11:50pm

They just started Cassie on the Petosin.  They will be increasing the Petosin in a half an hour.  Owen you can come any time now.

11:05pm

They just checked Cassie again.  She is about the same as the last time they checked, but they took out the thing meant to ripen the cervix because it is only supposed to be in for 12 hours.  Now Cassie is eating the food that she ordered earlier.  Cassie is complaining that the narcotic they gave her for the contraction pain the last time they checked her cervix is wearing off.  Now we just have to wait for the Petosin.

8:30pm

They just checked Cassie out.  She is 2 centimeters dilated and 80% effaced.  They are leaving the drug in to ripen the cervix until 11:00pm, then Cassie will have an hour to eat and shower and whatever before they give her the petosin to induce labor.  The doctor predicts that Owen will be here by 10:00 am tomorrow morning.

Baby Time

We are down at Children's Hospital today March 31st to have Owen.  Yesterday we had an appointment with Dr. Quinn (Dr. Broekhuizen wasn't in) for a growth ultrasound and along with estimating Owen's weight to be 8 lbs 10 oz they noticed that the amniotic fluid levels are low so they were concerned that Cassie might be leaking.  So they did some tests to make sure that she wasn't leaking fluids, which she wasn't, although Cassie was hoping she would be leaking so that they.  Dr. Quinn wanted us to come back in this morning at 9 to do another ultrasound to check fluid levels.  We meet with Dr. Quinn this morning and after the ultrasound she said that the fluid levels are too low so she wants to induce right away.  If it was earlier in the pregnancy they would try to increase the fluid levels, but being at 38 and a half weeks, it doesn't pay.  So we immediately went to the birthing center and started getting Cassie ready.  When they checked her cervix she was only 1 centimeter so they gave Cassie something to ripen the cervix.  Now we are just waiting.

Sorry it has taken us so long to update the blog, it has been a crazy busy week. Cassie's grandfather passed away early in the morning Sunday March 18th, the same day as our benefit.  That being said, Owen is still developing nicely, he scored another 8 out of 8 on his BPP at Aurora Baycare on Friday March 16th.  Our benefit was a huge success.  We had an amazing turnout of people showing their support for us on Sunday.  We had a bucket raffle, silent auction, delicious food, and music.  For a bunch of amateurs planning it in about a month, we did a pretty good job.  This Sunday, March 25th we are moving Cassie down to her aunt's house in Milwaukee to be ready for Owen's arrival.

Tuesday March 6th we went back down to Children's Hospital.  We started our day off by meeting with Pat Stoll Children's outpatient Social Worker.  We talked about the possibility of staying at the Ronald McDonald House while Owen is in the hospital.  Before the delivery Cassie will be staying with her Aunt Terry who lives close to Children's Hospital, but it might be easier while he is in the hospital to live right across the street.  After the Social Worker, we had a fetal echo cardiogram with Dr. Saudek.  He said that he didn't really see anything different with Owen's heart.  He did tell us however that there is a slim possibility that Owen won't need to have the Norwood Procedure if his Aortic Arch isn't too narrow.  If he doesn't need the Norwood Procedure, they will most likely put a catheter with a balloon on it into his heart to make sure that the hole between his right and left atria is large enough.  After we were done talking with Dr. Saudek, Barb took us on a tour of all the departments we will be visiting while Owen is there and explained how everything works.  After the delivery, Owen will be staying in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) most likely up until he has his surgery.  In the NICU they only allow so many visitors to cut down on the exposure to germs and bacteria, so we are going to have the tough decision of deciding who will be allowed to visit Owen in the hospital.  After he has his surgery, Owen will be in the CICU (cardiac intensive care unit).  Thankfully in the CICU they don't have restriction on the number of allowed visitors so anyone can come and see Owen after his surgery.  After we were done with the tour, it was on to our growth ultrasound.  It is looking like Owen is going to be a big boy.  Based on his measurements, his estimated weight is 6 lbs 13 oz.  He is still looking healthy and growing fast.

Had our first appointment with Dr. Garvin-Cress since we went down to Children's Hospital today March 5th, 2012.  Cassie is doing well.  Her belly is actually measuring a little bit ahead just like Owen is.  Last Friday March 2nd we had another biophysical profile with Dr. Hayes.  Owen got another perfect 8 out of 8 so his organs are still getting enough oxygen.  Tomorrow we are going back down to Children's Hospital for a growth ultrasound with Dr. Broekhuizen, a fetal echo cardiogram with Dr. Saudek, we will meet with a social worker to get insurance for Owen, and we will get a tour of the hospital which we didn't have time for last month.  Hope everything goes well.