The scoop

I apologize for the delay in journaling all of our exciting news from Tuesday. It was such a whirlwind of a day that by the time we got home I was TOTALLY exhausted!

The day was wonderful!

The doctor was wonderful!

The news was wonderful!

We got to the doctor and really didn't wait that long at all...that is after I finished filling out the 10 page medical history form they gave me. It's funny b/c my medical chart is literally 4 inches thick and believe me, they have all of the answers to the questions on that form in my file already. However, as soon as I was done they called us back and we went right in to the room. The ultrasound tech was awesome. She was so sweet and we laughed about how many pages of my chart that they faxed over. She had me hop onto the table (with all of my clothes on) to prepare for the ultrasound and I was totally confused. You see, when you come from the infertility side of conception you NEVER get abdominal u/s you only get the intrusive kind...you know what I mean! We had a really good laugh about how nice it was to actually not have to "drop my drawers" for a doctor and how cool it would be to have a "real" ultrasound like "normal" moms! Soon thereafter, the doctor came in.

We had this same peri for the twins in the hospital AFTER my water broke. You see, I had a young, inexperienced OBGYN for my first pregnancy and after my water broke she still insisted that she could handle my care in the hospital. After a disagreement between her and myself about the direction I wanted MY care to go in, I requested a new doctor. I got Dr. K, who is a very highly recommended peri in Houston and we were very impressed with him. He went to college with our neonatologist (and they are still very close friends) and he is personal friends with my pulmonologist, so our entire care team is connected.

He didn't waste any time getting started. Literally, he walked in, shook hands and squirted gel on my belly. No sooner did he place the probe on my stomach was he asking us if we wanted to know the gender of our baby. We didn't get the word "Yes" out of our mouths before he said, "It's a BOY"!!!

I love this moment. I looked at B and his eyes were WIDE OPEN. Like he was thinking..."did I just hear him right". This was the dialogue from at that point:
B: How do you know???
Me: (laughing) Um...do you see that arrow right there between those two legs
B: Really...YES!

Now, I wasn't sure if Brandon was going to jump up and high five me at that moment or if we were both going to burst into tears. I am sure neither of us heard the next 2 minutes of what our doctor said. That will rank as one of the greatest moments of my life with Brandon. It was such a special moment for us to share together. (when we found out the gender of the twins I was in the ultrasound room alone and then they brought B in after I knew what they were, so we never got that IT'S A...moment together)

The rest of the 40 minute ultrasound was a whirlwind of questions back and forth between me and the peri. He had a million questions about our situation because of my many serious medical issues and I had a million questions for him. I remember him asking a few times, "Did your first son have...." and I kept asking him "WHY?" is there something wrong with this baby. He just laughed and said "NO, everything is good, he is perfect." I guess he just wanted as much info about Bennett as he could get. I think I watched about 5 minutes of the ultrasound because we had so many questions. However, B soaked up every second of it and I am so happy he got to see our little boy in action. Most of the ultrasound was done in 4D which is a 3D ultrasound in real time. It is amazing to see the actual picture of your baby as they move in your belly. He is so handsome and calm...just a perfect little miracle!

The big news we got:
*There was no sign of the SCH...PRAISE GOD! I will feel better about this news after the next ultrasound if it is still gone!
*My cervix looks "Really Good!" This was good news to me and he seemed very confident about his findings in the cervical department.
*I have placenta previa. (the placenta is covering the cervix) This was cause for concern according to the doctor. Mainly, because I am on blood thinners for my clotting disorder and women with placenta previa are very prone to bleeding. Since I can't stop the blood thinners I am still on bed rest to keep as much pressure off of the placenta and cervix as possible. Please pray that my placenta continues to move as the baby grows and maybe by my next appt we will see a change.
*I will continue on the Ven.tolin until 20 weeks when I will start a Terbutaline pump. This is just a more concentrated form of anti-contraction meds (called Tocolytics) and we will continue to pray that they do the trick for my body.
*I will also start a home uterine monitor at 20 weeks. I will monitor twice a day for an hour each time and the results are transferred to a nurse who will call me within minutes to give me the news about my uterus. Pretty cool! It's like the hospital at home!
*I started the 17P shots last night. This is a weekly shot of progesterone proven to prevent preterm labor as it helps to replace (or amp up) the amount of progesterone hormone in your body. I survived the first night after using Emla cream and icing my butt cheek for 30 minutes. B gives me these shots and he is so gently and kind...most of the time! I am pretty sure you could suck a milk shake thought he needle because it is such a thick gauge!

So, if you were wondering what we are thinking of naming this precious little miracle boy growing in my tummy...well, I'm wondering the same thing! I hate not having a name picked out for him yet, but B has been super busy at work and in the evenings he is totally exhausted. He gets to choose the middle name b/c he won the gender bet, but we need a first name first!

Tuesday was such a great, uplifting day. I tend to worry between appointments, so the day of when we actually get some good news it is such a relief. When B and I walked out of the office we were all smiles. We got out of the door and we just stopped and looked at each other. We were holding hands and I just kept saying, "I can't believe this...I just can't believe it." I am pretty sure we almost skipped all the way to the elevator. As much as I didn't want believe it...there was something so special about finding out we are having a little boy. I can't tell you how many times I sat next to Bennett's grave and prayed that he would find us the perfect little angel to raise as his little brother or sister. We have been blessed in so many ways by this baby. I know that every baby is special, but this baby is extra special to us.

As we were leaving the hospital we decided to stop at the little boutique downstairs. We each picked out one outfit and a set of baby blue blankets for our little guy. I love him so much already. I have always been a fighter, but now I know what I am fighting for and I am going to fight as hard as I can for him. Thank you for the continued prayers. The next 8 weeks are crucial to get through...if we can make it through them we will reach the stage of viability. I am filled with hope and faith that we will make it beyond that as well.

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with a lot of uterine irritability. It is common to have irritability during pregnancy, but with my history it means we have to be extra cautious. Please, please continue to lift us up in prayer. We will never be able to repay all of you for your kindness, but know that we keep all of you in our thoughts and prayers daily as well.

Blessings,
Angie