Week 34: 10th Feb to 16th Feb 2012

Wednesdays Scan
There's not really much to comment on from Wednesdays scan.  Everything is as we expected: bean has lungs that are significantly bigger than they were and he has returned to being head down.  All of which is good news.  The heart seems to have recovered from being squashed - the suspected coarctation appears just to have been due to the heart being squashed.  One side is bigger than the other which again is to be expected as more pressure is required to put blood through the (non-existent) lungs.  Obviously lots of caveats about whether the lungs and heart will work when bean is out, but for now everyone seems pleased with progress and that everything that could have been done has been and it all appeared to work.  Hurrah!

So what next?
In a fortnight we're in Taunton for a scan and there the Mother will get steroids to increase sufactant in the lungs (help to mature them).  A week later (7th March) we're back in Bristol for one more final scan and then at 38 and a half weeks the Mother gets induced.  Nominally this will be Monday 12th March but does depend on available beds.  In the meantime bean has to stay where he is and not try and come out early.  He needs to grow poor thing.  Estimated weight last week was just under 4 and half pounds.  What's worse we've been strictly told that should bean be early we are not allowed to go to Bristol.  We are to make our way to the nearest hospital.  Which is a bad plan.  No offense to Taunton - a fine hospital - but it's not got the facilities and hence the experience that bean will need.  We'll risk an M5 birth!


Bold
After much thought, I too will be joining the ranks of the unemployable at the end of the month.  Even in the best case, the next two months are going to be "interesting" with a lot of time sitting around in hospitals or on the M5.  Mostly being stressed I am expecting.  As a contractor who works from home, I can't see myself really being able to sit down and focus on writing software in any meaningful fashion.  So I've not renewed my contract - I've done my best to leave doors open so that when things have settled down there may be opportunities to return.  We shall see.  On the plus side this means that I won't have to have the weekly night away in London and a 360mile round trip for a while.

In the meantime the Mother stops works on Friday for two weeks holiday before her maternity leave starts.  Bean is practicing his party skills and is bouncing quite happily and we think has also turned back round the right way again.  We shall find out tomorrow when we're back in Bristol for more scans.