He’s Here!!!

Oh, my poor neglected blog. I’m so sorry I haven’t updated for so long. Everything had been going so well, I was just enjoying being a normal pregnant girl for a few months. That all changed in the last few weeks of pregnancy. At 33 weeks they measured my fundal height and it was 32 cm, so one week off. The doctor said it wasn’t a big deal so I wasn’t very concerned. Two weeks later at 35 weeks I measured 32 cm again and again the doctor said the measurement could be wrong but just in case he would do an ultrasound at my next appointment in a week. I went in for the ultrasound and my little guy went from being in the 50th percentile to the 5th percentile in the 3 months since I last had an ultrasound. The doctor said he would be concerned if he was under the 10th percentile but the 5th percentile was alarming. I was at 36 weeks at that point and the doctor said he wanted me to come in every 3 days to be hooked up to the fetal monitor to make sure he was still doing ok and then he would induce me between 37 and 38 weeks. He assumed there was something wrong with my placenta and little guy just wasn’t getting enough nutrition. Needless to say I was a wreck for a few weeks. I had made it so far only to be hit with another complication. At work patients kept asking me when I was due and when I would tell them I got the same answer over and over “but you are so small for that far along”. It was horrible.

My doctor finally made the call to induce me at 37 weeks one day. I went into the hospital on a Thursday and they started to induce me. My cervix was completely closed and it took DAYS for anything to happen. They started out with an oral medication I think it was called cytotec that was supposed to soften the cervix. Then they put in a balloon called a Foley Bulb to help open the cervix. Then I finally moved on to Pitocin. By Sunday I was finally dilated to 4 cm (seriously Sunday, it took a really long time but I was hooked up to the fetal monitor the whole time so I knew he was ok). The doctor broke my water Sunday afternoon and that’s when things really started happening. I got an epidural as soon as the contractions were bad. Sunday night around 11:30 I finally started pushing. As soon as I started pushing two flight for life nurses came into the room and that really freaked me out, my nurse told me that they were just there because it was a slow night for them but I was sure there was something wrong with my little guy and they were planning to fly him away to the big city as soon as he was born. I didn’t know at the time but little guy was face up and after pushing for 3 hours he just wasn’t coming out. The doctor said there was too much stress on the baby and every time I pushed his heart rate was going way down. I was so worried that he would suggest a c-section at this point after everything I had been through but instead he said he wanted to get him out with a vacuum. I told him to do whatever he had to do to make sure little guy was ok. So he did, he gave me an episiotomy and I pushed with everything I had and the doctor pulled with all his strength and little guy was born.

His first cry was the best sound I have ever heard in my life. I knew everything was ok when they put him on my chest and just let me hold him, I had expected them to whisk him away but instead I got to hold him and love him. He ended up weighing in at 5 lbs 12 oz so not nearly as small as they had expected. Words can’t even explain how relieved and happy we are. Most of the babies at this elevation need oxygen for the first few weeks or even months but our little guy had excellent oxygen saturation levels. Besides having to go back in to the hospital for a night to be put under the lights for jaundice he is absolutely perfect.

After seven years and more heart-break than anyone should have to go through we are finally parents. We just can’t get enough of our little guy, I think he is the most loved little boy in the world. We are so blessed to have him in our lives.

24 Weeks

Today I finally made it to 24 weeks and viability. Such a huge milestone, I’m just so happy. I remember the doctor talking to me at 14 weeks about how he wouldn’t do anything to save the baby until 24 weeks and it seemed like SO long before I would get there. Now here I am, finally.

The wife of one of my coworkers who went to the same fertility doctor as me about 9 years ago got pregnant with twins and ended up going into labor at 23 weeks. She was taken by the flight for life helicopter to a hospital in the big city and held out for one week but the babies were born right at 24 weeks. They are both doing great now but they went through years of struggle with their health, especially their son. He had a feeding tube for over three years. My co-worker and his wife had to sell their house and move to sea level for the first 4 years of their children’s lives. Now they are back but had to choose a different town to live in that isn’t such a high elevation. So, I am completely aware of what can happen if the baby is born this early and am praying that he will hold out until the end of July. It still feels so good to make it to this point though. This is really happening, I couldn’t be happier.

Great News

We had another appointment with the OB yesterday. It had been over three weeks since my last appointment, by far the longest I have gone between appointments for the entire pregnancy. I was hoping for good news about everything since I haven’t had any bleeding for about five weeks and I got it! The OB doc had to look for a while before he even saw the separation and he said it is a lot smaller. Finally. The little one is measuring right on track and his heart rate was great. The doctor said I could relax some of the restrictions. We can finally have sex after 5 months, YAY!! Also, I can get some exercise as long as I keep my heart rate below 140. The doctor thinks I’ve made it beyond the point where he is worried about miscarriage. I can’t even explain how happy and relieved I am.

I’m not a very religious person but over the last few months I have had so many different friends/family/acquaintances tell me that I have been in their prayers. People of all different religions. I really feel like their prayers have helped and I appreciate it so much.

Good News From Work

For months I’ve been thinking about asking my boss if there is any way I can go down to four work days a week after the baby comes. With Guillermo owning his own business and me having Ulcerative Colitis as a pre-existing condition I have to go back to work in order to be on my company’s insurance plan. It’s a huge bummer to me because if I didn’t have a pre-existing condition and insurance wasn’t so outrageously expensive for me we could make do with me not working and live on Guillermo’s salary. Oh well, it’s one of those things I have no control over. My company offers insurance to all employees working at least 32 hours a week so four days a week would be one less day of daycare and I could still get health insurance. But, I have been putting off asking my boss because I was quite sure the answer would be no. I finally got the courage up yesterday to ask her. It went like this:

Me: You don’t have to answer now but I just want to ask you what you would think about me working four eight hour days a week after the baby is born.

Boss: I was actually talking with the CEO about you the other day and we weren’t sure you were actually planning on coming back to work so if you want to work four eight hour days a week that would be fine, we really want you to come back.

Me: Wow, really? Awesome, even during the ski season?

Boss: Yes, we’ll figure out something during the ski season to cover your day off.

I was really not expecting that answer but am so happy and relieved! We were thinking we would have to do four days of day care in the winter and three in the summer but now we’ll only have to do three in the winter and two in the summer. It never hurts to ask.

In The Club

I know I posted that Guillermo and I were going to meet up with our good friends who moved about an hour and a half away when we went shopping for a new couch but it just didn’t work out and we didn’t meet up that weekend. We have been dying to tell them our big news but only wanted to tell them in person, not through email, phone, or text. Finally this weekend they came up to our house with their two kids to go skiing and we were able to share the news. It’s funny, they couldn’t believe I am 5 months already and we just told them. They were with us the weekend before my transfer but we didn’t say anything then because we weren’t telling anyone at the time and we just haven’t actually met up until last weekend. They bought us the cutest present ever:

It was so fun to catch up with them, they are such good friends and now that they live far away we don’t get together often enough. I can’t wait to put little guy into the pj’s.

I got some great news on Friday. I have a friend who was married about two years ago at 41 years old. It was both her and her husband’s first marriage and they are such an awesome couple. I remember her saying when she got married that she wanted to have kids but was doubtful that it would happen at her age. They planned to not use protection and just see what happened. Well, I found out that she is pregnant with a boy due a week after me! She’s going to be 44 when the baby is due. Such great news!

Then on Saturday a good friend of mine had her baby boy. Mom, baby, and dad are doing great and Guillermo and I are going to visit them tomorrow. I really can’t wait to meet him.

Years ago when we first started trying to get pregnant it seemed like all of our friends were having kids and we were left behind. Now a whole different group of friends are having babies and it’s looking like we’re on track to be in the club this time.

20 Weeks

I’m so excited that I’m 20 weeks today, it’s actually starting to feel like I’m really pregnant, this is really happening. In light of that today’s post is going to be about my pregnancy, I feel like I’ve neglected to write about any positive pregnancy thoughts or symptoms. I plan to eventually start a blog that isn’t private and that won’t focus on infertility but I’m still hesitant to do that just yet. Maybe 24 weeks will be the magic number, I’m going to wait and see how I feel.

The most exciting recent development has been feeling the little guy move around. I’ve been feeling him for a few weeks now and every time it brings a smile to my face. Last night I had my hand on my belly and felt him kick from the outside. Guillermo was sitting next to me and I was so excited, I grabbed his hand and put it on my stomach and felt another kick but Guillermo didn’t feel it. I imagine he will be able to feel him kicking soon.

In the last few weeks my belly has gone from looking like I had a big lunch to definitely looking like I’m pregnant. One of my co-workers is two months ahead of me and she went on vacation for a week when she was around 20 weeks looking like she wasn’t pregnant and came back with an obviously pregnant belly. I feel like the same thing happened to me when I got back from visiting family. Last weekend I tried on all of my newly inherited maternity clothes and organized my closet so one side is all clothes that still fit or maternity clothes. It has been nice this week to just wake up and throw on an outfit. My pants with a really low waist still fit but the other ones are way too tight. I can still zip up my coats and am hoping that lasts until April when it gets warmer here.

The only things I miss since getting pregnant are sex and exercise. I’m guessing it’s because I knew I would have to stop drinking alcohol and caffeine but wasn’t planning to stop having sex or exercise for 9 months. It’s funny, I’ll be watching TV and get jealous when I see someone working out. Guillermo is so sweet and always works out before I get home from work so he doesn’t feel like he’s rubbing it in that he can still work out. He also apologizes every time he goes snowboarding. I do miss snowboarding but knew I wouldn’t be able to go this winter. I keep reminding myself that at least I’m not on bed rest and that makes me feel better.

The most surprising thing I’ve found about being pregnant is that I don’t feel very different. I’ve heard so many pregnant women complain about how awful it is being pregnant and am pleasantly surprised to find it’s not so bad, in fact I really enjoy being pregnant. Maybe I’m speaking too soon because I’m only half way there, but so far so good.

Anatomy Scan

Our trip to see the family was a lot of fun, we caught up with so many people we hadn’t seen in quite a while at Gramma’s birthday party. I got to spend some quality time with my parents while Guillermo was snowboarding. Coming from a family with 3 siblings it’s always nice to have my parents all to myself and it rarely happens. My older sister has three boys and the last time she was at my parents house she left bags and bags of baby and toddler clothes for me. They are all so cute and I’m so excited that I won’t have to buy clothes for a very long time. Over the last 10 years or so my mom has been going to thrift stores and looking for baby and children’s books. She has a huge collection to give to all of her grandkids. I’ve gone to that closet every time I’m at her house and looked at those books for years hoping that one day I might actually be able to have a little one to read the books to. It was so much fun this trip to go through and pick out baby books to bring home. She has so many that I remember her reading to me when I was growing up.

We went in for the anatomy scan on Thursday and as far as the doctor could see all is just perfect with the little guy. It was a long appointment because although the little guy was moving around he had his back to us the entire time and the doctor was having a hard time looking at everything he needed to. After about an hour he had measured everything he possibly could and only missed having a look at his face. We’ll hopefully get a look at his face at the next appointment.

After almost a whole week of no bleeding I was hoping for excellent news about the separation. For some reason I was expecting the doctor to tell me it was almost all healed up but unfortunately he said it’s still the same size (but not bigger so that’s good). He thinks the bleeding stopped because the little guy growing moved things around in there and the separation isn’t as close to my cervix any more. I’m just thankful for no bleeding right now and hope it keeps up.

Guillermo and I usually go on a long vacation in May because the restaurant is closed for a month between ski season and summer. This year we were planning on going to Nicaragua. I had read in the What to Expect book before I got pregnant that if all is well travel out of the country is no problem as long as you don’t need any vaccines. With everything that has been going on I was quite certain that the doctor would say no to Nicaragua so we were thinking Hawaii as a back up plan. We asked him about Nicaragua (doesn’t hurt to ask right?) and he said absolutely not. So, we asked him about going to Hawaii and he said no to that too. Kind of a bummer but I’m sure we can find somewhere to go that isn’t so far away.

I scheduled my next appointment for a month out but was told to call if I have any bleeding. I still have the same restrictions in place and now I’m thinking these restrictions might just be in place for the entire pregnancy. I’m hoping all goes well over the next month. If I can make it that long it will be the longest I’ve gone between doctors appointments since the transfer and I will be so close to the all important 24 week mark.

Happy Day

I haven’t had any bleeding today! Wow, that hasn’t happened in months. Up until yesterday I was still spotting but today absolutely nothing. I feel like a normal pregnant girl, this is so awesome. I’m praying this continues and the separation completely heals. I’m excited for the anatomy scan a week from today, hopefully the doctor can see improvement.

Guillermo and I are driving to our home state for Guillermo’s Grandma’s 80th birthday party tomorrow. Gramma (as everyone calls her) is such an awesome lady and I can’t wait to hang out with her and the hundreds of Guillermo’s extended family members. We’re staying with my parents so I’m really excited to have some quality time with them while Guillermo takes the nephews snowboarding for a few of the days.

No more bleeding, no more work until Wednesday, and looking forward to seeing lots of family this weekend. It is a happy day.

It’s a Boy

Oh the joys of high risk pregnancy. We had another ultrasound yesterday afternoon and got to find out that we are having a boy. At the clinic we go to patients don’t usually find out the gender until 19-20 weeks at the anatomy scan but since we are on the every two week ultrasound plan we got to find out a bit early (there has to be a perk to all of this stress right?). It’s funny, neither of us cared if we were having a boy or girl, either one would be fine with us, but we were both so excited when we heard it is a boy. I think it just feels like it’s more real to us, like we might actually one day be parents to this adorable little guy.

It was an appointment of mostly good news. The little guy is growing right on track even though I have been off the Lovenox now for over three weeks. We finally got the results of the NT scan and blood work back and the doctor told us the odds of our baby having a chromosomal abnormality are about one in 9,000. I can’t remember the exact number and there were a few different chromosomal abnormalities that he gave us odds on but they were both around one in 9,000. The doctor also said that although it was too early to do a complete anatomy scan what he could see looked really good.

I was really excited that since Wednesday the bleeding has seemed to let up a little but looking at the ultrasound the doctor said the clot was still there and hadn’t gone down in size at all so that was a disappointment. It is also still behind the placenta and that’s scary. I was hoping he would tell me everything is healing up fast but no such luck. I still have all of the restrictions I’ve been on for the last four months. I’m not complaining though, I can do anything even if it ends up being for nine months if it will mean a healthy little boy.

I’m really trying to focus on the positive and this time it isn’t too hard because there was so much good news at this appointment. Even though the blood clot is still there and not going down in size it’s reassuring to me that I’m not bleeding as heavily lately. Seeing the blood day in and day out is so stressful, it’s nice to have a bit of a mental break.

Guillermo is getting off work early today and we’re heading to the big city to buy a new couch and area rugs for our dining room and family room. We bought the couch and love seat we have now 12 years ago when we were just married. My Dad was with us when we picked them out and I still remember him telling us “don’t just buy the cheapest set, you are going to end up having this for a long time and it might be worth it to spend a little more money to have something you really like” but of course being the frugal people we are we didn’t listen to him, bought the cheapest set, and have not really liked it for the last 12 years. Then, when we took out the carpet and put in pergo floors last year our neighbors had just bought new area rugs so they gave us their old ones to use until we bought new ones. So, we’ve had a nicely remodeled house with an old couch, love seat, and area rugs for about a year now and it’s time we spent some money and finish off the remodel project. When we looked at this house before we bought it six years ago the people living here had a sectional couch that fit perfectly in the family room and we have talked about buying one for a long time so today is finally the day. We are also meeting up with some good friends who live in the big city who don’t know our big news yet. We haven’t hung out since early November and we wanted to tell them in person so we finally get to today. I can’t wait.

Maternity Clothes

With all of my doom and gloom posts I need to post something happy.
I came to work the other day to bags of maternity clothes under my desk from my boss who gave birth in November. So far I’ve been ok wearing the clothes I have but I’m sure I’ll be needing some maternity clothes in the next month or so. I’m very thrifty and cheap and have been dreading spending money on clothes I can only wear for a few months. My boss on the other hand is very stylish, spares no expense on clothes, and is my exact same size. It was like Christmas going through all of the clothes, I’m going to be better dressed pregnant than I am normally. There are so many cute tops, designer jeans,and even a swimsuit. I’ll be surprised if I have to buy anything. I just can’t thank her enough.