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.
