pregnancy update

i realize that i have not given much information regarding how my pregnancy is going since this post when it was all gloom and doom (well, it wasn't complete gloom and doom, but i was pretty concerned about the placenta previa and the thought of a mandatory c-section). i blame the move and craziness of christmas and visitors and, and, and...you get the idea!

 

anyway, many of you have asked how the whole pregnancy thing is going, so i thought i should probably update you since i've only got 3 more weeks left of pregnancy (thank goodness).

 

on our drive from oregon to new mexico i started to bleed some. as soon as we arrived in albuquerque i called a doctor and got in asap. they were a bit concerned so they scheduled a second ultrasound to see what was going on with the placenta. luckily, the bleeding subsided and has not resumed since!

 

the same day i had my second ultrasound, i also had my glucose tolerance test. while waiting for the results from the blood test i went in for the ultrasound. they saw that the placenta had moved a little bit and was not a complete previa, but a partial to low lying previa. that was good news.

 

however, they thought that the umbilical cord was inserted low on the placenta near the cervix. this is known as vasa previa and is significantly worse for the baby than placenta previa. they couldn't tell for sure, so i left that ultrasound a bit concerned. if that wasn't enough i was borderline diabetic. wonderful!

 

the best part of the ultrasound was that i left with this:

i understand that some of you may think that these pictures are kind of creepy (namely my sister!), but it was the first time i had seen one of our babies in 3-d and i think it's pretty cool! the placenta was covering the top of the head (the technician cut some of it out of the picture and that is why the head is not all there) and that is why it looks kinda weird. i think the baby is kinda cute, much cuter than the "alien babies" that the 2-d ultrasound pictures show! (this was at 28 weeks)

 

so, with thanksgiving and christmas approaching, i decided i needed to know if i truly had gestational diabetes or not. i wanted to be able to eat all those fabulous holiday goodies if i could. so, i did that horrible 3 hour glucose test and i thought i was going to pass out by the end of it. what a relief, when i got the call the day before thanksgiving telling me my levels were perfectly normal, not even close to the high range! so, i celebrated for the next month and a half and ate lots and lots of sugary, yummy goodness! probably not the best decision, but i did it anyway!

 

while my parents were here for christmas, i had my third ultrasound to check the location of the placenta and the insertion of the umbilical cord. in order to be able to deliver vaginally, the placenta needs to be a minimum of 2 cm away from the cervix. when measured, my placenta was 4 cm away! yippee! i was cleared for a normal delivery, barring any unforeseen complications. what they thought may have been an insertion of the cord down by the cervix was just a loop of cord because they found the true insertion towards the middle of the placenta!

 

now, i am happily seeing a midwife, instead of a doctor at the high risk clinic.

 

this whole crazy mess has been very interesting for us! we have seen many miracles and had many, many  prayers answered (thanks to all of your prayers that were offered on our behalf! they really have been felt and answered!). it seems like it has just been one thing after another. once one complication was cleared, a new one seemed to surface only to go away just as another complication would arise! it has helped us to really turn to the Lord and draw closer to Him. as we have seen our faith increase through these trials mitch and i have been drawn closer to each other and have seen a strengthening of our relationship!

 

we truly feel blessed! we know that we are being watched over and seasoned or refined. however, at the same time we are a bit worried about what all of this may be preparing us for in the future!?? but whatever comes, i guess we have been prepared, right?

 

now, we just wait for the payoff when we get to hold our beautiful baby in our arms.....