Pregnancy Snapshot

So, this is a quick look at how we got to 24 weeks....

• April 2007: Surprise, we're pregnant! Found out in April while Mike was in Utah.....holey moley, the ride begins!
• May 3rd (10 weeks) First ultrasound to determine viability of the pregnancy. A very bittersweet day since the last beautiful heartbeat we had heard was our darling Max.
• May 11th (11 weeks): Nuchal Translucency Scan and First Check appointment; FYI - The NT test uses ultrasound to measure the clear (translucent) space in the tissue at the back of the developing baby's neck. Babies with abnormalities tend to accumulate more fluid at the back of their neck during the first trimester, causing this clear space to be larger than average. The first of our hurdles: our baby's NT measurement was increased at 3.3mm. 2.5mm is normal. Our baby may have chromosomal defects or heart abnormalities. We are told we need to do a Chorionic Villus Sampling that day.....terrified we begin to inflate my bladder and prepare until a Genetics Couseolor arrives and helps us decide to wait until the blood testing is in.
• May 18th (12 weeks): Blood testing is in and we have decided to go ahead with the Chorionic Villus Sampling. It is an invasive diagnostic test that will allow the baby's chromosomes to be mapped to determine if abnormalities are present. The test was not fun, the babies NT was still enlarged so we feel it was a good decision for us. Our alternative was to wait until 16 weeks and complete an amniocentesis. Now we wait another two weeks for results.....all in all a very stressful month!!!
• June 1st: Results from the CVS are in: the chromosomes are NORMAL!!!! They could also tell us the baby's gender, but we are waiting until this little one is born, just like we did for Nate and Max. Now we wait until 22 weeks for an echocardiogram to rule out any heart issues resulting from the enlarged NT measurement.
• June 5th: (15 weeks) Cerclage Day. We need a stitch in my cervix to perhaps prevent future issues with this pregnancy. I am given a spinal (fun - I recommend you do NOT allow a resident to practice on you, just get the anethesiologist!) and the stitch is sewed into me. Sick for three days, lost weight but finally back on track.
• June 14th (16 weeks): Cerclage check day. Time to see was still well with the new stitch and it was. Also, we will begin P17 injections weekly starting in week 17. P17 is a synthetic progesterone that research has shown to help reduce occurrence of preterm labor. Mike practiced injecting me in the office and will be giving the shots each week. I don't know who is more excited, him or me???
• June 28th (18 weeks): Anatomy Ultrasound Day. For most parents this is so exciting because you get to see your baby and maybe find out the gender. But for us it was just scary - another opportunity for something awful to be found. However, we had a bright spot - all the baby's systems were forming beautifully and the enlaraged NT from 12 weeks, now called a Nuchal Fold, is just fine for this gestational age!!!! Hooray, we may not have to worry about Cystic Hygromas at all! We still have the echocardiogram at 22 weeks. But all in all this was a GREAT visit. Baby is in the 71% for growth and we also got 4-D ultrasound shots of the baby - they are amazing!!! Will post those soon.
• July 12 (20 weeks): Quick prenatal appointment: All looks well, Dr.J is happy with the stitch and the 18week ultrasound results, including heart formation. We feel pretty good after this appoitment.
• July 21 (21 weeks): Labor and Delivery Visit: After waking up to cramping around 3:30 a.m. (which is not unusual for this pregnancy) I had them all day. Finally around 4:00 pm we called the doctor service (it is saturday) and they told us to come in. Long story short, minor contractions, cultures taken, cervix looks good, stitch is good and we go home. Around 11 first call on an infection found from cultures after urine dipstick was called "clean." Minor yeast infection, yuck. Then on Sunday we get the call that I had a urinary tract infection. Antibiotics prescribed and by Wednesday I feel almos like a normal pg woman again - contractions have subsided as have the cramps. Earlier in the week I thought I would be on bedrest because of the frequency of contractions when I did next to nothing!!!
• July 26 (22 weeks): Echocardiogram day for baby. The heart looks BEAUTIFUL!!!!! No need to see us again unless something comes up at a later ultrasound. AMEN and hooray to that! Visit with Dr. J goes well, stitch is good. She reassures us our decision to go to L&D was a good one: a urinary tract infection can trigger Preterm Labor and it sounds like that is just what it was doing for me. She tells us we have Card Blanche and to trust our instincts. My body is pretty good at telling me something is wrong and we feel like we have made it a few steps up the mountain of this pregnancy.
• August 4 (23 weeks): Back to L & D: Wouldn't you know it is Saturday morning and I awoke to red blood in the toliet. Red blood is the cardinal warning sign of danger in pregnancy, especially in the later trimesters. So instead of making pancakes, Grammy and Papa come to watch Nate and we go to L&D again. :( While there, my body is making so much urine I think my water may have broken again on top of the blood. *when it broke with Max it was not a gush like you would think, but a slower emptying out that caused me to keep going to the bathroom at a ridiculous frequency. Long story short: all looks well. Cervix is closed, a little blood near stitch, ultrasound shows no internal blood and that the placenta is firmly attached to the uterine wall. All tests show no amniotic fluid, hooray. We see the baby swimming and flipping around in his/her dark world oblivious, thank goodness.
• August 6: 24 WEEKS GESTATION today!!!! Why excited? Today is the day that medical science recognizes our baby as a viable human, and they call it viability of the pregnancy. Our little one could possibly survive outside of the womb if he/she had to. Survival is about 60% and goes up with each day inside the womb. Each week increases survival chances tremendously. At 26 weeks Max had a nealy 80% chance at survival, but his immune system was not strong enough to fight the horrible e-coli sepsis invasion. We are hopeful that this little one will stay inside and bake for many more weeks with his big brother Max guarding close by.
• August 7: Crap. Another call from the hospital, another stinkin' urinary tract infection. Back on antibiotics and feeling pretty lousy today. Lots of cramping in the past 3 days with my wake up call being around 3:30-4 a.m. The only thing that helps is tylenol with codeine #3 that we were given after the cerclage. Hopefully we will just clear this one up and feel pretty good again. Only two days from our 24 week ultrasound.