Anyway... about that scare. I will try to be as conservative with details as I can since I know there will probably be readers that don't care to know ALL the gory details. It started on the weekend of the super bowl... I noticed some similar symptoms that I had with my previous pregnancies which alerted me of the possibility of another sub-chorionic hemorrhage. I kind of brushed it off as the symptoms were very very mild... that is until super bowl Sunday. We were at Jeff's parents house ready to eat and watch the game when something felt off to me. Sure enough, my symptoms intensified which prompted a trip to the ER to confirm wether or not baby was still with us.
When we got to the hospital we were taken back to an exam room fairly quickly. They did the usual... vitals, questions, blood work, etc. Then the dr came in, performed his exam and ordered an ultrasound. I couldn't have been more nervous, but I feel so fortunate to have a husband who has been through this with me two other times and was able to feel somewhat at peace about it.
After a while, the ultrasound tech came to get us and took us back for our exam. After some questions and set up of the machine, she was able to get a good look at the baby. I was sooooooo happy to see baby with a healthy heart beating on the screen!!! (Heart rate was 164 bpm) What a relief that was indeed.
As soon as we finished the ultrasound, she took us back to our room where we waited for what seemed like forever. Finally the doctor came in and told us that the baby looked okay, but that they found a larger than normal bleed behind the placenta. He called it a "peri-gestational hemorrhage." From what I understand that's basically the same thing as a sub-chorionic hemorrhage like I had in my previous pregnancies. This particular bleed was somewhat concerning to him, so after he ruled it out as a threatened miscarriage he then recommended we follow up on it in a week.
After I had alerted my midwives, they basically just told me to take it easy and we will just play it by ear. Which was fine with me. They said most of the time these bleeds correct themselves. Sometimes over a short period of time, and sometimes they take longer. It just depends.
But as it turns out, I already had an appointment set up with my regular OB about a week from the day to go over our care plan in case I need to go back to his care for any reason. He performed a quick ultrasound to determine the exact gestational age of the baby. Baby was fine with a good strong heart beat! He also noted the bleed and did not seem the least bit concerned. He told me it should heal up on its own pretty soon. It made me feel a lot better knowing the bleed had either gotten smaller, or the ER doctor just really over emphasized his concern over it. Either way, we're in good shape for now.
We still aren't out of the woods yet as far as the miscarriage risks go... they say the risk goes down significantly after 12 weeks!! At that point I feel like I'll be able to relax a little. For now though, I have just found that prayer and reading Philippians 4:4-9 and Isaiah 41:10 has really helped me a lot. It's so reassuring to me to read God's word in times like this... even if it's just a few verses.
Anyway, here's a sweet little picture of our newest little one. (Taken on Super Bowl Sunday!) So, that's about it as far as updates go... Thanks for all the love and support dear friends (and family!!!). God bless!!!
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