Coming to Terms

We got a HUGE surprise yesterday! My mom told me last week that she was going to have Easter lunch delivered for us, and I wondered how she'd found a place to deliver Easter lunch in Athens (her google skills are okay but she's not THAT good), but I didn't think much about it. Lunch time came around, and a familiar car pulled up in our driveway with an Alabama tag. It was my mom and her bf John, who drove seven hours round trip in one day to bring us lunch, food to eat the rest of the week, and presents for the baby! I'd just gotten out of the shower when they pulled up and was still in my robe with my hair wrapped in a towel with no make up on when they walked in! Mom loves to surprise people and I think she got an extra kick out of it when she saw me still in my robe. She brought a bouncy seat for the baby and lots of newborn size clothes, so baby Bella will have some cute clothes to wear while she is tiny! I feel really fortunate to have a mom who cares so much and is so generous with her help in our time of need. I still can't believe how far they drove in one day to see us!



I've been amazed at how many people have reached out to us with encouragement, support, prayers, and reassurance. It has been awesome to feel so much love from so many people. At a time when there's not much we can do to make our situation better, it is a blessing just to know that other people care and are thinking about us and hoping for the best along with us.

It's been especially helpful to be in contact with other c-section mothers. Almost everyone I've talked to had a positive experience with their c-section, especially if they knew about it beforehand. I'm SO grateful to know about mine before it happens and to have the opportunity to prepare for it and try to make the best of it. I never would have imagined that I would end up with a c-section, and I know I would have had post-partum depression written all over me if I'd ended up with an unplanned one. It is still weird to think that my belly is going to be sliced open, some of my most important organs are going to be moved around, and our daughter is going to be cut out of me, but all of my previous dreams of a natural labor don't matter one bit when compared to the safe delivery of our baby. I talked to another mother who'd also planned for a natural birth until she found out she had a breech baby with the umbilical cord wrapped around it's neck-- and all of a sudden she wanted that c-section really badly! I feel the exact same way and I am immensely grateful that the knowledge and technology exists to bring our baby safely out into the world. It is so strange to think that the womb that has been the perfect home for my baby for so many months could become such a dangerous place if she were to stay in it much longer, and that labor, one of the most amazing processes our bodies are designed for, would be so dangerous for both of us.

Even though we aren't going to be able to do a natural birth, I am SO glad that we were preparing for one, because our interest in a natural birth is what set off the chain of events that eventually made us aware of the complications with my case of placenta previa. Had we not been pursuing a natural birth, we never would have asked my doctor the questions that led her to refer us to the specialist who discovered the severity of our placenta situation, and I hate to think what would have happened had we not known about that. It's so crazy and random that it's terrifying. Also, I think that preparing for a natural birth has made my pregnancy a much better experience overall. That's what inspired me to exercise regularly and motivated me to keep my weight gain within the recommended range, and at this point in my pregnancy I think I am feeling good physically because of that.

Being on bedrest is tough sometimes because there are still things I'd like to take care of before the big day gets here, but I try to only do one "big" activity per day, and when a morning shower is counted as a big activity, not much else can get done! But bedrest is definitely helping to keep pre-term labor at bay, along with the medications I'm taking to stop contractions, so it is all worth it! We'll be finding out the results of the amniocentesis Thursday afternoon, then the doctors can figure out which day to schedule the c-section. It looks like it will either be scheduled for Friday morning or for one day early next week. We are all kind of hoping for next week so she'll have a little more time in utero, but the specialist says there is no benefit to waiting once her lungs are matured, and the longer we wait the more likely that I'll start having contractions that don't want to stop (pre-term labor is fairly common with previas), so we need to get her out as soon as possible. I'm just ready to have my little girl safe in my arms!