Tag: IUGR

Pregnancy

Another Satisfactory Ultrasound

Becca Schmitz2 Comments

Making it to 24 weeks means we made it to our next growth ultrasound.  Compared to the level two ultrasound we had at 19 weeks, these growth ultrasounds are super quick.  The take a couple measurements and you’re out the door.  I think our tech actually spent more time working on the 3D ultrasound photos than she did on measurements, but more on that later.

Or, maybe it’s just that quick when things go according to plan.  Since our pregnancy with Brady was so abnormal, I really have no gauge for how these things typically go.  The consensus at the end of the ultrasound was that this little guy measured at 24+1 and was in the exact 50th percentile for his gestational age.  A friend joked that this kid is on his best behavior after what we’ve been through and is trying to be as average as possible as to not cause any concern.  He’s doing a good job.

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Pregnancy

18 Weeks and a HELLP Scare

Becca Schmitz4 Comments

Over the past week, I’ve been dealing with some upper right quadrant pain.  If you’ve had preeclampsia or HELLP syndrome, you know that upper right quadrant pain is a hallmark of the disease.  If you have preeclampsia, you’re constantly being asked about your upper right quadrant, as that will often indicate an escalation to HELLP.  I made another call to the nurse line, and since I was at a stage where HELLP would’ve been really rare, they suggested alternatives – watching my fat intake (if it was my gallbladder) and trying Zantac (if it was indigestion).  The Zantac did help some other symptoms I’d been having, but the upper right quadrant pain wouldn’t go away.  I called back today, and, due to my medical history, they were able to get me in to the doctor within the hour.  I am so grateful for a care team that takes my concerns seriously.

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Life After Loss · Pregnancy

14 Week Review

Becca Schmitz3 Comments

If you’re friends with me on Facebook, or follow me on Instagram, you already know that we’re expecting baby #2 this fall.  I’ve been pretty quiet about it, and it feels good to now be at a point where I’m comfortable enough to talk about it.  Emphasis on enough.  As of yesterday, we crossed the 14 week mark, and I want to catch you all up on these first few weeks.  I know the blog post title is a bit inaccurate.  It’s really a review of our first 11 weeks, since we found out we were expecting at 3+1.  Yeah, I know, that’s early, but if you know me at all, you know I am that kind of person.

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Life After Loss

Worrying Does Nothing

Becca Schmitz4 Comments

Growing up, as a young adult, and as a not-so-young adult, I worried.  Conscious or not, I was constantly thinking about, or preparing for, the worst case scenario.  Worrying and planning has its place, like if you’re ever stranded on a desert island and your very continued existence depends on it.  Otherwise, worrying really doesn’t do much, except maybe ruin an otherwise fun life.  Let me explain.

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Brady John · Life After Loss

28 or 29?

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The answer ended up being 28, and it wasn’t even close.  Because Brady’s due date and my birthday were so close together, we wondered how old I would be when I became a mom. Continue reading “28 or 29?” →

Brady John

Special Onesies

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The first piece of clothing we bought Brady John was a onesie to help us announce his upcoming arrival.  At the time that we ordered it, we didn’t know that Brady was a boy, so I ordered a cheery yellow-striped onesie and figured it would work whether we had a boy or a girl.  We chose “Schmitz Just Got Real” as a funny play on words.  When you have a child, shit does get real and we thought this was a fun way to share that things would never be the same as they were before.

We drove over to my mom’s house in order for her to take the picture that I would post on Facebook to announce my pregnancy.  Jeff and I planned that I would look super excited in the photo, and he would put on his best nervous face.  I think we did pretty well.

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Brady John

What’s in a Name?

Becca Schmitz2 Comments

It dawned on me last night, as I listened to a friend talk about how they chose their baby’s name on a podcast, that I hadn’t shared how we came up with Brady John’s name.  I even looked back at my earlier blog posts to make sure.  There’s a brief mention of why we chose John, but otherwise, nothing.  Like most stories, there are two sides.  In this case, I’ll share mine and my husband’s.

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Brady John

Brady John: Our Strong Little Man

Becca Schmitz2 Comments

I’m sure you can all tell by now that I think my son is seriously amazing.  This story is one of the things I go back to when I think of all the ways Brady seemed to defy everyone’s expectations from the very beginning.

I think Brady was only about 4 days old when this happened.  I only know that because of the time-stamped photos I have on my cell phone.  My record-keeping wasn’t the greatest for the first few days of Brady’s life.  For the first 3 days of life, Brady had to be positioned midline, so there wasn’t a lot of creativity in how he got to lay in his isolette.  It’s another precaution they take for babies born so prematurely, to prevent brain bleeds.  After the first 3 days, Brady got to try lots of new positions, including some tummy time.

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Brady John

Brady John: Mr. Particular

Becca Schmitz4 Comments

If there’s one way that Brady was not like his daddy, it was in his particularities.  Jeff is pretty chill about most things.  And I’m particular, so we can say that this is probably my contribution to our little man.  Sorry, little buddy.

Once again, I’m so grateful that we had the amazing nurses that we did.  They spent so much time with him, and always filled me in on the funny and particular things they noticed about Brady.  I remember coming in one morning for my normal visit, and getting a rundown immediately from Diane on Brady’s most recent likes and dislikes.

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Brady John

Brady John: Just Like Daddy

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It’s amazing how a baby can show so much personality when they are only days old.  Not only did Brady show us his awesome little personality right away, he also showed us which parent he took after right away.  That’s right, his daddy.

I hear women complain all the time about how they carried their baby for XX amount of weeks, only to have their child turn out exactly like dad.  I felt the opposite.  I was THRILLED that Brady was just like Jeff.

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