Dana is three seven! months old and it is SO hard to believe how speedily these last 12 28 weeks have gone by. It is such a joy to have her here, and she is the sprinkles
on what was already quite the delicious cupcake of a family. Both being from families of three kids, we had planned on having three kids from the beginning. There was some negotiations along the way, especially since having three kids in the suburbs is VERY different from having three kids in the city, but one of us finally convinced the other to GO THE DISTANCE and here we are.
This birth story actually starts with Seth's birth story. I had placenta previa with Seth which led to a very scary hemorrhage situation, but luckily we both escaped relatively unscathed except for a lot of anxiety with a side of PTSD on my part and a strong stubborn streak on Seth's part. When I consulted with my OB before getting pregnant this time, I was told that there was like a 3.875% chance that I would have placenta previa again. So, armed with this very trusty medical advice, we proceeded apace.
I found out I was pregnant July of 2018. We were super excited, although I was very nervous which is pretty much my natural born state. My progesterone levels were very low which was a sign that potentially the pregnancy wasn't viable. I was put on progesterone and everything seemed fine in the sense that I wasn't bleeding profusely a la Seth. When I went into the appointment at 8 weeks, I had a feeling that shit was gonna go down. Of course, I have this feeling before every medical appointment so...
The doctor hooked me up to the ultrasound machine, spent some time looking at my belly, and then said that there wasn't a heartbeat. I was gutted. I took another week just in case something was going to miraculously happen. I went in for another ultrasound and the result was the same. I chose to have a D and C - the doctor I met with said, "The pill isn't going to be a party." because, you know, when you're miscarrying, you're expecting a party. 😡 In the end, it was a sad and stressful experience. I wasn't sure if I would want to try again, but I'm pretty stubborn so...ahead we forged!
We found out I was pregnant again in mid November of 2018. We were super excited but also very nervous given the miscarriage and also everything that went down with Seth. For the first three months of the pregnancy, I was very nauseous all of the time and could only eat between the hours of 11 and 4 and was subsisting largely on Sour Patch kids funneled to me by the best colleagues around. The nausea wore off around week 20 and I was feeling pretty good...until I went in for my second major ultrasound.
Obviously, I was very concerned going into the ultrasound that they would find out that I had previa again. The technician hooked me up and I held my breath as they checked out the placenta. They put down the wand. They went to get their supervisor. NEVER A GOOD SIGN. This time, it turned out that not only did I have previa, they also suspected that I had what is called placenta accreta. With placenta previa, your placenta covers your cervix. With accreta, the placenta GROWS INTO YOUR UTERINE WALL. Like an alien eating you from the inside. This is a problem because when your placenta tries to exit your body, it takes your uterus with it. #takeout #thebadkind
This was real bad news bears. Placenta accreta comes with up to an 8% chance of maternal death. When I spoke to my OB following this ultrasound, she gently suggested that I might want to terminate the pregnancy. At 20 weeks. When I could already feel the baby kicking. For something they weren't even sure I had. But that I could possibly die from, thus leaving behind my two other children without one of their parents. Oy.
Stay tuned for Part 2 wherein I make a possibly terrible choice, develop a new condition, and have at least two more scares!
on what was already quite the delicious cupcake of a family. Both being from families of three kids, we had planned on having three kids from the beginning. There was some negotiations along the way, especially since having three kids in the suburbs is VERY different from having three kids in the city, but one of us finally convinced the other to GO THE DISTANCE and here we are.
This birth story actually starts with Seth's birth story. I had placenta previa with Seth which led to a very scary hemorrhage situation, but luckily we both escaped relatively unscathed except for a lot of anxiety with a side of PTSD on my part and a strong stubborn streak on Seth's part. When I consulted with my OB before getting pregnant this time, I was told that there was like a 3.875% chance that I would have placenta previa again. So, armed with this very trusty medical advice, we proceeded apace.
I found out I was pregnant July of 2018. We were super excited, although I was very nervous which is pretty much my natural born state. My progesterone levels were very low which was a sign that potentially the pregnancy wasn't viable. I was put on progesterone and everything seemed fine in the sense that I wasn't bleeding profusely a la Seth. When I went into the appointment at 8 weeks, I had a feeling that shit was gonna go down. Of course, I have this feeling before every medical appointment so...
The doctor hooked me up to the ultrasound machine, spent some time looking at my belly, and then said that there wasn't a heartbeat. I was gutted. I took another week just in case something was going to miraculously happen. I went in for another ultrasound and the result was the same. I chose to have a D and C - the doctor I met with said, "The pill isn't going to be a party." because, you know, when you're miscarrying, you're expecting a party. 😡 In the end, it was a sad and stressful experience. I wasn't sure if I would want to try again, but I'm pretty stubborn so...ahead we forged!
We found out I was pregnant again in mid November of 2018. We were super excited but also very nervous given the miscarriage and also everything that went down with Seth. For the first three months of the pregnancy, I was very nauseous all of the time and could only eat between the hours of 11 and 4 and was subsisting largely on Sour Patch kids funneled to me by the best colleagues around. The nausea wore off around week 20 and I was feeling pretty good...until I went in for my second major ultrasound.
Obviously, I was very concerned going into the ultrasound that they would find out that I had previa again. The technician hooked me up and I held my breath as they checked out the placenta. They put down the wand. They went to get their supervisor. NEVER A GOOD SIGN. This time, it turned out that not only did I have previa, they also suspected that I had what is called placenta accreta. With placenta previa, your placenta covers your cervix. With accreta, the placenta GROWS INTO YOUR UTERINE WALL. Like an alien eating you from the inside. This is a problem because when your placenta tries to exit your body, it takes your uterus with it. #takeout #thebadkind
This was real bad news bears. Placenta accreta comes with up to an 8% chance of maternal death. When I spoke to my OB following this ultrasound, she gently suggested that I might want to terminate the pregnancy. At 20 weeks. When I could already feel the baby kicking. For something they weren't even sure I had. But that I could possibly die from, thus leaving behind my two other children without one of their parents. Oy.
Stay tuned for Part 2 wherein I make a possibly terrible choice, develop a new condition, and have at least two more scares!
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