Dance Recital

This weekend was the girls dance recital. Brie did her entire routine and Sophie did her on thing. She had a great time walking around, sticking her butt up in the air, and dancing to her own tune. She had the entire audience in tears or laughter.

Gardening

This weekend we finally got most of our garden planted. The rain held out and we planted cucumbers, peppers (sweet and hot), tomatoes, brussel sprouts, broccoli, squash, watermelon, and cantalope. We still have pumpkins and the herbs to plant, but that will have to wait a few days. About 20 minutes after we got everything in the ground the rain started. At least we didn't have to water the newly planted garden!

Growing up

Over the last several weeks it seems like the girls are growing up and getting more independent. Brie refuses to let anyone pick out her clothes anymore and gets herself dressed completely by herself. Sophie can get herself dressed, but only if she is motivated to do so.

They have been playing together better and are now able to entertain themselves for longer periods of time. This is nice because it actually allows me to get some rest during the day. My energy has been increasing, but I am still pretty fatigued. By the end of the day once the girls are in bed I am also done for the night.

Cushing's Syndrome

I know there have been alot of questions about what is going on during this pregnancy and is everything going to be okay. We are hoping now that we found the cause of the high blood pressure that things will continue to get better and Brennen will continue to grow and make it to full term. Below I have included two links to sites that explain some of the symptoms and treatments of Cushing's syndrome. Hopefully now that the tumors are gone I will make a fairly speedy recovery. My endocrinologist is optimistic because my cortisol levels dropped drastically after surgery that the adrenal tumors were the cause and that removing my adrenal gland was beneficial. I am happy with that as I recover from surgery I wouldn't be happy to have gone through major abdominal surgery for nothing. I am still pretty sore, but getting better daily. I have to take replacement steroids right now until my other adrenal gland starts producing hormones. The downfall of that is that they are raising my blood glucose and now I have gestational diabetes. So now I have to check my blood pressure, my blood sugar and watch my diet. Hopefully I can avoid having to go on insulin.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cushings-syndrome/DS00470

http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/hormone/623.html

Easter

Just a few pictures from Easter morning

Sophie was less not very cooperative

and Brie gave lots of cheezy smiles

but I did manage to get a few shots. None of the two of them together
Maybe next time

Eddie

In PA school, medical school, even nursing school they teach you when you see hoof prints to look for horses not zebras. So when we found that my blood pressure was high they looked for all of the simple things. When all of the normal tests came back normal they caulked it off as gestational hypertension and put me on medication. Still I continued to have unusual symptoms and suggested to the doctors that I thought there was something more. They continued to brush it off as pregnancy symptoms. I continued to say I was feeling different then my two previous pregnancies so they sent me to a Rheumatologist. When I explained my symptoms to him he finally believed me and ordered some tests. The tests confirmed that I have cushing's disease. Something very rare in the general population, but almost unheard of in pregnancy. Most people cannot get pregnant with cushings because of the hormonal imbalances. Take the hormones out of the situation like we did and it is possible. So after more tests of my urine, saliva and blood we have confirmed that I have this strange disease that is making me feel horrible. Luckily the baby seems to be fairing okay. He is growing great and as of my ultrasound yesterday he is 1 lb 9 oz. I am 24 weeks pregnant now so if he is born now he has a chance. Our goal though is obviously to keep him inside for much longer. Most of the research shows that the best way to do that is to remove the source of the cushings. The two most common places are a pituitary tumor or an adrenal tumor. Mine is coming from a tumor on my left adrenal gland. We found it yesterday with ultrasound and tomorrow I have an MRI to confirm it. Because of the pregnancy we are not messing around and Eddie, which is what we have named this nuisance, is going to come out on Thursday. I am not keen on having surgery, especially during pregnancy, but it needs to go. So Thursday it is. Eddie will be gone. The doctor says my symptoms will not go away right away it may actually take 6-12 months. Taking it out now though prevents me from having more symptoms and hopefully from having to deliver this little guy early.

Warmer Weather

A few weeks ago we got a little tease with some warm weather. We spent the afternoon at the park. The girls had a great time playing in the pirate ship, swings, and the slide.