I thought I would start at the beginning -
Back in January I came down with a bad virus. I just could not shake the illness and actually ended up in urgent care for
lightheadedness and low blood pressure. The doctor ordered some IV fluid and stabilized my heart rate and blood pressure. The next day I followed up with my primary care physician who drew more blood work. One of the questions he asked me is could I be pregnant? Well, I thought...who knows...maybe???? After the doctors appointment I went home and had Matt rush out to buy a pregnancy test. Well.....
POSITIVE!!!
I ran downstairs and told Matt. And we were in complete shock! I made him go out and buy three different brands of tests! And they all came back positive!!!
Right away my doctor started me on
Lovenox (a blood thinner) for a condition they found a few years ago called
MTHFR. Basically, I have a slight clotting disorder that sometimes causes early miscarriages. He also put me on 3 months of steroids so my body did not reject the baby.
Matt and I were so excited and felt so blessed, but were so nervous. I barely remember the first few weeks. We really could not comprehend that this miracle had happened!
Because I have had so many problems in the past and was now on
Lovenox and
Prednisone, I started to see a high risk OB. Knowing that I would be followed more closely made us feel much more comfortable especially after our losses in the past.
At about 6 weeks I had a bleed and was diagnosed with a
subchorionic bleed. My doctor put me on 4 weeks of bed rest. Thankfully, the bleed resolved and I was able to go back to work around 10 weeks.
Me on bed rest-
Dominic on bed rest!
Joseph on bed rest!
At our 12 week OB appointment, everything looked perfect. The baby was measuring almost 2 weeks ahead! I told the nurse "Maybe I do not need to see a high risk doctor anymore". She said, "Oh no, he likes to see regular EASY cases, too". Little did I know what my future would be hold.
Right around 12 weeks I started to show a little baby bump. Matt and I started to feel more comfortable and even started talking about names. I loved the names Cora and William. Matt said he had a name for both a boy or a girl, "Sam".
Baby D waving-
I have felt great throughout my entire pregnancy. I have never been nauseous or tired. Except for my expanding belly, I barely know I am pregnant!
At my 19 week ultrasound we found out were are blessed with another boy! Matt and I told the ultrasound tech we did not want to find out the gender. About 1 minute into the scan, our baby decided to show us he was a boy! We were all laughing at how he must have wanted us to know!
I also found out I have a condition called
placenta previa. It is where instead of the placenta attaching to the side wall of the uterus it attaches at the bottom. This put me back at high risk due to potential bleeding. My doctor placed me on a restricted work schedule.
Baby D at 19 weeks-
I was feeling great up until I was 22 weeks. I worked in the morning and by afternoon, I was just not feeling right. Matt was at training for work, so I bought a few movies from On Demand and the boys and I spent the afternoon in bed. By evening, I thought I would be okay to sit and watch the boys' T-ball game. I drove with Matt, but as soon as I got there I felt a lot of pressure and decided to go home and lay down. I felt much better lying down and chalked it up growing pains.
About an hour later I had a bleed and called Matt to come home. We rushed to the hospital and I was seen in triage right away. The doctor believed it was my placenta
previa and sent me home 2 hours later. I was VERY hesitant about leaving, but was thankful I had an appointment scheduled with my doctor at 9 AM the next morning.
I was awake the whole night with pain and cramping. Matt and I were sickly worried. We just prayed everything would be okay until the morning.
When we arrived at the doctor's office, it was already packed with patients. Every time we have an appointment we usually wait 1-1/2 hours to see the doctor. If you know me, you know I speak my mind. I went to the desk and politely asked the receptionist how long it may be before I was seen. She said, "Mrs. M and Mrs S. are before you, the doctor is not even here yet, I cannot tell you how long". I gently leaned over the counter and told her my situation and that if I was not seen in 1 hour I was done with the doctor and was writing a letter to the the president of the hospital. The nurses overheard me come "a little undone" and told me to come right back.
They had me over to an ultrasound room within 5 minutes. The baby looked perfect and was still measuring a 1 1/2 weeks ahead. At the end of the scan the doctor came in to look and told me I had had a partial
placental abruption
The doctor was wonderful and very calming. I was still not feeling well and I thought I maybe having mild having contractions. The doctor decided to admit me to the hospital to monitor the baby and start me on a medication called
Procardia to help with the contractions.
Monitoring baby-
I was in the hospital for 3 days. I actually felt more comfortable in the hospital knowing there was medical support in case something were to happen. Plus we live about 40 minutes from the hospital, so the distance made me worried.
I was discharged and readmitted for a night when I was 24 weeks.
So that brings me to the present! Phew...what a long post!
Matt and I feel so blessed for everyday God gives me to grow our sweet baby.
We are looking forward to our ultrasound and doctor appointment tomorrow.
I will post an update and pictures tomorrow.
