Max Pics 11.13.2010

Posted by J Hopkins on Nov 13, 2010 in General, Pictures

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Max enjoys shopping with Mom as much as Dad

Posted by J Hopkins on Nov 13, 2010 in General, Pictures

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A Max is Born Video

Posted by J Hopkins on Nov 7, 2010 in General, Video

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Max News 11.07.2010

Posted by J Hopkins on Nov 7, 2010 in General

Mad Max is twoâ€¦â€¦.weeks old!

It is fair to admit that the last two weeks have been challenging and every day seemed to have been seamlessly fused to the next. Over the last 14 days, we have met difficult (â€œthe war on jaundiceâ€) and funny (diaper catastrophes) emotional, physical, and sleep-deprived challenges. I suppose that being first-time parents of an infant make all of these events seem extraordinaryâ€¦â€¦and before they become blurry memories when our brains finally wake up, we wanted to share.

Max stats updates:
Weight: 8 lbs 6 oz (up from 7lbs 8oz at his 4-day checkup) â€“ Max was weighed once with a dirty diaper on and with a lb weight gain, she asked us to change him and weigh him again!
Size:Â At 22 Â½ inches long, heâ€™s a long, lean boy.
Maxâ€™s arms are so long that heâ€™s wearing size 3-month long-sleeve shirtsâ€¦
But he is too thin to wear 3-month pants just yet.
Maxâ€™s noggin is huge and fits most comfortably in a 3-6 month hat (but thatâ€™s likely to change when his head finishes shaping). The only one we have at the moment makes him look a little like the musician Jamiroquai.
Feedings: 8-10 times per day, with most meals followed by a nap of 1-3 hours. We usually have one major munching spell each day where he eats every 30-45 minutes in a 3-4 hour period. Those are the hardest for his mother, who doesnâ€™t seem to get to leave the rocker.
First Road Trip: To pick up Lauren at school and take her to dance in Anderson. We had to do one feeding and two diaper changes on the road to survive this 2-hour trip.
First Dinner Out (for his parents too!): Saturday, November 6 at Bravo! Italian Cucina with big sister Lauren and her friend Alexa. We were celebrating the end of finals week at Guerin H.S., catching up with Alexa, Jâ€™s birthday, and baby Max!

Maxâ€™s â€œbig eventsâ€:
Winning the â€œWar on Jaundiceâ€: If you hadnâ€™t heard, Max left the hospital with a high bilirubin count, which is the bacteria that break down red blood cells in his body. Itâ€™s very normal for this to happen when the baby had some â€œassistanceâ€ from the doctor during delivery. For our delivery, a suction cup was used to guide Max through the birth canal. It bruised and scraped his head, and it took longer for his body to break down the red blood cells. When the count is high, it causes jaundice (that yellow-orange color on a babyâ€™s skin). Treatment for this condition is a UV blanket that must be on his back 24/7. Within a 5-day period, we watched Maxâ€™s score go from 15 up to 17 and down to 13. After the 5th day, we kissed that awful blanket goodbye. Today, his color is pretty much a normal pink like his dadâ€™s!
Diaper Change Disaster: Maxâ€™s least favorite time is when his diaper is changed.Â He screams like a banshee, and flails his legs and arms about making it hard to quickly clean and change him. And, with a boy, speed is everything.Â One night, we had a pretty messy diaper to clean upâ€¦.one that was already soiled and also actively being soiled while we changed him. Using a little teamwork and lots of laughter, we worked hard to keep the changing table clean and change him. Meanwhile, we laughed so hard that we (Mommy) forgot to keep the diaper guard up for potential sprinkler actionâ€¦â€¦â€¦and little Max sprayed all over his face, which we had him aimed directly at! So, the diaper change turned into impromptu late night bath time. Poor guy!

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Max pics 11.07.2010

Posted by J Hopkins on Nov 7, 2010 in General, Pictures

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New Max Pics 10.28.10

Posted by J Hopkins on Oct 28, 2010 in General, Pictures

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Max is Here!

Posted by J Hopkins on Oct 26, 2010 in General, Pictures

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GETTING CLOSE!

Posted by J Hopkins on Oct 23, 2010 in General

Bags packed and in the car. Car seat installed. Charity’s contractions are 15-20 min apart. On standby, but Max will be here soon!!

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Sophia So Far Video

Posted by J Hopkins on Oct 18, 2010 in General, Video

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I had way too much fun playing with the new video camera to make this video…Â Direct Download link HERE.

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Mom (C) taking picture of Dad (J)

Posted by J Hopkins on Oct 15, 2010 in General, Pictures

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How To Read an Ultrasound

Posted by J Hopkins on Oct 15, 2010 in General

Â We have had quite the medical education during our pregnancy with Max. Most recently, we have begun to learn more about what all those numbers mean when we receive a report and for referenceÂ I’ve attached Max’s 10/11/2010 report here. As we wade through the medical jargon, we notice a variety of acronyms: BPD, OFD, HC, AC, FL, etc… as well as ratios such as FL/HC, HC/AC, FL/BPD, etc.. All of these measurements and ratios are used to determine the normal range of development and we are fortunate to learn that Max fits into every one. During our appointment with Dr. Dungy-Poythress, (who happens to be Tony Dungy’s sister) she was able to confidently tell us that everything looked fine within the abilities of the ultrasound technology. Â

TheÂ averages and percentiles seem to vary both with the source and age of the data used. I found this website very useful to understand exactly what the acronyms meant as well as some charts for averages/percentiles of the BPD, AC, and FL.Â You mayÂ read more about some of the other measurements here.Â One of the most interesting things you will notice if you look at both Max’s 10/08/2010 and 10/11/2010 ultrasound readings is the differences in measurements for the BPD, HC, AC, & FL. Some of them are close, but note that the BPD is more than 1/2 cm off. It appears that these readings flucutate a bit from tech to machine to office.

More good info here:

ISUOG: The Society of Women’s Imaging

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Today’s Ultrasound Weight Estimate: 7 lbs 1 oz

Posted by J Hopkins on Oct 11, 2010 in General

Today Max is 36 weeks and 4 days old. The ultrasound techÂ calculated his weight to be 7 lbs 1 oz.Â According to this chart, the average weight forÂ the 37 week is 6.3 lbs. MayoÂ Clinic website says that he will now continue toÂ gain about 1/2 lb perÂ weekÂ Â and should weight “nearly 6 1/2 pounds” by week 38. This website says up to 7lbs by week 37.

We didn’t get all the leg measurements, but the ultrasound tech did say “this baby isn’t going to be short”

We’ll see how big he gets!

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Fetal Kidney Dilation

Posted by J Hopkins on Oct 11, 2010 in General

We had really good news today. Max’s right kidneyÂ RPD (Renal Pelvic Dilation)Â measurement was 5.8mm. This means that the ultrasound finding is defined as the slightest mildÂ classificationÂ Â Â ofÂ Fetal KidneyÂ Dilation or Hydronephrosis.Â Â Hydronephrosis is not a diagnosis it is an image finding, but it is important to monitor if it continues to show up after birth. In short, it is a non-life threatening conditionÂ found in 1.4% of fetal ultrasounds.Â Most of these cases resolve on their own and half do notÂ show up on the postnatal ultrasound.Â Â From everything I have read in the past 3 days, the fetal kidney tissueÂ is very elastic and may fluctuate in size. If dilation is noticed on a routine ultrasound, itÂ may become necessary toÂ have regular ultrasounds inÂ order to monitor.Â Apparrently, the ultrasound technician noted that Max’sÂ rightÂ kidney “looked dilated”Â on the ultrasound we did Friday am. She measured it at 10 mm, which is on the high end of the mild classification, bordering on moderate. Because this was just aÂ general ultrasound not begin done by a specialist,Â Â ourÂ OB, Dr. Carr, recommended another look. Â Today, Dr. Dungy-Poythress,Â Â ofÂ theÂ Maternal FetalÂ Medicine clinicÂ told us thatÂ “I wouldn’t have even broughtÂ it up, ifÂ it looked like this on the original ultrasound” andÂ told us there is no cause for concern and that they do not need to see us prior to delivery. We are also being referred to Dr. Rink who works out of Riley Hospital for any follow up that we may need. He’s one of the top Docs on the planet in this field and, if you are interested, you can read his 56 page CV here.Â

We received word at 10 minutes til 5 o’clock Friday that the the ultrasound done that morning had revealed dilation in one kidney, but had no more information to go on until our appointment today. We were concerned, of course, and Charity was her usually calm self. I could only abate my fears by poring over medical journals all weekend. I know way more now about kidney function than I ever thought I would.

Good Resources Here:

Children’s Hospital Boston: Hydronephrosis

http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site1117/mainpageS1117P0.html

Prenatal Hydronephrosis:
A Proposal for Postnatal Study & Follow-Up

http://www.medicc.org/publications/medicc_review/0605/cuban-medical-literature.html

Cornell University Pediatric Urology / Prenatal hydronephrosis

http://www.cornellurology.com/pediatrics/prenatal.shtml

Texas Center for Maternal & Fetal Treatment

http://www.texasfetalcenter.com/treatments/urinary-tract-obstruction.html

UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital

http://www.ucsfbenioffchildrens.org/conditions/hydronephrosis/

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