The Trials and Tribulations of Bed Rest

I cannot count the number of times in the last year and a half that I have wished that I could just have a day to myself to lay around in bed and do nothing.  The idea of being able to sleep at leisure, read and watch TV during the middle of the day was so far from possible and sounded so appealing when compared to the day to day realities of motherhood. After 10 weeks of bed rest, I can officially say that I would kill do to be able to get out of bed in the morning, take care of my child and feel unsure how I was ever going to get everything I wanted to accomplish during my day done!

When we were first told that I had to go on strict bed rest for an indefinite length of time, our first concern, beyond the health of our unborn child, was Emmett.  Emmett is a very sweet, social and ACTIVE toddler.  He was also used to spending 90% of his time with his Mom.  Keeping him happy and busy was one of my largest feats every day.  If we weren't heading off to gymboree or a play date, we were running around the house playing (aka wearing out the toddler so he would sleep.)  Obviously, this routine had to change immediately.   In so many respects, we were so lucky when it came to making this tough time as easy as possible for Emmett.  The first stroke of luck is that Todd doesn't work a normal 9-5 job; he goes into work at 4:30 am, so he is usually home around 1:30.  The second fortuitous event was that we had a great babysitter who we used for date nights and occasional day time care who was available to work for us 3-4 mornings a week. Emmett loves her and is comfortable with her, which was what was most important to us.  The third area where were very fortunate is that we have a great group of friends and neighbors who offered to step in and help us out:  Allison and the girls come over most Fridays and play with Emmett, our neighbors set up a meal train for every Wednesday night, Canyon and Finn have started coming over and playing with us on Thursdays and Kysa has been bringing us dinner on Tuesdays.  Every one's support and generosity has been fabulous and I don't know if we will ever be able to express how much we appreciate it.

Luckily, last week I was told that I am off strict bed rest.  I still have to rest and be careful but I  can be alone with Emmett (for limited time periods) and can help Todd out with light house work- mostly laundry and simple meals.  I still get very tired, very easily and when I get tired or push it too hard I start to have contractions.  At 27 weeks, baby boy #2 is viable but going into labor at this point would be anything but ideal so I am still trying to take it very easy.  The modified bed rest couldn't have come at a better time for our family.  Mentally, not being able to care for my family or help my husband out around the house was wearing on me (and I am sure on Todd, as well.) So was the pressing feeling of being completely unprepared for the impending arrival of our new baby.  Additionally, Emmett seems to have developed a massive case of separation anxiety.  Meaning whenever he is separated from me, he cries like a wild animal and frantically tries to get to where I am.  He is even doing this when left alone with Todd, so you can imagine how fun it is for our sitter and I on the days that she is still here.

As for baby boy #2, he is growing big and strong.  I should only have one more ultrasound if things continue as they are now.  He is kicking and squirming and hitting and doing all the things that a 27 week old fetus does.  He keeps me awake at night and wakes me up in the morning moving around.  Emmett is sort of aware we are having another baby- if you ask him where his baby brother is, he either points to his belly or mine. We are working on getting this one right.  :)

Here are some photos of both of our boys:

Emmett at 20 Months

Happy Easter!

Helping Mommy bake muffins for breakfast.

My happy little guy :)

Hanging out under the kitchen table.

24 Week Ultrasound 

Can't wait to kiss those little toes!

BIG News

In my last post I said I wasn't going to offer up a bunch of excuses for being an absentee blogger for 3 months.  In this post, I am actually going to just offer up one reallly good excuse for not blogging for so long- I am pregnant again!  :)  Baby boy DeCook is due July 9, 2013.  Just 6 days before his big brother's 2nd birthday.  I didn't feel like I could blog without disclosing something so amazing and profoundly important to us but we didn't feel comfortable making it public until now.

Normally, we would have announced our new addition a couple months ago but the first half of this pregnancy has been a bit tumultuous.  We found out that we were pregnant on October 27th when I was not yet 4 weeks along.  About a week and a half later I started having some spotting.  Spotting early in the first trimester is not uncommon, between 30-50% of women experience it and more than 50% of them go on to have healthy, normal pregnancies.  That said, my doctor still told me at this point that I had to cut out all exercise until it subsided.  At a little before 8 weeks, we had our first ultrasound and everything appeared normal and showed that we had a healthy little baby growing inside me!  Then at 12 weeks, we got our genetic screening tests back and found out that we are having another baby boy!  (With no detectable chromosomal abnormalities.)

The only issue was that my spotting continued.  Around 13 weeks, in addition to the spotting I began to experience occasional bleeding.  At that point, my doctor surmised that it was just a cervical vascular issue that should run its course quickly.  At around 15 weeks, I started feeling  occasional tightening of my uterus and back aches that felt oddly like contractions. I assumed that they were just early braxton hicks. I notified my doctor and we agreed I should slow down my activity as much as I could, given that I had an 18 month old and had just moved.  Then at 16 weeks, the light occasional bleeding and spotting turned into a nightmarish evening that started with me hemorrhaging and ended with us in the emergency room fearing the worst.  I think I can speak for Todd, when I say that it was one of the scariest nights of our lives.

Thankfully, that evening ended well.  We were able to hear the baby's heart beat and have an ultrasound to see that he was still looking healthy and normal.  The ER doctor, however, was at a loss for what could have caused the hemorrhaging and referred me back to my regular OB.  When I saw the OB the next day, she too, was at a loss.  She then sent me to a perinatologist for an ultrasound and evaluation the next morning.  The ultrasound equipment at the perinatologist and the ultrasound tech were more advanced then at the ER, and the doctor was able to determine that I have a small placental abruption, meaning that the placenta is tearing away from the uterine wall.  This tearing had resulted in a hematoma or blood clot forming next to the placenta, hence the ongoing bleeding.

Knowing that the baby and I are healthy, and what has been causing my ongoing issues was a huge relief.  That said, this condition comes with a few risks and symptoms that we are doing our best to manage. The first is ensuring that the abruption doesn't get worse.   We are very lucky that the tear is small.  If it was bigger (or gets bigger), both the baby and I could be in real danger.  The second, is making sure that the contractions are under control and do not progress.  Having early contractions and uterine cramping/tenderness is a side effect of the abruption.  Unfortunately, 50% of women who have this issue deliver preterm.  We also need to monitor my blood loss from the clot, obviously, if I loose too much blood both of us are in danger.  As a result of all of these risks, my doctors agreed that I need to be on bedrest for the remainder of the pregnancy.

This all happened when I was 16 weeks.  I am now nearly 21 weeks, still on bedrest and have contractions and painful cramping regularly   All that said, things are looking up- we had a great ultrasound and our little guy is measuring big for how far along we are. Also, the blood clot is getting smaller and my cervix is still long, meaning despite the contractions I am not progressing towards labor.  I have another ultrasound at 23 weeks, and I am hoping that if it goes well I will get a little bit of slack on the bedrest.   Despite the roller coaster of the the last couple of months and all the unexpected stress this condition has caused us, Todd and I are overjoyed about the new addition to our little family!!  Here are some of our first photos of our sweet little baby boy:

His sweet little toes.  Can't wait to tickle those little things!

Our 19 week ultrasound was a long one.  The little guy gave being poked for an hour a thumbs down. :)

He managed to get his little thumb into his mouth while we were watching. You could actually see his little mouth sucking on it. 

His sweet little profile.

At slightly under 8 weeks, our little tappole

Proof, beyond his Y chromosome, that he is a little boy.

We're BACKKKK!!! (Winter Recap)

Well, it's been a very long time!  I could provide all sorts of excuses for why I haven't been blogging- we celebrated the holidays, we moved, we have been busy getting settled...I think I am just going to skip that part, catch everyone up and move on!  I think the easiest way to get back into the swing of things is to just recap the last few months with photos.

October:

To get into the spirit of fall, we took Emmett to a pumpkin patch. He was much more interested in the barnyard animals then the pumpkins.

At 15 months, Emmett showed us that he is in fact a fearless climber. So much so, that we had to retire his high chair from everyday use because he was using it as a ladder to hop up onto the kitchen table.  Now he just uses his booster seat, but at least it's not as high...

In honor of his finely honed climbing skills, we dressed him as a monkey for Halloween. Here he is at the Lake Oswego Harvest Festival having a great time.

November:

He loves hiking with Mom and Dad.  The backpack that he hated a year ago is now SO MUCH FUN!

He loves bath time.  If we wait too long after dinner to get things going, he will just go climb in himself. Our boy loves the water!

Emmett has developed a fascination with Elmo. Well, actually, the fascination is with all the Sesame Street characters. We let him watch TV very infrequently, but somehow it has been enough for the obsession to develop.  He actually picked this shirt out himself while we were shopping one day :)

Emmett adores both his pets.  He gives them pets and cuddles all the time. He also imitates their noises constantly.

December:

For Christmas, we headed to California to see the Harpers and the Castellano/Dirth clans. Here Emmett and cousin Brady are cruising around Monterey in Brady's jeep.  Emmett thought it was SO cool.

We spent a day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  It is such an amazing place!

We had to remove clothes we got so wet in the toddler tide pool exhibit. I think we spent an hour in here while he touched everything he could get his salty little hands on. 

Opening early Christmas presents with his four cousins was so much fun for him! I think he enjoyed watching them more then opening his own gifts.

Emmett got to play on the big kid trampoline with his cousins. It was a little scary for Mom and Dad...

...but he thought it was pretty fun!

Opening presents Christmas morning with Aunt Melissa and Uncle Evan!

A truck!  Thank you Aunt Kacie and Uncle Rob!

Christmas Brunch.  Emmett has a blueberry syrup mask going on.

January:

There are many things Emmett loves about the new house- all the space to run around, the neighborhood kids, his playroom...Oh and the fact that he has his own kitchen cabinet that he is allowed to play in.  Most days we find random trucks and toys stored in here, along with all his cups and bowls. 

Emmett loves the new master bathroom shower. I find him playing in it all the time.

Our 18 month appointment went really well- clean bill of health, still skinny and long. Then they gave him shots. Don't worry, he was fine 3 minutes letter when I pulled out a cup of raisins.