Pregnancy

Now that getting pregnant was done, staying and being pregnant needed to be pulled off.  As soon as I got the positive pregnancy test I was on the phone with my doctor.  I was spotting and knew that I needed to be put on progesterone right away to keep from losing the pregnancy.  I learned that the hard way in a previous pregnancy which ended in miscarriage due to a subchorionic hemorrhage - basically a blood clot that forms between the uterine wall and the gestational sac.  This is a condition that I have had in all of my pregnancies and isn't a big deal as long as it is treated and monitored right away to keep it from getting too big and stripping the developing placenta away from the wall completely. 

4 months

After getting the hemorrhage under control I continued to be plagued with small complications throughout my pregnancy.  No heartbeat when there should have been one and a huge ovarian cyst in the first trimester, nausea and vomiting that lasted through my second trimester, and worries from measuring small in my third to name a few.  

In the waiting room at my 20 week ultrasound

At 28 weeks I ended up in the hospital in preterm labor and severe pain in my right side directly above my hip.  After doing a CT scan they detected the problem - a kidney infection.  They were able to stop the labor with a few shots (contractions were coming every minute and a half by that point) and they sent me home  with some antibiotics and an appointment with a urologist.  The urologist had more bad news- the pain wasn't going to go away.  After looking at the CT scan he said I had a condition called hydronephrosis.  Basically the baby growing inside me was taking up all the room and the tubes that drained my kidneys were being pinched shut.  He said I could tough it out and I would continue to feel as if I had permanent kidney stones.  Or I could undergo a surgery in which they would place stents in my ureters to keep them open and allow my kidneys to drain the way they are supposed to.  After many a google search and several prayers later I opted against the surgery.  Why undergo an optional surgery and potentially put my unborn child at risk?  I'm glad this is the decision I made.  After about a week the pain receded to a dull ache with the occasional sharp jab to my kidney when the babe would kick/move the wrong way. 

Seven months pregnant - taking Ella to see the movie Brave

From that point everything continued fairly smoothly.  I was enjoying being pregnant and preparing for the baby.  At one point my husband asked me if I wished that he were the one carrying the baby rather than me.  My answer was "no way!"  Even though being pregnant can be uncomfortable (and even downright miserable during those months of unrelenting nausea and vomiting) it is also one of the most amazing (and FUN!) things I am sure I will ever be blessed to experience.  What a marvelous feeling it is to have another human life growing inside of you.  And it is made all the more wonderful when you get to meet that little human for the first time.

With my in-laws 5 days before giving birth