August 27, 2010

Who would have ever thought that bed rest would make you sore? I have rested the entire week and its taken its toll on me and my body. I know its best for Jordan and he has done so good! The medicine is still working and I haven't had any contractions in 4 days. Thank goodness because I really need for him to keep growing big and strong!

The last time I posted was Sunday morning before the baby shower. It went GREAT! We got so many nice presents. The shower was perfect - THANKS SO MUCH FOR EVERYONE WHO WORKED SO HARD TO MAKE IT PERFECT JUST FOR US!

I had a doctor's appointment Monday at 9:00am with the Perinatologist. The appointment went good and they said Jordan is growing right on schedule. He weighs 4 lbs and 11 oz and they still say he has a head full of hair. I can't wait to see what he looks like! While we were there they hooked me up to the monitors and I was still having contractions. I took my medicine even though it had only been 3 1/2 hours. The medicine worked and we finally go to leave around 11:45am.
Then we had a consult appointment with the pedictrician and it went really well. Thankfully she has worked with HLHS babies before and that made us feel much better. She already knew what he would have to go through and she was excited that we had chosen her to take care of our precious little boy.
After leaving there we had an appointment with the OB GYN. Thankfully they already knew about the contractions and I didn't have to be hooked to the monitors again. They informed me at the appointment that working was out of the picture. It was too dangerous for me and Jordan. They put me on bed rest and told me to come back next Monday.

Whew... it was a long day and I could tell it has taken its toll on me. I was exhausted! We didn't get home till 4 pm and I knew I needed to rest!

Well that is all the excitement for the week... It's now Friday and I am trying to not tear the walls down. It hasn't been too bad but I am not sleeping at night and that is the worst part. We have no plans for tomorrow but we have another baby shower Sunday. YAY... can't wait! It should be intresting...We've invited several couples and the guys we tailgate with at UGA games. I can't wait to see everyone and be around people for a little while.

I am a little sad that UGA football starts next weekend and I was supposed to be at the game. All of my family (Mama, Heather, Jamie, Joe, James, Tabatha and Jaxton) is coming to Athens to see what it is all about on a game day! I will be sitting at the condo while they enjoy the day tailgating and watching the game.

God is an awesome God and he has blessed us with a good week. I thank him everyday for giving Jordan one more day in my tummy. Because as long as he is inside of me he is protected and he feels no pain. Thanks for all the prayers...

Baby Shower

August 22, 2010
Today is our first baby shower and we are so excited. We can't wait to see all of Baby Jordan's prizes. Today's shower is at New Bethel Baptist - the church I grew up going to.
The weekend has been a challenging one. I am still having contractions and they are "NO" fun! I was able to sleep and rest a good bit yesterday. We thought it would be a good idea to go eat some Mexican but Jordan thought differently. Once we got to El Rancho he started acting up - the contractions started. We finished our dinner and started timing them. They were about every 12 mins so I took more medicine. Nothing I did would help - I tried sitting and laying and the pain was still intensifying. After 45 mins of contractions the medicine started working and I was able to go to sleep. I am so ready to go to the doctor tomorrow to see what is going on. I am so scared they are going to put me on total bedrest. But that would be better than being in the hospital on bedrest. So I will take home bedrest anyday.
One exciting thing we weren't expecting yesterday was the glider and ottomen for Jordan's room came in. We had just said Saturday morning "I wonder when it will come in" and they called that afternoon saying they were going to deliever it. His room looks so good and I just go in there and dream of our lives when he get's here.
Thanks everyone for all the prayers. We know God hears everyone of them and he has a plan for our lives. Jordan just has to cooperate and stay in mama's tummy a little longer.

Bed Rest

We had a good night last night and things seem to be going well. We managed to get a little sleep between taking medicines every six and eight hours. I can honestly say "bed rest" isn't fun. It's only been about 12 hours and I am already feeling like I could climb the walls. I am not good at sitting still but I guess I will have to figure it out. Baby Jordan is my main priority and I have to do what's best for him.

So far the contractions are under control with the medicines. I had a few contractions about midnight and around 1:30 this afternoon once I took more medicines they stopped. Let's just keep praying they continue to work. Mama, Jaxton and Gram came by to visit and bring us lunch. It was good to see them and to get a little entertainment from Jaxton. Our house is not baby proofed at all. We've got a little time to worry about that but we will have to get a whole new decor when Jordan starts moving around.

Thanks everyone for calling and texting. We are very lucky to have so much support from amazing family and friends.

God is in control and we are putting our faith in him!

Pre-Term Labor

August 19, 2010
Today wasn't the day I was ready to face. It all started around 4am when I woke up just not feeling normal. But after dosing back off, I figured it was just my body changing because Jordan was getting bigger. I got ready for work and headed to Americus- the pain was getting worse but I thought well I just slept wrong and my back would quit hurting soon. I called the doctors as soon as they opened and Dr Innman told me to come on in and he would check things out. I was trying to be a big girl and not get everyone all worried so I told everyone I was going alone and would let them know what he said. I don't know who texted me more mama or Rhonda. They kept wanting to know what was going on. Mama kept saying I am on my way... I would tell her "no, I am fine". After being hooked up to a monitor for an hour they kept asking are you feeling that - I kept reassuring them YES I feel it! I had wondered what contractions felt like well I was getting to find out a little earlier than I expected! Dr Innman came in and said I needed to take a little trip to the hospital. By now the contractions were about every 5 mins and they were hurting. The big girl I was trying to be was slowly not so big. After leaving the doctors office I called to tell Rhonda and Mama they may want to come to the hospital. I had a little break down just worrying if they couldn't stop the contractions I knew Jordan wasn't ready to be born. As much as I wanted to see him and hold him I didn't want him to come this early. His lungs weren't developed completely and it would just slow down his process of having his heart fixed.
Once I got to the hospital they immediately gave me a shot to stop the contractions and started fluids. I don't know what was worse the IV or the contractions. I am so afraid of needles and the first IV they started blew. But its amazing what you can tolerate when its to benefit your child. They monitored me for hours and the contractions had stopped. They were getting ready to send us home and the contractions started back again. So we had to stay a little longer with more medicines and more fluids. Once we finally got to go home they gave me a sleeping pill and it worked really well for several hours.
We are very thankful that the doctors and the hospital staff helped us keep Baby Jordan in my tummy a little longer. Thanks to everyone who sent texts and prayers. We still have 6 more weeks before the delievery date and we are hoping that things continue to stay on track.
God is good and he has a plan for us and for Baby Jordan!

Follow-Up Appointments in Atlanta

On Aug 8th, we went to Atlanta for our follow up appointments with cardiologist and high risk pregnancy doctor. We were also going to meet the cardiac surgeon that would do Jordan's surgery and tour both hospitals. We were all very nervous because we were so used to hearing bad news. We didn't know what to expect but we knew God was by our side. We saw the cardiologist that morning and got a good report, no other problems other than the HLHS. We were very excited and walked away with no tears! That was the first time in weeks we had a doctors appointment that I hadn't cried. He said he didn't want to see us again until Jordan decided to come into this world.
Our next appointment was with the perinatologist. They started with an ultrasound and said he was right on schedule. He weighed about 4lbs and had a big foot. His foot already measured 2.8 inches. Other than his heart, he is completely health and growing like he is supposed to. We met with the doctor and she said that everything looked good and she would just let me follow up with the perinatologist in Albany. So two appointments down and no tears were shed. And we were getting really good news.
Later that day we toured Northside Hospital where Baby Jordan will be born. They were AWESOME! Everyone was super nice and welcomed us with open arm to make us feel comfortable. They all know our situation and they know we are scared to death. We saw the L&D floor and how things would work that Sunday when they start the process. Then after he is born they will take him to the NICU - they showed us how that would work and helped up feel better about him leaving us. They specialize in high risk births at Northside and are ready to tackle all of Jordan's needs. The facility was very nice and we felt much better about everything. We had an idea now on what to expect on the day Jordan would come into our lives.
Day two in Atlanta: Today was the day for us to met the surgeon and tour Egleston Children's Hospital were he would have his surgery and we would live for several weeks. We were also able to tour the hospital so we would know more about what to expect. Once again the staff was GREAT! They were willing to answer any question and made us feel comfortable with the situation. Jordan will be life flighted to Egleston within 12 hour to 48 hours after birth depending on his condition. We are hoping and praying that he will be ok at Northside until they dismiss me and we will be able to go with him to Egleston. It breaks my heart to think that he might be in one hospital and me in another. I know we will have family with both of us but that's my little boy and I can't even think about him not being with me.
After seeing the NICU and the step down NICU where we will actually be able to stay in the room with him and take care of him. We met the surgeon Dr. Paul Kirshbom, he was great! He sat with us and told us what to expect and how things would work and reassured us Jordan would be have the best care. With God and Dr Kirshbom I know that Jordan will be in good hands.
We were able to see another child that had undergone her third open heart surgery for HLHS. She had just gotten back from the operating room and she really looked better than I expected. I still can't imagine how my heart will feel when it's my own child. We were able to talk to the Daddy and his advice was to us was to "PRAY HARD" and know that Egleston staff was the best.
After leaving Egleston we felt a little better about Jordan's surgery and what to expect. We've been so lucky and I know that God has placed every person in our lives for a reason. Everyone of them have made sure we were comfortable and knew they would do everything they could to help Jordan become the healthy baby boy we had hoped for.

Where our journey began...

As we gathered for the 20 week ultrasound, Jordan was being a difficult "Kleckley" boy. He wouldn't be still for the tech to get good images of his heart. We were told that day we needed to see a high risk pregnancy doctor. After waiting patiently for two weeks, we saw Dr. Edwards at PPMH. He and his staff told us there was definitely a heart defect but we would need to wait until Baby Jordan’s heart was at week 28 before he would send us to Atlanta. On week 28, we would be seeing Dr. Videlefsky the Pediatric Cardiologist in Atlanta. When we arrived at the appointment we were scared but ready to hear the diagnosis so we could prepare to give Jordan the best care. As we sat in the waiting room, there was a little boy that was precious but being a typical "boy”. We watched him and wondered what type of heart problem he had, he looked "normal and healthy.” They scanned me and then Dr. V then told us that Baby Jordan has Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. It felt as if a bomb had torn out our hearts. We were devastated! Our hopes for a good report were no longer a reality. It is frightening to know that those few words were so overwhelming in every element of our lives. As we left the room, we all had tears flowing down our faces still in shock from the news. The same little boy we had seen earlier in the waiting room was sitting in a nurse’s lap. She told us his name is Jacob. Jacob was diagnosed with HLHS four years earlier and has gone through all three of his surgeries and is doing wonderfully. I know God put Jacob in the doctor's office that day! By the end of the day, we had seen two more doctors and the road we would be traveling had been carefully but rapidly laid out for us.

What we know at this point is that we will be seeing several doctors from here on out to make sure Jordan will get the best treatment as soon as he is born. We will be making several trips to Atlanta to meet with the cardiologist and surgeon as well as the doctor that will do the delivery. He will have to undergo 3 stages of open heart surgery during the first few years of his life. If all goes as planned, we will leave for Atlanta on Oct 3rd to induce labor with Jordan being born on Oct 4th. During the first week of his life, he will have the "Norwood procedure." He will stay in ICU for approximately 3 weeks. During the last week we will be allowed to stay with him as they monitor us before they allow us to come home. The second stage is the "bidirectional Glenn." It will be preformed between the age of 4-6 months. The last stage is the "fontan procedure" and it's usually preformed at 18 months to 3 years. HLHS is a combination of many congenital heart conditions, but essentially, the left side of the heart doesn't develop the way it should. This is the side of the heart that pushes the "good" blood back to the body. In years past, these "blue babies" would only survive a few days after birth.

- Hypoplastic left heart syndrome occurs in up to 4 out of every 10,000 births

- It is one of the top three heart abnormalities to cause problems the newborn

- HLHS occurs slightly more often in boys than in girls

- The cause of HLHS is unknown. HLHS occurs sporadically, with no clear reason evident for their development.

While we still have many questions and know that the unknown is always frightening, we do know that God has given us Jordan for a reason and that he will be a true blessing to our lives.

You're not an assembly-line product, mass-produced without thought. You're a custom designed, one-of-a-kind, original masterpiece. He carefully mixed the DNA recipe that created you. Praise God for this incredible personal attention to detail that God gave in designing each of us: "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thanks for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous" Psalm 139:13-14