Jude Alexander Foote

Our sweet son, Jude Alexander Foote, was born on Sunday, May 1, 2016 at 7:15 pm. He weighed in at a whopping 4 lbs 11 oz and he was 17.25 inches long. He was born at 33 weeks 6 days and about 19 hours (close enough that I'm going to say I made it to 34 weeks.)

It is now Wednesday, May 4, 2016 and the past week has been a crazy whirlwind that I definitely want recorded while all the details are still fresh. This pregnancy has been so difficult from the very beginning. After the cerclage was placed and I spent the past 3 months on modified bed rest, I was actually getting hopeful that I might make it to 36 weeks when the cerclage would be taken out.

Last Thursday morning (April 28) I woke up feeling a little funny. I wasn't in a ton of pain or having obvious contractions, but I felt a little bit off. I took the girls to get an oil change in the car and then to library story time and lunch with friends. We got home around 12:30 and I told Steven how I had been feeling. He told me to call the OB because I have a history of not going in until things are too late. So, I called the OB and they told me to go to labor and delivery. I told Steven that everything was probably fine and that I'll call him when I knew more. I drove myself to Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem, Utah and got there around 1:30 pm. They hooked me up to the monitors which showed that I was having contractions. Dang.

My MFM team that put in the cerclage came in and did an ultrasound that showed my cerclage was still holding my cervix closed even though I was actively contracting. Because of my history they decided to admit me, gave me the first round of steroid shots, some shots to try and stop my contractions, and other medicine to do the same.

By Thursday night, I was pretty scared because I could feel the contractions, they were not stopping and I was terrified to deliver even earlier than I had with the girls. I just kept praying that I would make it to 34 weeks. The next three days were horrible. Steven was mostly with the girls trying to keep things working on the home front, and so I was alone in the hospital. I was constantly contracting day and night. They gave me some more shots to stop the contractions, I got the second steroid shot, and I was constantly on Procardia but nothing seemed to be stopping the contractions. However, every time they checked my cerclage was still holding on. So for three days, I was in so much pain just waiting and wondering how far I could make it. Those three days felt like forever.

By Sunday, the contractions were getting pretty intense. My very nice nurse came in around 1:30 Sunday afternoon and gave me a shot of morphine so I could sleep and get some relief from the constant pain since they had not really given me anything else, and I had barely slept in over three days. I woke up at 4:30 to blood and told Steven he better come because that was not good. I was really scared of my cerclage ripping through my cervix. They came in and decided to hook me up to a magnesium drip as a last ditch effort to buy some more time. Within about 30 minutes of that my water broke with the cerclage still in, and I was rushed to an emergency c-section.

The whole time I was pregnant with Jude, I was so worried about having a c-section. I did not want the horrible recovery a c-section brings at all. Jude had been breech for so long, but I thought that he would flip. However, by the time it came to deliver he was breech and so c-section it was. They rushed me in, took out the cerclage before it ripped, and Jude was born at 7:15 pm. He came out crying, and breathing on his own with Aapgar scores of 8 and 9. The critical time for delivery is to make it 48 hours after the second steroid shot. My body held on for 51 hours, just long enough.

We love our little Jude and he (along with the girls) are truly little miracles. My pregnancies have been very difficult, they were all born premature, and that has come with a lot of guilt and questions. I saw so many doctors and tried so many things, yet my babies always came early.

While I was having my c-section, the doctors discovered that I only have half of a uterus. It is an extremely rare birth defect called Unicornuate uterus and by all accounts I should not have any children. Most women with the defect take years to get pregnant, or they lose many babies. Getting pregnant was never that difficult for us, I never had any miscarriages, and even though my babies came early, they made it far enough to lead healthy, normal lives.

Jude (and Aubrey and Cora) just ran out of room! Poor Jude, especially. He was stuck breech with no room to turn for months. His legs are all bruised and it took him a while to relax into a normal position. I'm so grateful that he is here and safe. He just needs a little more time to grow and get stronger and then we will be able to take him home.

This week has been emotional and full of gratitude as I reflect on motherhood and the plan that Heavenly Father has for each of our lives. I have three miracle children. I'm grateful and blessed. I know the NICU weeks we have ahead of us will not be easy, but soon Jude will be home and our little family of five will be complete.

Pregnancy #3

I'm not writing much on this blog lately, but I do want to record how crazy and hard this pregnancy has been so far. We are so excited to be expecting a little boy into our family. He is already so loved. The girls ask daily about "baby brother," and Cora is old enough that I'm excited to welcome another baby into our family. He is due on June 13, but we will see how far I make it :)

Honestly, I felt like he was a boy from the beginning, because literally the moment I found out I was pregnant, I was horribly sick. Way worse than with the girls. I had morning sickness with both of them, but this time I could barely function and spent a lot of time throwing up. I was finally starting to get over the worst part of morning sickness around Christmas. We went to Canada for Christmas, which was a great trip and we all had so much fun.

When we got back to Utah at the beginning of January, our whole family kept getting illness after illness. I was around 17 weeks at the time when I ended up with morning sickness, a sinus infection, an ear infection, and a really bad stomach flu all at the same time. I was so weak by the time we got to the doctor that I could barely stand. I was able to get IV fluids, and start to recover, and I thought that things would get easier after that...

When I went in for my 19 week appointment with the high-risk specialists, then told me that my cervix had shortened a lot from the prior check and that was not a good thing. A normal pregnant woman has a cervical length of between 4-5 cm before about 30 weeks. Anything above 3.5 is good, and they start to worry below 3 cm. At that appointment, I was at 2.9 cm. I was told to take it easy, and come back in a week. Steven was supposed to be going out of town that week, and so I did what anybody would do... I called my mom! She came and helped out because taking it easy and small children do not go hand in hand.

I went back for my 20 week check-up, and my cervix had shortened to 2.7 cm. Now, I was told to be on modified bed rest and pelvic rest. I was so stressed and scared that our little guy was going to be born way early.

One week after that I went in for my 21 week check-up, and my cervix was at 2.55 cm, it was starting to funnel and open. Most doctors take a "wait and see" approach until a cervix is under 2.5 cm, so I was borderline, but my doctor told me that he thought the best thing to do was to have an emergency cerclage placed the very next day. A cerclage is a surgery where they basically stitch your cervix closed. I called my poor mom again, and she booked a flight for the next day.

For the few weeks before that, I was pretty much a mess. I was so scared. But when he talked about the cerclage, even though there were a lot of risks to having the surgery, I felt really calm. I knew it was the right thing to do, and the best option we had. Some of the biggest risks are that the surgery can break your water and you can go into labor right then. Scary stuff, but obviously doing nothing was not working.

On Thursday, February 11, Steven and I got up early and drove to Salt Lake to St. Mark's hospital. I first met with the MFM doctor for an ultrasound and consultation, then went to admitting, then to Labor and Delivery where I had an IV placed and a bunch of blood work taken, then to the Operating room. Steven and I were very impressed that with all those transfers, we never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a doctor.

In Labor & Delivery after many attempts at placing the IV.

I chose to be put under for the surgery instead of the spinal because I just didn't want to know what was going on. I really do not freeze well. They told me they had to give the amount of drugs for a man to get me to knock out! The surgery itself only took about 30 minutes, and after recovery we were discharged home late that afternoon.

I was still pretty out of it in this picture

I had to spend 3 days on very strict bed rest, then pretty much bed rest for the rest of the first week. My family was nice to come have picnics in bed with me, and I read the girls hundreds of books. I'm so grateful for my mom and Steven who took care of everything for me.

And... you can see my super cool "shower chair" in the background, because I wasn't even allowed to stand in the shower for a while.

For the rest of my pregnancy, I'm pretty much on "modified bed rest." Which, for me means I can't lift anything, can't sit or stand for long periods of time, pelvic rest, no exercise, no baths or swimming, etc. It is pretty rough. I love to exercise, and it is hard to feel like a good mom when I can't do so many things. But, I keep telling myself that this is just temporary, and our little guy is all worth it.

At my follow-up appointments, things look stable. The cerclage has closed my cervix back up again, and the length is hanging out around 3 cm. Still not great, but stable. I really have no idea what the next few months will bring. I'm optimistic that I will at least make it to 34 weeks like with the girls, but we will see. Many women lose a baby before they are diagnosed with incompetent cervix. While Aubrey and Cora were born early, they are doing great, and because of their early births I was monitored closely enough to do something. And, our little guy is doing great. Everything with him looks healthy and perfect- it is just me that we are worried about!

I'm grateful for a family who is so amazing. Steven gets up at 5 am every day now to do all the things that I cannot and still work a full day. He is tired, but never complains. My girls are being so patient with me, and my mom keep flying in all the way from Canada to help. We are blessed and I'm just having faith that things will work out. I'm 24 weeks now, and we are just taking things a day at a time.