Trick or treat...

It was just a little after 6 pm when we made our way outside to see if it was dark enough to go trick or treating yet. (Note my baby belly showing at 20 weeks 3 days along.)

We only had to wait only about 15 more minutes before it was dark enough to go out! Daddy took Keira out to most of the houses on our street. I went out with them, but it was sprinkling a bit of rain and I was not supposed to be walking much so I went home after the first house.  Daddy says that before they approached each house, he had Keira practice saying "trick or treat...", but each time they got to the door, she just stared at the person who answered the door and held her pumpkin bucket out for treats.  At several houses, the homeowner let Keira take the candy out of the basket and put it in her bucket.  Daddy said that she would look back up at them and take another one if they encouraged her to do so. She walked most of the way on her own, but Daddy carried her at the last few houses so as not to tire her out too much!

Thankfully it never started raining very hard!  After about 20 minutes, Daddy and Keira returned home. For only going to about 15 houses, she came home with quite a bit of loot!

She came home and read some books before showing off her treats to us!

After moving all of her treats from her bucket into her shopping cart, it was time to play with the bucket!

Silly girl!  Here's a picture of her loot:

 

 What a fun way to end a busy day: a birthday party followed by trick or treating!!

  

 Only 365 days until next Halloween, Keira!

Birthday party on Halloween!

On Halloween afternoon, we hosted a small party at our house to celebrate Keira's 2nd birthday.  Grandma Janet, Grandpa Gary, and Great Grandma Jane were down for the weekend, and we also invited some close friends to celebrate with us. Since I had been recovering from surgery the week before, I couldn't have pulled the party off without the help of everyone, especially Grandma Janet!

In the morning, Grandma and Grandpa gave Keira her birthday present from them: her very own kitchen!

At 3:30 pm, the party began! Keira and her friends were all in costume. After Keira showed her friends her new kitchen (and sharing very well for a change), they took a break for some food.

After filling the tummies, it was time to open presents! Keira figured this out really quickly and even had some help from her friends. Then it was time to play with her new toys!

After opening presents, it was time for cake and ice cream!  We sang "Happy Birthday" to her and then Daddy helped her blow out the candles.  See how she is pursing her lips together to blow!

Then it was time to eat!  After her two friends were done with their cake and went off to play, Keira sat at the table and finished off her cake and ice cream.  She didn't let any of it go to waste!  Why does this not surprise me?

Fun was had by all! And the weather was again nice enough to spend some time out on the screened porch!

Happy Birthday, Keira!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

XOXOX

20-week Ultrasound...still a boy!

At 20 weeks 2 days along, I had my Level II ultrasound and cervical length check this morning, Friday, October 30th. Still a boy! He is developing well with no issues found. He was being difficult about showing us his spine so the U/S tech wasn't able to get all the views she needed so at my next cervical length check in two weeks, they will get those pics as well. My cervix is doing well after the cerclage. It measured at 4.4 cm.

I'm doing well after getting the cerclage a week ago. Spotting is pretty much gone and was never very heavy. I have been resting a lot this week but getting a little more active. I tire really quickly but am building up a little more strength. It's amazing how quickly your muscles weaken after less than two weeks of bedrest. I was on terbutaline for 5 days which ended last night. I'm glad to be off that now as I no longer feel like I am working out every minute of the day (on it, my resting heartrate was somewhere between 80-120 bpm).

My next appt at OB's office is Thurs. Nov. 5th and next cervical length check is scheduled for the 13th.

Pictures:
Top: Head on right, body on left with legs kicking up above head.
Middle: Head on left, body on right with legs cradled up in fetal position.
Bottom:  The money shot, I'll let you interpret...[hint: find the arrow].

Surgery went well

The surgery went well this morning. Like we thought, I will be staying overnight for observation purposes only.

I got into OR at about 8:10 and was in recovery by 9:15. The IV had to be done over in my other hand but that was pretty much the only complication. The spinal was not so bad (I didn't even feel the spinal part, just the needle to numb the area). My lower body numbed pretty quickly. During the surgery, a nurse chatted with me which helped distract me and the noise of the machines helped mute what was going on "down there" so I didn't have to hear what was happening. My doctor said everything went great and she got a good stitch in there. She said she was going to have me admitted for 23 hour observation.

Once I got to recovery, the feeling in my legs started slowly returning. Around 10:00 I got to drink some apple juice and eat some crackers. I started to feel some discomfort in my lower abdomen about this time. By 10:30 I felt like I needed to pee, so the nurses helped me up to see if I could go to the bathroom. I was surprisingly able to walk with assistance to the toilet bit unfortunately the spinal had not warn off enough to let me go. So I got to have a catheter put in. By the time it was put in, I was feeling quite a bit of discomfort. Once the catheter was in and working, I started to feel quite a bit better as my bladder emptied. Phew! The good thing was that the spinal had not yet warn off in my lower body so I didn't even feel the catheter go in! Another bullet dodged!!

At about 11:30, I was taken up to a room in High Risk Perinatal which is my location for the night. I am in a double room but the 2nd bed is empty so in essence it is a private room. Ryan was able to meet me up there, but only could stay for about 30 minutes as he needed to go pick up the Keira Bear as she was very sleepy from waking up at 5:30 this morning. He will be home taking care of her overnight so I won't see him or Keira until tomorrow when I get released.

I just got lunch at about 1:30 and it was delicious. I was starving as I was unale to eat after midnight last night other than the juice and crackers I got in recovery. Now I am just settled in for the afternoon, watching TV and surfing on my iPhone. This afternoon, the catheter will be taken out so that I can go potty on my own.

The baby has been doing well today. They checked his heartrate before surgery, after surgery while still in the OR, once in recovery, and once here in HRP. His heartrate has consistently been between 150-155 bpm which is exactly what it has been this past week at my various dr. appointments. Also after being in recovery for about an hour, I felt him kick with my hand. That was the first time that I have felt movement outside the womb! It was reassuring to feel him. He let me know that he is doing okay in there.

Thanks to everyone for the well wishes and prayers!

Sent from my iPhone

Cerclage surgery tomorrow

Well I just figured out how to post a blog entry from my iPhone by sending an email. Hoping this works so that I don't have to get on the laptop to post.

I had some minor spotting on Saturday so we made a short trip to the hospital to make sure everything was still okay. I was released to home bedrest and did not have any further spotting. I started feeling much better on Sunday night so I spent all day Monday on bedrest to make sure.

The rest of this week I have been on modified bedrest with some activities like feeding Keira snacks and lunch, putting her to bed for naptime, changing her diaper on the floor. After just five days on bedrest, I am definitely feeling the effects and get tired after just a short while on my feet.

On Monday I got the call that my cerclage surgery was scheduled for this Friday, Oct. 23rd at The hospital. It should be an outpatient procedure with me being released within several hours, but my OB has said twice now that she reserves the right to keep me overnight for monitoring. Ryan and I both think that means I will be staying the night. Time will tell won't it?!

My surgery is at 8:00 am in the morning but I need to be at the hospital at 6:30 for check-in and prep. This means we get to leave the house around 5:40 am to drop Keira off at a friend's house. She will spend the morning there and Ryan wi pick her up between 11:00 and 12:30 depending on how I am doing.

Speaking of our early morning, I had better get up to bed! If this post works, then I will be able to post an update from the hospital tomorrow morning. Otherwise I will post over the weekend!

Sent from my iPhone

ABCs of Pregnancy

A is for Appointments...
B is for Bedrest...
C is for Cerclage.

This is what my future holds, hopefully for the next 19 weeks at least.

On Wednesday, I was 18 weeks along and I had a cervical length check (transvaginal ultrasound) at the antenatal testing center of the hospital.  This was my second check of the pregnancy.  My cervix measured 3.2-3.4 cm which is a little up from 2 weeks ago when it measured 2.9-3.1 cm.  That is good news that it is not getting shorter. I told the Dr. at the testing center that I was feeling some pressure "down there" so she did a manual cervix check to make sure my cervix is closed. It is, but the exam caused me to spot pretty heavily all day long and I was feeling crampy that night. When I woke up Thursday morning I was no longer spotting which is good, but after being on my feet for less than 30 minutes I started feeling a constant pain in the lower left side of my uterine area. I called my OB's office and my doctor wanted me to come in for a checkup and to discuss my two ultrasounds.

My OB checked my cervix to see from where the bleeding was coming.  It looked like the bleeding had stopped and was likely coming from the cervix as it looked all swollen and irritated. Based on my cervix length at this point in this pregnancy, my previous history with pre-term labor and shortened cervix of 0.9 cm at 33 weeks and delivering Keira at 35 weeks, and this bleeding and cramping, my OB recommends that a cerclage be placed late next week or early the next.  A cerclage is a pursestring stitch through the cervix that helps to keep it from prematurely opening and is removed at around 36 weeks.  The cerclage cannot be placed until bleeding has stopped for 1 week. In the meantime, I am on bedrest at home until the cramping has stopped for 24 hours. If bleeding starts again or pressure increases I am to call her office and I will be admitted to hospital for monitoring.

Also yesterday afternoon I had my 2nd 17P shot which felt slot less painful than the first one.  This shot is given weekly and I go into my OB's office to get these as Ryan is not too keen on the idea of needles.  I don't blame him!  The shot is supposed to help reduce contractions throughout pregnancy which in turn helps reduce the incidence of pre-term delivery.

Next Wednesday I go back in for my 3rd 17P shot and get my cervix checked to make sure no bleeding. The cerclage procedure will be scheduled within the next few days after that appointment.  The procedure will take place at the hospital and I will be admitted for the surgery, given an epidural for anesthesia, and released within 3 to 24 hours after the procedure, depending on how my cervix is doing after the procedure.  The thing I am most upset about is that I avoided an epidural during the delivery of Keira only to have to get one now!  Ugh.  I will no longer be able to claim that I have never had an epidural.  LOL
 
Ryan and I are both in agreement that this is the best course of action so that we don't get a few weeks down the road and my cervix starts shortening. At that point, bedrest would be our only hope.

Of course, having the cerclage put in place does not mean that I will have an uneventful pregnancy from there on out. Immediately after the cerclage is placed, there will be a limitation placed on some of my activities.  I will likely continue to get cervical length checks every few weeks and may see my OB more often than every 4 weeks.  Additionally, my OB prepared me by saying that bedrest will be in my future.  Possibly modified bedrest starting at 24 weeks (Wednesday before Thanksgiving) and full bedrest starting at 28 weeks (Wednesday before Christmas).  My OB does not want this baby coming before 32 weeks and would prefer after 37 weeks so she will be doing what she can to help ensure that happens.

So here is to hoping that the next 19 weeks go smoothly and as uneventful as possible.  I will continue to keep you posted!

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

On Thursday, October 1st, Ryan and I went to the hospital for a 16-week ultrasound to get my cervical length checked.  I was 16w1d along.

Cool news first: After checking my cervical length (more on that below) and checking out how the baby was doing (heartbeating 150bpm), the technician asked us if we were interested in finding out the gender.  I said that we would love to find out.  So she started checking things out down there.  At first it didn't look promising, she said that the umbilical cord was in between the baby's legs.  After a minute of looking, she says that it's a girl but with some uncertainty.  So she continues to look some more, trying to get a better look.  Then she says it's a boy and spends at least 5 minutes getting a better look so she can point out the boy parts to us.  She gave us a picture to take home which I think shows pretty well that the little bean is indeed a boy.

So, until we are told otherwise, IT'S A BOY!  I'm really excited to find out this soon!  Of course, we'll be having this looked at again at our 20-wk u/s to confirm, but until then we are looking forward to the birth of our son :)

Not so cool news: My cervix length is 2.9 to 3.1 cm which is normal not short.  However, given what we know it is on the low side of normal (average cervix length at 16 to 24 weeks is 4.0 to 4.5 cm).  The technician told us this is normal, but the doctor may want to monitor us.  The tech said that at 30 weeks that length would be good, but at 16 weeks, only the doctor could say whether it was good or not.  Indeed, the doctor wants us back for another u/s in two weeks to again check my cervix length.  There is the chance that it could lengthen which would be good, but only time will tell what is in my future for this pregnancy (cerclage, bedrest, etc.).

Next ultrasound was scheduled for Wednesday, October 14th.

Ryan and I both think that in two weeks my cervix will have shortened, not lengthened.  At least, we're preparing ourselves for the worst case scenario (cerclage and bedrest).

Anyway, on the upside, we get to see the baby via ultrasound three times this month! (1st, 14th, and 30th).