Saturday, January 26, 2008

Notes from Stake Conference

Things we can do to help our children:
  1. Have personal prayers. Let the kids hear you pray.
  2. Have family prayers. Give children a chance to pray and let them hear you pray.
  3. Have personal scripture study. Be immersed at all times. Memorize the scripture masteries with your children.
  4. Have family scripture study. Let your children hear you read and testify.
  5. Hold Family Home Evening weekly.
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As we study our scriptures, fast, and pray, we bind ourselves to the iron rod. (See Alma 17:1-3.)

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Prayer after curfew when the kids come home.
hmmm.... interesting idea

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President Hinckley, as reported by the San Antonio Mission President, advised the new Mission Presidents to: 1) teach them who they are, their divine origins. They are sons and daughters of God; and 2) teach them their responsibilities.

Wouldn't it be great if it could be said of our family: "Pursued excellence in their scripture study."

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Elder Anderson: "Let us be careful. Let us be frugal. Let us not buy things we absolutely do not need. Live carefully. Frugally."

Friday, January 25, 2008

Appointments, OBs & the Ultrascreen

On January 8th, I had my first regular OB appointment with Dr. Shows. We discussed the pregnancy, and she showed me pictures of her new little girl. She seems a little distracted, understandably so. We discussed doing the ultrascreen tests that I've always turned down.

Prior to going in for this appointment, I knew I would be asked if I wanted to do the triple screen to test for Down's Syndrome. I knew I was at high risk due to my age. I've always turned these tests down in the past due to the high incidence of false positives. I have never wanted the extra stress. This time I opted to have it. I felt like if there was a problem, it would be beneficial to know ahead of time so that we could have the right specialists available at the delivery. Also, I wanted to be able to prepare the children.

I also started to feel like I needed to deliver at a hospital closer to home. Dr. Shows only delivers at the Northeast Baptist Hospital. I had a good experience when I delivered Deborah there, but everyone else I talked with had negative experiences.

I had also started to feel like I needed a new OB. It was tough to think about that because I have really enjoyed seeing Dr. Shows. Additionally, she helped to diagnose 2 health problems that had been ignored or denied by other OB's. I felt a sense of loyalty to her, but eventually I realized that I was receiving spiritual promptings to deliver at the hospital closest to my home.

I started the process of finding a new OB. I asked several women at church about their OB's. The Northeast Obstetrics & Gynecology practice kept coming up over and over again. In fact, out of the 2 dozen or so women I spoke to, only 2 of them went to other practices. Everyone I spoke with had rave reviews for the North Central Baptist Hospital. I heard nothing but positive comments about the hospital and the nurses there.

Eventually I settled on Dr. Tammy Murdock with the Northeast OB/Gyn Associates. I did not find anyone else who was already her patient. But, after reading her bio online, I knew she was my first choice. Several things attracted me to her. First, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering. It seems most engineering majors understand the need to be detailed and exacting. I like that. Additionally, she is the Chief of Obstetrics at North Central Baptist Hospital.

When I called to schedule an appointment with her, they took all my information and said they would call back to schedule the appointment AFTER they had verified my insurance benefits. So, I waited... and waited... After about 2 weeks, I called them back to follow up. I was assured they were getting to me and would call me back as soon as they could.

In the meantime, I had my ultrascreen blood work done. The following Monday, Dr. Shows called to discuss the results. It was abnormal, as we expected. My age related risk is 1 out of 72 for Downs. The blood test adjusted it to 1 out of 238. (Their cut off is 270.) Dr Shows recommended that we see a high risk OB around 15-16 weeks. Depending on the results, they may recommend an amniocentesis. She reminded me again that the tests just indicates RISK. It is not a diagnosis.