Well, Here we go again! It seems God had other ideas for us and has sent us a second unexpected unplanned blessing.  I learnt on December 3rd that we where expecting again but we only just announced on Saturday our news to the world. I am now 12 weeks 2 days along. It was a huge shock and took a few weeks to settle in.  I had all my blood work done on Dec 4th and contacted the clinic asap. We started working right away to get my phe levels down because i had not been on the pre conception diet and had no real plans on having a second baby any time soon. My phe level from Dec 1st was 14.8 so  my clinic dropped my intake down to 200 mg and i started tracking my intake on How much phe ( http://www.howmuchphe.org ) and weighing all my food. I stopped my anti depressants and stopped eating rice and high phe foods immediately.  My hcg levels came back to show i was just around 4 weeks pregnant. I got my levels down into safe maternal PKU range with in 10 days.

 

We had a dating ultrasound done on January 10th. It showed I was 8 weeks 5 days. A bit behind my dates. But because I was on the birth control pill Alesse we were not sure when ovulation or conception was so we are using the ultrasound dates as they are more accurate.  The heart beat at the scan was 188!

 

At this point only coles parents knew and a few of my very closest and dearest friends.

We had to tell Coles parents at Christmas because I could not eat Christmas dinner. Nothing! I had to take my pasta and my scale and cook my food. Family members noticed and asked alot of questions because I normally allow myself to enjoy mashed potatoes, carrots, Brussels sprouts, applesauce and apple pie at Christmas but couldn’t.  We just said to everyone else that i was watching my levels.  Morning sickness was and is hitting me way way harder this time.  And OH! The food aversions!!!! food is my enemy! Getting enough calories in with such a low tolerance is insane. I changed my formula twice in those early weeks because i could not handle it.

 

Now at 12 weeeks pregnant I am at 240 mg but I get 138 mg just from my formula! so it does not leave alot of room for food.  I pretty much dont eat breakfast just have my formula.  I have a mix quick low pro muffin or waffles at lunch and low protein pasta at dinner.

Some days i am so sick i dont want to eat and other days im so hungry that it makes the nausea so much worse!

Some days id sell my liver for some real food! I want nothing more then mashed potatoes, rice, applesauce, stir fry, hash browns and all my favorite comfort foods. I cant wait for my tolerance to go up. Even just a little bit!!!

I have already seen my midwife, she prescribed diclectin so that has made things a bit easier and able to get those calories in so with more calories my levels are going back down, maybe i will see an increase next week!

I do my blood dots Mondays and Thursdays and take them into the lab to be courier to newborn screening in Vancouver.  I drive them in on Monday and my best friend chantal does Thursday because i have day care kids all day an cant leave with them.

 

Today I did my 12 week blood work at the lab. The PKU Clinic has sent me lab requisitions for 12 weeks, 20 weeks and 32 weeks.

 

My next appt is with the OBGYN on march 11th and then our midwife on march 12th as we are doing shared care again. Im lucky to have the same OB and midwife that I did with our daughter.

We are scheduling our 20 week echo/cardiogram with maternal fetal medicine at bc women’s hospital and will see my PKU clinic then too. We are hoping to find out the gender this time at this appt as well.

Our due date so far is August 17th so A summer baby this time! Hopefully its not a 40 degree summer with lots of forest fires again! I am still shocked we are doing this again!

I am so happy I was able to get my levels down before ogangenisis which occurs at 6 weeks of embryo development. IF you levels are high at 6 weeks and beyond it can be very bad for the baby and cause serious impairments as well as death or deformities.  I just thank god we caught it early enough and there is no danger or threat to the baby now. If I caught it later or was not able to get my levels down experts recommend an abortion because the risk of deformity or handicaps and mental disabilities, and death are so high. I am so eternally grateful to god, to my pku team and to my support network and my husband that i was able to have the strength and ability to get them down!

WOW! I will admit i cried for 3 days after i found out with so much fear on how we would make this work how having 2 kids will be and how will Madelyn handle it!

so when the stress gets to much we just remind ourselves one day at a time, baby’s are a blessing and we will make it work! of course we also agree that 2 is enough! so even though we are twice blessed we also know and appreciate this is our last . So just trying to soak it all in and take it one day at a time!

1 month today Madelyn turns 3! She is doing amazing.  Fully potty trained , sleeps all night in her own room, no more soothers , hasn’t had a bottle since before she was 2.  She has her first dentist appt next week and she is so advance still and talks amazingly well. Sometimes I forget she is not even 3! she is high energy and busy. She loves swimming and dancing.

She is excited to be a big sister!

 

She tells me stories on how she is going to be mommy’s helper. She will help change diapers and sing songs and dance for the baby. she knows there is a baby in mommy’s belly and she will talk to my stomach and ask to see the baby. She pulls up my shirt and says keep growing baby!

I hope shes as happy when baby is born lol

 

Be sure to check back often and follow our second maternal pku journey as  I will try my best to record it all again!