Phillippa's Birth Story:: Part 2

.......Sorry to leave you hanging. I definitely would not have done that if most of you didn't already know the outcome thanks to facebook;-) LOL

After finding her heartbeat and being able to at least breath knowing she was hanging in, I waited on the porch, gripping my doppler as Foster took Ava to the neighbor's and I waited for the ambulance. They pulled up a few minutes later, which of COURSE felt like and ETERNITY. They loaded me on immediately and told my husband to follow in the car or hop in if he wanted. He followed in the car.

I was crying, frequently checking Pippa's heart rate while telling the paramedics my history, and just begging them to get me to the hospital while she was still alive. I never realized how bumpy the squad ride was until every bump we went over I felt little gushes of blood. They took me directly to labor and delivery triage. No waiting, no passing go, no collecting $200. This is another reason I took a squad versus letting Foster drive me. Although after working in an ER for years, a squad doesn't ALWAYS mean direct room/immediate care, in most cases it does. At least until the hospital team rules out immediate threats.

The nurses and on call physician were ready and quick to start examining me. As soon as the fetal monitor was placed and we were continuously monitoring her heart beat, I was able to relax....a little bit. The doctor fired up the u/s machine while nurses started 2 different IV sites, hooked up contraction monitors, telemetry monitors, blood pressure cuff, and oxygen. I rattled off my history like a novel, told them the current and recent care plans I had been on with Ohio State, and they were definitely concerned and on top of things.

The u/s wand showed a great little heart beat, perfect amount of amniotic fluid, a good sized baby measuring a little ahead of her due date, and a pocket of blood with a marginal abruption to my placenta.

Marginal.....marginal is good right? "What side was the abruption on?" I asked. If you remember, Pippa had a marginal cord insertion just like Rosalynn. I was afraid if it was on the same side as the cord insertion, we would be risking an intrauterine demise because of lack of nutrients to that side of the placenta.

"The opposite side of the cord" The doctor responded.

WHEW!

I was having mild contractions every 2-4 minutes apart, and of course by this time my BP was sky high. Now, who knows if this was stress, or the Pre-E. They started fluids, drew labs, checked the bleeding WITHOUT inserting anything into me. They didn't want to check my cervix or anything for fear of causing more bleeding.

"Have you heard about magnesium?" The doctor asked.

"Yes," I responded, "I have heard it is a very uncomfortable drug, but it should help with the contractions, help decrease my BP, and hopefully give us more time for her to cook."

"Yes, however, that is not the reason I want to start it. It is beneficial for baby at this stage. You said you received the steroids in the hospital on Wednesday and Thursday, which will help develop her lungs, but the Mag will help with her brain. Babies born before 32 weeks we suggest getting it because it will help with brain bleeds and neuro function. Of course I would love to stop the contractions and help the BP, but if this baby is coming, she is coming, and we will only be able to hold her off so long. If we can help her long term, that is more beneficial."

They decided to admit me to antepartum, and start continuous monitoring, magnesium drip, foley cath to monitor urine output (the mag can cause kidney issues), get me through the night, and wait for maternal fetal medicine to review everything and see if delivery or strict bed rest was in order. Apparently there was a mom down the hall who had a marginal abruption. She had been there for 10 weeks,  I was at the best place possible (the hospital) to try and cook Pippa a little longer before delivery. Because if we needed to deliver, we could do it quickly, and have her here in a matter of minutes.

So we started the wait. I tried to relax and rest, Foster slept on the couch close by, and we got through the night with no new excitement and with Pippa's heart beating away nicely on the monitor next to me.

LUCKILY the mag was not as bad as other people had described to me. It made me feel like I was engulfed in one big fuzzy sock, so I was a bit warm, but not unbearable, and we cranked up the air and added a fan, and I was comfortable. I couldn't really sleep while on it, I don't know if it was because of the Mag, or because of the adrenaline and fear that was racing through me, but I listened to Foster sleep, and prayed, talked to Pippa, talked to my Granny (Pippa's name sake and she had passed away in this very hospital), and talked to Rosie.

Morning came and Foster left to take Ava to school, grab a bag for me, eat breakfast away from me (since I was on just ice water at this point), and get a few things in order.

My mom came to the hospital as well to hang out with me. To find out what was going on, and come on.....when you are sick and need someone, who is it you think of first.....your mom. So having her there brought me peace:-)

We waited most of the morning for MFM to get all the records from OSU for my recent adventures there, updated ultra sounds, past medical records for my history. They wanted the whole story to be able to make an informed decision on delivery vs. bed rest, etc. I was ok with that.

Around 1130 they came in. A funny, easy going red headed doc came in. After some banter back and forth (including Foster asking how many souls he had stolen, since my freckles mark each one I have), this is what MFM had decided:

"At this time you are both stable. The Mag has brought your BPs down, have all but stopped the contractions, has given Pippa what she needs if delivery is imminent. HOWEVER. I am taking you off. What does this mean? you could start contracting again, your BP could come up again, etc. So what we will do is keep you on STRICT bed rest for now, and see how we progress. If things stay stable we will talk about potentially transferring to Ohio State if that is what you would like to be close to your doc and team. OR we can keep you here if you prefer. We will determine day by day what kind of food and activity you can do, and continue to test, monitor, and watch closely. IF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING happen, we will deliver immediately:
-Fresh Bleeding
-Increased BP
-Contractions start back up regularly and start showing signs of labor
-Pippa shows signs of distress through her heart monitoring, movement or lack there of, etc.
We will not try to stop it again, because there is a REASON why it keeps happening and at that point we will determine it is better for her to be out then in, and will deal with the NICU stay and getting her strong AFTER the fact.
Goal will be 34 weeks, but any extra day will be beneficial."

HOLY crap. Bed rest. Flat back, little movement bed rest. OK if that is what it takes, I will do it. Then I looked at my nurse after the doctor left "wait, so is the foley catheter coming out?"

"Yes", she replied, "I have to take it out as soon as the mag is done at 1230. Infection control does not like us keeping it in."

"Will you do me a BIIIIIGGGG favor?" I asked, "Will you keep it in for just a few more hours so I can sleep? I pee every hour or so, and want to just get some rest before having to start the dreaded bed pan ritual every hour."

"Well......only if I can be your favorite nurse now," she said jokingly. I agreed, and after the mag was done at 1230, was able to relax and actually start drifting off to sleep.

Mom and Foster went to get lunch, hung out together, and Foster went to the gym for a bit.

I was suddenly woken up around 1430 (230pm) by what I could only think was a "REAL" contraction.

I had experienced "contractions", but mom told me if I could talk through them, they weren't "real". Well, I was gripping the bed rails, couldn't talk, hurt so bad I thought I was going to come off the bed. Right then the NICU nurse practitioner came in. She wanted to go over a few things in terms of a NICU stay for a 31-32 weeker. What to expect (CPAP, possible intubation, tapering down to room air over time, feeding tubes, medications, incubators, etc.) While there, I had another one of these HUGE contractions in front of her. She was surprised it wasn't showing up on the monitor. So called my nurse.

Apparently thanks to this bicorunated uterus I have, it is sometimes difficult to pick up contractions on the monitor because there is a sweet spot to pick them up on most uteri, and mine doesn't necessarily have that "sweet spot".

SO as she fiddled with the monitor, I had another one.....maybe 4 minutes later. "Oh Crap" I exclaimed.

"What?" My now favorite nurse looked up at me.

"I think I just gushed blood."

She looked in the pad under me to examine, "Looks like it is dark red blood, not bright. It was probably old pooled blood that was sitting in there that came out with the contraction. I will get you cleaned up, and if it happens again, call me and I will check again."

I looked at mom and told her she should probably call Foster, we may be delivering sooner than later since the blood was coming back, the contractions were coming back, and my BP was elevating (probably stress related, but who knows).

Foster showed up a few minutes later, my nurse was finishing cleaning me up, and then stepped out. As SOON as she stepped outside, another HUGE contraction came, and then another HUGE gush.

"Foster, get the nurse NOW," She came in, and lifted the sheets again.

"I think it is time to get the doc. This is bright red, fresh blood."

I looked at mom and Foster, "This is not good. There is something really wrong. I feel like we need to get her out."

I had that feeling of dread. I knew in my heart if we didn't get her out soon, I would be burying another child.

I just kept my ear on her heart rate. She still seemed content. So I knew we still had time. It felt like FOREVER for the doctor to show up, in reality it was probably 5 minutes. He came in with 3 nurses with a speculum. "He is going to take a peak and see what is going on," my favorite nurse said. I let him, and it took him literally half a second to respond.

"We are going now."

Then everything turned into a scene out of Grey's Anatomy or ER. The nurses jumped into action, the papers were signed for a repeat c-section, the anesthesiologist was there checking my pallet, throat, back, Foster was given the bunny suit to wear in the operating room. This all started going down around quarter till 3pm.

The nice thing is that because of the precautions that were taken earlier, and the fact that Pippa wasn't showing signs of distress, they opted for a spinal instead of general anesthesia, and Foster was able to be in the OR with me. We were ready to go within minutes, and the few minutes they took Pippa off the monitor to scrub me for surgery were the most deafening moments of my life. It took the nurse a few moments to get her back on the monitor when they were ready, and for a minute of two I thought maybe we were too late. Luckily she found her, and by 3:18pm, Pippa came out CRYING!!!! She was PERFECT!!!!!

The NICU team assessed her while the docs finished on me, and I would later find out that as they were pulling out my placenta, it was in pieces. It was shredded and looked like if we had waited much longer, or had I been home when this happened, the outcome would have been very different.

After a few minutes, the NICU team brought Pippa over. She was holding her own on room air, and got to visit with me and Foster before they would take her away for further testing and assessments. Foster cried, I cried, we had made it. SHE had made it. SHE had held on and was a strong cookie.

31weeks and 5 days. the most premature out of all 3 girls, and she came out crying, breathing room air, and proving to everyone she is as strong as all the strong women in her life.  She was ready, and she thinks she is a full term baby....I won't be telling her otherwise;-)  LOL.

WHEW!!! So there you have it.  Pippas GRAND entrance into the world. Once again...wouldn't be a Foster pregnancy without a bit of drama.  I love her so much already, Ava is obsessed, she has her daddy wrapped around her TINY finger already, and our family is complete.

And we are DONE!!! That was enough drama and fear for a lifetime. So our family is complete. I will never again put my family, husband or one of my children OR myself through that again.

I will continue to keep everyone updated on Pippa's NICU stay and hopefully sooner than later graduation. prayers are always appreciated:-) Please be patient if I am slower to answer emails, texts, calls. I have a very important job to do: help a little girl get stronger and get home.

Phillippa's Birth Story:: PART 1

Where do I even begin? It has been such a whirlwind the past 40 hours that I may leave something out, but want to write this down before I start to forget.

As mentioned in my last blog post, I was on modified bed rest. I was allowed to do certain things, as long as my blood pressure was kept under control, and any signs of pre eclampsia stayed away (nausea, headaches not cured with Tylenol, right upper quadrant pain, changes in vision). Saturday was uneventful. I stayed at home most of the day and left just to have a nice dinner with my family. Low key, low bps most of the day. Sunday is when I woke up feeling like yuck.

It started off with just slightly elevated blood pressure. (140s/80-90) nothing to be concerned about. Nothing to call the doc about because I had been hanging out around that range the past 2 weeks. But I felt "off". Went to church with the family. This literally required me to sit in a car, then sit through service, I didn't stand, didn't dance in the aisles lol, just sat. But I had a feeling of "restless body syndrome" if you have ever had restless leg syndrome, it is that feeling but all over my body. I wasn't comfortable sitting, standing, walking, didn't want anyone touching me. Just REALLY restless.

We headed home and my bp was still 140s/80-90.

Foster had a few errands to run, grocery shopping, ref a rugby game, etc. So while he did that I napped. I took TWO 1.5 hr naps. NOT like me, but once again, I wasn't feeling well.

Woke up at 530pm to get ready to go to small group. Which required me to sit in the car, walk to a couch and sit on a couch for 2 hrs. No big deal. Plus I figured with everything going on, it would be a nice thing to hang with a group that would be praying hard for all of us.

After small group, I got home, Foster went to bathe Ava while I made a late dinner of sandwiches and Mac and cheese. After putting the pot on to boil I decided to take my bp because I still didn't feel well. It read 160/100. I was a bit shocked, but did what Dr P told me: lay on your left side, rest for 10 mins and retake. If it doesn't go down, call. Retake: 138/85, the best it has been all day.

So we ate and then headed to bed. Yes, I was headed to bed at 9pm even after 2 naps. The one thing I noticed is my tummy was tight. Not contraction tight, but more just overall tight. Tender to the touch. Even Ava wanting to kiss the belly goodnight was a bit painful. I chalked it up to mild contractions like I had had on and off since 28 weeks, and figured I would chug some water and lay down. It would go away like it always did.

Why didn't I call my doc? I don't know. I thought about it multiple times through the day, but I had a non stress test scheduled that next morning and figured as long as I was keeping things under control, I would be fine till then. Nothing seemed major, just had that "off" feeling all day.

I was out like a light by 9:30p. But just like every other night, I woke up about 1.5 hrs later because I had to pee....oh the joys of pregnancy. I shuffled into the bathroom, sat down and before I got the chance to start peeing, I felt a huge gush. I stopped. Oh crap. I think my water just broke. I flipped on the bathroom light, not knowing what to expect because my water has never broken, and was terrified when I looked in the toilet and it looked like a massacre had taken place. I froze. When I think of the most devastating moment in my life, it is when we found out Rosalynn had no heart beat. When I think of the most terrifying moment of my life, this was it.

I am too versed in pregnancy. I know the good, the bad and the devastating. I know that that much blood in the third trimester could mean 1 of 2 things:

1) My csection scar was opening, which is a risk with any pregnancy after csection, and when contractions have been manifesting themselves, increase this risk if they are strong enough/productive. This is one reason why docs don't like doing vaginal births after csection (VBAC).

2) A placental abruption. Any of you who watch Grey's anatomy, they JUST had an episode of a woman experiencing one of these. Both her and baby died. VERY dangerous, very scary, and happens quickly.

I yelled out to Foster, "HONEY.....wake up we need to go to the hospital NOW".

All I kept thinking is I had lost her already. That I was hemorrhaging and Pippa was gone. I honestly thought I had lost another baby.

Foster sprung into action, grabbing Ava and getting her to the neighbor's house, grabbing my bag that was still partially packed from Thursday's stay at OSU, and getting the car ready.

I called 911 and grabbed my Doppler. I didn't want to risk bleeding out and dying in a car my husband was driving on the way to the hospital. I wanted to make sure I had medical care on the transport to the hospital. But I also knew this meant 1 bad thing: they would take me to a hospital I was not familiar with, with docs who didn't know my case, and my doc had no delivery rights to.

While I was on the phone with 911 I had my Doppler in hand. 

"Mrs Foster, can you feel your baby move?"

"No, I haven't felt her move since the gush. I have a doppler in my hand but I am terrified to put it on my belly" I told the operator. "What if my daughter is gone already?!".

"Ma'am most squads don't have a way to check fetal heart tones. So if you want to check it would be best to use it."

As I placed the doppler on my belly I held my breath.......and THANK THE LORD Pippa was there. It was the first time the entire pregnancy I didn't have to search for her or chase her with the doppler. Thank God for small favors!! I knew she was at least alive.

TO BE CONTINUED........

I am exhausted, my pain meds are kicking in, and I need to head to bed. Sorry lol. I will finish typing her story tomorrow:-) 

Bed Rest Chronicles Day 1

So when discharged yesterday, I read the instructions for "modified bed rest". Things I CAN do:

- Light House work (is there any way I can take this off the list? lol)
- shower, bathroom, daily grooming/dressing activities. Yay for being clean and dressed;-)
- Short errands (i.e. short trips to the grocery) So I figure I can put trips to the studio in this for minor errands.
- Short walks 2-3 blocks. TWO TO THREE BLOCKS. LOL Now, is this a NYC block? a country block? If it was my block, I might as well not leave the house, it isn't worth it.
- Easy outings like out to dinner or a movie that takes little to know effort.

OK. So my biggest challenge is going to be seeing how much I can do without my blood pressure raising. I am hanging around the 130/80-140/90 resting. I want to keep it as close to that as possible.

So I woke up this morning feeling like this is my first official day as a "stay at home wife". But the problem with stay at home wife/mom is that I would want to be the BEST one I could be.: food made, house clean, etc. At this point it would take 3 days straight of cleaning to make my house the standard I would expect from myself if I was a SAHM/W so I know it may take all 3 weeks to get to the standard if I do "light house work" every day.

 Ava went to school, Dave woke her up, got her dressed and took her in. While getting her ready, I noticed there were 2 baskets of her laundry that needed put away. And about 3 baskets of laundry of ours that needed to be done. Laundry I would consider "light housework" (minus the carrying of heavy baskets). So Dave took the baskets downstairs so I could work on laundry.

Morale: High
Pippa: Active
Naps: 1
TV watched: probably around 3 hrs

645 AM: BP 137/78
- Put Ava's laundry away.
-Go downstairs have breakfast
-Watch a little news.
-Start getting antsy
-Put first load in laundry

1030AM:
-switch laundry, fold first load
-put dinner in the crockpot
-clean a little of the kitchen

BP: 148/89 OK I get it, I did a little too much "Light housework"

Sit down for 15 mins and retake:  138/78 great!! back down!

Rest, watch TV, fold more laundry.....come on, admit you are jealous;-)

3pm:
Time to test "short errand trip"
Went to studio to meet client to drop off products.
Headed to Ava's school for parent teacher conference.
Office max for electric converter for a nightlight I bought for Ava that has a European plug.

5:30 BP: 146/89 OK.....so maybe they truly meant ONE short errand. But retested and it came back down:-)

6:45: Dinner with family, hang out on porch while Dave mows and Ava plays with Dinos. Now writing blog. BP: 136/80

So what did I learn today?
Spread the house chores out a little more, and ONE short errand at a time. Mom would be mad at me for testing the limits today, but I had to check what would bring up my BP vs what wouldn't, and my doc said as long as it came back DOWN after resting, which in all cases it did, that I could do SOME things. Just no crazy photo shoots, or moving furniture, etc.

I didn't go TOO crazy today, but then again it is only day one, and when you are as busy as me on a regular basis it is nice to have a light day from time to time. We will see how morale is next week.

I do have this great photo to keep me motivated on "taking it easy":



On the list for tomorrow: Boss Dave around for things I wanted done before Pippa got here but won't get to do myself now.
Family Date to dinner and MAYBE a movie if my BP is behaving:-)
Editing on the couch!! :-)

Don't worry, I won't bore you EVERY day with the happenings of the Bed Rest Chronicles....maybe just every other day;-)

Pre-Eclampsia and "Modified Bed Rest"

Ok, So we have a plan, and HOPEFULLY this plan will keep little missy in for another 3 weeks 6 days. BUT there has been some talk of as early as 34 week delivery.

According to my 24 hour urine collection, I do indeed have pre-eclampsia. Mild, but there. My BPs have been "behaving" around 140s/80s with rest. But they have definitely creeped up over the course of the 3rd trimester. Pippa is passing her non stress tests, and we are getting a growth scan to make sure these BPs are not effecting her growth, and will be getting our second round of steroid shots JUST TO BE SAFE. But she is behaving and seems content.

So what now? They want to send me home. They feel like as long as I rest and relax, I can hopefully keep the BP levels down and keep other symptoms at bay. For now I am ok with this. I have an amazing support system of family, neighbors and friends who will be helping with Ava, and I SHOULD be able to keep my feet up and rest for a little over 3 weeks. I have a REALLY bad issue with sitting still, but at least I will be sitting still in the comfort of my own home. I will have time to get caught up on all client sessions, album designs, and maybe even catch up on some online workshops and such that I have purchased but been unable to watch due to being so busy. Pippa is MAKING mommy slow down and breath for a few weeks. So far I have had some AMAZINGLY understanding clients (helps a lot of them are doctors and nurses). I think that was one of my biggest stressors I was dealing with when trying to get my head wrapped around any form of "rest".

As far as treatment and care plan:

2 day a week non stress tests with Dr. P with 1 day  week lab draw to watch my liver enzymes, creatinine,  and platelet levels. If these go up they are indicative of liver problems, and reasons to deliver earlier. As of right now they are all within normal range. My only abnormal levels are my BP and my proteinuria (Protein in my urine) which these two alone are enough for a Pre Eclampsia diagnosis. So no need to retest my urine, BUT I will be doing BPs frequently through the day at home. Any indication of increased readings, symptoms getting worse (swelling, vomiting, right upper quadrant pain, headaches that don't go away with tylenol, vision changes, etc) I am to call the doc or go directly to L&D triage.

Goal is still May 25th delivery, but we are preparing for anything at this point. We obviously don't want any NICU stay, and especially don't want an extended NICU stay, but the girls over there are already calling dibs on who gets to admit and take care of Phillippa, so I know regardless she will be well taken care of if she does get a short stint with them.

I have gotten asked NUMEROUS times in the past 24 hrs if there is anything anyone can do for me. So....what can you do to help? Well, I HATE asking for help, so even this is hard for me. If I had any requests, it would be food. Foster and I both cook, but I typically do the majority of the meals in our home. SOOOO it is going to be really hard for me to NOT want to cook for my family every day especially since the kitchen is RIGHT THERE. So anything would help, premade meals I can pop in the oven easily, freezer style or crockpot style meals that can be made easy, gift cards for food, etc. I HATE feeling useless, and one of my biggest ways of feeling like a true mom and wife is by feeding my family. So this will be my hardest challenge to the "resting" issue.....because lets face it, no one REALLY likes cleaning;-) lol. If you are interested text, private message, etc and I will give you more details. We have no allergies, and the only food Foster won't eat are mushrooms.

Now, I am also up for company. Because we are going to be TRYING to maintain some normalcy in Ava's life so she will still be going to school so I will be home twiddling my thumbs Mon, Weds, Fri. So company is always welcome:-) I can't promise I will be showered or the house will be clean LOL, but I am still good company.

And of course last but most importantly, PRAYERS. If you are too far to visit, don't consider yourself a chef and afraid you would poison my family, above all else we need prayers! Prayers my BP behaves, prayers my labs remain normal, prayers Pippa behaves, prayers for my sanity as I take this much needed rest, and prayers my hubby and daughter survive this "Jabba the Hut" mommy LOL. Because if I don't shoot myself from boredom, My hubby may kill me out of annoyance;-) (JUST KIDDING, I am having NO thoughts of harming myself and Foster would never hurt me...don't call the police;-)

Problem Child: 31 Weeks and In the Hospital

SO it looks like Miss Phillippa is going to be my problem child. She has been lovingly dubbed "little stinker" by me:-)

Yesterday I was watching my niece and Ava but felt "off". I decided to nap while the girls did, and still didn't feel very good. So before leaving Bug's house for the day, I had her take my BP. I purchased a manual BP cuff because I don't completely trust digital cuffs, and my years of taking BPs I figured I would trust my own ears better than the digital readings. Well, my sister, the NICU nurse got the following readings:

160/90 Left arm
155/95  Left arm 10 mins after "resting" on the couch
150/95 Right arm after resting.

Yeah......not good.

So I called my doc. I just wanted to go to their office and have my BP checked and maybe a urine dip to check things out, but instead she sent me straight to L&D.

First few readings at L&D showed high (140s/90s) but with resting they quickly started going into normal range (120s/70s). Of course they would. All I was doing was laying around. They drew blood, monitored Pippa for 2 hrs, and she behaved this time, gave me a 24 hr urine to go home with and instructions to return today around 5pm to turn in urine, monitor Pippa again, and recheck BPs.

I had originally had a regular prenatal appointment set up for this morning at 8:30 with Dr. P. I was getting Ava ready for school, getting myself ready for my day, and started feeling "off" again. Nauseated, dizzy, head ache. So I sat down and took my BP digitally. It came to 170/95. Then I threw up. Waited a few mins and then took it again but manually this time: 170/100.

GREAT. So off to my appointment I went.

My doctor came in VERY quickly. Checked my BP, rechecked my BP and both times were high. So we started talking.

OBVIOUSLY when in the hospital and doing NOTHING my #s start looking great! But how is that going to work outside of the hospital? How am I to keep my BP in check when just doing normal activity gets it to skyrocket?

Dr. P wanted to send me to the hospital for 24 hr observation again. First starting in triage. If my BP didn't want to come down while being monitored there, then we would be talking delivery sooner than later. If it DID come down, then we would be monitoring me on antepartum floor with frequent checks on Pippa, frequent BP checks and more blood work to find out if this is pregnancy induced hypertension or the dreaded Pre-Eclampsia.

So here I sit. My BPs were not critical like some of the readings we were getting earlier today, but they are still higher than normal. So no delivery today THANK GOD!! But we are monitoring and waiting for labs and my 24 hour urine to be done tonight to determine if A) this is Pre-E or B) if this is pregnancy induced hypertension.

What happens if Pre-E? Most likely admittance till delivery (hopefully still 4 weeks from today instead of sooner) but they will need to keep close eyes on my BP and blood work and if either becomes critical, it will be a quick delivery via c-section.

If Hypertension? HOPEFULLY it is something that can be treated with some BP meds and "taking it easy" for the rest of the pregnancy with the hopes of making it till May 25th.

I am praying for the hypertension, but JUST IN CASE, they have administered my first steroid shot for Miss Pippa's lungs, which would hopefully equal a shorter NICU stay. But I am also praying for it for my own sanity. Although I will do ANYTHING to get this child here safe and sound, and I know some people, like my mom would rather me be admitted till delivery, I would go INSANE. Any of you who know me in real life know I am busy all the time. Have a zillion things going on, and i THRIVE on that. So sitting still for 4 weeks would be killer. BUT I will do ANYTHING for Pippa, just like I would do ANYTHING for Ava:-) But man oh man will I miss home.

So if you are the praying type, I have always been told by my mom that pray specific and you have a better chance at getting those answered:-)

Pray for NO pre-E
Pray for med controlled hypertension
pray for sending home and resting
pray for delivery at 8am on may 25th like planned:-)

I will keep updating as I can.

First AND Second Trip to the Hospital

Well I was all ready to post an entry about the fun trip to Cincinati that Foster and I had for our baby moon, but then 2 times in 4 days I have ended up at the hospital, so I thought it may be a bit more important to update everyone on Phillippa and I.

Thursday evening I was finishing up dinner with the family, when I had the worst tightening, take my breath away, pain in my abdomen. I was nauseated, felt like I was going to pass out, poop, and throw up all at the same time. I looked at Foster and said "I have never had a contraction in my life, but if I had to guess what one felt like, I think that was it. With 2 csections, and only being 28 weeks, I knew it was dangerous for me to be going into labor at this point. I called my doc.

The "contraction lasted about 3-5 mins, and according to my doc sounded more like a braxton hicks since they weren't coming multiple at a time, it was only one, and it was a little abnormal in terms of length. She wanted me to rest and hydrate and see if it helped and if I had more than 4 in an an hour, call her back. Well, we spoke too soon. I started having similar feelings every 8-10 mins, then 6-8 mins, then 3-4 mins apart. Dr. T decided I needed to head in to make sure I wasn't in full blown labor, dilating, or risking my c-section scar.

While waiting for my sister to pick me up to take me into L&D while Foster stayed home with Ava, I was packing a bag and taking a shower JUST IN CASE, and the contractions were coming every 1.5 mins. I was starting to get a bit anxious.

LUCKILY, they were able to make them stop after a few hours. After testing everything they could to make sure I wasn't in active labor, they administered a bolus of fluid, and some magic pill by 5am I was released with the instructions to take it easy, keep hydrated, and i may experience more contractions, but at least I know what they feel like, and know when they get fast and furious to call or go in.

Fast forward to yesterday. I was at the office editing, and left to head to a routine doc appt. Well, if there is anything we have learned from my pregnancies, is they are NEVER "routine". OF COURSE this time I didn't pack a bag, I didn't even lock up the studio before I left because I was headed back after the appointment.....or so I thought.

When they took my BP it was a bit elevated. They wanted to send me over to L&D to monitor my BP and test for Pre-eclampsia. If you remember I mentioned that with Ava my protein count in my urine was only 3 points short of being positive for Pre-E at 34 weeks. I never had to address it, because we ended up delivering before any issues came up. So to be on the safe side they sent me into the hospital. I figured, no big deal, they will hook me up, monitor for an hour, and send me home by dinner time.

Best way to make God laugh? Make plans;-)

I had about 15 mins left before the labs came back to let me know how things were when the doc walked in with an u/s machine. MOST people would be ecstatic to see their baby. Well I knew it was not a good sign. LOL. Sure enough, little stinker had a decent drop in her heart rate while I was having a bit of a contraction. (These are known as decelerations, aka decels). It automatically got me 2 more hours of monitoring. They did the u/s to make sure the amniotic fluid was still up to par, because one reason for decels is low fluid.

Fluid looked great, so I just figured, no problem, she accidentally sat on her cord, and will be fine in the 2 hrs. The first 1.5 hrs she did GREAT!! The last THIRTY MINS of the monitoring she dropped 3 times. Great!! That got me 24 hrs of monitoring in the wonderful ante-partum unit.

I am officially  1hr from busting out of here now. We are finishing up my 24 hr urine to make sure my protein levels are ok and I am not pre-eclamptic, Phillippa behaved over night, and they were able to take me off the monitors aroun 11 this morning which was nice because I got NO SLEEP thanks to the belts and beeps and every time Pippa moved the nurse had to come and find her on the monitor again. LOL.

I was on a clear liquid diet last night "Just in case" they had to take me back for a c-section last night. I was opening my apple juice and looked down at the container:

Yes Stinker!!! May 25th is your scheduled c-section date. That is the day you are best by!! Don't even think about coming early!! 

Here is to praying that this was the most excitement we have between now and May 25th. I am willing to do whatever it take to get her here safe and sound, but after 24 hrs in the hospital, I have NO CLUE how women do bed rest for MONTHS. I am ready to bust out of here. 

Look forward to posting about the baby moon soon:-) 

Gender Reveal and Update: A Bit Anxious

If you missed the announcement on my facebook page, or don't happen to follow me, we did a sequel Short film to our pregnancy announcement video.

Needless to say, we are thrilled!!! Ava is so happy, and cannot wait to be a big sister. 

As for the anatomy scan. I can't believe it has been 3 weeks already!! For the most part everything looks ok. 

There was one point of concern. Babe has a marginal cord insertion just like Rosalynn had. 

What is a marginal cord insertion? 

Without boring you with all the medical jargon, a normal umbilical cord is inserted in the center of the placenta. In this case, the cord is inserted at the edge of the placenta. It happens in around 7% of pregnancies, usually when dealing with multiples. I guess I am just the lucky one who it has happened in 2/3 pregnancies. 

Of course this makes me incredibly anxious. I TRY not to think about it, but in the autopsy of Rosie's placenta, it was dead ON THE SIDE OF THE CORD INSERTION. Placentas dying towards the end of a pregnancy is not uncommon, but the center insertion allows the cord to draw from the rest of the healthy placenta. She didn't stand a chance because of the insertion point. 

According to the high risk doctor, it is a common occurrence, and and usually causes no issues. I begged her not to quote statistics and tell me everything SHOULD be ok. I am one of the people that makes a statistic a statistic.....I HAVE BEEN THE STATISTIC.

So what are we doing? Nothing different. We were already doing extra monitoring in the 3rd trimester, so we are just staying the course: U/S at 28 weeks and then every week at 30, then we have non stress tests starting at 30 weeks. Delivery at 35. 

Went in this past Weds, and baby still sounds great!! We get another u/s this next friday, and plan on bringing Ava, so she can see her little sister again:-) 

Anatomy Scan Tomorrow!!!

This past week has been the time in pregnancy that I wish I didn't know everything I do. Being in the baby loss community, and photographing babies who have a terminal diagnosis, I have seen and heard it all.

In my pregnancy groups, everyone is so excited about finding out the sex. Of course I am excited about that, but if it were up to me, I would wait till birth to find out (but I will explain this later). Instead of being focused on the sex, I am praying for a healthy baby.

This whole week I have had nightmares about the scan tomorrow. So far, my baby has had Limb Body Wall complex, no kidneys, CCHD, hydrops, and a stroke in utero. (Do not Google these things if you don't know what they are, some will scare you). Like I said, I have seen and heard to much!! I know the statistics are in my favor to have a healthy baby, but my anxiety and history of loss has me terrified. Please, if you think about it around 11:30 tomorrow, say a little prayer that everything is OK:-)

As for the sex. The reason I am finding out tomorrow is kind of morbid. We kept Rosalynn a surprise. We wanted to find out the day she was born. Well, I found out I was carrying a girl the day we found out her heartbeat stopped. The one thing I regret is she never heard my voice call her by name. So for Ava and this baby, I needed to find out so that if anything happened to them, they would hear me call them by name even if only ever through my belly.

I warned you: morbid. Ahhh how I wish I was naive through pregnancy again!!

Unfortunately for all of you, you won't know the sex of the baby for about another  two weeks. We need to film and edit the pregnancy reveal video. Hopefully Foster, Ava and I are able to keep the secret;-) lol

Past the Halfway Mark!!!

It is so strange having as close to a "normal" pregnancy as possible. I haven't written much because, well, there isn't much going on. As of today, I am past the half way mark in my pregnancy!! Delivery date set for May 25th, which puts that 17 weeks, 2 days away, and I am officially 17weeks, 5 days today:-)

The funny thing is, we started planning for our October trip to Disney for Ava's 5th birthday, and it has taken my mind off of being pregnant, which I think is helping the time go a lot faster!!

I have felt slight movements. I can feel "FitzPippa" pushing when he/she don't like how tight my waistband is, if I am too far on my belly while laying down, and when Ava sits on my lap and puts too much weight on my belly.
We find out the 5th what we are having, and going to have the anatomy scan!!! Prayers for a healthy baby!!!




Symptoms: Nausea still first thing in the morning if I don't eat within the first 30 mins of being awake.  But for the most part, the majority of 1st trimester symptoms have eased up. Some heartburn if I eat spicy foods.

Food cravings/aversions: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!! YUMMMMMM

Gender: next friday we find out if we are having a Fitz or a Pippa
Belly button in or out: Still in 

Stretch marks: TONS of old ones from Rosalynn and Avaleen, Really can't tell if there are new ones. I LITERALLY look like a zebra from my 2 girls. 

What I miss: sleeping without getting up 15 times to pee:-) 

What I am looking forward to: feeling stronger kicks and movements!! Next friday to find out the gender!!!

I will do a few more gender prediction tests before Friday...just for fun:-) 

HELLO 2nd Trimester!!

Wow!! Got really busy through the holidays!!
Christmas was amazing, spending time with family, resting, taking a break from work, spending extra time with Ava. It was so mice, I didn't want reality to start back up today.

I am OFFICIALLY in the SECOND TRIMESTER!!!  This past Wednesday I hit 14 weeks. Another milestone passed. It is a big step for most moms. The risk of miscarriage goes down, some moms start feeling baby move, the heartbeat becomes easier to pick up the heartbeat on doppler, etc. I live my pregnancies one milestone at a time, celebrating a new day, a new occasion in the pregnancy. Thanking God for another day/week/month with this sweet baby!!

It has been a little rough, because I was HOPING the symptoms would start easing up. Instead, I still throw up almost every day, and the migraines have started back up. I am trying to figure out what is causing them: hormones? certain foods? bad sleeping position? I have a chiropractic apt coming up, a massage apt next week, and TRYING to stay away from drugs to help them. I have been using peppermint oil which has been helping a LITTLE bit, but they are still pretty debilitating. Migraines are no joke, and I have always felt bad for my friends who suffered chronically from them, and this is why. It put me OUT. I can't play with Ava, can't be on my computer for work, barely want to talk to anyone, and have to stay away from lights:-(

I also started a "diet" (more eating habits) that is supposed to level out my blood sugars. Since headaches can be a sign of diabetes. The new eating schedule should help maintain my glycemic index. Hopefully this will help me feel better, but ALL I have craved this pregnancy is carbs: cereal and peanut butter sandwiches!! lol. (sweet cravings point towards girls right lol;-)

ANY suggestions will be taken into consideration, so please, lay it on me.

Hope everyone had an amazing Christmas season, and spent quality time with family, since that is truly what is most important!!!