A Cerclage Removal Story

9/15/09 – Today was one of the most important days of this pregnancy.  At 36w2d, Dr. G took my stitches out  in the L&D operating room, to be as sterile as possible.  The procedure was scheduled for 10 am (originally 0930) but an emergency walked into the ER and I was bumped to around 12:15p.

Prep: I was not allowed to eat after midnight.  So they starved me for like 12 hours.  However, I did sneak some peanuts and sips of water while at home because the hunger was unbearable.  I checked in at around 0930 after calling the floor to see when to come in.  Because of my dehydration  and stronger contractions, they gave me an IV fluid and a shot of Terbutaline sub-q (ouch, that stings!) to quiet my uterus for the procedure.  I was also given IV Ancef as a precautionary antibiotic. We saw MeMe on a bedside ultrasound just to make sure she was doing well and got hooked up to the baby/uterus monitor. We sat and watched the “Newborn Channel” and answered some health history questions before it my time to go to the OR.  My mom and husb were with me.  Some of my mom’s coworkers were working  and almost all of them had no idea her daughter was pregnant or that she was expecting a grandchild.  The last time I was L&D at my hospital was when my water broke with the twins so mom only wanted to give good news this time. I love having mom with me because she makes sure everything is taken care of.  Husb is equally supportive so its like having two people wait on you hand and foot all day!

Procedure: Signed the consent, of course. Doc said no anesthesia this time and I stupidly refused IV Ativan thinking I could tough it out.  I wished I took it to calm me down because the pain was EXCRUTIATING! I almost jumped off the table and Nurse Annie, who was holding my hand, almost had her fingers broken.  People who say it is “uncomfortable” are barely touching the surface.  All that cervical manipulating, the hard speculum, and the manual check for leftover stitch material is NOT COOL. Gotta remember, nothing large or wide has been in my cooch for months so the muscles in there were not happy to be messed with.  I was tense and needed to be coached to breathe from Annie.  All in all, it took about 10-15 minutes to make sure both stitches were out.

Aftermath: My cervix did the unexpected.  Dilated a fingertip and 50% effaced.  MeMe is high, not even engaged.  I also have some bacteria growing up in there so I have to put Metrogel in my cooch for the next 5 days.  Ladies with cerclages are more prone to BV because of the increase in secretions caused by the cerclage. Go figure.  I should expect some bleeding, but having seen any yet. I finally got to eat after the procedure. We stayed in the hospital and was monitored for about 2.5 hours.  For a while, my contractions seemed stronger and had gotten to be about 5 minutes apart, but then subsided, spread apart, and felt like normal.  Annie sent me home with my prescription and said to call or come back if my water breaks, stronger contractions…etc. Typical labor stuff.

These are what the stitches looked like, but I didn’t get to take a picture of my actual stitches. Looked just like little pieces of blue wire with huge knots. I can see why Dr. S said husb would cut himself if he got close to those things. Ouch.

Placing bets: Husb’s hor0scope said he’ll get great news on Friday, today is Tuesday.  Mom still says by her birthday (9/24).  A says by next week.  Dr G would like MeMe to stay until at least 37 weeks (9/20) but won’t stop her from coming now. We’ll see if these contractions start to make my cervix act right. Next OB visit is on 9/22 at 1150.

I bet my medical chart is exciting reading.  All the things we’ve been through from 1/08 until now.  Everyone is excited and proud we made it this far.  MeMe has a crowd eagerly awaiting her arrival.

36 weeks

 

The week I have longed for and never thought I would get to.

Thank you God!

Countdown now at 3…

3 more days until snip snip! Super duper YAY! I’m getting excited with everyday that goes by.  I made an executive decision to quit my 17-P shots a little early because I figured the docs aren’t gonna stop me now if I go into labor so why should I be taking the shots to help relax my uterus anymore and delay the inevitable. The shots did their job in preventing me from having really early pre-term labor and from laboring with the stitches in.  They are cutting the stitches in 3 days since they know my body is already gearing up for the big day.

Thank you 17-P, but your job is done and I am eternally grateful. Next on the chopping block is the cerclage.

I was recently thinking of all the things I’ve learned while pregnant that I didn’t know.

• Hyperpigmentation. In certain areas, I have demarcation lines of where my skin got considerably darker.  Even in places that don’t usually see the sun.
• Loose hips.  My hips are sore all the time.  Getting out of bed is a painful.  I feel like I need a bilateral total hip replacement.
• Skin growths, such as skin tags or this tiny little wart on the left side of my nose that was never there before.
• Overwhelming fatigue, even when doing nothing at all.  I have spent many days in bed (such a wonderful luxury to not work) only to pass out watching a great show.  I keep missing the end!
• Too much time on your hands isn’t always a good thing. I had every intention to read and be more knowledgeable regarding work stuff, but I’ve been off for 20 weeks and haven’t looked at anything work related. Baby girl is all that matters.

But still, I am very grateful to God to get this far (35w6d) and the overall experience is a blessing.

I  have a few more little things to add to what I already have and then I can truly kick back and wait.

35 weeks…just chillin’

Now we’re getting down to the wire. I think it’s cute how exactly 35 weeks = 35 days left. Great job MeMe! 7 days until the Cerclage Removal!

Only new pregnancy symptom is softer movements. Her kicks aren’t always as hard since she’s running out of room. But key thing is she’s still moving. I’m super watchful about that.

No appointment this week. Just trying to clean up after Dom was here for the weekend. My bedroom is a mess and vacuuming/organizing is a must. I’m afraid to let MeMe hang out in here since it’s so crazy.

We took Dom to a party down in SD. It was nice with caterers cooking food in the backyard, professional DJ and a bouncy house for the kiddies. The host went all out. It was a celebration of their fairly new house(1 year) and new baby (born in July).

The conversation of the evening just happened to be about nursing school. I am so glad I am done with that. The schools around here have waiting lists becuz everyone wants to be a nurse. Been there and done that. I went to school in LA and there were no wait lists. I’ve been licensed for 6 years working with cardiac patients. One chick my age has 2 yrs left of school. She learned too late that nursing was the way to go. Her mom was pissed that she wasted her time getting a BA in communications. Even the host was trying to get some info for his wife since he was trying to get her into nursing. I am so glad that I did all that hard work a long time ago. Now, I can just chill.

34 weeks and counting…

mmm, ice cream...

Today, MeMe is 34w5d. We had an appointment with the OB on Wednesday and baby girl is growing fine.  BP good, no weight gain, and nothing in my urine.  Great! We learned that from the US we had, she is about 5.5 to 6 lbs already and if I make it to 40 wks, she’ll be about 8 lbs or so.  Come out early please. The doc commented on my “uneventful, eventful pregnancy”.  Yep, ever since the cerclage surgery, everything has been peachy.  Nothing else has come up.  She also commented that if my cervix is truly incompetent, I’ll deliver pretty soon after the stitches are cut and she reminded me to pre-register at the hospital.  I have the paperwork, I just keep forgetting to turn it in. It requires me to actually walk in to my old work place.  Ha ha. 

The weather is so ridiculously hot, I can’t sleep at night or during the day, and the AC is starting to act up.  Sometimes I’m too scared to leave it on or put it so it’s extra frosty.  Fans are nice, but it’s blowing all this hot humid air around.  Southern Cali is supposed to be desert, so dry heat isn’t too bad.  But adding humidity to it is terrible.  This damn humidity is coming from the Hurricane down in Mexico.  Give us rain, not heat!

Preggie symptoms: feet and ankle swelling, palpitations when standing in a hot room (doc said to keep cool and don’t stand still), stronger BH contractions, rib kicks, super belly, indigestion, feeling full faster, shortness of breath when walking or going upstairs.  Husb hates when I go up and down the stairs a few times.  He tries to get me what I need.  He’s on pins and needles because he says I’m at that stage where I might pop.  If I go to the store, I have to have my cell with me to call in case I’m in labor.  His phone broke so he had to go a week without it, he really hated not being in touch.

Everything has arrived for MeMe.  Her playard/bassinet/changing table, stroller and carseat have all been unpacked and fully assembled.  “A” brought some leftover formula that her baby couldn’t eat because she had some kind of allergy/reaction to it, always vomiting a lot.  She swtiched to a different mix and it works better for her.  She brought like 6 or 7 cans of that stuff.  I plan to do both breast and bottle so we’ll see if I even use most of it.  Thanks anyway. Last big item I need at this time is a breast pump because I know I only have 12 weeks in a row off after she’s born, then I’ll be pumping my boobs during my lunch breaks. Her room has plenty of storage and stuff already, but decor can wait until we get our own house.  We have less than 3 months to get something with the help of that wonderful tax credit.  Then move in completely by Christmas. Tick tock. Husb doesn’t want the party until after we get the house.  He totally stole my thunder and I’m still not too happy about it.  I was really really jazzed about the party. She’ll be about 3-5 months by the time he wants to do it. I know by then she’ll be much cuter and more social, but grrrrrr!  I want my party!

Soapbox time: True vs false incompetence.  That concept always pisses me off.  If it’s truly incompetent, the cervix will act A, B, C, but if it acts X, Y, Z, then it’s not.  Well that’s not really true at all.  Because a person can have A, B, and X and still have a crappy cervix that will cause a person to lose their baby.  The docs kept telling me that with my twins, they couldn’t tell if it was true incompetence based on my descriptions of what happened and my chart.  My water broke because of cervical dilation, but I did not fully dilate enough to deliver the babies without medicine.  So maybe I don’t need a cerclage.  Maybe my ass!  I needed one (or two) badly and it’s gotten me this far.  So if my cervix does not dilate after the stitch removal until Oct. 11th, so be it, but I’ll be damned if someone tells me my cervix wasn’t truly incompetent.

Awesome Ultrasound, awesome day

Got to see Miss MeMe and my cervix this morning.  She has baby fat and hair! Yay!  The tech didn’t say how much she weighed, but her measurements averaged 33w1d but I am 33w4d based on LMP.  She has consistently measured a few days behind because I ovulated later than the average 14 days rule, so it’s all good.  Due date doesn’t change for a handful of days!   Defintitely still a girl! We got some awesome pictures of her cute little baby face.  The tech let us watch her yawn and stick her tongue out.  We could see her practice breathing and trying to move in her crammed space.  She has plenty of amniotic fluid and the placenta is still good.  My cervix is a comfortable 3 cm, so not too worried there either. 

I think she has my nose, but mom and husb say she’s gonna look like him.  She has his forehead and overall shape of face.  We won’t really know until she comes out.  Either way, she’s my cutie! 

Our stroller/carseat came today and it’s gorgeous!  Husb took it out of the box and we were so giddy, it almost made us late for the appointment.  Playard is in transit, being shipped from Ohio according to the tracking #.  Should be here next week.

We have a date for the Cerclage Removal….drum roll please…….Sept 15th @ 0930.  Super yay!  MeMe’s shackles are coming off and she will be free to leave the premises! So just gotta hang out these next 3 weeks.  Soooo excited! 

The only thing that made the day suck was that it’s sooo freaking hot! I thought my skin was melting!

33 weeks of dreaming

MeMe is now a 33 weeks and is steadily getting bigger and bigger.  It’s so great to know that I’m so close to having her.  My mom says I look like I’ve dropped already.  We’ll see what the US says in 2 days. One good thing is that everyone that has seen me claims that I’m “all belly” which is a great compliment, but I know it’s not all true.  Thanks anyway.  MeMe is chillin, kicking me hard when I’m lying down.  When I’m standing and fussing around, I feel random BH contractions.  Yesterday, I kept feeling like I had be pee all the time.  It was either all the water I drank (it’s too freakin hot!) or she was hanging out by my bladder.

Husb and I had a date to watch a great movie (District nine)  and have dinner with some of my work-friends last Saturday.  It was fun, but wow, the birthday girl is a lush!  I couldn’t imagine having as many shots and long island iced teas that she had and to still be mobile.  My ass would’ve been knocked out!  It was good to see folks.  Everyone keeps asking what we’re doing for the baby and wants to be invited to whatever it is.  Sure people, it’s coming.

We are getting geared up for the big event in 3 weeks. I’m super excited.  I keep looking through my overnight bag to make sure I have what I need.  That bag has been packed since I was 16 weeks! Just in case I ended up hospitalized AGAIN! MeMe’s bag has been packed too, but I can’t remember when I started stuffing it.  Husb finally set up the small refrigerator and has figured out where to put things in baby’s room.  I still need to buy that pack-n-play in the next few days.  Just very lazy and sleepy these days.   

I’ve been having vivid baby dreams.  But I’ve had them for months now.  They started with when I was pregnant with the twins.  Here are a few I remember most:

1) I dreamt that I gave birth to one baby girl with a club foot after watching a show on discovery health about a baby with a club foot. This was while pregnant with two babies.

2) After the twins and my aunt died, I dreamt that they were communicating with me through dancing sunflowers in our backyard.  They were dancing and swinging and happy together.  The next day I woke up, there was a huge sunflower that sprung up on the hill part of the backyard.  We never had sunflowers grow before or after that day after the dream. Spooky.

3) I dreamt that I had MeMe early and she was really small, but forgot to buy blankets for her.  She kept crying and screaming because she was cold and I felt like the worst mother ever.  When I woke up, I ran to the store to buy receiving blankets and one of those fuzzy plush blankets.  Mom also started sewing some of the blankets she was making at the same time.  Weird, huh.

4) I dreamt that I had MeMe and she was fine.  We were happy.  But I went to a public bathroom and found a homeless couple trying to kill their small baby.  I kept screaming “take her to the hospital and let her live, she’ll be okay!” and they kept trying to smother her while she was crying.  So I took the baby from them and ran to the hospital. I woke up crying. 

These hormones are too much!

Another fabulous appointment (32w4d)

Yesterday, I had a pretty good doctor’s appointment with Dr. M’s office.  We had to wait 1.5 hours to be seen because the doc I was  assigned to was stuck doing an emergency C-section.  They were going to reschedule me for another day, but husb was pushy and insisted I be seen since I was “high-risk.”  So they managed to squeeze me in.  I told him not to act like that when I’m hospitalized! But I gotta hand it to him, he gets results.

My bp was good, mostly because I told the MA to give me a second to let my heart rate go down.  Belly is measuring on target and my urine was fine. Up 3 pounds in 2 weeks.  Been lazy and hungry! 

Doc wants me to get a US to check my cervical length and see how MeMe is growing.  Fantastic!  I haven’t seen her in 4 weeks! Then we asked about the Cerclage Removal and we found out it will be on L&D  at my hospital since it’s more sterile and I can be monitored for contractions. They will call me with the date that it will be scheduled but I should expect sometime after Sept 14th (36w1d).  Yay! Hopefully I’ll dilate right away and only have like a week or two until labor starts.  Mom thinks and dreamed that I’ll deliver on her birthday, Sept 24th.  Another Libra in the house!

We got some info on local pediatricians and the form to pre-register for the hospital. The new doc trained with Dr. S. way back in the day and she was pretty sharp on addressing any concerns. We’ll see another doc at my 34 wk appointment.

We also just bought MeMe’s stroller and carseat on +arget.com and it should be delivered to our house sometime next week.  After it arrives, then I’ll get the pack-n-play that she’ll be sleeping in.  It matches the travel system and has music/vibrations to help soothe her. It has a changing station built in, napper, and bassinet along with the playyard on the bottom.  We thought it was pretty cool when we first saw it, but now it’s no longer in the stores and we have to buy it online.  You would think that if it was being discontinued, it should be on sale! It’s a freakin’ clearance item.  Oh well. I just want it here by stitch cutting time.

I’ve been working on the Outdooring Party.  I find it more exciting to figure out.  Everyday I try to discuss it my mom or husb and I think they’re tired of me already! Can’t really plan for the baby anymore since a lot of it is learning on the spot.  So at least now that I have plenty of time, I can start the prep for the party.  I know when MeMe comes and I’ll be focusing on her that the thought of planning and organizing a party will be the last thing on my mind.  Mom and I planned the food and invite list just last night. We’ll have lots of ladies helping on the day of the party.

59 days left!

59 days left until my EDD! Awesome!

But, I feel like I’m ready now.  I’d be happy if she was born because I really really want to see and hold her already.  I know, I’m being selfish because she is not ready to come out yet, but I want her here!  I wish her lungs would hurry up and mature so I can deliver.  The suspense is killing me! I have no desire to wait until 40+ weeks.  37 or 38 would be just fine.

A coworker had her baby boy at 32 weeks last year. I think he was in the NICU for about 5 weeks or so.  He came out the womb 6 lbs at that time.  She had GD and I’m not sure what caused her to deliver so early since she never told me the whole story.  But he is 1 yr 3 mo and healthy now.  So it’s possible, but not ideal of course.

I guess I also want to deliver now because I’m uncomfortable.  Gotta work around the belly and work with the extra weight.  My joints don’t like it.  Husb and I can’t sleep in the same bed together.  He tosses and turns and takes up more than his alotted space.  Drives me nuts.  So by the time I get comfy and cozy, he steals the covers or I’ll have a sudden urge to go pee.  Crap!  It’s getting out of hand.  So we stagger, kinda like when I was working.  He sleeps at night and I sleep during the day or after 4 am (the time he leaves). 

I’ve been watching a lot of delivery shows and “Bringing Home Baby” to see what works and doesn’t work.  I could’ve done the childbirth and breastfeeding class on Monday, but I realized there’s alot I already know and can learn from mom, the postpartum RN. So I’ll save my $$.  I went through a lot of childbirth stuff with the twins.  What a mucus plug looks like, what having your water breaks feels like,  the monitoring, IV lines, having your cervix checked manually, waiting to dilate enough (6 hours for the boys), the major contractions to help deliver (hurt like hell) and waiting for the placenta to come out.  Been there, done that.  I just know now that the baby is the size of a watermelon, the waiting and pain will be much worse.  Epidural please! I kinda know about that too.  Getting my spinal for the cerclage is pretty similar in procedure and effects.  The rest of the stuff I need to know, my doc and L&D nurses will gladly go over with me.  Now breastfeeding, mom goes over that every Sunday using one of my teddy bears.  Positioning of the baby, cues to look for, how to hold the equipment, and timing on each breast have been discussed.  And I guess we’ll keep discussing/practicing it because she wants me knowledgeable by the time I end up in the hospital.  Plus, I still have my nursing school books and plenty of time to read.

Other news, my best friend just came back from London (after studying abroad for 8 weeks) and is coming to visit.  Yay!  Also, it’s someone’s birthday at work, so that means dinner and drinks next weekend.  A break in monotony is always welcomed!

OB appt 30w1d

Yesterday I visited my regular OB and had forgotten how different the routine was. I went to the bathroom to give my sample and got winded bending over & going back to my exam room. So, my heart was pumping hard and b4 I could catch my breath, the MA took my BP. Crap! It was ridiculously high. I told her to check it again. She looked at me like I didn’t know what I was talking about. Bitch, I’m not lying when I say its not that high. Doc came in, not my normal doc since they rotate, and wasn’t too concerned since she saw my records from the peri. I told her I was checking my BP @ home. She checked for swelling, I had no protein in my urine, baby/belly measured on track and MeMe’s heartbeat was checked via doppler. Only gained 1 lb in 2 weeks.

Everything checked out so she asked the MA to check my BP again and of course, my systolic was 20 mmHg less. The doc wants a list of all my BP checks at home. She thinks I have “white coat hypertension.” Either way it made me realize that I am not out of the woods when it comes to having pre-e. My homegirl got really swollen at 34 weeks and she was thinner & more active than me. She was considered pre-e and was on bedrest until her water broke at around 35 weeks. She was also on Magnesium and hated it. I hope I can avoid that but my BP is very sensitive and labile to stress.

I had a feeling a few weeks ago that I wouldn’t make it to term becuz of something other than my cervix. I need to stop stressing over my BP b4 it stays up. Eeek!