I saw something similar to this on FB awhile back and wanted to share it, but the wording on that one was something about going into labour, and at this point that isn't going to happen so I decided to use one of the maternity photos Jenn took that I didn't share previously and just make my own announcement instead :)
I promised you all one more update after I saw the doctor at 34 weeks and had the MRI, so here it is!
So back on March 23 I had my Ultrasound and MRI at Royal Columbian and my final office appointment with Dr. Ubhi. I went down there hoping to get some answers and realized quickly with the way the day was planned that that most likely wouldn't happen.
My MRI was scheduled first for 11am and let me tell you two things 1) it is NOTHING like they make it seem on Grey's Anatomy and 2) it was one of the most miserable hours of my whole life. I thought it was a short little test where they put you inside this tube machine thing, snap a couple of pictures like an x-ray and then you're done. Nope, not even close...imagine being 34 weeks pregnant, with a sore back and hips already, then having to lay with a full bladder (which they told me I didn't need but then wouldn't let me pee when I said I had to), on your back, with your arms above your head, breathing rhythmically, and not moving at all.....for more than 45 minutes! It was pure hell and by about 20 minutes in I could feel myself starting to panic a little, and not at all because I was feeling claustrophobic (that part was fine because I could look above me and see the ceiling outside the machine), but because the ache in my back was so bad all I wanted to do was cry out. Then after 45 minutes they pulled me out and made me lay there another 5 or so minutes while they checked to see they got all the pictures. Thankfully I didn't have to go back in because I think if they'd said I had to I would have burst into tears right then.
When we checked in for the MRI and let them know that I was scheduled to have an ultrasound a few hours later they said they would try to sneak us in early for that appointment, which was great, except for the fact that we had planned to go and eat in between the appointments and possibly tour the maternity ward too. So instead I came right out of the awful MRI and was tired, cranky, very sore and still had to pee and then headed straight to the ultrasound department...where I proceeded to sit for almost an hour and a half more (remember still with a full bladder from 2 hours prior)! I was still lucky enough to get in 45 minutes early but by then you can just imagine the mood I was in. I was about as "hangry" as I've ever been! Luckily Jim went out to refill the parking meter (again!!) and grabbed some Cheezies from the van so once I had a handful of those I was feeling a bit more pleasant! The ultrasound went fine, but I did have a bit of a meltdown after the technician said she couldn't see baby's gender because the baby's legs were closed. I know we've been told it's a girl and I was all good with that...until I read the u/s reports while I was waiting for them to call my name.
Yup, to say I panicked a little after reading this would be an understatement! This report was from my 20 week ultrasound...gender is "likely" female. All we could do was laugh but my heart did sink into my stomach a little bit. But really it doesn't matter, he just better love ladybugs! :)
Oh yeah and then I read this one...from our Women's Hospital appointment at 24 weeks (where the ultrasound technician did actually tell us it was a girl!)...but still not super comforting, especially the part about sex determination by prenatal ultrasound not being accurate (which of course we know)!
Everything else on the ultrasound was great, especially the estimated weight of just over 6lbs which was considerably bigger than we were thinking she would be already. Heck that was bigger than I thought she would be at birth (which at that point was still more than 2.5 weeks away). Dr. Strydom did caution me though that those weights and size estimates can be quite inaccurate in late term ultrasounds due to it being hard to see and measure the baby completely accurately. They also said she had a big head that was measuring at 39 weeks already (thank god she isn't coming out THAT way after all!) There was some peach fuzz on her head so we're pretty confident that she will come out with some hair, but whether it will be as much as James had is still to be determined! It was great to see her one last time and know that the next time I was in the hospital it would be to deliver her (or so I thought at that time...more on that in a minute!)
After the ultrasound we left the hospital, snuck in a very quick sandwich at Subway (because I was about to kill someone if I didn't eat something soon) and then headed down the hill to the doctor's office. We waited almost 45 minutes to see Dr. Ubhi but once we got into the room with him we were both relieved to be meeting with him. Jim got to meet him for the first time and thought he was as wonderful as I've been saying he is for the past few months. And I was very pleasantly surprised to hear that he thought they would probably let me stay awake for the delivery after all because he stated that it was what would be best for baby as apparently babies born under general anesthetic can be quite groggy and have a harder time recovering as well. He indicated that as soon as they delivered her and he got a look at my uterus and the placenta he would know immediately if the hysterectomy was necessary and if it was then I would get to sneak a peek at the baby and then would be put to sleep for the remainder of the surgery. I would then recover in the recovery room before being allowed to go up to maternity to be with Jim and baby girl. While this is disappointing, I am fully in agreement that I will do whatever I need to in order to survive this surgery, even if that means that in the end I do have to be asleep for the whole thing. Now that there is a little bit of doubt in my mind about baby's gender, it might even be exciting to wake up and have the question answered of "is it really a girl after all?" :)
Another thing that Dr. Ubhi went over with Jim and I was who all would be in the delivery room and what they would be there for. He indicated that first the anesthetist would come in and would put in either the spinal or general anesthetic. Next would be a urologist who would come in and put in a catheter and stents on my kidneys to protect them (the potential is there for the placenta to be attached to the kidneys or bladder). Then the radiologist would come in and insert these balloon things via a syringe in my groin area up to the blood vessels near the uterus. These balloons would be there in case they do need to do the hysterectomy and if they do then from what I understand (which might be very little) they will inflate the balloons and that will restrict he blood flow to the uterus after her delivery which will hopefully limit the amount of bleeding I will have from the removal of the uterus (and whatever repairs need to be done to other organs that the placenta may be attached to). Then the last guy to the party will be the wonderful Dr. Ubhi who will deliver baby girl and hand her off to the pediatrician who I'm told will only be in the room for a few minutes to check over her. Then hopefully I'll see her and then will go off to sleep for the rest of the surgery and baby and Jim will head up to the maternity ward (if baby is healthy) and wait for me to wake up a few hours later.
So, lots of information to take in, but it made me feel so much better to know the plan and who all I could expect to see and meet in those moments. Our next step at that point was to schedule a pre-admission appointment at RCH to do blood work, meet with a nurse to answer questions and then meet with the anesthetist who will make the final decision about whether I will be awake or asleep for the duration of the surgery. The Dr. said they may have required me to go to the city sometime this week (3rd-7th) for this appointment but we were hopeful that they would make an exception and let me have this appointment on the 10th instead. The week after I got home I got the call from RCH and they did thankfully allow me to have this appointment on the 10th at 12:45pm so we don't have to make an additional trip down. We had always planned to travel down on the 10th, but now we are leaving PR on Sunday the 9th just so we aren't having a ridiculously early morning and a long day on the 10th.
When I went to see Dr. Strydom last week she said she hadn't gotten the MRI report yet, but then today when I saw her one last time I asked her if she had seen it and what it said. She said she had and that the report indicated that it was highly suggested that the placenta accreta is present, which I think means that the MRI pictures show that the placenta has definitely grown into the wall of the uterus. Now we just wait to see what the anesthetist says on Monday and we go from there. I am fully mentally prepared (and if I'm being honest I'm actually hoping) that they do the hysterectomy. If I'm already going to have to recover from the surgery, with an incision going from my belly button down to my public bone I'd be really happy to not ever have to deal with a period again in my whole life. I even told the doctor that I might be a little bit disappointed if he does end up just having to cut my tubes instead but I also know they will only do the hysterectomy if it is medically necessary :)
We are so close now and we've been SO LUCKY to not have run into any of the major placenta previa bleeding complications that COULD have happened that I am just feeling so grateful and ready to meet my little lady, even if that means hours after she is born. I still of course want to be awake, for both me and Jim (because if I'm asleep he's not able to be there either!) but if the Doctor says he feels it is safer for me not to be, then I will accept that and move on. I am choosing to focus on the hours after I am awake and I get to meet her and the boys get to meet her. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they walk in and see her for the first time.
It's been a long and hard few months since our 20 week ultrasound and I can't believe that as of tomorrow I will be 36 weeks pregnant already...and only 5 days away from our daughter being born. I have spent many a night awake and thinking about things I shouldn't be, but I feel like I'm coming out this end of the pregnancy with such an appreciation for what my body has accomplished and the wonder and joy that pregnancy truly is. I've been more scared and worried than ever in my whole life but with some love and support (and lots of talking things through with some people really close to me) I feel like I'm in a great place mentally to be facing this huge surgery. I no longer deeply fear that I won't survive but can admit that I am still very much aware of the risks that are coming along with it as well. I know the risk of massive blood loss is there but also know they will have a big supply of my blood type on hand and will even be using a blood recycling system that will cycle my own blood back into me if needed (pretty neat the way Dr. Ubhi explained it!) I am choosing to be positive and tell myself every day that all will be fine, even though I am also realistic about how hard the recovery will likely be. It was a very hard place to get to, but I'm super proud of myself for forcing myself to get there, even if mainly it was for my own sanity! I am very lucky that with the support of our family and friends I know we will get through those first few weeks and hopefully from there it will be smooth sailing for the new Barrows family of 5!
This whole experience has made me so fortunate to live in a country with extraordinary medical care that has given me all of the answers to my questions up to this point and that even caught this complication at all. Many many years ago these things wouldn't have been captured because they didn't do ultrasounds and if you lived in a small town like PR that wasn't used to dealing with these kinds of complications the results could have been disastrous. I am extremely grateful for the care that I've had with Dr. Strydom so far and I have great faith in Dr. Ubhi's abilities to get both me and baby girl safely through this delivery. We were talking with my aunt and uncle a few weeks ago and joking about how expensive a surgery like this would be if I lived in the United States and I can only imagine how stressful that must be for families down there. And I'm also very fortunate to have great coverage through my employer that will help pay for the private room I'm really hoping I get while I'm in the hospital! :)
I'm sure after baby girl is here and we are home and settled in I will do a birth story blog that will have pictures of her and will tell the story of how she ended up joining our family. If you have me on FB or IG I'm sure you will see pictures of her long before that though!
Thank you to all those that have followed our journey up to this point and have sent all your love and prayers our way. We have made it so far and the end is so close that the excitement is building day by day for her arrival. Every day the boys and I talk to her and I sit quietly and just feel her move inside my belly, knowing that soon I will never again feel that feeling in my life. I am ready for the adventure of raising another baby....but I am NOT looking forward to not sleeping again! Wish me luck that she is a good sleeper like Jordie was! :)
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