Madelynn and Peyton

My cousin, Brandi, had little Peyton in January and ever since Madelynn has been enamored.  It is a weekly ritual for her to ask to see the newest photos of 'her' Peyton.  Madelynn finally got to meet the cutest little red head when my cousin Brittany got married in August.  The whole trip back from Idaho Madelynn couldn't stop talking about how cute Peyton was, and how Aunt Brittany looked like a princess.  

Madelynn with Mr. & Mrs. Tony Pollmeier

Madelynn & Peyton's First Meeting

My father Dave, Madelynn, me, my cousin Brandi, little Peyton & my aunt Debbie

Getting Creative

With all the stress of the last two and a half weeks we decided to do a craft project. We found letters at Roberts Craft and bought her name. We found scrapbook flower glitter paper in pink and lavender. We decoupaged the papers on and placed lacquer over the paper. The letters will be hung by matching thread on one of her walls. The colors will be complimentary to the Care Bears theme.

It was a nice way to spend time together while our baby recovered from surgery. She is doing really well. Her oxygen has stopped fluctuating, and is now resting comfortably at 31%. Madelynn is being sedated during her recovery. All signs point to a speedy recuperation.

The Dopplers and Playing God

We were released on the condition we come in every two days for testing. The doctors ran ultrasounds looking for two things: The Amniotic fluid and the blood flow through the umbilical cord.

The amniotic fluid sterile urine. The more oxygen the baby is getting the more fluid there is. When the oxygen level is decreased the baby's body uses the available oxygen in their brain and heart. The kidneys in turn suffer, and do not produce the urine. Once the fluid drops below five delivery is necessary.

The oxygen is given to the baby through the blood flow in the umbilical cord. In our case the umbilical cord was preventing the blood flow from getting to the placenta and the baby. The doppler showed there to be an absence in the blood flow. The baby could remain inside if the blood flow never went backward.

While attending these sessions the doctors asked us to make a difficult decision. If the tests became ominous would we want to deliver the baby and take the risks of severe retardation, but have a live baby. Or do we want to leave her in the uterus to give her a chance of developing more and mature, but have the risk of still birth. We had to wrestle with having a live baby, but not knowing what kind of life she would have. Our fear being having Madelynn be so severely retarded 0r physically disabled we would be unable to care for her, and have to have her live in a hospital like the one in American Fork. Or give her a chance to mature with the possibility of death.

The tests did become ominous on September 18th. We decided to be admitted and have Madelynn monitored. What would happen would happen, and we would handle the obstacles as they came.

Two Hours Turned Our Lives Upside Down

I went in for my six month OB/GYN appointment on September 10th. We had our 25 week ultrasound. The technician told us the baby was growing really well. The anatomy looked great, and we were told she was big for her age. We listened to the heart beat, and had our questions answered by the nurse.

We had a couple of hours to burn before our next appointment for the 3-D ultrasound. We went to Toys-R-Us to get our niece her birthday present, and get some games for my DS. We then went and got some juice smoothies from Cold Stone, and sat in the Women's Center parking lot of IHC-Murray while we waited for our appointment time.

We are apart of a study, and the researchers were giving us a courtesy 3-D ultrasound through Maternal Fetal Medicine. The technician looked concerned. She called in a paraneonatologist. The amniotic fluid was low. The doctor ran further tests, namely a Doppler, which looks at the blood flow into the placenta. The blood flow was absent. The baby was very small, and was classified as Growth Restricted. The doctor explained to us she was admitting us to watch the baby. I would have to have steroid injections to mature the baby's lungs, and it was a possibility the baby would be delivered that weekend.

We saw at least four different doctors over the course of the evening. We were given the "hard numbers" of our situation. 60% of babies born at 25 weeks survived. Of those babies 65% of them suffered from blindness, deafness, and some form of retardation.

I was given the injections over forty-eight hours. The baby was monitored, and after four days at the hospital we were released. I was to be on bed rest until the delivery.

In the end we were left with a big question: How could something this serious have been missed? The Answer: The technician was in a hurry and had failed to look at the fluid level, and the cord because it had been checked eight weeks earlier.

Weigh In

With the outfit being picked out we are now hoping she will fit into it. We bought a newborn set. The weight is 5-8 pounds. We are hoping she will be between those weights.




Jeremy was 7 pounds 13 ounces.










I was 7 pounds 4 ounces.





How much do you think Madelynn will weigh? Will our outfit fit her?

Jeremy Likes Being Prepared

One would think we would have plenty of time to prepare for the day Madelynn is born, but Jeremy doesn't like to waste any time.
My husband has already picked out Madelynn's homecoming outfit:

Since she is a December baby he wanted to make sure she would be warm. So he picked out a coat:

And we need receiving blankets for when she gets here:

These are courtesy of my aunt Amber.

Still A Girl

We had had an ultrasound at week fifteen and found out it was going to be a girl. I was excited, but the skeptics got to Jeremy. So when I went in for another ultrasound at week 17, with a different ultrasound tech, I asked if they could verify the sex. The technician informed me we were still having a girl, and here is the proof:
Madelynn in all her glory. I have an immodest child.

Here is a profile picture of Madelynn:

Madelynn looks like an alien because she is so little.

We are going in for our third ultrasound on September 10th. This one will be a 3-D and we should get a better idea of how she is developing. We will be 25 weeks at that point.

Baby's Room (So Far)

We decided to put the bedding on Madelynn's crib to see how it looked against the black finish. We really liked how the pink and purples worked. We are going to do the accents of the room in these colors.



I got her changing table delivered a couple of weeks ago, and washed a majority of her clothes to start putting things away, and getting organized for her arrival. I know it's not for another 17 weeks, but I like to be prepared.






In the next coming weeks I will be ordering the wall boarder, and accent stickers.

Madelynn Amber Hurst

Jeremy and I had an agreement: If the baby is a girl, he gets to choose the first name. If the baby is a boy, I get to choose. We agreed that whomever did not get to pick the first name would choose the middle name. Jill, Tammy, me and Jeremy

Jeremy's choice for our little girl is Madelynn. At first the name was going to be spelled with one 'n', but Jeremy decided recently to add an additional 'n' to the end. His mother Tammy's middle name is Lynn. The extra 'n' is to help tie the name to his family.

Jeremy, me, Sam, and Amber

The name Amber comes from my aunt. I don't know who else, with the exception of Jeremy, is more supportive of me, and loves me unconditionally. Our relationship has only gotten better throughout the years. She is the perfect namesake for my first daughter.

Surprise! We Found Out Early!

We are having a girl. Madelyn Amber is due December 25th.

We got a DVD of the ultrasound, and I have not found out how to get stills from it, or to post the video to the blog. When and if I do, I will do so.

Time to go shopping!!

Vote and Comment!

Everyone has an opinion on what the gender of the baby will be.

I have set up a poll for you to vote, and then sound off in the comment section of the post.

We look forward to reading your comments about the gender and name choices.

Putting The Crib Together

The final product!

Jeremy and I went to the OB/GYN yesterday. We had to opportunity to hear the heartbeat. We had our due date confirmed, and set up an appointment for our first ultrasound. This will be taking place next Friday. Usually they do not perform an ultrasound until the gender one, but due to certain circumstances, we are going to be having two.

The gender ultrasound will be taking place the second week of August. It appears everyone around me cannot wait to find out. Jeremy is even calling the baby by our choice of a boy name, but my brother did that, calling the baby by their choice of girl name, and ended up with Matthew. :o). I don't want to tempt the Universe, and will patiently wait to see what anatomy my child has before I start saying anything.

We're Expecting!

We have successfully passed the first trimester. Our first appointment is Friday.
Jeremy is very excited, and while we don't know what we are having yet, he is going around tempting the Universe by telling those who are close to us it will be a boy.

I've had a fairly easy pregnancy so fair. No morning sickness. Just fatigue, and some growing pains.

Jeremy set up the crib a few weeks ago. I will post pictures later in the week of that project.

The baby's due date is January 1, 2010.