The Latest...

The latest is that we have decided to have the baby in California. We didn't want to risk him having to stay in the NICU back home while we were across the country AND didn't want him to fly when he is so little. I start steroid injections next week to ready the baby's lungs which reduces my anxiety about having him early. So I am headed out in 11 days to consult with my new OB and then have the baby a few days later. My neuro team will be on hand to consult and then we will do my tumor surgery approx 2 weeks after delivery. Craziness! This will all be over soon! We will be blogging from LA soon...

Baby date and surgery date have been moved up...

Hi All,

More info to come, but surgeon wants to move up my surgery date (I had an MRI on Monday). So the baby will be here in 3 weeks (instead of 6)...please pray that he will be a healthy preemie! So nervous, but so anxious for this to be over. Looks like my surgery will happen the beginning of June....doc's office will be calling later today with my new surgery date. Let the good times roll!

a few maternity pics...

Mike and I had the pleasure of working with Allie Gadziemski from Proud to Introduce for a few maternity photos prior to her photographing our newborn! I just wanted to attach a few of them. The one time in life that you don't have to worry about looking chubby in pictures :)

Oh baby!!!

Baby is still doing well! He is just shy of 4 pounds now...and less than 8 weeks! Hoping the time flies because it sure is getting harder to walk!

Eviction notice to tumor...

My tumor is getting kicked to the curb on July 14th! Surgery is scheduled! It sounds twisted, but I want the day to get here. I want it out of my head. I am ready to be on the 'other side' of all of this! I want to be 'normal' again, whatever that means for me I don't know...but I don't want to be known as 'the pregnant lady with the brain tumor' anymore! I need you all to pray hard that this tumor shrinks a little on its own prior to surgery....far fetched, but not impossible! Shrink, shrink, shrink!

Some of you have asked who my surgeons are (I have a team of 2...one does the dissection/exposure near the ear and the other near the brain stem)... I am attaching links to their bios. I feel really good about my decision. My life is now in their hands. I have done the research and now it's time to let go and believe I will have the best possible outcome!

http://www.houseearclinic.com/friedmanRA.htm
http://www.houseearclinic.com/schwartzMS.htm

The little things...

So, forewarning, this post is just me rambling...no health 'updates', please click on if you don't want to waste the next 30 seconds :)

It was a wonderful Easter weekend filled with family and sunshine. I really believe that sunny days can change your whole mood...spring is such a hopeful time. My spirit is in a good place at this moment all things considered. I just have this overwhelming feeling of trying to take note of the little things...take it all in and not let it pass by....things like my spring tulips blooming, the smell of rain on warm pavement, the warm sun on my face. I must say that I see people a little differently now. I have always enjoyed striking up a conversation with a stranger...but I find now that I am paying more attention and trying even harder to get a smile or a laugh. You all know how much I love making people laugh (even if its for courtesy and I am not that funny).

The only small sadness I felt this weekend, was likely just as much from pregnancy and wondering if your body will ever be normal again! As it is exceedingly difficult for me to walk around at this point, roll over, sit down (OUCH!), I found myself looking at spring high heels and feeling like they would never belong in my closet again. Ladies know what I am talking about. The change of seasons and fashion is exciting. All I could think about was whether or not I would be able to have enough balance to wear high heels again :) Such a small detail not really worth worrying about...but since I am faced with not knowing how much/little I will be affected until after surgery I find myself wondering the little ways my life will change. I am confident that I will heal beautifully and really at the end of the day wearing certain things means squat as long as the baby and I are healthy. But it really just causes me to reflect on all of the little things we all take for granted. I don't want to take these things for granted anymore. I don't want to sound 'preachy', but I do encourage all of you to think about one little thing today that makes your life great or even normal...and celebrate it!

Today I find myself excited for the Brewer's opening day. Opening day is a big deal in Milwaukee. I haven't been, but I hear it is a lot of fun. I have seen so many people decked out in their fan gear today and I can't help but get excited for them, their 70 degree tailgate weather and racing sausages! Nothing is more summer than catching a baseball game at the ballpark. Hoping Mike and I can catch a night/weekend game soon whether it is the Brewers or White Sox!

Have a great week everybody!

We have a birthdate...for now at least!

Saw my regular OB today. All is still going well!

I scheduled my c-section...Baby Siwek is coming June 10th midmorning. It is kind of a weird feeling knowing I will wake up that day and head to the hospital to have the baby :) So many things in my life are out of my control right now that it is nice to have something set! This is pending that all stays stable for me...and I believe it will. It's amazing how little you worry about the idea of a c-section when brain surgery is on the horizon!

My neurosurgeon is now working on his end to get my surgery scheduled. We are looking at approx 3 weeks after baby comes. This will give me a little time to recover and spend with my son before I am out of commission for a little while.

We are planning to get to LA 3-4 days prior to surgery (2 of those days are for pre-op testing). I am thinking that we need some time to buy baby items I didn't want to lug on the plane both ways(bassinet, bath tub,etc). So many things for such a tiny human!

So the countdown is on! 70 days left before baby gets here. We are so excited!