Poor Baby Girl

I had my regular monthly check-up last week. In between the last two appointments I had my exciting ultrasound appointment and determined we're having a GIRL! :) Well, the purpose of that ultrasound isn't really to find out about the baby's sex, but to measure all sorts of other things. While at the doctor on Friday I asked about the results of the my ultrasound.

She flipped through my chart and said that everything looked good EXCEPT - that's when I stopped listening or my breath caught or something - EXCEPT - who says that to a pregnant woman, why didn't you call and say something to me, etc, etc flew through my head. Okay - Heidi - seriously you probably should listen to what she is saying EXCEPT about...

The babies kidneys and ureters (tubes connecting the kidneys to the bladder) are swollen. Sometimes, a birth defect in the urinary tract will block the flow of urine in an unborn baby. As a result, urine backs up and causes the ureters and kidneys to swell. Swelling in the kidneys is called hydronephrosis. Swelling in the ureters is called hydroureter.

Here's a picture of what it looks like normally...
And here is a picture of what it looks like swollen...
She went on to explain that it is not known what causes the condition (they compare it to acid reflux of the bladder kicking stuff back into the ureters and kidneys) and that it typically corrects itself during fetal development. The next step is to have another ultrasound at 32-33 weeks and see if it has corrected. If not, Baby X will have her own ultrasound once she is born, to see if the last few weeks of development corrected the problem. Then, if not, WHO THE HECK KNOWS, they just tell you it normally corrects itself.

So then, like any good parents or informed person, you go home from the doctor and start surfing the web. I've decided I'm a "worst case scenario" kind of a girl. That is not helpful. I read all sorts of stuff online and probably should just quit. Luckily I married a "best case scenario" kind of guy who adds some needed perspective. Truthfully, there isn't anything we can do right now but wait and most likely it will work itself out. If not, there is all sorts of information, it is a well researched issue, we live in a country with excellent medical care, we live in a state with tons of pediatric specialist, and we both have great health insurance.

So now we wait, we pray and we are patient (nope not great at any of that kind of stuff - luckily I married a great man)...she'll probably be just fine. And the upside is we get to "see" her again at 32 weeks...and that's always fun!

Random Thoughts...

I am a blog stalker. There is a general theme in stay-at-home mom's blogs that have expressed in moments of frustration that it would be nice to go to work, to dress up, to eat out and to pay someone else to raise their kids. It would be less stressful - but overall, when they step back and reflect, they are enjoying being home raising their kids the way they want to.

I want to stay home - I want to be done being pregnant - I want that luxury that so many get to "enjoy".

I think staying home to raise kids is a lot of work and a totally different kind of work then the job kind. My work can be stressful and demanding and wake me up in the middle of the night too (seriously people, I don't care that you're sprinkler didn't come on and it is 3:30 am - but I'll pretend I do) but it's working for someone else and not really changing the world. I have never wanted to work at a traditional job for all of my life.

I have worked really hard, I put myself through college and a masters degree debt free, and I have had a job all year round since I was 16 (except while on a mission) - I am tired of traditional work and ready for a change. But it isn't going to happen - at least not at this point in my life - unless one of you would like to purchase our townhouse.

I have serious anxiety over putting our daughter in daycare. I have guilt about not being able to stay home full-time. I have the best possible work situation for having to work after she comes in terms of setting my own hours, having a flexible schedule, still making good money and keeping full benefits without working full-time - but I just don't want to do it. I don't even have a child yet and I feel like people are judging me because I will choose to go back to work.

The following rant is controversial and I am okay if you don't agree with me...but this is my blog so STOP reading if you want to. I currently HATE some government programs which provide assistance to people choosing to grow their families without the financial ability to be able to do so. I am talking about health care, medical insurance, food stamps, food assistance, getting more money back on tax returns then they pay into them, walking away from a house commitment, having a reduce mortgage because you chose to over finance for some cash out, etc. It might be because I am jealous that people can "afford" to stay home because they are receiving handouts...but it makes my angry.

I would love to just walk away from the commitment that we made to own a townhouse. I would love to say to the entire economy/neighbors/bank/etc - sorry we bought at the top of the market, sorry that the housing market sucks, you just deal with it because I don't want to - but there is no integrity in that. I am not saying that everyone who does those things is doing so with the before mentioned thoughts - but it happens.

I realize that many of you don't care about my rant or my frustrations or my guilt...but there it is...in all it's randomness.

Bountiful Baskets...

Oliver and I have joined a food co-op. It's amazing! Not only does it save money, buy organic and local produce, but it is a huge time saver. We ordered our fruit and veggie share on Monday and then it took less than 3 minutes to pick it up Saturday morning. Our $15 produce share bought all the following...
8 ears of corn on the cob, 5 sweet potatoes, 4 yellow squash, broccoli, 6 Roma tomatoes, 1 yellow onion and a head of lettuce. AND

A pineapple, 8 Fuji apples, 6 oranges, blackberries, strawberries, and 8 bananas.

Then in addition to our normal produce share we bought a case of mangoes for $8.50 and...

8 pounds of strawberries for $8!

Last night for dinner we had such yummy food and it is so much easier to eat fruits and veggies all day when we have a variety, plenty, and a fresh selection. I'm excited for our new food co-op! We also couldn't buy that much stuff at the grocery store for such a good price - or so quickly. LOVE IT!