The ultrasound was today at 9am....John and I got there early as we were both really excited. We had the same ultrasound tech as with Logan - and she recognized us....since it was not too long ago that we were there! Here is a pic of Logan getting so excited to see his little brother on the screen!
She put the doppler on my belly and there was the baby - as cute as can be. :) I immediately said, oh, is that a boy?? She told me that she wasn't quite there yet (I swore I saw something in-between his legs). So she moved right on down and said, well yes, it is in fact a boy! She said it is as if he is sitting on a toilet seat - oh yes, there was no mistakening that this baby was in fact a boy. It seems that my boys have no problem showing off their stuff - let's hope this doesn't continue to later in life! :)
She then moved on to checking all the truly important things...his heart, lungs, all extremeties. She measured my placenta and all....yadeyadeya. While she was checking the important things, John, Logan and I all watched (well, let's be honest, Logan was a little wiggly) our new baby boy wave to us, kick around, open his mouth (this move alone actually made me tear up because he was just so darn cute - like he was smiling), and it also looked like he had his hand to his cheek....or may have been picking his nose - eewww! Haha....he made us laugh already! I love ultrasounds.
My appointment with the doctor was supposed to be about 25 minutes later after we were done - I told John to go on to work as he had some meetings and such to go to. I ended up seeing the doctor about an hour later - geez! (Turns out he was late to work that day, so all his appointments were a bit delayed.) So there I was in a little room with all kinds of breakables (machines and stuff) with a little boy who wants to walk everywhere...and me that has to pee yet again since I had to drink so much darn liquid for the ultrasound! Ugh - I was growing impatient. All in all, Logan did great. He crawled on me while the doctor was talking, but he wasn't toonwhiny so that was good.
The doctor said that everything with the baby looked fine. There was just one thing...my heart dropped. I apparently have placenta previa. Some of you may already know what that is - I had heard of it, but really had no clue to what it really was. Apparently my placenta is lower than normal. This can happen with women who have had c-sections before, although some people get it because of other reasons...or really no reason at all. Anyway, the placenta is essentially blocking part or all of the cervix - meaning it can be impossible to deliver vaginally. This news was fine to me as the now 'required' c-section was what we were planning on anyways. I was also told that the placenta could move out of the way and not be a problem.
He used this analogy: Imagine a line on a balloon - the line being the placenta; the balloon being my uterus - as the balloon/uterus expands as the baby grows, the line/placenta can move up closer to where it should be. Okay, good. I will have another ultrasound at 28 weeks to check on the placement. In the meantime, I have to take another iron pill supplement (I already take one on top of my prenatal vitamins since my iron is always low) to stop bleeding if it shall occur. We also can't do what got us here in the first place, if you catch my drift, as the placenta could puncture and I could bleed - not a good thing. The doctor mentioned that some women, in more severe cases, are put on bedrest and may have to be in the hospital. All of this would suck, but I could handle it.
The next part, I was NOT ready to hear and ended up putting a little damper on my exciting day. He said that while RARE, at delivery time, if I am bleeding too much (for example if the placenta is cut into or just starts bleeding too much and they can't stop it) then I may have to have a hysterectomy. WHAT!?!?!?!? He said this is in about 20% of cases. Yes, it is a low percentage, but I was looking for even lower - to me in this type of scenario 20% is just too much. I held it together in the office not even thinking of crying. But when I called John, I kind of lost it. Don't get me wrong, I am extremely thankful to have been blessed with now 2 healthy boys (and I am glad that his one piece of 'not so great' news had no effect on the health of our little boy in my belly)....but John and I have always talked of having a big family - if it so happens that in the future we try whether it be naturally or through IVF and we are unsuccessful - so be it. However, to have the chance taken away because of a darn placenta that didn't go to its natural place, is sucky. But again, I am thankful for the family I have - these 2 boys are going to be so much fun together...and will probably give me a run for my money!
Anywho, I have talked to a couple of people that have had this before and theirs did all move by the time they delivered. My story may be slightly different since I have some scar tissue from my 1st c-section that the placenta may hang out with...I don't know. The internet, while a helpful tool can also be scary. Therefore, I have not looked up a ton of information, but what I did find was that 10% of women that have placenta previa at their 20 week ultrasound also have it when they deliver - so 90% don't. That is a pretty good percentage. One of my aunts had it while pregnant 30 years ago and while she bled through the entire pregnancy and was on bedrest, hers did move and she was able to deliver naturally. My mother-in-law is a retired nurse from the delivery unit and she said it is soooo rare and not to worry. So knowing that I will have another ultrasound in 2 months and am already planning on a c-section, I hope to be in good shape. Please do say a prayer that it does move away and I don't have to have any extra surgeries during my c-section.
Sorry for a little downer news, but I had to document it all. But all in all, we are having another BOY and couldn't be more excited!!! Now, coming up with a name....ugh, is the hard part. I don't think this baby will have a name nearly as fast as Logan did. :) Oh well - when we do think of it, I am sure it will be fitting. :)
3 comments:
Congratulations on another healthy baby boy! I hate that you can't have a totally worry-free pregnancy...but it sounds as though the odds are in your favor! We will be praying for a healthy pregnancy & baby!
Now onto the exciting part...picking a name!!! ;-)
Hi! I've been following your blog for a while, and I'm excited to hear about your second boy! It'll be so nice for Logan to have a brother close to him in age.
I had low iron during my pregnancies as well, and my doula suggested the iron supplement Floradix to me. It contains iron that is super-easy to absorb and very easy on the tummy, too. If you have a Whole Foods or some other kind of health food store around you, check it out. I'm sure you can buy it online, as well as read other thoughts on it. If you get it, get some Vitamin C capsules to go with it, as Vitamin C increases your absorption of iron.
Here's a thought for you: if your placenta moves out of the way by delivery time (which it IS likely to do), you may want to question the concept of "once a C-section, always a C-section." While that's the prevailing standard among some OB's, there's plenty of other OB's that don't believe that. If you live near an urban area, you might be able to find a different doctor who would be comfortable with you trying for a VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean). I suggest looking into a VBAC because you mentioned that you have scar tissue from your previous cesarean, and you probably don't want to have opportunity to build up more scar tissue if you have another option. You also said that you would like to have more babies. Having a vaginal birth might make it easier for you to have more children by keeping you from building up additional scar tissue, and it would also eliminate the slight risk of a hysterectomy that goes with a C-section. Now, if you end up with another ten-pounder like Logan, that may make a difference in your birth options, too, but at the same time, you may not have such a big baby this second time around, which would give you more options for birth.
Like your doctor and relative said, your placenta probably will move up and out of the way by delivery time. If it doesn't, then a cesarean is the only safe option. But since your placenta has a good chance of moving out of the way, it might be worthwhile to investigate the VBAC option. There are numerous websites devoted to VBACs that would give you more information about the benefits and cautions of VBACs.
One recently-released book that you might find interesting is called "Your Best Birth" by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein. They did the movie "The Business of Being Born," which is very eye-opening as to the way childbirth operates in America. You might want to check those out as well. The "Your Best Birth" book gives some background behind the policy shift that has caused VBACs to no longer be standard practice for most obstetricians.
It's exciting to watch your progress through this surprise pregnancy. I enjoy reading your updates, and it's easy to hear your cheerful spirit come through your words. You write well, and it's a pleasure to come here and read your blog. And Logan sure is a cutie! I love the picture you have of him on your header. :)
I hope that whatever happens, it all works out well, and that you end up with a healthy baby boy at the end. Have fun thinking up names for your new little one!
Best wishes!
~ Emily
Oops! I just realized that you changed your header picture. I loved the picture you had of Logan on your header, with his arm up in the air. :) So adorable!
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