#heartmamadiaries | THE FINAL WEEK

This week I had my last scheduled ultrasound and appointment with my OB. Little Iver is looking good, a slight drop in his weight curve, but they're not worried. He's estimated to weigh around 6lbs 9oz now, so he's growing and he's a good size, but definitely considered small in Westman standards! I'm starting to dilate a bit now, which is great! My body is prepping for delivery. 

Speaking of delivery, I signed my induction papers for Wednesday, August 24th (39w 5d). So unless baby has plans to make an appearance sooner, we should be meeting our little bundle 4 days from now! It's very exciting, and very scary. I am looking forward to no longer being pregnant, and I'm REALLY looking forward to meeting our precious boy, but once he's out, things get real.

My in-laws arrived in Edmonton today and were able to visit the RMH for a little bit, before driving home to Lashburn with Mark and the kids. They will be taking care of our sweeties while Mark and I await baby's arrival! It will be the longest the kids have ever been apart from me, but I am so thankful that they are in great hands!

Please continue to pray for us as I get closer to delivery, and as the kids and I are separated. I have enjoyed my first night on my own, but I truly miss them already. It's one thing to get a few hours break to myself, but another to be here alone for a couple of days!

Next time I post an update, it should be with exciting news!

Thanks again to everyone praying for us!

#heartmamadiaries | VISITING THE NICU & MATERNITY WARD

On Thursday afternoon, my parents drove from our house to Edmonton to visit the Ronald McDonald House and babysit the kids. Mark and I took the RMH shuttle to the Stollery Children's Hospital to meet with our amazing social worker and take a tour of the NICU. We have almost completed our application to the Kinsmen Telemiracle Foundation in hopes of receiving some funding for our medical expenses. We hope to send it off by Monday.

Please pray that our application for funding will be accepted.

After working with us on our application, our social worker took us on a tour of the NICU where Iver will be spending the majority of his time in Edmonton. The unit is very small and cramped with hardly any privacy. I knew beforehand that this would be the case, but I wasn't expecting the lack of comfort. Every bed has room for only one office-like swivel chair beside it. There are I believe 3 larger, more comfortable chairs for feeding and snuggles that are shared between about 18 other babies. If you want to have some skin-to-skin time or snuggles with your baby, you need to ask for a turn with the chair. This really just breaks my heart. I was at least expecting to be able to hold him and have skin-to-skin time as often as I pleased, or as often as Iver was able. It was a pretty emotional experience imagining myself there with Iver for weeks and weeks. I know it will be a challenge for me to take breaks from the unit and come back to the house for meals and sleep. I know in my head that that is the healthy thing to do, but I still have a hard time wrapping my heart around leaving my baby.

Please pray for my peace of mind, strength, and to remember to take this one day at a time.

In other news, we had a test-run to the maternity ward on Thursday night. As most of you know, I've had some major issues with my gallbladder and was hospitalized for 4 days at the end of May with a bad infection. Since then, I've been on a 0-fat diet. Well, Thursday night I had an attack for the first time since May. It was pretty scary, and surprising. After quickly packing the hospital bags, just in case I went into labour, we rushed to the hospital at 2:30am. They sent me straight to labour & delivery and hooked me up to a non-stress test. Thankfully, the attack subsided really really quickly (usually they will last an average of 6 hours) and baby and I both ended up being fine. Just a small flare up which the doctor seemed to think was simply due to hormone changes as my body gets ready for delivery. We left the hospital at 7:00am, and headed back to the house for a much-needed nap.

Please pray for no more flare ups!

I have an ultrasound booked on Tuesday, and an appointment with my OB on Wednesday. I'll be 39 weeks on Friday, and if everything with my pregnancy remains the status quo, the plan is still to induce me on Monday, the 22nd.

Please pray for a healthy last week of pregnancy and for continued peace as we get closer to my delivery date. 

Please pray for the medical team that will be working with myself and Iver, and for an uncomplicated delivery.

Thank you for your prayers! Not much longer now...

#heartmamadiaries | LIFE AT THE RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE

For those of you who don't follow my instagram or have me as a facebook friend, I think a little blog update is in need! On Monday morning we packed up the van and kids and pulled out of our driveway ready to relocate to Edmonton. We had our hotel booked at $77.00/night, and were still holding out hope that we would hear from the Ronald McDonald House ($12/night) in the next couple of weeks. Well, we we didn't even make it outside of our little town when we got the call! The RMH had a room ready for us! We laughed and I cried and we quickly canceled our hotel reservation and hit the road! God is so good you guys! I can't say it enough!

Since arriving, we have been absolutely blown away by everything they do here at the house. There are really no words. I honestly don't think you could ever understand it unless you came and saw it for yourself. I think the food alone would blow your mind. 

The kids have been having a fantastic time exploring and playing and making new friends. Being out of regular routine has it's novelties and a downside (meltdown central), but overall they're doing really great. We are so thankful to be here and have some special family time together before Iver arrives and things get a little more complicated.

And now, I'll bomb you with cute pics of the kids and our time so far at the RMH.

Stay tuned for another post update on appointments etc.

I'm much too tired to do that right now!

Thank you again for your cotinued prayers.

#heartmamadiaries | UPDATE

I started #heartmamadiaries primarily to keep track of things for my own records, but also to serve as an update to family, friends, and a support to other parents out there going through the same thing. I hope that above all, God is glorified through our situation and that I can spread a little CHD awareness.

We were back in Edmonton today for some more prenatal appointments...

On Friday afternoon we heard from the Ronald McDonald House, and they unfortunately do not have room for us at this time. We are still considered high priority near the top of their waiting list, but in the meantime we will be staying in a hotel suite. The RMH was able to book us a fantastic one-room suite at a great rate ($70/night) that included a hot breakfast, a light supper, and free laundry. The hotel has a pool and our room has a kitchenette with a full fridge, 2 burners, a microwave and a dishwasher. All dinnerware and cutlery are provided. Needless to say, we were very impressed with the hotel. But, of course, it's still nowhere close to the $12/night that RMH can offer. 

Please pray that RMH will have a room for us ASAP.

My appointments went really well. Iver is growing steadily and is now weighing about 6lbs 1oz! This is great news, as he has passed the minimum weight requirements for his open heart surgery. We are thanking Jesus for getting him so far and we continue to pray for his health! The bigger the better for what is to come. Other than his heart, everything looks great for Iver. And as for me, things are right on track. I am not yet dilated, so we got the "OK" from the doctors to come home for a few more days before needing to relocate long-term. Just a few more days at home means saving close to $400 in accommodations alone. We will, however, relocate sooner if a spot opens up for us at the RMH, or if anything changes in my pregnancy. 

Please pray that my pregnancy will continue to progress without complications, and that Iver continues to grow on a healthy curve.

36w 5d

In other news, my parents are slowly making their way from Ontario to Saskatchewan in their motorhome. They're due to arrive at our home in Lashburn sometime Sunday evening. We are so thankful that they and my in-laws will be able to be with us during this time. 

Please pray for safe travels!

We also have a HUGE praise to report! Through some amazingly generous people, God has provided us with some financial support. We are so grateful for the willingness of those who have heard His prompting, and allowed Him to use them.

"Now all glory to God, Who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think"

Eph. 3:20

I'll do my very best to continue to post updates as Iver's story continues to unfold. Thank you again for all your support and prayers. 

#heartmamadiaries | BABY IVER UPDATE (32 WEEKS)

On Sunday night we packed the kids in the van and drove 2.5 hours to Edmonton, where the Ronald McDonald House was able to set us up at a hotel for the night at a special reduced rate. The next morning, Mark dropped me off to head to a full morning of appointments, and took the kids to an indoor playground where they had a fantastic time!

Appointments & Diagnosis Update (with links)

My first appointment was with my OB, and everything went really well. He still plans to induce me between 39-40 weeks, and we're keeping Monday, August 22nd in our minds as the most likely date. Afterwards, I had an ultrasound, and Iver is looking great! He is growing wonderfully in all other areas expect for his heart. No surprises, and no changes, and lots of praise to God for that! Iver is in the 50th percentile for growth, which is perfectly average. He currently weighs about 4.5lbs.

My third appointment of the morning was a fetal echochardiogram (a fancy name for an ultrasound that focuses on the fetal heart). I spoke with the cardiologist about the results, and he is almost 100% certain that Iver has Truncus Arteriosus with an Interrupted Aortic Arch. Again, slightly different diagnosis than last time, but they are much more certain. Click HERE for the latest detailed information (as of July 4) on his diagnosis, and what life will look like for him in the first few hours and weeks after birth.

Mark and the kids met me back at the hospital after my echo was completed, and we all attended our multidisciplinary meeting. We spoke with a perinatologist (an obstetrical specialist concerned with the care of the mother and fetus at higher-than-normal risk for complications), the cardiologist, neonatologist (doctor who will take care of me and Iver after birth) and the neonatal social worker. It was very informative and we both feel as prepared as we can be for what is to come. And, thanks primarily to Happy Meals, the kids were amazing during the meeting! Thank you for everyone who prayed specifically for that!

What’s Next?

We are on the waiting list for the Ronald McDonald House, expecting to arrive at the very beginning of August, when I am 36 weeks along. That's only 4 weeks from now! I will be happy to get settled in and be close to the hospital just in case I were to go into labour a tad early. Although, I'm really not expecting to, as I went beyond full-term with Thaddeus and Juliet!

Our Social worker told us about the Kinsmen Telemiracle Foundation, which we have decided we will apply to. Here's part of what they do:

"When people can’t access the level of care they need at home, they must often travel to health care facilities in other parts of the province or country. And while the medical procedures are covered by health care, the patients and their families must pay for their own travel, meals and accommodations. By easing the financial strain, the Kinsmen Foundation allows families to focus on what only they can provide – love and care."

Of course, we hope that our application will be accepted to help offset some of the costs coming our way.

Please Pray For Us

• For a healthy and peaceful third trimester and a complication-free birth
• For Iver to be stable when he is born, and to be able to breath on his own
• For us to be able to hold Iver, if only for a few minutes, before he is transferred to the Stollery
• For a spot to be available to us at the Ronald McDonald House
• For our application to be accepted to the Kinsmen Telemiracle Foundation
• For the medical team who will be working with and operating on Iver

To see the previous post about Iver, click HERE.

#heartmamadiaries | BABY IVER - UPDATED DIAGNOSIS

Hello! Wow it's creeping up on close to a year now since I've touched this blog. I'm back again in hopes to make it easier for everyone to keep track of updates on baby Iver, as well as keep a little diary on our journey.

In case you missed the memo, we found out on Christmas day 2015 that we were expecting our third child! Fast forward 18 weeks and we found out we were having another boy! And although I always thought it was weird when people did this, we've decided to tell everyone that we have named him Iver. It's really helped the bonding process for us and the kids, and I know so many people are praying for him by name! Unfortunately (and fortunately!), the same ultrasound that revealed his gender also revealed a possible congenital heart defect (CHD). Since then, we have been traveling to Edmonton for all of my prenatal appointments and scans, and the plan is to deliver at the Royal Alex.

Just over a week ago on June 14th, our most recent fetal echocardiogram (a special ultrasound of baby's heart) revealed a change in Iver's diagnosis. It seems that Iver's condition is what's called Truncus Arteriosis (TA), plus a VSD and CoA. TA is quite rare, representing only 1% of CHD's. If you click on these "Truncus Arteriosis" links, you will be redirected to a document that I wrote (and by wrote, I mean mostly copied and pasted), highlighting Iver's specific heart issues. 

Iver will need to go on medication through IV immediately after he’s born and transferred to the Stollery children’s hospital within the first couple hours of his life. He will need surgery in his first week, and may need multiple surgeries depending on if they can fix everything at once or not.

In other news, we are now on the waiting list for the Ronald McDonald House in Edmonton. We are set to arrive when I am 37 weeks, but they can’t tell us until the Friday the week before if they will have room for us. However, once we are in, we can stay for as long as we need to.

In a little over a week, we are back to Edmonton for a full day of appointments. Mark will take the kids to an indoor playground in the morning while I meet with my obstetrician, get a full ultrasound, and another fetal echo. Afterwards, Mark and the kids will pick me up and we will all go to the children’s hospital for our multidisciplinary meeting. This conference meeting is to help put all of the information regarding Iver’s birth together for us. We will be talking with the perinatologist (an obstetrical specialist concerned with the care of the mother and fetus at higher-than-normal risk for complications), the cardiologist, neonatologist (doctor who will take care of me and Iver after birth) and the neonatal social worker. We will have the chance to ask all of our questions and learn more about Iver’s condition and care after birth. Following this meeting, the social worker will take us on a tour of the NICU. 

Thank you to everyone who have been praying for us! Please continue to pray for:

• A healthy third trimester
• No further complications with Iver's heart
• A place for our family at the Ronald McDonald House
• For all the medical staff who will be caring for Iver and mama
• A smooth delivery without complications
• Iver to be stable at birth. We would love to be able to hold him even for a minute before he is transferred to the children's hospital
• Continued peace as we trust in Jesus!

We are trusting God in this and believe that His plans for us are GOOD! We are so grateful for every day we have with our son, even now during my pregnancy. We rejoice in Him and are filled with joy for this gift of life!

Juliet Noelle Westman

This is the story of how our beautiful Juliet came into the world! It was such an amazing day.

I started with contractions at 9:16 PM on December 28th, 2014. I was SO excited! At this point I was 7 days overdue and very ready to have a baby!

Mark and I left for the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon at around 12:30 AM on December 29th, once my contractions were coming every 4 minutes and lasting about 50 seconds each. We were already staying in Saskatoon, where my mom was able to watch Thaddeus for us. Thank goodness baby decided to arrive before my mom had to fly home to Ottawa!

We were so excited to meet our daughter, and also so so tired. It was such a different experience labouring in the middle of the night this time around! Luckily Mark was able to take a good snooze. I was even able to nod off in between contractions - they honestly weren't very bad!

I knew I wanted an epidural (best thing evvvver), but when the nurse asked me if I was ready for one, I said no. I wasn't hardly in any pain! Not even close to the pain I had with Thaddeus. When she asked me the second time, I just took it so that I wouldn't miss my chance, around 6:30 AM. After that, my contractions slowed a bit so they put me on some oxytocin and broke my waters at about 9:30 AM.  Then my contractions started coming stronger and closer together - but since I had already had my epidural, I felt no pain. Just a lot of pressure. 

At about 10:15 AM I was getting pretty close. The nurse told me to ring her if I felt like pushing. She said, "I bet we'll have this baby by 11:40!", and walked out the room. I literally had ONE contraction a minute later, and had to ring her right away!

They called the doctor and got me all set up for delivery. They helped me breathe through a few contractions (in order to try and wait for the doc), until I couldn't wait any longer. The doctor arrived JUST in time! I pushed painlessly (thanks to my amazing anesthetist) for 6 minutes, and at 10:31 AM our beautiful and healthy Juliet Noelle entered the world, in the very same room which we welcomed her older brother a year and a half ago.

At birth, Juliet was 8lbs, 11 1/2oz, and 22 5/8in long. They were very precise lol. She was bigger than Thaddeus was, but she was also cooking an extra 8 days! She had a full head of dark brown hair, which explained the constant heartburn since my first trimester! She cried out only once after being born, and just stared up at me ever so peacefully as she lay on my stomach. She didn't even cry during her examination.

The nursing staff was amazing and waited as long as they could to do all the newborn tests so that I could breastfeed her right in the delivery room. This pro latched on strong first try! I did't even have to adjust her once. 

Once we were settled upstairs in our postpartum room, Thaddeus and Nana came to meet Juliet for the first time.

Thaddeus was so sweet! He just showered her in kisses again and again!

Nana was pretty happy she didn't miss it! It was about time she decided to arrive!

And that ends my collection of cell phone pictures!

Here is Juliet getting her first bath by the nurse.

Right from the beginning, this girl of ours has loved to sleep. AMEN! (Thaddeus was not IS NOT a sleeper!)

We later discovered that Juliet has a really cool patch of bright blonde hair on the back of her head! It will be so neat to see if it stays her whole life. One of the nurses got really excited and said, "Have you seen Frozen?!?!". 

Such an awesome day, and a dream birth for me! Juliet and I stayed one night at the hospital, and were discharged on the 30th. We were so happy! We were in the hospital for 5 days with Thaddeus. 

We stayed a couple more days in Saskatoon before heading home to Beauval. Here are some of her first pictures at the apartment in Saskatoon. She didn't fit in this newborn sleeper for long!

Skin-to-skin snuggles with daddy, watching some basketball.

She has the longest skinny feet! Can't wait to see what those feet can do to some fiddle music!

Juliet will be 3 weeks old on Monday. It has been a really smooth transition since coming home. Mostly because she is a great sleeper! I'm so not used to this!! I was definitely expecting a baby just like Thaddeus, so this has been way easier than I ever imagined. We are so blessed and so in love!

HOLDING ON TO FALL

October keeps hold of some of the last precious moments of fall here in Beauval. I would not be at all surprised if the first days of winter are upon us by the end of the month. We are making most of the sunny, snow-less days and preparing for the long winter ahead. All the winter gear has been organized in our front closet and mudroom, as we are now adding a layer or two when we venture outside. Our spare bedroom is half way finished being cleaned out and the next step is to arrange all the furniture to make room for baby number two. 

We've been talking to Thaddeus quite a bit about the baby growing in my belly, and he seems to be catching on. He probably understands more than we think he would. We are all loving Baby On The Way and What Baby Needs by Dr. Sears. If you are expecting a new baby and looking for some good reads for your children, I highly recommend these books. They are full of helpful information for children of all ages!

Lately, Thaddeus has been falling asleep for all his naps on my belly. He always asks me to "open" (lift) my shirt so he can see baby sister. He loves to rub his hands over my belly and snuggle his cheek on my warm skin as we rock together in the glider. Now that he has felt her move a few times, he has been asking me throughout the day if "baby move?", and to be honest, I sometimes make my tummy jump on purpose because he gets so excited! But I think it also helps him understand that there really is someone in there. It really is the sweetest thing. 

I can't say enough how much I am enjoying this season of life. It's really busy, and I still feel some fear creep on me every once and a while, but overall I am having a blast. I am so blessed and I love my growing family so much. Plus, it's really nice that the past few days have actually felt like fall. After my last post about how October was my favourite month, it snowed. Thank goodness it has warmed back up again, even if just for a little while. I also got my David's tea order (thanks M!) this week and my morning cup of Pumpkin Chai tea has seemed to make things even better. I've been letting it steep extra long, because the smell warms my home and my heart. Oh fall, please don't go too soon!

"O hushed October morning mild, 

Thy leaves have ripened to the fall; 

Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,

Should waste them all. 

The crows above the forest call; 

Tomorrow they may form and go. 

O hushed October morning mild, 

Begin the hours of this day slow. 

Make the day seem to us less brief. 

Hearts not averse to being beguiled, 

Beguile us in the way you know. 

Release one leaf at break of day; 

At noon release another leaf; 

One from our trees, one far away."

 -   Robert Frost, October