The DeCook Family Adventures: 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: