Viability!

Today is V-Day!!!!

Finally!!

 

I have been waiting for this day for months. 

 

As of today, the medical profession officially cares about Bug, and will try to save him if things go wrong.  He is also now capable of surviving outside the womb if he is delivered early.

 

I know that I am not out of the woods yet, but still, to have reached this milestone is SUCH a huge relief! :)

High Risk Consult

I was referred to a high risk specialist this week for a consult.  Finally!  I had been waitng for that referral for quite a while.  I am in Canada, so I cannot just book an appointment with a peri - I had to wait until my OB felt that it was justified.  She wanted to wait until 20 weeks.  This, by the way, is one of my biggest pet peeves ever - that so many doctors do not seem to take a pregnancy or any possible complications in a pregnancy seriously until you hit that magical 20 week mark.  Even then, most are not willing to intervene or try to save a pregnancy until viability (24 weeks).  It drives me nuts.  I mean, it seems to me that the fact that the baby will not make it if he is born that early should be all the more reason to try to prevent early delivery.  Anyway, moving on...

I saw the high risk doctor yesterday.  There is both good news, and confusing-potentially-concerning news.

The good news is, the hematoma is gone.  Yay, right?!  

But wait a minute....so why am I still bleeding then?  And why do I still have these cramps everyday?  

I saw the high risk doctor for all of thirty seconds after the ultrasound.  He told me the good news, and then said, "But, your placenta is unusual."  What does that mean, I asked?  "It is unusually thick.  That could be why you are still bleeding."  Again I asked, what does that mean?  He then said I should speak to my OB.  Great.  Thanks.

I called my OB's office and explained what happened, and asked to make an appointment.  My OB called me back personally within 10 minutes.  She was able to access the ultrasound report, and explained that she was "not concerned."  The baby is fine, the hematoma is gone.  My placenta was normal on all other ultrasounds.  She made it sound as if its thickness is just on the high end of normal.  She will give me another ultrasound, but said that I am now "low risk".  

So why am I still bleeding??????

According to my OB, it might just be my cervix.

So I am left with two different opinions from two different doctors.  One who I trust very much, but who is not herself a specialist, and who has not yet read the specialist's report.  Another who is a specialist, but who gave me very little in the way of meaningful interpretation, or any indication of a prognosis.

So, being the person I am, I could not stop myself from googling,  BIG mistake.  Apparently, a thick placenta is a sign of many scary things, most notably placenta abruption.  The exact thing I have been worried about for months.  Bleeding is of course also a sign of that, and so are these cramps.  The hematoma itself could have been caused by it.  Obviously not a full abruption, but perhaps a partial one.  Apparently, they are not easy to see on ultrasounds unless there is a large retroplacental hemorrhage.  Otherwise, it may present only as an unusually thick placenta.  Great.

I have another appointment with my OB in a few weeks, at which point she should actually have the high risk doctor's report (which will presumably contain an explanation for why he thinks the thick placenta was concerning, and that he suspects that it might be the cause of the bleeding).  I will have another ultrasound at that point, and we will go from there.  In the meantime, I am going to try to listen to my OB on this one, and not worry too much or freak out (I swear).  Bug is still with me, and doing great.  I feel him everyday now.  We both love him so much already.  

Liebster Blog Award

 

 

I’ve been nominated for a Liebster Blog Award by Olivia at Two Steps Forward, One Step Back! The award is intended for up-and-coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. Once nominated, you have to answer 11 questions about yourself from the person who nominated you, and then nominate a few of your fellow bloggers and pose your own set of questions to them. It’s all about networking for smaller blogs.

Here are my responses to Olivia's questions:

 

1.  Are you a left brain or right brain kind of person? So more creative or more logical?  I would definitely charactize myself as being more creative than logical by nature. However, my profession is one which is based on logic, so it has become a much larger part of my thought process and personality as a result.

2.  McDonalds or Burger King? McDonalds burgers, Burger King fries!

3.  What is a peculiar trait about your significant other?  He is a little obsessed with being prepared for emergencies and disasters. He spent months driving all over the city finding supplies for our emergency "grab bags" - ie. bags which we grab as we run out the door if there is an emergency or disaster. And we have a LOT of canned soup, bottled water, protein bars, etc. Now he just has to figure out how we will be mobile on foot with three cats and a (soon-to-be) baby. :)

4.  What is your favorite movie and why?  I have to admit that it is probably Dirty Dancing. No reason other than that it is uplifting and fun to watch, even over and over again.

5.  Do you like to read the news or the entertainment section? I am definitely a news kind of girl. I read the paper online everyday while I eat lunch, and watch the news most evenings as well.

6.  If there were no limitations (like money, time, etc.) what would you love to do? If there really were no limitations and funding were not an issue, I'd love to run a large non-profit animal rescue centre and sanctuary.

7.  Your top career choice again if you could do anything? Assuming that there ARE limits and funding issues for this question, I am honestly doing what I want to do now. I am a lawyer working in-house for a great company whose mission or reason for being is one that I believe in. I love my job.

8.  Favorite place in the world? Cinque Terre (on the Italian Coast). Think Amalfi Coast, but less touristy and crowded.

9.  Lipstick or chapstick? Lip gloss. I am addicted and have been for years. I have at least 7-10 tubes/pots of gloss on the go at any time, spread out between different purses, and different places around home. It drives my husband nuts!

10.  Yogurt or Ice cream? Ice cream for sure! The kind with little pieces of chocolate bar in it....mmmmm. :)

11.  Give an unusual fact about yourself...  I am a huge animal lover, and volunteer a lot of my time with feral cat rescue groups, feeding homeless animals and assisting with trap-neuter-return efforts. That's not exactly unusual I guess, but it's all I could come up with. :)

 

 

And now for my list of nominees!

 

1.  Amanda at Waiting for Watermelon;

2.  Kristy Kay at Strength, Hope and Everything In Between;

3.  Jess at Faithfully;

4.  Megan at One Emerald;

5.  Kelly at Any Way but Scrambled;

6.  Heather at A Little Hope in my Pocket;

7.  Our Growing Gardunn; and

8.  Emily at the5parkers.

 

These are all women whose blogs I read regularly, and whose stories are both moving and inspiring.  I encourage you to head over and check out their blogs, as well as that of Olivia at Two Steps Forward, One Step Back. 

 

And here are my questions:

 

1.  Who is your hero, and why?

2.  If you won the lottery, what is the first or most important thing that you would spend  the money on?

3.  Do you believe in soul mates?

4.  What is your favourite food?

5.  If there were no limitations and money were not an issue, what would you most want to do with your  life?

6.  If you could go back in time  and tell our teenage self one thing, what  would it be?

7.  If you were a character on a TV show, which one would you be?

8.  Name one thing you are most proud of?

9.  What is your favorite charity or cause?

10. What are three words that describe you best?

11. When was the last time you did something for the first time, and  what was it?

 

Have fun if you choose to participate ladies, and thank you again Olivia!