It's a....
GIRLY-GIRL!!!
She is to be named Laurel (middle name still pending). The ultrasound went great. All of her anatomy was seen and is normal. She is measuring right at 17 weeks 6 days, which is on target. Ed, Louise and Lily were all there for the scan. Lily was very well behaved. Her outfit was a cute pink velour leopard-print little ditty that I got for her last birthday. She had some toys to keep her happy. Afterwards, the Manns got on their way to Michigan. They are going to spend tonight in a hotel to kind of break up the trip some.
I know first things first (gender, ultrasound, etc) but here is the low down on our time from this past Sunday. The Manns came over around 3 in the afternoon. Lily was too cute in her pink and blue dress and tights. She has blue eyes and long blond hair- very pretty. She had about two seconds of being shy around my kids, but it wasn't long before she was right in the thick of things. Whether that meant playing 'Pollies' with Maren or riding on the backs of my boys while they were being 'animals'... she was doing it all and lovin' it!
Our friends, Amy and Jason, came over and we had dinner together. Chicken & Bacon Corn Chowder, salad, and warm bread... yum! Of course the best part was Lily's birthday cake which I alluded to in an earlier post. We sang to her, and she was oh so shy and needed mom to help her blow out the candles. Too funny. Maren had made her a birthday card, so we gave that to her along with a Littlest Pet Shop set, which she loved. (I was also given a belated birthday present: three kinds of yummy ice cream sauces and some fun bath things).
At some point in the evening, Zachary (9) asked Louise what names she has picked out for her daughter or son. Louise was saying that they were pretty sure on the name 'Laurel' for a girl and possibly/maybe/considering 'Joshua' for a boy. She then went on to say that Laurel was the name of a nurse anesthetist that Ed had during his surgery that was very special to them. Joshua was the name of one of the doctors who had taken great care of Ed and who also made a lasting impact on the Manns during their nightmare in November. Hearing that made me realize how life-changing this has been for them. Not that I didn't already know that cancer could do that, but I just don't think there is any way one can really understand without having been there.
Ed actually looked really good. He color was great, didn't look much thinner (if even at all), and he wore a hat most of the time, but has some hair patches still remaining. He is working a few hours each day now. Getting along pretty well, but has the tendency to feel overwhelmed when there is a lot going on. Still feels tired and wears out easily. I think he's doing really well overall!
The plan established at Duke on February 25th and 26th is for him to take basically a maintanence dose of oral chemo for the next two months and then to return to Duke at the end of April for his first IV infusion of a stronger, more experimental chemo agent. University of Michigan will then give the remaining doses of this particular medication for him. I will keep updating his status as I know more.
Pregnancy-wise, all is going well! Happy to get a good ultrasound report. Still praying for Ed daily, for a miracle in his life to happen.
(I am trying to add some photos from our days, but Easyjournal only accepts photos smaller than 300KB and I can't figure out how to resize right now! I will work on it, though).
She is to be named Laurel (middle name still pending). The ultrasound went great. All of her anatomy was seen and is normal. She is measuring right at 17 weeks 6 days, which is on target. Ed, Louise and Lily were all there for the scan. Lily was very well behaved. Her outfit was a cute pink velour leopard-print little ditty that I got for her last birthday. She had some toys to keep her happy. Afterwards, the Manns got on their way to Michigan. They are going to spend tonight in a hotel to kind of break up the trip some.
I know first things first (gender, ultrasound, etc) but here is the low down on our time from this past Sunday. The Manns came over around 3 in the afternoon. Lily was too cute in her pink and blue dress and tights. She has blue eyes and long blond hair- very pretty. She had about two seconds of being shy around my kids, but it wasn't long before she was right in the thick of things. Whether that meant playing 'Pollies' with Maren or riding on the backs of my boys while they were being 'animals'... she was doing it all and lovin' it!
Our friends, Amy and Jason, came over and we had dinner together. Chicken & Bacon Corn Chowder, salad, and warm bread... yum! Of course the best part was Lily's birthday cake which I alluded to in an earlier post. We sang to her, and she was oh so shy and needed mom to help her blow out the candles. Too funny. Maren had made her a birthday card, so we gave that to her along with a Littlest Pet Shop set, which she loved. (I was also given a belated birthday present: three kinds of yummy ice cream sauces and some fun bath things).
At some point in the evening, Zachary (9) asked Louise what names she has picked out for her daughter or son. Louise was saying that they were pretty sure on the name 'Laurel' for a girl and possibly/maybe/considering 'Joshua' for a boy. She then went on to say that Laurel was the name of a nurse anesthetist that Ed had during his surgery that was very special to them. Joshua was the name of one of the doctors who had taken great care of Ed and who also made a lasting impact on the Manns during their nightmare in November. Hearing that made me realize how life-changing this has been for them. Not that I didn't already know that cancer could do that, but I just don't think there is any way one can really understand without having been there.
Ed actually looked really good. He color was great, didn't look much thinner (if even at all), and he wore a hat most of the time, but has some hair patches still remaining. He is working a few hours each day now. Getting along pretty well, but has the tendency to feel overwhelmed when there is a lot going on. Still feels tired and wears out easily. I think he's doing really well overall!
The plan established at Duke on February 25th and 26th is for him to take basically a maintanence dose of oral chemo for the next two months and then to return to Duke at the end of April for his first IV infusion of a stronger, more experimental chemo agent. University of Michigan will then give the remaining doses of this particular medication for him. I will keep updating his status as I know more.
Pregnancy-wise, all is going well! Happy to get a good ultrasound report. Still praying for Ed daily, for a miracle in his life to happen.
(I am trying to add some photos from our days, but Easyjournal only accepts photos smaller than 300KB and I can't figure out how to resize right now! I will work on it, though).
