Oh, Baby!

It was a crazy summer to say the least with moving to MN!!  Not to mention, for 6 weeks, I drove back and forth every weekend to Green Bay since I had to continue with my old practice until the end of September.  When I was finally able to join my family, we were excited for life to settle down a bit.  Sure, starting a new job was going to be stressful, but it was going to be a welcome change!

At the end of October, I was feeling extremely "off".  I was exhausted, had little appetite, and was getting light headed.  I attributed it to starting a new job but when it persisted, I started to think something else was going on.  Was I having thyroid issues?  Mono? Autoimmune issues?  I was about to schedule an appointment with an MD and decided to take a pregnancy test to rule out one etiology...boy was I surprised!  After losing 4 babies to miscarriages and needing fertility meds to get pregnant in past, pregnancy was at the bottom of the list!  We were not trying and utilizing NFP for birth control.  I feel bad that my initial reaction was not good.  There were four letter words involved.  The timing couldn't be worse (I had just started with my new practice about three weeks prior to this, we sold/donated all baby items when we moved, my age made it 1:70 chance of having a baby with a chromosomal abnormality).  So, I prayed.  I prayed hard.  I prayed that I could trust God's plan and timing.  Then, I had an epiphany.  If Mary could say yes under much more difficult circumstances, I could at least say "Yes" and accept this blessing.
         First trimester was tough.  I was nauseous much earlier than with the other pregnancies and the level of exhaustion, well, just say I was on autopilot for those 12 weeks.  And, because of my miscarriage history I was having serial lab draws to see how my body was supporting the pregnancy.  My serial HCGs were not doubling every 48-72 hours like they should have.  In fact, after two weeks of blood draws every 3-4 days, we were told I was miscarrying.    My HCG levels were still going up but it hadn't doubled in over a week.  Then, they scheduled me for an ultrasound to measure the size of the fetus.  With all of my other ultrasounds, I was so anxious going in.  But, with this one, I told Aaron that I would be fine either way.   The ultrasound showed a strong heart beat and a fetus measuring just where it should for 8 weeks.

And, the ultrasounds at 10 weeks and 12 weeks showed the baby was developing right on track.  This baby defied the odds.  It was fun telling the kids and they were super excited!

       Given my age and risk of chromosomal abnormalities, I took advantage of a screening test at 12 weeks where they drew my blood and were able to extract the baby's DNA.  It was then we found out that it was negative for the three most common chromosomal abnormalities and that we were having a BOY!!

     I was very stressed and anxious about telling my partners that I was pregnant.  But, I again trusted in God's plan.   My partners took the news very well...better than I did when I found out.  And, they have been very supportive.  My staff have all been very supportive as well and very excited about the new addition to the OMSA family!

    I have had to have several ultrasounds to monitor an abnormality with the baby's left kidney.  Fortunately, the abnormality is very minor and he will have to have a kidney ultrasound after birth.  The specialist felt that the risk of him requiring surgery is very low.  Praise the Lord!

We are so excited to meet this little guy.  The kids have been so funny  with the pregnancy and asking a TON of questions!  How does the baby eat in my belly?  How does the baby come out?  They have also been so helpful in getting his nursery set up, clothes washed/folded, hospital bag packed (Elsa took charge of that and I still haven't looked at what is in side!)

Pregnancy photos

 21 Weeks

34 weeks 

And, here I sit, the day prior to induction.  This pregnancy has been SO different than my other two. I have had LOTS of contractions for the past 4 weeks.  Even my OB is amazed I am still pregnant.  I spent 12 hours in L&D two weeks ago with contractions every 3 minutes.  But, I stayed 2 cm dilated and, since I wasn't quite 38 weeks, they didn't want to break my water or induce me.  I was advised at that point to rest (I was supposed to work one more week) until delivery and resting slowed the contractions.    I still have had lots of contractions, but nothing consistent.  They want to induce me because 1) I have a history of having large babies (Chet was 10 lbs 2 oz) and 2) there is documented research that the placenta doesn't maintain itself as well in women over 40 years old past 39 weeks.  

It is so funny because he is not even here yet and the kids are talking about having another baby!  I explained that if there was another one, we couldn't take a vacation in at least 5 years.  They were then content with this being the last addition to our family!