bettermilk now, 2 in the morning with 4 grams tyrsoine, 1 bettermilk in the afternoon with 2 scoops amino acid blend, then 2 bettermilk in the afternoon and another 4 grams tyrosine.

I am still doing blood PHE levels 3 days a week, unless i am working at nights then I do them twice weekly. My second trimester blood work from October 5th came back . My Albumin Lipids are 34. range is 35 to 50.

My Cholesterol levels are 4.47 . Range is under 5.20

Triglyceride is a bit elevated as it usually always is. Mine are 2.02 , range is under 1.70

my HDL is 1.55 . Range is lower than 1.70

My LDL is 1.99 . Range is above 1.336

Chol/ HDL Ratio is 2.88 and Chol ( Non HDL) is 2.92 also both  right in range.

My Ferritin levels are at 21. So finally in range. A year ago it was trace. Unreadable, then it went to 5, and then 15 and now 21 so it is slowly improving .  Iron Deficiency is under 15. I am continuing with iron supplements.

White blood cells is 9.9  . Range is 3.1 to 9.7

Red Blood cells is 4.2 . Range is 3.7 to 5.0

Hemoglobin is 131 . Range is 118-151

Hemocratrit is 0.40 . Range is 0.33 to 0.45

MCV is 95.2 Range is 84.0 to 98.0

MCH 31.5  Range is 28.3 to 33.5

MCHC is 331 Range is 329 to 352

RDW is 13.1 Range is 12.0 to 15

Platelets is 251 . Range is 147- 375

Neutrophils is 6.7 so a bit high. Range is 1.2 to 6.0

Lymphocytes is 2.5 Range is 0.6 to 3.1

Monocytes is 0.6 Range is 0.1 to 0.9

Eosinophils is 0.1 and Range is 0.0 to 0.5

Basophils is 0.1 and Range is 0.0 to 0.2

All in all  , Everything is great. I am measuring right on target.  This is feeling more and more real now. Specially since I have been feeling baby move since the beginning of October now. Baby is more active at night.

After all our appointments we ended the day by stopping in to visit my dear friend Claudia and I was able to make dinner at her place so I didn’t need to be hungry or stop and eat something along the way. We had a lovely visit . Claudia always makes me smile and laugh. She is a bright light!

Mentally I am doing so much better. These appointments helped reassure me and answered all my questions and elevated my fears.  Physically I am in so much pain in my back.  I am having trouble sleeping and getting comfortable . My back is in agony. It is hard to do much and walk or be on my feet for too long.  The car ride to and from coast was excruciating and I was so glad to get home last night and sleep in my own bed.  it was a very long day, but exciting and I can’t wait to meet our little boy or girl in february!! I know all my hard work is paying off and how truly blessed we are!

Thank you again to everyone who has been following our journey and taking the time to read these very long posts!  I hope our MPKU journey inspires you all and you never give up on your dreams, as dreams are wishes that the heart makes!

Happy reading and have a wonderful week!