11 Weeks

Statistics:
11 Weeks
Starting Weight: 135
Current Weight: 135.5
Issues: Digestive issues...

First, thank you to everyone who prayed for us on Monday. As I posted last week, Monday was Brooke's first birthday. I did very well. I just treated it like any other day. I went to the Phoenix Zoo (which was not crowded but VERY HOT) with my family and we had a great time. One year ago, I never thought I would be this happy and peaceful. God's everlasting kindess and love is amazing!

I met with the perinatologist on Tuesday. I was a little nervous, but everything went GREAT. The hospital is approximately one hour from Wickenburg, so as I was driving there, pregnancy bladder struck! I had to pee so badly and of course, I hit every red light once I got on Thunderbird Road. Those 4 miles were torture! Haha, so I got to the hospital and had to go through admissions before going in for my ultrasound. That process was kind of hard for me, because I literally was doing the same thing one year ago...and I came out 4 days later with no baby. I just kept thinking positive and the lady was really nice, so that was good.

I then went down the hall to the perinatologist's office. I was waiting for Cody to show up (he had some issues with parking) and the ultrasound tech came out to greet me. We met Cody at the entrance and we walked back into the room. I started to cry just going in there. The tech was so kind to me and understood my crying. I think I'll get better with the ultrasounds once I start to feel movement. Anyways, they proceeded with the ultrasound and there was our baby. It no longer looks like a peanut. It had little arms and legs and it knew it was time to perform. It was kicking, punching, and rolling around. Cody and I were just ao amazed at how active it was. And then it took it's right hand and put it on top of it's head like, "Oh, that was so exhausting!" The heart rate was 172 BPM and the tech said the baby was positioned in my uterus exactly where it should be. She also said that the baby's growth was 3 days ahead of schedule, but when she did the transvaginal ultrasound measurements, it was 1 day. Either way, she said it's perfectly normal.

Many of you know I was concerned about my uterus possibly being abnormally shaped. The doctor who did my c-section with Brooke said it appeared bi-cornuate, or heart shaped. Well, after a good 20 minutes of examining my uterus by ultrasound, the tech and the perinatologist agreed that my uterus IS NOT heart shaped. She said that perhaps how the placenta attached last time could have given my uterus a heart shaped appearance.

So after a wonderful ultrasound, Cody and I met with the perinatologist in her office. She went over my records with me and just listened to my concerns. She said that 25% of babies are born with the cord around the neck, but a triple nuchal cord (what Brooke had) is very rare, and even more rarely do babies die from it. She said that Brooke's death could have possibly been a combo of things.... cord wrapped around the neck with low amniotic fluid could have caused her to more easily compress her cord or my placenta may not have been functioning as well as it should have in those final weeks. She said that while Brooke's size was not abnormally small (6 lbs 3 oz 19 in), it is a little on the low side for a 40 week baby. She thinks that maybe in those final weeks, Brooke was starting to fall off the growth chart. So because of my family history with blood clots and just to rule anything out, she is having some blood tests run on me to rule out anything in my blood that may cause future problems. If there is anything, she says that there are so many treatments available.

So off I will go to get my blood drawn. Yippee! If everything turns out OK with that, she says that they will start monitoring me at around 32 weeks with non-stress tests and biophysical profiling, in addition to ultrasounds to check on baby's growth. All reassuring things. She is also supportive of letting me attempt a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) which made me glad.

So that's what's been going on. Cody and I are headed up to Greer this weekend and we will not be back until the 25th, so my next post will probably not be for another two weeks. Below is a pic from the ultrasound. It's not as clear as the last one, but it will work. :)