So we spoke to my doctor yesterday here's the latest:
My C-section has been moved up from Feb. 24th to a new date of Feb. 7th. Yes, one week from today. I will be 34 weeks and 2 days. After hearing this we were a bit shocked and worried thinking wait a second this is way too soon, can't we just stretch it out longer until these contractions really start hurting. However, after speaking with Dr. Blumenfeld we couldn't refute. He did say if these contractions were to stop then they would consider stretching the date out or on the other hand if things got worse they would move the date up, but most likely we are going to meet our little boy in a week! I'm excited to meet him but wish he could grow more before. I don't love the idea of having my second son in the NICU...I know this situation is very different and he is healthy and a lot bigger than Collin was, but it's still a little tough to swallow.
My doctor did an excellent job explaining to us why they felt our baby needed to come next week, I will try to summarize a few things here, although there is no way I'll be able to cover everything.
- The whole point in scheduling my C-section for the 27th (36 weeks and 5 days) was to avoid me ever having contractions, now here I am having had constant contractions for 5 days.
- I am on the highest dose of anti contraction (it has a different name I'm just not sure how to spell it) medicine that the doctors can give me, yet I am still contracting.
- The doctors don't have an explanation as to why I am contracting and there may be some underlying cause, such as placental problems that are causing my uterus to contract.
- My previous Classical C-Section was done when my uterus was still very small, which means the scar most likely covers a large portion of my uterus thus making it extra weak.
- Despite the fact that I am not feeling pain with these contractions they are affecting and weakening my scar.
- The risk and outcome if my uterus were to rupture could be catastrophic and far outweighs the benefit of keeping my baby in longer when he should most likely do fine with no long term effects at 34 weeks.
Overall, we trust our doctor and the care I am receiving.
I had a few nightmares about my uterus rupturing last night...it may be a long week.
My mom flew in this morning and will be here in a couple of minutes. I am so grateful she is able to come even with my dad on a business trip - thank you Megan and Matt for babysitting the kids so Mom could be here!!
Oh a nice volunteer lady, Marilyn, came by yesterday and taught me how to knit. I'll have to add pictures of my progress (I've only got like 3 lines done at this point)
Chris is the best for sleeping here every night with me, when I know he doesn't get much sleep.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Update
Here's latest for all who are interested:
The doctors came by this morning and told me that I was staying at least another day. The medicine I am on is working to slow the contractions, however, I still have episodes every couple of hours (usually an hour or so before my next dose of medicine) where my contractions will get to a couple minutes apart and the doctors are not comfortable sending me home when they are that frequent. I still cannot feel these contractions, which is a good sign.
I was a little disappointed this morning when the doctors told me I was staying - however, after thinking I realized I really am so blessed to be monitored as close as I am and I want to keep our little boy growing as much as he can before he is born - so everyday that goes by without my C-section is a huge blessing! It is so worth it, being here in the hospital to help my baby boy! My mom is flying here tomorrow morning which I am so grateful for.
The doctors are going to hopefully form some sort of plan and let me know later today. Plan meaning how long they will let these contractions continue before they decide to perform the C-Section. The situation is not black and white, which is why everything is pretty much day by day. I asked one of the doctors why I started having contractions and she said they don't know. She said some women who aren't monitored closely with weekly NST's, will have contractions like this for a large part of their pregnancy and a lot of times there won't be any problems, however, because of my history and my scar they are concerned.
I will keep everyone updated.
Thank you for your prayers!
The doctors came by this morning and told me that I was staying at least another day. The medicine I am on is working to slow the contractions, however, I still have episodes every couple of hours (usually an hour or so before my next dose of medicine) where my contractions will get to a couple minutes apart and the doctors are not comfortable sending me home when they are that frequent. I still cannot feel these contractions, which is a good sign.
I was a little disappointed this morning when the doctors told me I was staying - however, after thinking I realized I really am so blessed to be monitored as close as I am and I want to keep our little boy growing as much as he can before he is born - so everyday that goes by without my C-section is a huge blessing! It is so worth it, being here in the hospital to help my baby boy! My mom is flying here tomorrow morning which I am so grateful for.
The doctors are going to hopefully form some sort of plan and let me know later today. Plan meaning how long they will let these contractions continue before they decide to perform the C-Section. The situation is not black and white, which is why everything is pretty much day by day. I asked one of the doctors why I started having contractions and she said they don't know. She said some women who aren't monitored closely with weekly NST's, will have contractions like this for a large part of their pregnancy and a lot of times there won't be any problems, however, because of my history and my scar they are concerned.
I will keep everyone updated.
Thank you for your prayers!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
New pregnancy update
Where to begin...Chris and I are currently in the antepartum unit (before Labor and Delivery) of the Lucile Packard's Children Hospital at Stanford.
Here's the story:
Friday morning Chris and I came in to the hospital for our weekly NST (non-stress test). I was feeling great and excited to hear and see our little boy. The ultrasound went great - my amniotic fluid levels were normal. Our little boy's heart rate was great as well, everything looked good...well so I thought. I apparently had two contractions durning the test, which at almost 33 weeks isn't particularly normal and considering my history with my previous Classical C-section, the doctors wanted me to get checked before I could leave. In my mind I was thinking they would make sure I wasn't dilated and send me on my way and I'd be into work within the hour. Little did I know, things were going to turn out a bit differently...
The nurse took me to Labor and Delivery were they had me in an observation room to monitor the contractions and baby's heart beat. The doctor ran all these test thinking I could have a number of different infections, which would cause contractions - the test's came back negative. I also was not (and am still not) dilated at all, which is great news. However, the contractions continued, starting at 10 minutes apart and within a couple of hours getting as close as a minute apart. I was not in any pain and could hardly even tell I was having contractions. I could feel tightening but no real pain. The doctors first gave me an IV, thinking I may be dehydrated, which again could cause contractions, however the IV wasn't making a difference and when they kept progressing the doctors gave me a shot to try and stop them. The concern is agitating or in worst case rupturing my current uterine scar.
Anyways, after the shot my contractions began to slow down, however Friday night at about 11 PM they started to pick back up again at which point the doctors came in and started a new medication that has a loading dose of 3 pills, 20 minutes apart and then a pill every 4 hours after that. My doctor also gave me the first of two steroid shots, which will help to develop our baby's lungs if he does need to come earlier than planned (I had these shots with Collin also). The ideal effectiveness for these steroids is 48 hours after the first dose, and they wanted to get them started right away, just in case, which of course made me very nervous. Needless to say, I hardly slept. Those labor beds are not comfortable.
The new medication they gave me seemed to slow the contractions down a little bit but not significantly. After each pill the contractions would slow down for about 2-3 hours but then start to pick back up before I could take another dose. I guess the doctors didn't want to give me another shot because it isn't really FDA recommend to receive multiple doses of that particular drug, so they stuck with the pills (which the doctors say is fine to take in as many doses as needed).
Anyways, Saturday morning they officially admitted me to the hospital and moved me to the antepartum unit, which is where we are now. All throughout the day Saturday my contractions continued but slowed to 5 or 6 an hour. The medication seemed to be working some but not enough that the doctors felt comfortable with sending me home. The lasted update however, is that throughout the night last night (which was much better as far as sleeping is considered) the contractions have slowed down even more (1 to 2 an hour) and if they continue to improve the doctors may consider sending me home on the medication tomorrow, with instructions to rest (which is hard for me to do - but I am totally willing and happy to do whatever it takes to keep our little boy in and growing for hopefully 4 more weeks!)
The doctors have said that if I were any regular patient without a history of a C-section, particularly a Classical C-section, they wouldn't be as concerned about the contractions because, first I am not dilated and second these contractions are not painful. However they are extra cautious because of my scar and because of my history and our experience with Collin. I am so grateful for the precautions and care I am receiving.
Oh I want to mention our little boy has been an all star through these contractions - his heart rate has been great, which is a huge blessing.
Chris has been and is amazing! His very demanding/stressful/time consuming work has been very understanding of our situation and Chris has been with me, taking care of and supporting me through this all. I feel a little demanding as I am stuck in the hospital bed strapped to all these machines, but Chris is so amazing and is always making sure I am as comfortable as possible and making sure I always have everything I need. I am so grateful for him!
My mom is planning to fly here tomorrow morning, if I am going to be stuck in the hospital. I am so grateful for my family and for Chris's family, they are all so supportive!
I feel like I've just rambled on and on in the post, and I'm impressed if you've made it this far...I do have to say one more thing...It's a little hard for me not to feel a little guilty - like I brought on these contractions, Chris keeps telling me it's not my fault, but it's hard not to feel a little guilty - like I should have rested more, not jogged, not walked as much as I did.
Here's a little summary of the plan:
Best case: the contractions stay in control and improve then I may be able to go home tomorrow with the medication and instruction to rest and take it easy
Medium case: the contractions do not improve and become more frequent again (however, still not painful) then I will stay in the hospital for as long as I can before they decide to either send me home or go forward with my C-section.
Worse case: the contractions worsen to the point of becoming painful or I start to dilate (which would then classify me as in pre-term labor) and I will then have my C-section
Oh and here is a picture when I first was in the Labor and Delivery observation room. Our room now is much nicer and we are so blessed to be in a private room! (which is no guarantee at Stanford)
We greatly appreciated everyone's prayers and concern. We are so blessed with wonderful friends and family. People keep asking me what they can do to help - just keep us in your prayers and if you feel inclined, we LOVE visitors : )
Here's the story:
Friday morning Chris and I came in to the hospital for our weekly NST (non-stress test). I was feeling great and excited to hear and see our little boy. The ultrasound went great - my amniotic fluid levels were normal. Our little boy's heart rate was great as well, everything looked good...well so I thought. I apparently had two contractions durning the test, which at almost 33 weeks isn't particularly normal and considering my history with my previous Classical C-section, the doctors wanted me to get checked before I could leave. In my mind I was thinking they would make sure I wasn't dilated and send me on my way and I'd be into work within the hour. Little did I know, things were going to turn out a bit differently...
The nurse took me to Labor and Delivery were they had me in an observation room to monitor the contractions and baby's heart beat. The doctor ran all these test thinking I could have a number of different infections, which would cause contractions - the test's came back negative. I also was not (and am still not) dilated at all, which is great news. However, the contractions continued, starting at 10 minutes apart and within a couple of hours getting as close as a minute apart. I was not in any pain and could hardly even tell I was having contractions. I could feel tightening but no real pain. The doctors first gave me an IV, thinking I may be dehydrated, which again could cause contractions, however the IV wasn't making a difference and when they kept progressing the doctors gave me a shot to try and stop them. The concern is agitating or in worst case rupturing my current uterine scar.
Anyways, after the shot my contractions began to slow down, however Friday night at about 11 PM they started to pick back up again at which point the doctors came in and started a new medication that has a loading dose of 3 pills, 20 minutes apart and then a pill every 4 hours after that. My doctor also gave me the first of two steroid shots, which will help to develop our baby's lungs if he does need to come earlier than planned (I had these shots with Collin also). The ideal effectiveness for these steroids is 48 hours after the first dose, and they wanted to get them started right away, just in case, which of course made me very nervous. Needless to say, I hardly slept. Those labor beds are not comfortable.
The new medication they gave me seemed to slow the contractions down a little bit but not significantly. After each pill the contractions would slow down for about 2-3 hours but then start to pick back up before I could take another dose. I guess the doctors didn't want to give me another shot because it isn't really FDA recommend to receive multiple doses of that particular drug, so they stuck with the pills (which the doctors say is fine to take in as many doses as needed).
Anyways, Saturday morning they officially admitted me to the hospital and moved me to the antepartum unit, which is where we are now. All throughout the day Saturday my contractions continued but slowed to 5 or 6 an hour. The medication seemed to be working some but not enough that the doctors felt comfortable with sending me home. The lasted update however, is that throughout the night last night (which was much better as far as sleeping is considered) the contractions have slowed down even more (1 to 2 an hour) and if they continue to improve the doctors may consider sending me home on the medication tomorrow, with instructions to rest (which is hard for me to do - but I am totally willing and happy to do whatever it takes to keep our little boy in and growing for hopefully 4 more weeks!)
The doctors have said that if I were any regular patient without a history of a C-section, particularly a Classical C-section, they wouldn't be as concerned about the contractions because, first I am not dilated and second these contractions are not painful. However they are extra cautious because of my scar and because of my history and our experience with Collin. I am so grateful for the precautions and care I am receiving.
Oh I want to mention our little boy has been an all star through these contractions - his heart rate has been great, which is a huge blessing.
Chris has been and is amazing! His very demanding/stressful/time consuming work has been very understanding of our situation and Chris has been with me, taking care of and supporting me through this all. I feel a little demanding as I am stuck in the hospital bed strapped to all these machines, but Chris is so amazing and is always making sure I am as comfortable as possible and making sure I always have everything I need. I am so grateful for him!
My mom is planning to fly here tomorrow morning, if I am going to be stuck in the hospital. I am so grateful for my family and for Chris's family, they are all so supportive!
I feel like I've just rambled on and on in the post, and I'm impressed if you've made it this far...I do have to say one more thing...It's a little hard for me not to feel a little guilty - like I brought on these contractions, Chris keeps telling me it's not my fault, but it's hard not to feel a little guilty - like I should have rested more, not jogged, not walked as much as I did.
Here's a little summary of the plan:
Best case: the contractions stay in control and improve then I may be able to go home tomorrow with the medication and instruction to rest and take it easy
Medium case: the contractions do not improve and become more frequent again (however, still not painful) then I will stay in the hospital for as long as I can before they decide to either send me home or go forward with my C-section.
Worse case: the contractions worsen to the point of becoming painful or I start to dilate (which would then classify me as in pre-term labor) and I will then have my C-section
Oh and here is a picture when I first was in the Labor and Delivery observation room. Our room now is much nicer and we are so blessed to be in a private room! (which is no guarantee at Stanford)
We greatly appreciated everyone's prayers and concern. We are so blessed with wonderful friends and family. People keep asking me what they can do to help - just keep us in your prayers and if you feel inclined, we LOVE visitors : )
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Pregnancy Update
I am at work and have a little down time so I thought I’d give a little pregnancy update but you’ll have to forgive the lack of pictures – I’ll post some soon.
February 24th is the day we get to meet our little guy. Less than 1 month! We are so excited!
February 24th is also my sister’s (Erica) due date!
You may be doing to the math in your head and realizing that Feb. 24th is quite a bit early…with my due date being March 18th and all. Yes, I will be 36 weeks and 5 days to be exact. My doctor told me I got to choose a day between the 21st and the 24th. We want our little guy to grow as much and as big as he can before birth so we picked the last possible day. Plus wouldn’t it be so cool for me and my sister to have babies on the same day! : )It still seems a bit early to me…but I trust my doctor. The whole reason for the early C-section, in case you are curious – if your not curious just skip ahead because this may be too much information, is because I had a “Classical C-section” with Collin (which means they cut my uterus vertically) so that they could lift him out easier. So basically, I am not “allowed” to go into labor or have contractions because of the risk of my uterus rupturing. Chris is so cute in making sure I am resting and taking it easy so I don’t overdue it and accidently go into early labor.
My doctor is monitoring me and the baby very closely as a precaution because of the complications with Collin. This means I have NST (Non-stress tests) every week – which entails an ultrasound to measure the amount of amniotic fluid and also tracking his heart rate with these fancy machines for 20 minutes, plus doctor appointments every other week, and another growth ultrasound scheduled for the beginning of February. I love all the attention and the reassurance it provides. I still get nervous or afraid sometimes that something will go wrong. It’s hard not too. But I do feel peace and have faith that God is in control.
Less than 1 month!
February 24th is the day we get to meet our little guy. Less than 1 month! We are so excited!
February 24th is also my sister’s (Erica) due date!
You may be doing to the math in your head and realizing that Feb. 24th is quite a bit early…with my due date being March 18th and all. Yes, I will be 36 weeks and 5 days to be exact. My doctor told me I got to choose a day between the 21st and the 24th. We want our little guy to grow as much and as big as he can before birth so we picked the last possible day. Plus wouldn’t it be so cool for me and my sister to have babies on the same day! : )It still seems a bit early to me…but I trust my doctor. The whole reason for the early C-section, in case you are curious – if your not curious just skip ahead because this may be too much information, is because I had a “Classical C-section” with Collin (which means they cut my uterus vertically) so that they could lift him out easier. So basically, I am not “allowed” to go into labor or have contractions because of the risk of my uterus rupturing. Chris is so cute in making sure I am resting and taking it easy so I don’t overdue it and accidently go into early labor.
My doctor is monitoring me and the baby very closely as a precaution because of the complications with Collin. This means I have NST (Non-stress tests) every week – which entails an ultrasound to measure the amount of amniotic fluid and also tracking his heart rate with these fancy machines for 20 minutes, plus doctor appointments every other week, and another growth ultrasound scheduled for the beginning of February. I love all the attention and the reassurance it provides. I still get nervous or afraid sometimes that something will go wrong. It’s hard not too. But I do feel peace and have faith that God is in control.
Less than 1 month!
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
So at this rate my next post will be about our new little baby boy! ..no hopefully I will squeeze a post or two in before then - but no promises. He is coming the end of February and we are beyond excited. We love him so much already.
Okay so now to Christmas. Chris and I were so lucky to be able to spend Christmas in Utah with family! I was there for two weeks and believe it or not Chris was there for one whole week! It was the best! I have included many pictures in attempt to summarize our vacation and let me just apologize right up front for the picture overload - I figure pictures are more fun than words anyways, right? Oh and one more thing, these pictures are not in chronological order, just in case anyone was curious.
So we spend the majority of the break with family, which was incredible and exactly what we love.
We did manage to see a few friends, including our good friends Martin and Bree. Bree is pregnant as well, due early February and having a little girl. It was so much fun to chat and catch up with them. I also was able to go to lunch with my old co-workers, which was great. I miss them! We also were able to catch up with our good friends Ben and Gwendolyn and their sweet boy Henry (who is getting so big by the way) - however I unfortunately don't have a picture of us.
And I got to spent some time with Jessa (also no picture)
We were able to visit Collin's grave. We miss our boy so much. I'm excited to bring his little brother with us next time. I don't want anyone to ever think that he is being replaced - he is so precious to us and a very important part of our family. We love you, Collin.
We spent quality time with both of our families (a huge benefit of having both families live in Utah)
Chris's mom threw me an incredible shower, where, I of course was spoiled.
She also put together a fun chocolate dipping girls night party. A tradition that is always a huge hit. She is incredible at throwing parties!
We had a bowling day with Chris's family. I'll blame my low scores on being pregnant
We also had a family dinner at the new Brick Oven in South Jordan - so delicious! And then went to a play afterwards.
With Chris's family we also went to breakfast at IHOP on Christmas eve, watched movies, visited, ate delicious food oh and Chris went skiing with his dad and brother, Steve. We love spending time with Chris's family!
We spent Christmas day (as well as the day before and after) with my family at my family's cabin in Bear Lake, which was beautiful and white!
Everyone went skiing/snowboarding, while I enjoyed hot chocolate and my new book in the lodge (which to be honest is probably what I prefer regardless of being pregnant - being cold just doesn't appeal to me)
My mom with three of her six daughters. She is beautiful and very often mistaken as a sister!
At the cabin we made gingerbread houses, went snowmobiling (don't worry I didn't go), watched movies, read books, and did the traditional Christmas eve nativity were Chris and I were lucky enough to be chosen as Mary and Joseph - this is a highly coveted position in my family and I think my pregnant belly did the trick for us : ) Devin, my little brother, was fortunate enough to be chosen as the donkey - luckily he's strong and I didn't break his back (I think it was pretty close though).
Me and my mom - see how easy it is to confuse her as a sister! I hope I can be somewhat close to as incredible of a mom that she is to me.
We really missed Erica and Coleman, they were with Coleman's family for Christmas, however we were so lucky to be able to see and hang out with them for a couple days following Christmas. Other things we did with my family: We went a MV basketball game to support Devin and Haley. We went to the movies. The boys went golfing and played an intense couple games of 3 on 3 basketball. And we had fun visited and laughing.
Me and Erica. She is a day over 32 weeks in this pic and I am a day under 29 weeks.
We had the best time in Utah and are so grateful for our incredible families.
We were so spoiled this Christmas and got some fun baby items from our parents. Stroller, Car Seat, and Crib.
Now less than two months and our baby boy will be joining our family!
Okay so now to Christmas. Chris and I were so lucky to be able to spend Christmas in Utah with family! I was there for two weeks and believe it or not Chris was there for one whole week! It was the best! I have included many pictures in attempt to summarize our vacation and let me just apologize right up front for the picture overload - I figure pictures are more fun than words anyways, right? Oh and one more thing, these pictures are not in chronological order, just in case anyone was curious.
So we spend the majority of the break with family, which was incredible and exactly what we love.
We did manage to see a few friends, including our good friends Martin and Bree. Bree is pregnant as well, due early February and having a little girl. It was so much fun to chat and catch up with them. I also was able to go to lunch with my old co-workers, which was great. I miss them! We also were able to catch up with our good friends Ben and Gwendolyn and their sweet boy Henry (who is getting so big by the way) - however I unfortunately don't have a picture of us.
And I got to spent some time with Jessa (also no picture)
We were able to visit Collin's grave. We miss our boy so much. I'm excited to bring his little brother with us next time. I don't want anyone to ever think that he is being replaced - he is so precious to us and a very important part of our family. We love you, Collin.
We spent quality time with both of our families (a huge benefit of having both families live in Utah)
Chris's mom threw me an incredible shower, where, I of course was spoiled.
She also put together a fun chocolate dipping girls night party. A tradition that is always a huge hit. She is incredible at throwing parties!
We had a bowling day with Chris's family. I'll blame my low scores on being pregnant
We also had a family dinner at the new Brick Oven in South Jordan - so delicious! And then went to a play afterwards.
With Chris's family we also went to breakfast at IHOP on Christmas eve, watched movies, visited, ate delicious food oh and Chris went skiing with his dad and brother, Steve. We love spending time with Chris's family!
We spent Christmas day (as well as the day before and after) with my family at my family's cabin in Bear Lake, which was beautiful and white!
Everyone went skiing/snowboarding, while I enjoyed hot chocolate and my new book in the lodge (which to be honest is probably what I prefer regardless of being pregnant - being cold just doesn't appeal to me)
My mom with three of her six daughters. She is beautiful and very often mistaken as a sister!
At the cabin we made gingerbread houses, went snowmobiling (don't worry I didn't go), watched movies, read books, and did the traditional Christmas eve nativity were Chris and I were lucky enough to be chosen as Mary and Joseph - this is a highly coveted position in my family and I think my pregnant belly did the trick for us : ) Devin, my little brother, was fortunate enough to be chosen as the donkey - luckily he's strong and I didn't break his back (I think it was pretty close though).
Me and my mom - see how easy it is to confuse her as a sister! I hope I can be somewhat close to as incredible of a mom that she is to me.
We really missed Erica and Coleman, they were with Coleman's family for Christmas, however we were so lucky to be able to see and hang out with them for a couple days following Christmas. Other things we did with my family: We went a MV basketball game to support Devin and Haley. We went to the movies. The boys went golfing and played an intense couple games of 3 on 3 basketball. And we had fun visited and laughing.
Me and Erica. She is a day over 32 weeks in this pic and I am a day under 29 weeks.
We had the best time in Utah and are so grateful for our incredible families.
We were so spoiled this Christmas and got some fun baby items from our parents. Stroller, Car Seat, and Crib.
Now less than two months and our baby boy will be joining our family!
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