what a day

i am writing this on my laptop laying on the couch recuperating... last night i was rear-ended on my way home from work. the car (yup- still the only car in the household) is 99% likely to be totaled. i now need to navigate through the insurance- currently waiting to see if the rental that we had to get today will actually be covered by insurance. the other guys- cuz it was so his fault. he was very nice & apologetic, especially after learning i am pregnant!, but it doesn't change the fact that he flew a big ole truck into a stopped car (well-suv technically). i am thankful that not only am i fine (sore neck & back, but nothing sprained/strained/etc ) but that the little man is fine. i had a scheduled ultrasound for this morning since he wasn't showing his pretty face last week so i did decline an ambulance or trip to the er. i felt him moving all last night and had no symptoms of any injuries at all to anything other than a bit of soreness at the upper body. he is fine- from the accident that is. all parts & pieces are great, heart rate perfect- my sweet little boy!

they did see a little additional fluid buildup in his kidneys since they check very thoroughly due to my kidney issue. it could be a blockage like i had (which is most likely worst case scenario) but this is not the horrible news it could have been. these blockages are diagnosed immediately and surgery happens before the age of 2 i believe. no- not fun or ideal to have your baby go through surgery- i don't want that at all!- but if it is needed it is minimally invasive and has a 99.7% effective rate f never having the problem happen again. they will monitor me with monthly u/s to measure the fluid & 90% of monitored patients have no issues as the fluid resolves on it's own. of the 10% that get referred to a perinatal urologist, 90% of them end up with no problems or needs for surgery. pretty good odds, but i am glad it is being monitored.

the other thing this fluid could be is a very soft marker for down's, however- there was no markers tripped during sequential screen, no markers seen during 20w u/s & due to that, age & risk factors the risks of complications from amnio is greater than the increased risk from this fluid showing up. not really the news i was hoping for today, but not anything truly terrible either.

i am now just trying to take it easy and hoping for the best. we need a car- have to hope that this rental is covered until we get a settlement. but i can't afford a rental for more than a few days on my own. and to get a new car is going to take some creative finances if we don't get a settlement check. which i know we will since the other guy was completely at fault, but i am just anxious because we have the worst possible luck lately.

i also heard the official word about my maternity leave. i get to apply for a personal leave since i don't fall under fm.la due to my length of employment. i don't get short term disability since pregnancy is a pre-existing condition. the personal leave is 31 calendar days. that's 4 weeks at home with my babes. it cannot be extended by personal time off- they run concurrent. the only way to extend the unpaid leave is if my doctor fills out forms (that i get 4 weeks before due) with a need for 6-8 weeks. then my bosses need to approve this. so i could theoretically not now how long i have out until right before i give birth. i am fairly sure that i could ask for & get at least 6 weeks and will be bringing it up with my boss early to get/give a heads up.

for such a miraculous and unexpected joy of a baby- this has turned out to be a scheduling nightmare! and a pregnancy full of unexpected scares & concerns. i just hope it all means a healthy happy baby (& family) at the end of it.