For all of you that have faithfully been lifting us up throughout the past years, 'Thank You'. It is those of you that I want to hear this story. I want you to know those times you have spent bringing us before the Lord were not in vain. Prayer works!
In case you missed it on Facebook below is what I am writing about today :)
If you read my last post than you know our most recent miscarriage happened this past March. After we got through that DnC we made the decision we were ready to see a Specialist Doctor to look deeper than we had before on any potential issues we may have that could be leading to our losses which felt as though they were piling up.
We ended up working with Mid-Iowa Fertility, specifically with Doctor Young. We had our first consultation with Dr Young early May. We sat down and went through all of our pregnancy history with him and he came up with some options for us that we could consider pursuing. That day he started by running a series of blood workups on me to double check everything, even those things that had been checked before.
We were also going to have a genetic screening done on Michael and I to see if one of us had a genetic issue that made us more prone to miscarriage. We did not start that process that day as we wanted to ensure it was going to be covered through our insurance.
After my DnC in March, I made a last minute decision to join a 10 week Farrell's Extreme Body Shaping Class. I decided this would be a healthy physical outlet I could focus on for a few months and also something that could help me regain strength and muscle that my body had lost after so many pregnancies.
By the time we started our fertility testing I was over half way through my 10 week program and feeling the healthiest and strongest I have ever felt in my life. This included tightening up my eating habits.
Much to my surprise, when I got my blood test results back from the Fertility Specialist the only thing they found was that I had a gluten sensitivity.......this was shocking and a bit devastating to me. I basically could live off of pasta and bread so I knew this was going to rock my world. The strangest thing about this is that I have absolutely no signs of an allergy including no digestive issues.
I think God placed me in Farrell's to help me remove many of those items from my daily eating to prep me for this news......almost like he was telling me ahead of time 'you can do this Danielle.' This helped me take this news a little better than I probably would before (even though I did not take it all that well).
Back to Farrell's.........
During the time I was in my 10 week session we were honestly not trying to get pregnant. We were in the middle of fertility testing and wanted to get some results on what could be going on before trying again.
Interestingly, during this time I got to thinking about my cycle and realized that I hadn't had my period in a long time......but my irregular and long cycles coupled with the fact I was working out extremely hard 6 days a week didn't leave me with concerns. I just figured that was why I was 'late'.
A week or two passed and then I started to really wonder what was going on. I was about 1 week outside of my Farrell's class at this point and truly expected a period by then. So I took a test not thinking much about it.
Here is what I found.....
I had a left over pregnancy test in my cabinet from our previous pregnancy so I grabbed it and decided to check it out. To be honest, I didn't even mention it to Michael before I took it because I was totally convinced it would be negative. When it was instantly positive my heart stopped for a moment. It was like the best surprise ever. It was such a blessing and an answer to prayer and it was obvious that God's timing was much different than ours but I had so much peace.....it just made so much sense for some reason.
It was so fun to share this news with Michael. He was in the shower and I walked in and said....'Guess what, we are going to have another baby.'
I remember seeing his head pop over the top of the shower curtain with a big smile and he said, 'Are you serious?!' I told him, I was totally serious and all we could do was laugh because we were so shocked and happy at the same time.
That next day I called the Fertility Specialists and told them what was going on and that we would not be moving forward with the genetic screening. At this point, it would not change our situation only explain why we lost so many babies before. I didn't really care to know if there was a problem at that time as it would create more anxiety than help.
This pregnancy has gone so well. I was more nauseated this time than with previous pregnancies and I have also been very tired but I am so blessed to say that I have had no bleeding. This is the first pregnancy I have not had to deal with blood and it has been such a blessing.
Below are some pics of our early ultrasounds.....
Above is a picture of our peanut at 7 weeks. This was our first time hearing it's heart beating and it was awesome.
Above is a picture of a much chubbier peanut at week 9. You can see it has some little arm nubs already. It was amazing because the baby was moving all around in this ultrasound already.
Right now we are working with a high risk OB. His name is Dr. Neil Mandsager with Mercy and he and his team have been so great and welcoming to Michael and I. I really feel they have been attentive to our situation and are trying to give us the best options possible to bring home a healthly baby in 6 months.
Just yesterday I went in and I had cerclage placement in my cervix. There are many types but we did the McDonald stitch which is one of the least invasive. This is a stitch that holds the cervix together to help avoid preterm dilalation. This will not guarantee I don't have bed rest this time but could possibly help me stay off longer. I had the procedure in a C-section room. It is so weird because you get a spinal like you would in a C-section then you just lay there awake while they do the procedure which only takes about 10 minutes. Thankfully, I had a couple of nurses that were great about keeping the conversation flowing to ease my nerves.
It took me 8 hours to get my spinal to wear off....you could say I got a good one! I also was having trouble urinating after they took my catheter out and I could not leave until that happened. Thankfully after 3 hours and 4 tries......it happened. I'm not sure I have ever been more happy to pee as I almost had to be re-cathed to avoid a distained bladder (sp?). I don't think anyone likes the idea of having another catheter.....:)
For the rest of this week things are all about resting. There is blood and cramping associated with this procedure ( I know I mentioned earlier not having blood this time....I should clarify we have had no blood outside of this procedure). Seeing blood and having cramping is never welcomed while pregnant but thankfully the blood has not scared me. Today the spotting has really tampered off and is getting less and less which is a good sign.
Oddly enough, the thing that is scaring to me the most is the cramping. I have had period style cramping since the procedure but nothing out of the ordinary. I will be honest that it does make me nervous as I fear pre term labor. I should mention period like cramping is normal with these procedures but you always start to wonder what is normal and what is not when you are in the middle of it.
If I have one prayer request right now it would be that my cramping would completely go away. If you think of us tonight, please lift that up for us. Thank you so much!
We get to go back in for a check up and ultrasound this Friday afternoon. I am really hoping for all good news. The Doctor said the cerclage went well and that when he placed it, the cervix looked healthy and whole so that is great!
I will start having shots in my hips every week starting next week. They are going to use progesterone to help me avoid pre term labor. This with the cerclage is about the best they can do for me medically to keep baby inside the longest and hopefully off bed rest longer.
All in all though, this whole thing is in God's hands. He is the ultimate Physician and will take care of us and give us exactly what we need. Whether or not that falls in our 'plans' is yet to be seen. We will be taken care of no matter the result.
Again, thanks for all of your prayers. We continue to pray that this pregnancy would go well and that I heal well from this cerclage procedure. We are thankful for our little 'surprise' and look forward to welcoming this bundle in February!
P.S.
I have not met many people that have had cerclages so if you have and can relate to our story, shoot me an email. It is so nice to hear from others who have walked the road we are currently walking to know how things went for them. I would love to hear your story if you are interested in sharing! :)
Momma and baby during the 14th week!
Great update! My name is Heather and I was hoping you could answer my question about your blog! My email is Lifesabanquet1(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDelete