Hello from in Utero

Just thought everyone might want to see little boy Mammen his last few weeks from the inside. If you can't tell, this is a picture of his cute already chubby face. Many of you know after my first ultrasound they found one of his ureters to be a little dilated. (The ureter is the little tube that connects the kidney and the bladder.) So they scheduled a second ultrasound at 33 weeks to see if it still was dilated. Unfortunately at this ultrasound his left kidney was now a little enlarged due to some kind of blockage where the urine is supposed to pass into the ureter and then into the bladder. So we were scheduled for a third ultrasound (which we had yesterday) at Baylor hospital in Dallas to discuss the problem with a specialist. Much to my relief they told us that it's actually a pretty common problem among baby boys and not something to worry too much about. He will be able to have a completely normal delivery and be able to come home with us when I leave the hospital. The only catch is that he probably will have to be on an antibiotic that first week and then we have to take him to a pediatric urologist to have the kidney checked out once he is 2 weeks. The doctor told us he wouldn't be surprised if it actually starts working better once he's born and not all squished inside of me. The doctor was really nice and I liked him a lot. He assured us that God gives us two kidneys for a reason: if one doesn't work quite as it should the other can do the job just fine. So other than this minor problem, the baby looks really good. He is extremely healthy and growing perfectly normally. We were shocked when the nurse performing our ultrasound told us that he is about 7 lbs. 6 oz. right now. He's measuring at 37 weeks when technically I'm 36 weeks. The good news is that the estimated due date is now June 26th. Yea! The sooner the better! Why oh why do I have to be blessed with such large babies???? Let me tell you pushing for 3 hours is no treat! I pray every single day that he'll just come soon! No wonder I have a huge stomach...it's not me, really! It's that big baby! (For those of you that don't know, Janelle was 9.4 lbs. when she was born.) Anyway, just thought we'd let you know what was going on. Thank you to those of you who kept us in your prayers, we really appreciate it.