Non-update Update

So I'm a little slow at this. :)
We had another visit at the U last week, and not much has changed which is oddly enough a good thing. It was on a Tuesday so Nate could actually tag along this time! He said it was fun to see how much things have changed. Usually my appointments down there are on Wednesdays, (that's when they schedule their "problem pregnancies") and those just don't work out easily for him. I'd rather not have both of us taking time off work all the time anyways until we really have to!
Anyways, it's difficult to really have any updates because I see different doctors every time I go there and they all have very different opinions... which is incredibly frustrating. This last doctor was kind of loopy and didn't seem to think that the one before him was spot on with everything. He doesn't think that baby will need to come extremely early- which would be great, and that I might not need a c-section if he stays in there long enough. But, baby is still small and while he is still growing, his weight is not quite what it should be. At the appointment he was about 1.5 lbs, which I was happy about but they didn't seem too impressed with.
We met with a neonatologist, and I actually liked him. He was cautiously optimistic about the heart defect and said he didn't believe that would be an immediate surgical need. We have another echo in a few weeks so he said hopefully there will be a better idea at that point. He seemed less concerned with everything than the doctors I have seen before, which is a really good thing, but I'm also not getting my hopes up because the news down there seems to change every two weeks.
They are still concerned with the fact that baby might have a "syndrome" so they are pushing me to get an amniocentesis done, and I finally agreed to- only if it's done later on. I have polyhydramnios (too much amniotic fluid) which is starting to make me uncomfortable so at some point I might give the go ahead to it just so they can suck some of that out! ;)
Quite awhile ago we made vacation plans, and those are quickly sneaking up on us! My doctors weren't so sure about it for awhile, but luckily they have given me the green light to go! Which is good, because it's a week and a half away! I'm extremely extremely excited, but seriously nervous at the same time. So I will be going to my normal doctor right before we leave to make sure everything is still fine, and for my sanity I hope it is! If not, Nate will be relaxing by an ocean for a week while I sit on the couch being very sad!
So, for an update this isn't very full of information.. but that's how our life goes these days! We really know nothing and aren't given much to go off of. I think I can share one of Nate's quotes while talking to the doctor at our last appointment, "Stop being so vague, it's really damn annoying." Ohh I love that boy.

So we have finally reached the 3rd and last leg of this cycle, and while I have not felt good the entire time, I feel like I got hit by a bus this week. I believe I have a foot somewhere under my right ribs, and have a hard time resisting the urge to flick it to get it the heck out of there. Owwww. As much as I try to be well-behaved, I feel badly for Nate having to put up with me :) Although, he gave me a cold this week so he deserves a little bit of hell for that one! Keep that poor boy in your thoughts and hope that he does not kill me. We're working on keeping our hopes up and relaxing a little bit, hopefully there will be more of an update next week! Thank you for all of your kind words up to this point, we really have some pretty awesome people in our lives, and that helps A LOT!

Here is an email we sent out to some family members, hopefully it will help update everyone else who is interested also!

 

Hello Family!
I apologize for this being so horribly impersonal, but it is unfortunately the best way to reach everybody! (On that note, I am missing people so feel free to pass along!) Most of you are hopefully aware that we are expecting a little boy in May. We would just like to update you as to how everything is progressing. Kara has been seeing a specialist at the U of M in the cities for awhile now, as the little Scharmer was having some heart issues. Today we had some more extensive testing done, and are afraid the results are not as good as we would hope! At this point, it looks like little boy definitely cannot wait until May to make his appearance. He is having problems with getting adequate nutrition and is no longer growing properly, and at some point it's expected he will just stop growing. At that point whenever it may be, he will have to be delivered via c-section in the cities, which is definitely not ideal for us selfish parents. It could be a few weeks or a few months, nobody really has an answer. Once he is born, they will assess his birth defects and needs for surgery. Right now, he does have a hole in his heart called a VSD which is a pretty common heart defect and will probably eventually require a surgical fix. They don't expect that to be an immediate need, so that is a good thing. He also has extra fluid in the ventricles in his brain that will require surgery to place a shunt for drainage. Also pretty common as far as defects go. It is possible but not confirmed that he might have a tethered spinal cord, which means the bottom of his cord is attached somewhere like the tailbone. If this is the case, it will also require a surgical fix to free the cord. It is possible that our little boy has some sort of chromosomal problem or a "syndrome" but we will not know those answers until birth.
It looks like we are in for a long journey, and our little boy an even longer one. It's expected that he will be premature and will be spending time in the NICU at the U. We will be going back every 2 weeks now for growth checks, and we just hope he will keep getting bigger so he can stay in there as long as possible.
We appreciate your thoughts and well wishes, as we are stressed and tired and seriously need to get our butts in gear and get a nursery ready!
Please pass this on to people I have missed, I'm a little scatter brained today.
Love,
Nate & Kara