Still Baking

Baby's still in there...the terbutaline pills, bedrest, and drinking TONS of water seems to be doing the trick for now... just hoping this will keep working a couple more days! We're having our last doctor's appointment tomorrow with Dr. Puplampu, the OB/GYN scheduled to do the c-section. She has been a great doctor throughout my pregnancy and I really feel good about her being our surgeon (it helps knowing that her undergrad degree is from Harvard and her father is a neurosurgeon!). I trust her to take good care of us.

Isabella is doing lots of stretching, rolling, and poking, and I think I am actually going to miss feeling her move around in my belly. One of my favorite sources of entertainment during bedrest has been watching and feeling her move around and playing the always-fun guessing game "Which body part is THAT?" (obviously, we don't have cable to keep me occupied!). Everything is still looking good for her-- good heart rate, good movement, good blood flow through the umbilical cord. The placenta is not in the right place but I'm thankful that it's still functioning well! As long as she's doing well, I'm happy.

On Pins and Needles

The new anti-contraction prescription, Procardia, did not work so well, and we ended up back in the hospital at midnight on Friday for contractions. The doctors told me to call if I have more than four in an hour, and I was having six an hour for several hours in a row. They were irregular but some of them were pretty intense, and even though I was pretty sure they were just false labor contractions, it seemed to me that it would be irresponsible not to go to the hospital when I was having so many. I was awfully glad we went, because even after I got there and they started pumping in fluids, the contractions got even more intense, closer together, and lasted longer. After two shots of terbutaline and two bags of fluids, they calmed down but didn't stop completely. The doctor said that normally they would have gone ahead with the c-section in that situation but since we knew Isabella was still immature it was better to try to keep waiting.

Apparently I'm just one of those people who is going to have lots of contractions, which really puts me on pins and needles because every time they start up, I have to start trying to figure out if they are real or false and get ready to go to the hospital. Supposedly the false ones aren't strong enough to make me dilate, but the real contractions are strong enough, and it's really hard to figure out when it's real and when it's false when so many are coming on. Even at the hospital, they aren't able to figure out for sure whether they are real or false. They hook me up to a monitor that times them, but the only way to really find out is to do a cervical check, which can't be done in my situation because it could rupture the blood vessels on the placenta right over my cervix. Soooo things are not too much fun right now. Since I was not bleeding, they let me go home after a seven hour stay, but last night the contractions started up again. I decided to switch back to the previous medication I was on, terbutaline, before they got out of hand, and so far that seems to be working better. I'm crossing all my fingers on this.

Even though it's never fun to spend the night at the hospital, there was an up side to being there Friday night. There are two hospitals in Athens, both competing heavily for the maternity patients, and being newbies in town we didn't know which was really the better hospital. Even after we took classes at both and toured both of them, we were undecided about which to have the baby at since they both seemed good to us. The last time I went in for bleeding and contractions, we went to the hospital where I was already registered, but I really wasn't happy with the experience we had there, so after asking around a little we decided to deliver at the other hospital and did our pre-op there last week. Our contraction episode Friday night gave us a chance to really check out that hospital before delivering there, and I feel really good about it now. Everything was so much better than at the previous hospital we went to. We had the best nurse I could ever hope to have and I wish I could put her on reserve for our c-section! Everyone was super nice and professional, the room was much more comfortable (Stephen even managed to fit on the bed with me to catch some sleep), and even though I got another busted IV, the nurse recognized it right away instead of leaving the needle in for hours like they did at the last place when I had a heparin lock (my arm is still black and green even though it's been two weeks since that happened!). We also got to see lots of cute sleeping babies in the nursery as we were leaving, which helped to cheer me up. I can't wait for our baby to be here!

Speaking of pins and needles, we also had a good experience with the amniocentesis. The illustrations of amnios in pregnancy books make the needle look gigantic, but the doctor used a thin flexible needle that didn't hurt at all. Isabella is a very active baby, and I was so worried that she would be in one of her somersault spells during the test and get hurt by the needle, but she stayed perfectly still while the needle was in and I was very proud of her for being so good! They withdrew an ounce of amniotic fluid in 10 seconds, and I thought it was super cool to see what the fluid looked like. It's crazy that something can be taken out of my uterus so easily!

We have everything ready for the baby, except for strapping in the car seat. My mom has arranged to stay with us for a week after the surgery while Stephen has to be at work, then his parents will come to help a few days while he has to work the following week. We tried to time things so that the baby would come after the semester was over, and her due date was actually the day after Stephen would be completely done with the semester, but obviously things have changed since she'll be delivered three weeks early. Life is going to be pretty hectic for a few weeks while he finishes up the semester and we are adjusting to having a baby around, but that's just how it's going to be and we're trying to make the best of it. All we care about is having a healthy baby!

Another Week in the Oven (Maybe)

Results from the amnio showed Isabella's lungs aren't mature enough to come out yet and they want to wait until next Thursday, the day I turn 37 weeks, to get her out. The idea of her staying in there longer to develop is great, but the problem is I've been having a lot of contractions the last few days, even on the anti-contraction meds. We switched to a different prescription today and are hoping that will help. Otherwise she might be coming out sooner than Thursday.

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!

Preggo Pics

We thought we'd better get some more big belly shots since we don't know how much longer Isabella is going to be in there!

35 weeks

Good News and Bad News

First I want to say thanks to you ladies who like the name we've picked out-- it has been so nice to hear some positive feedback after all the stress and anxiety we've been through lately!

A week ago, we went to a maternal fetal medicine specialist to get an advanced ultrasound done to check on the placenta. While we were there we found out really bad news, but the good news is that we are at least aware of the situation and can try to make the best of it now.

We've known ever since the week 20 ultrasound that I have a low-lying placenta, but those are fairly common early in pregnancy and normally move up and away from the point of danger-- the cervix-- over time. At a week 24 ultrasound it was moving in the right direction, but when I went back at week 32 it had taken a nosedive and was overlapping the edge of my cervix, which is called a marginal placenta previa. Previas occur in one of every 200 pregnancies, and they aren't genetic, so if you're related to me don't worry that this will happen to you too! Partial placenta previa isn't always a problem, and normally women are able to go through a closely monitored trial labor in this situation and can often have a safe birth that way. However, the advanced color doppler ultrasound I had last week revealed that there are major blood vessels on the small portion of the placenta which is overlapping the edge of my cervix, which makes everything a lot more complicated. If I were to start experiencing labor contractions and dilating, the force of contractions combined with the movement of the cervix would probably cause the major blood vessels over the cervix to rupture, putting both of us in a very bad situation with all the blood that would be lost very quickly.

It has been really hard to come to terms with all of this. This is exactly the kind of pregnancy that would not have ended well not that long ago, and it's hard for me to wrap my mind around how dangerous this situation could be and how fortunate we are to know about it. The advanced ultrasound I had done is more powerful than a 3D ultrasound and isn't routine procedure at all. I feel so lucky that my doctor ever thought to refer me to get one done and I hate to think what could have happened had I started labor naturally, the way I've been planning to for months.

Now I'm under the care of the team of OB/GYNs at my regular practice, as well as a maternal fetal medicine specialist, and I feel like I'm in good hands between all of them. The specialist, Dr. Rosemund, is the one calling most of the shots at this point, and the plan is to do a c-section as soon as the baby's lungs are matured. Normally it's best to leave the baby in as long as possible, but in my case we have to get her out before contractions become likely. We're doing an amniocentesis next Thursday, the day I turn 36 weeks, to test the amount of surfectant in the baby's lungs, which will show how matured they are. (If you're not familiar with preggo lingo, this is a test that is done by inserting a needle into the abdomen and withdrawing a little amniotic fluid from the area surrounding the baby). I took a couple of big steroid shots in my butt last week to help her lungs develop more quickly. If the test shows her lungs are ready, we'll do the c-section that afternoon or the next day. If her lungs are not developed enough to get her out right away, they will estimate how many more days it will take for them to mature and plan the c-section accordingly, but they will not wait until I turn 37 weeks because of the increasing danger of contractions starting.

So this means our little Isabella could be born as soon as nine days from now, four weeks before her due date, and I think she will be born by two weeks from now at the very latest! As you can imagine, this has been a lot to take in and it's been a struggle to adjust to all of this news. Last week was really tough, but I was beginning to feel better by Sunday and felt so good that I started doing a little housework to get ready for the baby, then Sunday night I started bleeding and having contraction and we spent the next 12 hours at the hospital. They gave me shots of a muscle relaxer to stop the contractions, and we were able to get the contractions and bleeding under control within a couple of hours. Later the specialist, Dr. Rosemund, came to do an ultrasound and found that everything looked fine for the baby and the placenta and sent me home with directions for bedrest and a warning that if I have another episode of bleeding and contractions, I will have to stay in the hospital until it's time to do the c-section. I really did not enjoy being at the hospital-- being attached to a fetal monitor all the time, having an IV that bruised my entire forearm, wearing a hospital gown, eating hospital food, and trying to sleep in a triage room with all kinds of noise through the night-- so now I'm doing everything I can to prevent anymore contractions, staying off my feet, limiting the time I spend sitting upright, drinking as much water as I can. Stephen's "Mr. Mom" training from the first trimester is coming back into play now because I can't do much of anything if I want to prevent going back to the hospital any sooner than I have to. We are just hoping that everything will turn out okay and that we will have a healthy baby girl within a couple of weeks!

We Have a Name!

What happens when you put two English majors together and they need to come up with a name for their first baby? Well, they are really picky! We started a list of names back before we even conceived, but by the time we found out we were having a girl, we hated most of the names on our list. It's a lot of pressure to figure out a good name for your child... what if they hate it?? What if it doesn't fit their personality? They are going to be stuck with it their whole life!

We came up with a name at Christmas that I hope she will like. It's the ONLY girl name that both of us really liked (like I said, we're picky!) and I had a list of TEN criteria that the name had to meet, so that narrowed down an awful lot of name possibilities and this is one of the few that met all of them. (That's what happens when you have a name like Loreal Mercile Ing... you get really opinionated about the kind of name you want for your kid!) We wanted to wait a while to make sure we wanted to stick with the name before announcing it to many people, because I personally didn't want to be swayed by anyone else's opinions. All that matters to us is that our daughter likes her name, and that we like it, since we're the ones who are going to be saying it over and over.

So, this is the name we've picked for our baby girl: Isabella Jane. If you want to hear the story behind it, this is it: Stephen really wanted to use Jane for a first name, but I couldn't agree with it because I wanted something with multiple syllables and with a musical, feminine sound to balance out the flat, short sound of Brooks. Stephen came up with the name Isabella, which I wasn't crazy about at first, but I loved the idea of using Bella for a nickname. Isabella grew on me before long, and it turned out being the only name that could meet the criteria of all the things that matter to me in a name for our child. I was not nearly so picky about a middle name, I just wanted something that would give her some versatility so that if she gets tired of having a flowery name like Isabella, she can use the short basic name Jane instead.

We put hours and hours into researching names and narrowing down names, including reading through an entire book about names. (It was not until we'd already become attached to the name Isabella that I was informed that it is also the name for one of the main characters in the Twilight series. Oh, well! Hopefully people won't assume we named her after that character, and Twilight seems like the kind of fad series that will probably die out over time anyways.) So, we still really like the name Isabella Jane after several months of thinking about it and we feel really good about it. I hope you like it too! We are excited that our little Isabella will be joining us soon!