I was excited when I realized that my 20 week ultrasound would be in December after the boys were done school so they would easily be able to come with us. I did however forget that they take the mother in first to get the measurements and then bring the family in...which meant they had a LONG 40 minute wait in the waiting room with their Dad and neither kid was in the best listening mood that day which made for a frustrating time for Jimmy! And he had to get back to work that afternoon too!
Anyways...I told the tech that we did not want to know the gender that day but that we did want her to put it in the report...but only if she was sure she could see what the gender was. I was very excited when a few minutes before bringing the boys in she said she did clearly see the gender so all was good for us to move forward with our plans for the gender reveal party to happen in January.
Here are a couple of good pictures of the baby, but I think this time the videos are even better.
This was James's reaction to the ultrasound...he was fascinated and didn't take his eyes off the screen once, and all the while chatted with the tech too of course! His brother on the other hand wanted nothing to do with seeing the baby on the screen....all he wanted was for me to kiss him and look at him beside me.
Longer video of baby's 20 week ultrasound
Video of baby's heartbeat
During my 10 week ultrasound they did see a small bleed behind the placenta that Dr. Strydom said they would monitor at my next ultrasound but that it probably wasn't anything to worry about. She advised that if I started to bleed at all to head straight to the ER but so far so good and we made it to 20 weeks with no problems. So during this ultrasound I asked the technician if all was good with the placenta and she did say that it was quite low but that the pictures would all be reviewed by the radiologist and then sent to my doctor for review as well and that most likely I would just need at least 1 more ultrasound during this pregnancy.
So, I wasn't completely surprised when the next day I got a call from Dr. Strydom's office requesting that we go in to see her before the Christmas break. The receptionist made it clear to me on the phone that Dr S had told her to tell me that the baby was perfectly fine and healthy but that she did want to see us sooner rather than later. We got the first available appointment which was two days later, on Friday afternoon at 4:30 and started the long wait until that appointment.
Now before I go into details about what we talked about I want to first say that everything with the baby is perfectly healthy and wonderful. The baby is weighing around 15 oz so just about a pound and the tech said to me that if anything it is growing a little ahead of schedule so I am doing my very best to focus on that fact and not to worry too much. I say I am trying...I'm not saying I'm succeeding too well at this point though if I'm being honest with myself.
Anyways, back to the appointment. We showed up and although I was nervous I just kind of expected her to say that my placenta was a little bit low lying but that because I planned to have a repeat planned c-section that it wasn't that big of a deal. Well, it turns out that the placenta at this point in time is completely covering my cervix and usually if this is seen at 20 weeks it is unlikely to move much from this point on. This complication is called placenta previa and is actually really common in pregnancy, especially with those with multiple c-sections, as I've had. If we lived in a big city where pre-mature deliveries were common I wouldn't be as worried as I am, but being in PR and knowing they don't usually willingly deliver babies much before 37 weeks I am worried that I may have to deliver in Vancouver (which I absolutely don't want to do...but of course will do anything I NEED to for baby's safe delivery). It's the fear of the unknown that is bothersome for me. Will I start to bleed early? Will it stop? Will baby be far enough along to survive? Will I need to stop working and go on bed rest? So many questions with just this one relatively normal complication that has an added layer of complication because of where we live.
Now for the more worrisome complication the doctor also mentioned...on the ultrasound it was also noted that it looked like I also possibly have placenta accreta which can be a life-threatening complication where the placenta is not only growing into the uterine muscles but can also cause major bleeding before, during or after delivery. This is a much rarer complication than the placenta previa is and in fact our doctor here in town hasn't seen many cases of it at all in the 10 years that she's been delivering babies in Canada. This could result in needing a full hysterectomy at the time of delivery (which I am more than fine with because I am DONE having babies after this one) but would also ensure a city delivery for this small town girl. There is no way that a small town hospital like ours would have the facilities and blood bank available to deal with this kind of delivery and the possible complications and recovery. I am super bummed out and anxious about how this will all play out for me and baby and just really hopeful for a safe delivery for both myself and my newest little love. That is what matters...that we both make it out alive and healthy in the end...if that means we are in Vancouver to do it then so be it. If baby has to be born early then I want to be closer to the best hospital to take care of our baby.
I am trying to read up on what this complication could mean for me and for the baby but the more I read the more scared I get so I'm choosing to hope for the best that this isn't what is actually happening and am anxiously awaiting a call from a hospital in Vancouver where I will go in the next few weeks for an MRI that will hopefully give us more information. Once we have the full picture of where the placenta is and if it is in fact placenta accreta then we will make further plans for if and when I'll have to go to the city and how early baby will be born. I've read in some cases that if you can make it to 34 weeks without a major bleed and they can do an amnio to see how baby's lungs are developing that they could deliver as early as that. Of course I'm hopeful for much longer than that but will follow any and all instructions and recommendations from both my doctor and the local OBGYN that I will see after the MRI is done.
The absolute BEST case scenario for both me and baby is that it is just placenta previa and we can hold off on delivery until 37 weeks (which also happens to be on James's birthday!) and hopefully have the birth here in town like I'm hoping!
For now I'm trying to take it easy and like I said I'm trying my best not to worry until I know for sure what I'm worrying about. I'm not a super patient person to begin with so waiting for the call for the appointment is killing me. I'm hopeful I'll hear this week and get in for an appointment in the next few weeks. I feel like the sooner we know what's going on the better I'll be able to manage my anxiety about everything!
I'll keep the blog updated once I know more but for now just please send your positive thoughts (and prayers if that is your thing) my way and if anyone you know has had placenta previa or accreta and would be willing to share their story with me that would be awesome. I like reading or hearing about stories rather than reading medical facts about something.
And stay tuned for the gender reveal results coming soon! Can't wait to find out if this baby is another little boy that is going to be even more of a handful than his brothers are...or a little girl that is being dramatic and giving her mother grey hair already!
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