Placenta Encapsulation- Results

    So several months ago I posted about how I was considering get my placenta dried out and put into pills to take after delivery. I decided to do it, and I am grateful that I did.
    I was in the hospital for 48 hours after delivery because I had tested positive for Group B Strep. When it was time for us to be released, in order to be able to take the placenta I had to sign a waiver. It basically stated that I was taking an organ from the hospital and that they wouldn't be held liable for anything that happened as a result. All that legal mumbo jumbo they have to put you through to cover their behinds in case you do anything crazy and then want to blame them when something goes wrong. They gave it to us in a plastic tupperware like container. Like you would buy sour cream in, but bigger. (Hope that doesn't ruin sour cream for you. haha). When we left the hospital we went straight to the lady's house who was going to take care of everything. This was on Friday. She called us on Sunday and let us know that it was ready to be picked up. Not too bad for turnaround time, right? Ryan went and got them and told me the directions. I was to take 2-6 pills daily (start with less and work up to more if I felt it was needed) until I didn't feel like I needed them anymore or I ran out. I was to keep them in the fridge, and any that I ended up not using I should store them in the freezer for future use if I wanted.
    There was kind of an earthy smell when I opened the container, but it wasn't bad. Just "natural". Haha. I started out by taking two in the morning and two at bed time, and decided that was a good amount for me. I did that for the first almost 7 weeks after delivery.
    My results? I cried/felt the baby blues the day after I left the hospital (before I had the placenta pills), and then once again when he was 4 weeks old and had a rough night where I was only getting 1.5 hour stretches of sleep all night and was exhausted the next morning. That's it. Now I have nothing to compare it to, but I do know that pretty much all the women I've talked to have experience baby blues/post partum depression more than that. And really, it would only be one "episode" since the first time happened before I started taking the placenta pills. SO, my opinion on placenta encapsulation? DO IT!! What do you have to lose? If it hadn't worked for me, we would have been out $100. But because I took a chance on it, I preserved my sanity, bonded with my baby, and didn't have a horrible after birth experience. Like I said before, I've had members of my family hospitalized for post partum depression/psychosis. I didn't want to go through that. Who would? I am SO grateful that I decided to go outside of my comfort zone and try this. I am beyond pleased with the results and plan on doing it for each of my pregnancies!
 

Little Elf- Two Months

Temperament: This little guys is still so mellow. He still rarely fusses or cries, and is just content to simply “be”. He’s just a happy baby!

Weight & Height: At his 2 month check up, he weighed in at 10lbs 4oz and was 22in long. His head measured 39.5cm. That put him in the 10th percentile across the board. He’s just a little elf!

Sleeping: He’s started to sleep better through the night, often going 4-5 hours between each feeding. Those longer stretches of sleep are nice, but I’m looking forward to even longer ones as he continues to grow! Naps are a bit of a struggle. He’ll sleep for 2-3 hours when he’s being held, but if you dare put him down for a nap, you’ll be lucky to get a 40 minute nap out of him. That doesn’t help get things done around the house, that’s for sure! Oh well. Haha. We’re still working on napping longer not being held, since I have to return to work next month and he won’t be able to be held during his naps at the sitter’s house.

(apparently sleeping while getting burped is the thing to do!)

Likes: He has figured out how to make noise and loves to coo, speak, and squawk.  He’s in love with his playmat, and the dangling toys. There is an elephant that plays melodies, and he loves that thing! There have been times when we keep pulling the thing to make the music and when the music stops, he’ll start to fuss a little. As soon as it’s pulled again and the music starts he’s back to squawking along, happy as can be. It’s really cute. He also still loves snuggles and his binky.

Dislikes: There’s not much that he seems to dislike at this point. He’s doing better in his car seat, unlike how he despised it before. He’s still not a fan of tummy time, but is starting to tolerate it a little better. He also still doesn’t like having to wait on his food. He can go from fine to starving in .3 seconds and if he isn’t fed at that moment, he’ll let you know he’s not happy! Oh, and shots. He was NOT a fan of getting his 2 month shots. But really, who would be? He was fussy the evening he got them and the following day, but was then back to normal!

Firsts: He gave us his first “social smile”, meaning he smiled on purpose at us. And oh man, it’s the best thing ever!! He sticks his tongue out when he’s really happy and it’s beyond adorable. He also rolled from front to back for the first time. At first we thought it was more of an accidental thing because he hates tummy time, but since he’s done it several times since we think it’s for real.

Other: On Mother’s Day (May 11th) we did Noah’s baby blessing. It was a fun way to celebrate my first mother’s day! We had several people come in from out of town to celebrate with us, including my parents (Ft. Worth, Texas), brother (Houston, Texas), sister & niece (Indiana), Ryan’s dad (California), and my grandparents (Northern Utah). Ryan gave the blessing and did a wonderful job. We had originally planned on doing a BBQ after for our family and friends, but the weather was not cooperating for that. So instead, we just did a mini BBQ for our family inside. It was so fun having everyone there, especially since it was the first time everyone (minus my mom who has been here since the birth) got to meet Noah.

He also had a little procedure done at 9 weeks to correct his upper lip tie. It wasn’t really affecting me (no pain or discomfort when nursing) but Noah didn’t have the best latch and would often unlatch coughing/gasping for breath. I had read a post from someone about their baby having similar symptoms, but also mentioned reflux as well. And they included a picture of their kid’s lip tie. So I thought to myself, I should look in Noah’s mouth and see what I find. And lo and behold, it looked the same as their picture! We talked to the pediatrician about it, and he referred us to a pediatric dentist. That particular dentist was chosen because he does the frenectomy (lip tie removal) with a laser. That eliminates the need for sedation, stitches, and a longer recovery. The actual procedure was a lot faster than I had pictured it to be in my mind. He had us swaddle Noah, and then the dentist sat knees to knees with Ryan with Noah’s head in the dentists lap and the rest of him on Ryan. They had to wear special glasses, and there were only 2 pairs. So I was allowed in the room but I had to turn my back to them (which it was probably better that way anyway!) The dentist turned on the laser and started working. Noah of course started screaming, which was heartbreaking to listen to. They stopped once to let him take a breather, and then started again. And then it was over! I looked at my phone to check the time, and the whole thing only took about 5 minutes. It felt longer because hearing your baby screaming makes time stand still but in reality it wasn’t very long at all. And as soon as the laser was turned off, Noah quit crying just a few seconds later. So there wasn’t much residual pain (immediately), which was nice. He was a little fussy that night and the next day, and got mad when we did the lip stretching exercises we were told to do. But overall it went great and he had a fast recovery. When we took him back for his 2 week follow up the dentist said that everything looked good and he wouldn’t need to see him again. He did say that it would probably take a few weeks for his muscle memory to change and for his latch to improve, so I’ll update on that in the future!

(so the after is a little hard to see, but there's like a diamond shape where the laser removed skin)

Little Elf- One Month

Temperament: This little guy is SO chill and mellow. He rarely cries or fusses, and if he does it is for a very short time. He has had a bit of jaundice which makes him extra sleepy, and may contribute a little to his mellowness. But we're excited that he doesn't have colic!

Weight & Height: When he was born he was 6lbs 7oz and 17.5 in long. He lost 3oz while we were in the hospital. At his two week check up, he was 7lbs 3oz and 21in long. We aren't sure if he actually grew 3in in two weeks or if he wasn't fully stretched out when they measured him at birth! Then at an appointment when he was 4 weeks old, he weighed in at 7lbs 13oz. The doctor said he looked great! He's been in newborn sized clothing since birth, as well as newborn diapers. 

Sleeping: Like I mentioned before, he's had some jaundice since we left the hospital. That makes him really sleepy. To the point I have to wake him up to be fed. So I set my alarm for every 3.5 hours to wake him and attempt to feed him. Most of the time he'll fall asleep several times while he's nursing, so I have to try and get him to wake up. Sometimes he's out cold and nothing will wake him! Some of the things I've done are turning the lights on, stripping him down to his diaper, tickling his feet, face & tummy, sitting him up to burp him, gently blowing in his face (getting desperate here obviously, haha), and so on. Those work, ohhhh, maybe 60% of the time. And not for very long. His doctor says he'll be more alert as the bilirubin levels drop. 

Eating: He's been a little slow getting into the whole eating thing. In the hospital he was too tired to eat, so we would still attempt to nurse and then I would pump and feed him from a syringe. Once we got home from the hospital, my milk came in the next day. He's doing better at eating but has a hard time staying latched. And staying awake. So nursing takes a looong time. But I love the bonding time, so it's ok. 

Likes: He LOVES to snuggle. It doesn't matter if he's awake or asleep, his favorite place to be is on someone or at least in their arms. His favorite spot is snuggled on his tummy under my chin. He also loves baths.

Dislikes: Being in his carseat for longer than a few minutes. He also hates being cold. So diaper changes and clothing changes normally cause him to fuss. And if the room is too cold for him after a bath he gets mad too. 

Other: This little man spits up a TON. Like, pretty much everything he eats it seems. It changes consistency and color, volume, and speed. Speed meaning how fast it comes out of him. He has gotten pretty good at projectile spit up. To the point where in order to somewhat preserve our carpet, when I burp him I have a full size bath towel draped over my lap and onto the floor to catch it. We have increased our supply of burp cloths (large prefold diapers) to try and keep up with the demand. We also generally have to do laundry more than once a day because he only has so many outfits and so many burp cloths. We've taken him to the doctor twice about it. Once they suggested that he could have a dairy allergy and told me to try taking that out of my diet. So I did, but there was no change. When I introduced it back in, he didn't get better or worse, so we don't think that's the problem. After we tried that, the doctor prescribed Prevacid and Hyoscyamine. One for the reduction of acid and the other for tummy cramps. Between the two we've noticed some improvement, but he still spits up quite a bit. Just not projectile as often, so that's good! The nice thing about all of it is that he's what they generally refer to as a happy spitter. That means that he doesn't scream/cry/fuss/etc from the reflux. He usually doesn't seem bothered by it. Occasionally he'll be a little fussy from it, but thankfully not often. We also had to take him in several times in the first 3 weeks to the lab to have his bilirubin levels drawn. It was so sad! His poor heels were still bruised from the hospital, so there wasn't a "clean" place for them to do the draws. The first few times he was still so sleepy he barely moved, but then the last few times it made him cry. It's hard to see your baby in pain! Eventually the lab levels dropped down to an ok level and we didn't have to take him in for heel torture any more. 

Mom & Dad: We are adjusting to parenthood. Ryan went back to work the Tuesday after Tiny was born, so I've been the one doing the night feedings so Ryan could be rested for work. My mom has been here since he was born, and helps out a TON with everything. It's really helping with the adjustment. We're both still in awe that this tiny person is OUR child. We love him totally and completely, and can't imagine life without him now. I've been lucky to not deal with post partum depression (which I think is linked to doing the placenta encapsulation, but more on that later) which I was really worried about. Because he's such an easy baby, we're both doing pretty good so far with everything.

Welcome Noah- Pictures!

Since the last post was so long, I thought I'd put all the pictures here instead of making that post even longer!

 I miss feeling him moving around, but I can definitely bend over better without the big old tummy in the way!

 Oxygen power!

 Just waiting to weigh our little man!

 Hanging out with mom while Ryan went and got them lunch

 True love!!!

 Already making faces for the camera

 Big eyed baby!

 Mom's first snuggle with her new grandson

 Telling everyone that Noah had arrived while he was off with daddy getting his first bath

 Letting Grandma snuggle with Noah

 Daddy getting some diaper practice in

 She's as in love as we are!

This is daddy's new favorite hobby

Welcome Baby Noah Parker Deuel!

    As I sit here snuggling my sweet baby boy while he sleeps, I am continuously blown away by the thought that this is *MY* baby. That I helped create him. I carried him while he grew from just a few cells into this tiny little boy. That I delivered him into this world. And that it is my body that provides the nourishment he needs to thrive. It's surreal and amazing and incredible and a little overwhelming! I'm so grateful that I get this opportunity to be a parent. To be trusted with such a sweet little person. I am SO blessed!
    Ok. Sappy moment is over. Moving on. With Noah being two weeks old tomorrow, I figure I need to write out his birth story before I forget it. I'm going to want to share it with him someday, and I figured in the mean time I can share it with you instead! Here is the setting for the story. I was scheduled to see my OB on 3/20, and she had told me during the past appointment that if I was at 3cm dilated at the next appointment, she would discuss our options for inducing. I was at 2cm when she told me that. So Ryan and I had been trying all the tricks to get me either go into labor, or at least dilate 1 more cm. My mom was set to arrive from Texas at 9:30am on 3/19. Ryan had taken work off to be able to pick her up from the airport while I went to work like usual. So here is how it all played out. This all takes place on 3/19. 3, 2, 1, action!

• 1-3ish am- I get up several times (3) to go to the bathroom, as usual. Ryan was still awake until like 1am, since he was going to get to sleep in before going to the airport. 
• 3:30am- went to the bathroom again, and when I laid back down in bed I thought to myself "hmmm...that doesn't feel like a Braxton Hicks contraction. Something is different. I wonder if that is a "real" contraction..." Then I fell asleep, but woke several times because of the contractions. 
• 4:30am- I woke suddenly because it felt like I had peed my pants. I thought that was random because I hadn't coughed or sneezed or anything that would have made me do that (and luckily I hadn't ever peed myself during pregnancy), so I started wondering if it was my water breaking. I went to the bathroom, again, to check what was going on. My garments were wet in the crotch, but that was it. So I put a pad on and went back to bed. 
• 5:00am- I woke up suddenly (again), feeling like I was going to throw up. Salivating mouth and all. So I went to the bathroom (apparently my favorite place in the world that night) to get the trash can, and started feeling the contractions again. I still figured that they weren't labor inducing ones because I could still walk and could have talked if Ryan was awake. The urge to throw up passed, and I remembered to check the pad. It was wet, but not soaked. So I headed back to bed to time the contractions. 
• 5:30am- after timing the contractions for a half hour, I saw that they were coming roughly every 5-6 minutes and lasting about a minute each. I decided that since they were getting stronger and I wasn't sleeping, I might as well go take a shower. That way if I wasn't in labor, I could get ready for work, and if I WAS in labor, then I'd be able to start out clean. So I took a shower until the hot water ran out, decided the contractions were getting stronger, and should probably go talk to Ryan. I did put my hair up first, but didn't bother with makeup. I had decided at this point that even if I wasn't in labor, I sure as heck wasn't going to work feeling like that.
• 6:40am- I went into the bedroom and leaned over the bed during a contraction, then told Ryan "honey, it's time to wake up now." To which he grunted and asked what time it was. I told him and he opened one eye looking at me like I was crazy for waking him up when it was his day to sleep in. So I added "I think I'm in labor..." So he opened his eyes, but didn't get out of bed. Then I added the last bit..."And, I'm pretty sure my water broke...." Finally he jumped out of bed, rubbing his eyes and asking what was going on. So I told him, and said that I was going to call the OB to make sure that going to the hospital was a good idea. I REALLY didn't want to go to the hospital just to get sent home. 
• 6:45am- I spoke with the OB, explained about the possibility of my water breaking, and she said to head to the hospital just to be sure. Because if it had broken, Noah would have to be delivered within 24 hours to reduce the chance of infection. So we started gathering the last minute stuff to add to the hospital bag and got ready to go.
• 7:05am- I decided that since everyone had said eat before going to the hospital, because once you get there you can't eat until the baby is born in case a c-section is needed. So I poured myself a bowl of cereal and then called my dad to find out if my mom was on her flight already. I was getting to the point where I couldn't talk easily through the contractions, so I had to pause several times while talking to him. Mom was already in the air, so I called and left her a message telling her what was going on and that we would arrange for a friend to pick her up instead of Ryan.
• 7:06am- I abandoned eating my still mostly full bowl of cereal because of the pain and told Ryan it was time to go. He thought I was crazy for trying to eat in the first place, so he was just waiting for me to give the go ahead to leave. We loaded up and headed to the hospital.
• 7:20 am- We got to the hospital and checked into the labor & delivery unit. Pausing several times on the walk for contractions to pass of course. 
• 7:30am- I was checked to see my water had actually broken. They have a special type of paper that detects the type of fluid. They stick that inside and then check the color. Mine turned dark blue, which was apparently the magic color! They said that my water had in fact broken and that I was about 80% effaced, and 3.5cm dilated. I had finally gotten to the desired 3cm, but obviously wasn't going to need to be induced! yay!
• 8:00am- The nurse got my IV started in my hand, which is the WORST place to have an IV. Then she started the fluids. One was essentially sugar water, to give me "nourishment" while they essentially starved me of real food. Another was regular saline solution. And the last was penicillin because I had tested positive for Group B Strep when they tested me for it a few weeks ago. It's a common thing to be positive for, but because it can be passed to baby they want to give you penicillin every 4 hours during delivery. And it sucks. It's refrigerated, so it's cold going in the IV. And it hurt my hand. I don't know how much of it was because it was cold and how much was because of where my IV was, but it wasn't a good feeling.  
• 8:05am- I told the nurse I was interested in getting the epidural, but I wasn't quite ready for it just yet. 
• 8:20am- I told the nurse I had changed my mind and it was definitely time for the epidural. The nurse added me to the list of people waiting for epidurals, and I waited for the drug doctor to come pay me a visit. 
• 8:50am- The anesthesiologist came and gave me the epidural. As soon as it started to work I was ready to kiss the man. Getting one was the Best. Idea. Ever. It allowed me the chance to enjoy my delivery experience. I know it's not for everyone, but it is certainly for me!!
• 9:00am- The nurse checked me for progress. I'd progressed from the 3.5cm on arrival to 5cm. She said they usually want to see about 1cm an hour, and I was on track for that. 
• 9:40am- I called my mom again, since her flight was set to land at 9:30 and I was hoping to be able to fill her in on what was happening and who would be picking her up. Between Ryan being on the phone with our friend Lindsay (who had so heroically volunteered to take some time off work to go pick mom up) and me being on the phone with mom, we were able to coordinate the pick up and drop off of my mom. Yay!
• 10:00am- My next check informed us that I had progressed to about 6cm. Things were still looking good. 
• 10:30am- There were some decelerations in baby's heartbeat during contractions showing up on the monitors. The nurse had me switch sides that I was laying on in hopes that his heartbeat would go back to normal. 
• 10:45am- She came back in saying that the weird things his heart was doing had gotten worse since switching sides, so she wanted me to go back to my left side. After I had rolled back over (with her help seeing as how I didn't have full feeling in my legs), she put an oxygen mask on me. She said that sometimes if the placenta has decided that its job is done before it really is, baby could benefit from some extra oxygen. So I got to wear that until he was born. 
• 10:55am- My mom arrived! Her side of the story is that she landed and almost didn't turn her cell phone on. But she did and saw that she had a voice mail, but after listening to it realized that it didn't give a time of when it was left. All she knew was that I was in labor and she needed to get off the plane fast! Now, I have to insert here that my mom is a very quiet lady. We make fun of her for being a "quiet mouse" because she rarely raises her voice. So I was very proud of her after hearing what she did next. She said that after hearing the message, she stood up, gathered her things, then exclaimed loudly "My daughter's water broke and we're having a baby!!! I need to get out of here so I can get to the hospital!!!!!" The response was several congratulations, and everyone parting like the Red Sea to let her off. Way to go Quiet Mouse!! You did it! My second call to her caught her walking to baggage. I was able to reassure her that baby wasn't here yet and she would probably make it to the hospital on time. She was thrilled with that. 
• 11:10am- The nurse checked me again and said that I was just about to 7.5cm, and that I was still contracting well. 
• 12:10pm- During this check she found that I was fully dilated and fully effaced. She called my OB and came back to tell me that they were going to wait for an hour to allow him to descend, and then we should be ready to start pushing around 1:15pm. 
• 1:00pm- I started clock watching, getting more anxious and nervous knowing that very soon I'd be delivering this baby. And once he was here, everything would be different. I tried not to get scared about the actual delivery, but it was an unknown and therefore a little nerve-wracking!
• 1:15pm- The nurse came in and got me into delivery position, just without the stirrups. She held one leg and had Ryan hold the other. She said that the amount of pushing time ranges from woman to woman, and it could be anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. So during the next two contractions she had me push. After the second one she said "Ooook, we're not going to have you push anymore. This baby is ready to be born! He's about ready to crown, so I'm going to go call your OB and we'll deliver this baby when she gets here!"
• 1:18-1:40pm- Every time the urge to push came, I'd look toward the door hoping to see the doctor walk in. It felt like she took foreeeeeever getting there! Even the nurse started pacing, worried that she might have to call a different doctor in since my baby was ready to be born!
• 1:41pm- My OB finally arrived and got gowned up and got everything situated. She got filled in on the funny heart rhythms and guessed that baby probably had the cord wrapped around his neck. She had them put my legs in the stirrups and she got into position. 
• 1:45pm- During the next contraction, she had me start pushing. I could see his little goo covered head start to appear in the mirror and it was crazy!! I was actually delivering a baby!! She said that his heart patterns showed that he was NOT liking this process, and she wanted him out on the next contraction. 
• 1:49pm- When the next contraction hit, I started pushing again with everything I had. I watched in the mirror as his head came out, and she unwrapped the cord from around his neck. Then she had me give a little push to help with his shoulders and then BAM! I had delivered a baby!!!!
• 1:52pm- After his nose and mouth were suctioned, they laid him on my tummy to wipe him off. He was so tiny and blue! And he wouldn't cry. He made little baby noises, but he just didn't want to cry. After a moment they took him over to the table to make sure he was breathing ok. Everything checked out. The nurses kept making comments about how his breathing was perfect, and his heart sounded great, and he must just be a mellow little dude. They gave him the eye drops and the huge giant vitamin K shot (that looked like the needle was long enough to go all the way through his leg an into the table) and still no crying. They took him to the weighing table and weighed and measured him. 
• Noah Parker Deuel- born 3/19/14 @ 1:50 pm.
• 6lbs 7oz
• 17.5 in long
• 2:00ish pm-They brought him back to me so I could snuggle him on my chest for awhile before taking him to get bathed and such and moving me down to a recovery room. It was an amazing feeling to have him there on my chest, able to look into his eyes and snuggle him close. He still hadn't cried, and was content just to hang out. He was just perfect and I couldn't get enough of him. It was so sad when they took him away. Ryan went with him, and I got moved down to recovery. I was given some food and was excited to eat, but really couldn't feel just right until they brought my baby back!
• Remaining hospital stay- Noah cried during his first bath, but not at all for him remaining shots. They didn't mention if he cried when he was circumcised, but he only cried (very softly) during one diaper change afterwards because he was stuck to the diaper (ouch!). He remained very mellow and chill the whole time we were there, which was a total of 48 hours. He was VERY sleepy (more than a usual newborn), so after each attempt to feed him I had to pump and then feed him with a syringe. Whatever works!

To summarize,  I had an easy pregnancy (minus a few scares & that horrible pain at the end) and an easy delivery, and now I have an easy baby. I have been SO blessed. I'm so very grateful for these experiences that I've had. My mom said it's Heavenly Father's way of giving me a break after everything I've been through (mainly the broken body from the bad accident). I'm ok with that theory. haha. This little man is such a blessing and I can't believe that I've been entrusted with raising him. Basically, we are totally & completely in love with him! He's perfect!! 

38 weeks- "Wow Amanda, you are looking HUUUGE!! Aw, gee thanks...you make me feel GREAT!!

    We've made it to the final stretch. Only 14 days to go! This pregnancy has gone by SO fast. I can't believe it's just about over. Although I'm incredibly grateful at this point that it IS over soon. I'm done. It's time for this little man to make his appearance!! And if we base it on the amount of comments being made to me about just how HUGE I am, he better be coming soon. Like now. Before I punch some comment maker in the face. Twice. 

    Back in 2007, I was in a REALLY bad car accident. I broke lots of bones, but the worst part was the two breaks in my pelvis as well as the broken tail bone. Those have caused me some pain and discomfort throughout this pregnancy, but not nearly as bad as I thought they would. I've been blessed with an easy pregnancy. I've bypassed a lot of the symptoms that make pregnancy miserable for most women and that has made working full time much easier. All of that has now changed. I feel like I shouldn't complain, seeing as how I've had it easy the rest of the time. But at the same time, it's hard NOT to complain some when you feel like your PELVIS HAS SHATTERED AGAIN AND THERE IS GIANT BELLY RESTING ON IT AND MAKING THE SHATTERED BONES GRIND TOGETHER. We think the huge jump from discomfort and some pain to EXCRUCIATING AND OMG I THINK I'M DYING has to do with baby "dropping". We don't know the full extent of my previous pelvic injuries with my current pain. However, I feel pretty strongly that there is a BIG connection. Duh. My pain can be broken down to 2 main locations. 

• Tail bone- When I go from sitting to standing, it feels like there is a small explosion where my tailbone is. Sharp, stabbing, shooting pains radiate outwards. If you've ever broken your tail bone, that is how this feels. Every. Time. I. Stand. Up. The longer I've been sitting, the worse it is. The harder the surface is that I've been sitting on, the worse it is. Sitting in different positions doesn't help. Sitting on cushions or special "pelvic" pillows doesn't help. Laying helps, but only until it starts to make my back hurt. But since that pain is way less intense, laying is the best solution. 

• Pubic Symphysis- this is the found where your pelvis comes together in the front. When I broke my pelvis,one of the two breaks happened in the bone next to the pubic symphysis, and misaligned the bones in relation to the pubic symphysis. This causes a sharp stabbing pain RIGHT there in my crotch. I mainly feel this pain when I'm walking, going up stairs, climbing in/out of the car & truck, and when rolling out of bed. Sometimes it's a grinding, stabbing pain. At least there is variety, right? Sometimes this pain also feels like a small explosion has taken place. That's when it brings tears to my eyes. 

    So between those pains, plus the fact that here at the end of pregnancy my body is releasing hormones that tells my pelvis to open WIDER. And WIIIIDER STILL. I have a 5 inch screw holding one side of my pelvis in place. So the other side is really the only side that can open. This inability to open bi-laterally could be playing a large part in my pain levels. Now that baby has dropped, and is putting more pressure on everything (which also encourages my pelvis to open WIDERRRRR) my pain level has jumped from like a 3 to a 20. Sometimes it hurts so bad to stand that when I'm at work I wheel my chair around as much as possible to avoid the pain. I probably look like the laziest person around, but I just DARE SOMEONE TO MAKE A COMMENT TO ME ABOUT IT! They won't appreciate the result. Don't mess with a very pregnant lady who is in a lot of pain. Duh. 
    Ryan and I talked about it, and we decided that it would be good to discuss induction options with my OB. I think that choosing to induce is a personal decision to be made with your spouse. If you don't believe in inductions, that is great for you. But lets not judge each other's choices, yeah? :)  Anyway. So at my appointment yesterday we asked my OB what our options at this point are. She said that in order to even discuss induction, I'd have to be dilated to at least 3cm. I'm only at 2cm. Which is better than the 1cm I was at my last two appts! Progress is good! I asked if she would at least do a membrane sweep and she said she would. I had been warned that it would be really painful, but that wasn't the case at all for me. The only pain I had was from her knuckles pushing on my pelvic bone. She said that there is generally only a 20% chance of the sweep helping you start labor, but that was good enough for me. Unfortunately, it didn't do much. I had more braxton hicks contractions, but nothing painful. But maybe it'll help me dilate more so at my next appt we can talk about inducing. I can hope!!
   

Labor & Delivery is really quiet in the middle of the night

I can't believe it's March!! We're having a BABY this month! Whaaaat?!? Our little man is also excited for it to be March, and let us know that with another one of his theatrical episodes. Silly boy.

So Saturday was March 1st. Ryan worked for FedEx, and I cleaned a little and ran some errands. It was a normal day, nothing exceptional happened. Except I made a minky blanket with satin binding. If you don't look too close, it actually turned out cute. That was exceptional, since I know nothing pretty much about sewing. But I digress.

We went to bed like normal, fell asleep like normal, and a few hours later I woke up to pee like normal. That's when I discovered I was bleeding. Again. Not so normal (although it seems to be turning into a normal thing for us. Good grief). It was just like when I started bleeding back on January 1st when we came home from California. This time, I didn't start to panic since I'm so close to being considered full term. Whereas before, if he had been born then he would have only weighed between 1-2lbs. That would have been scary! Anyway, so I went back to our room to quietly get my phone and call the emergency line for my OB before waking Ryan. He heard me though and asked if everything was ok. I sighed and said no, that I was bleeding again and was going to call and find out if we needed to go to L&D. I called the doctor on call and explained what was going on. I told him that this had happened once before, but the circumstances were different. He said that he wanted to be safe rather than sorry, and wanted me to go to the hospital to get checked out. So I went back to the room and told Ryan that we needed to go to the hospital. We got dressed and headed out at 3:45am. There was no one on the roads, which was convenient. We parked and walked slowly (cause I waddle. A lot. And slowly) to the maternity ward. We got taken to a room and told that the doctor I had spoken with told them I was coming in.

I got changed into their lovely hospital gown, and then hooked up to the two monitors. One is for baby's heart beat and the other is to monitor contractions. Then the nurse said that she needed to check my cervix at the instruction of the doctor, since that may have been the cause of the bleeding the last time.

*I had my first cervical check on Thursday at my OB appt, and she said then that I was 1cm dilated and 50% effaced. I had no side effects after the check like some women do (ie bleeding, contractions, etc)*

When she checked my cervix, she said that I was still only 1cm dilated, but I was now 70% effaced. So in a matter of 2.5 days, I'd progressed 20%. I'm ok with that! She said that it did look like the bleeding had stopped, and couldn't determine the cause for sure. Again, sounds like last time. She said that sometimes having the cervical check can cause bleeding, but they only expect that in the 24hrs after the exam. And all of this was happening well beyond the 24hr mark, so she didn't think that was the cause. She said that they were going to monitor me for 20-30min and then let me go.

About 45 minutes later, she came back in to let us know that they wanted to keep monitoring baby and me for awhile longer. Apparently baby's heart beat wasn't showing the "accelerations" that they were wanting to see. She propped me on my side to see if that made any difference, and said she would be back in awhile. I just read my Kindle while Ryan took a cat nap. After we had been there for a total of 2 hours, the nurse came back and said that they were going to release me. She said that at one point I was having regular contractions and they had started to wonder if I was going to go into labor, but then they slowed and spaced back out. Ryan and I looked at each other and were like what contractions?! I had a teensy bit of cramping at one point, but that's it. Baby was moving like crazy, and I hadn't noticed my stomach getting hard. I'm ok not feeling contractions until I have to! As long as when I really do go into labor, I have enough time to get to the hospital. That's my only condition for it. Haha. She said that baby's heart beat looked great, most of the time. She said that every so often it looked like there was an arrhythmia or a murmur that had them slightly concerned. The doctor on call said that I need to go in once a week for a Non-Stress Test (NST) so they can monitor his heart. Then they unhooked me and sent me on my way.

Now, normally I worry about *everything*. Way more than is necessary (or healthy probably). But this time, I'm not overly worried. I figure if there was a big enough issue with his heart beat, they would have kept me. But they didn't, so I shouldn't stress. I'll being seeing someone twice a week until he's born (between the NST and the weekly OB appt), so baby will be closely monitored. And if it so happens that he comes now, he may not even have any time in the NICU at this point. So everything is going to be ok. And more than anything, I've had many reassurances that Heavenly Father is aware of us and everything will be ok. :)

Things I've Learned About Pregnancy

So as I've gone through this pregnancy, I've been learning lots of new things. And as I was reviewing them in my mind the other day, I thought it could be a good idea to share a list. Maybe someone else can learn something from me. And if not that, maybe at least get a laugh! :) These are listed in no particular order. That takes too much planning!!

• Getting a baby bump can be so exciting you're willing to convince yourself that really bad bloating is actually your baby. Then you will try to convince your spouse that you finally have a REAL baby bump. 
• If your spouse doesn't readily agree that you finally have a REAL bump, your heart will be broken and you will probably cry. Even though you know deep inside he's probably right. Admitting that would probably make you cry more. 
• It's hard to understand your feelings as the hormones take over. I think that becoming pregnant simulates developing several mental illnesses all at once. Mainly depression, bi-polar, & schizophrenia. I'll explain why below.
• Depression- SOOOO exhausted, loss of interest in things (mainly due to exhaustion), thoughts of inadequacy about being a parent, fear of the future, thinking of the looming black cloud that is called "finances after baby comes", etc. 
• Bi-Polar- you're so excited to be pregnant! And then you're terrified of all the changes. Then you're really excited to become a parent. Then you're terrified of the type of parent you'll be. Then you LOVE your husband. And then you HATE him. Then you think pregnancy is such an AMAZING miracle. And then you get sick & tired of being pregnant for almost a year. (Ok so those feelings and such are not things that would get you a diagnosis of bi-polar, but when you're experiencing the mood swings and the ups and down, it sure FEELS like you could be bi-polar).
• Schizophrenia, paranoid type- suddenly everything that you have ever heard that could go wrong with a pregnancy is suddenly really, truly, maybe, possibly happening to you RIGHT NOW! You may experience thoughts like: I sneezed really hard, and had a pain in my abdomen. What if that means I'm ruptured my uterus? I wiped and saw some spotting. Obviously I'm miscarrying. Baby hasn't moved for the last hour. What if he's dead?!? There's a whole big long list of things you can't do now, because someone's sister's cousin's grandmother's hairdresser once had Z happen to them after doing X. And what if YOU'RE the person it happens to NEXT?!? It could happen....you could fall into that .0000001% category of probability.They call you paranoid. You & your voices call yourself prepared. 
• Many strangers just can't WAIT to tell you horror stories about pregnancy once they hear you're pregnant. It's like word vomit. They hear the word "pregnant" and suddenly horrible, scary stories come spewing forth from their mouth. If you weren't paranoid before, welcome to the club.
• Google is no longer your best friend. Neither are pregnancy group forums. If you try to even be friendly with them, it will probably result in you telling your spouse that you have been self diagnosed with ihaveallthingsterriblywronginmypregnancyandourbabyisgoingtohavetwoheadsandthreearmsitis and should therefore probably go straight to the hospital so they can look for a cure. Your husband may call you a hypochondriac. This will make you cry, and go VERY quickly from loving your sweet husband to hating the man you thought you once loved, 27 seconds ago. 
• Google & pregnancy forums can be your best friend. Hearing stories about other women going through your same experiences can be soothing and helpful. They can give you ideas to ease discomfort that you wouldn't have thought of on your own. If you are experiencing something strange, you'll sometimes read about someone else who experienced the same thing and it turns out everything was ok! Other times they had the symptoms you were worried about and something went terribly, horribly wrong and what if that's happening to YOU?!? So now, I invite you to read the above listed point. 
• As your body changes, your mind set about certain things will have to change as well. For instance, never trust a fart. It could be like playing Russian roulette with a very sad ending.
• Gaining weight is a psychological nightmare. Picture an angel and a devil on your shoulders as you look at the scale.
• Devil- Look at those numbers grow! You're getting fat you fatty McFatterson
• Angel- But you're growing a baby! How can you hate yourself for being part of that miracle? Gaining weight is just part of the process. 
• Devil- Ok you whale, your baby weighs less than 10 lbs, so how can you justify gaining 30?
• Angel- You're beautiful. You're glowing. You're all baby. You don't look like you've gained anything but baby!
• Devil- starve yourself, stop the weight gain!
• Angel- eat good healthy foods so you don't starve your baby!
• Devil- well if you're gonna gain weight you may as well enjoy it. Go eat ice cream.
• Angel- mmmmmm, ice cream
• Panty liners will become your best friend. You thought you knew what discharge was. Ha, joke's on you little naive one. 
• As pregnancy progresses, it seems the nipple to boob ratio changes. Be prepared for your nipples to take up like 2/3 of your boob. Better yet, don't think of them as boobs with nipples anymore. It may make more sense to think of them as fatty nipples. 
• At some point, your nipples may start to leak. Your spouse may find this to be really disgusting. Depending on where you are in your bi-polar cycle, you may find his reaction really amusing, or it may make you cry. Again. 
• The bathroom becomes your best friend. Peeing has never felt so good. At least that's what you thought when you went 4 times ago. All in the space of an hour. Now you hate the bathroom. As you're walking to the bathroom AGAIN, you resent having to go AGAIN and want to punch it in the face. Until you go pee and feel better. Then the bathroom is yet again your best friend.
• You get to a point where your frequent deadly heartburn has you thoroughly convinced that you aren't pregnant with a human baby, but instead you're incubating a fire breathing dragon. 
• Shaving your legs becomes nearly impossible. Every time you accomplish it, you feel as though you've just competed in the Olympics, and therefore deserve a medal. Preferably a chocolate one. 
• You've always heard that your hair grows faster and thicker during pregnancy. They DON'T feel it important to emphasize the fact that that means ALL of your hair. Let that sink in. You thought you knew what prickly legs were after not shaving for 3 days was before. Now you look down after 3 days of not shaving at the tiny sequoia forests that have taken over your legs, and after feeling slightly disgusted, shrug your shoulders and move on with your day. Cause you aren't prepared for the Olympics today. Or tomorrow. Maybe next week sometime.
• Clipping your toenails turns you into the gymnast you always wanted to be as a little girl, but couldn't ever bend that way. Now, you have no choice. It's either that or have raptor claws on your toes. And, to be completely honest, you'll leave your raptor claws alone more than you care to admit. 
• At some point you may look down at your stretch marks and realize that you look like you've been mauled by a bear. Then you remember the fire breathing dragon you're incubating and come to the realization that it must also be clawing you from the inside out (on top of ruining your digestive tract with it's fire).
• You always told yourself you wouldn't be one of THOSE women who waddle. Now, you just embrace it. 
• It may come as a shock when you're walking along, feeling pretty good about yourself being mobile, when you glance over and see that you're keeping pace with an ancient man walking with a walker. And he's only got one leg. And you can't speed up, cause you're already feeling like you're ready to break a sweat. Just embrace it. Just don't ask the man how he's doing today, because even though you probably don't realize it, you're out of breath from walking so fast. Not speaking to him isn't rude, it's preserving a teensy bit of your quickly fading 
• When it comes time to start feeling baby start to move, you will probably drive yourself crazy deciphering if things happening in your body are really baby moving. This will become a similar experience to when you thought you could first see your baby bump. Suddenly your mind will be overtaken with thoughts like: I think my stomach just rumbled from hunger. Or was that baby? Oh, I've got gas bubbles. No wait! That could be baby!! I should ask every woman I see what it felt like for HER when she was pregnant and see if I've had a similar feeling! Talk to all the ladies!!!
• It's common to become really tired again during the third trimester. Except now you can't sleep, cause you can't get comfortable. Which makes you more tired. And irritable. And zombie like. Except I don't think that zombies can be pregnant. And they don't need sleep, so they are never tired. Is feeling envy for a zombie natural? During pregnancy, yes. Yes it is. 
• As you get closer to the end of your pregnancy, people will make comments about how huge you are, and you must be SO CLOSE to being done. When you have to respond that no, you actually still have 6 weeks left, you may feel sad inside. And want to cry. Feeling sad is or angry ok. Pretending to punch the offender in the face in your mind is ok. Actually doing it is not ok. Sad, but true. 
• Feeling baby move is my FAVORITE thing. Hands down. Coolest. Feeling. Ever. It makes me sad that my husband can't feel it the same as me, but I'm glad that he can at least feel him from the outside. 

Those are all the ones I have for now. Feel free to add any that you may think of! 

Placenta Encapsulation- To do or not to do?

    So to start, I have to say that I love the medical world. I'm fascinated by all the amazing things that can be done with the human body, and how much progress is made in that field every year. In my personal life, I've had LOTS of interactions with the medical world. Emphasis on the word LOTS.

    Now, many of my friends are very into the natural medicine world. I don't judge or disagree, it's just generally a different approach than what I take. I personally seem to get better results with modern medicine than I do with natural medicine.

    With it getting closer and closer to my due date, I've spent a lot of time thinking about what will happen once he's arrived. How things will change, what we should prepare for, etc. One of the thoughts that haunts me is if I will experience postpartum depression, and to what extent. On both sides of my extended family, almost every single woman has experienced post-part depression to some degree or another. Both my mom and sister have not only experience postpartum depression, they've also experienced postpartum psychosis. Talk about terrifying! So I've got genetics working against me I think, which is no good. On top of that, I've experienced bouts of depression a few times in my life that needed medication to treat, so that's probably working against me too. SO.....all of that got me thinking. And talking. And researching. And I kept coming back to one thing:

Placenta Encapsulation

   So you may see that and wonder "what the heck?!? Is that what I think it is?!?!?". And my answer to you would be, well if you think I'm talking about getting my placenta turned into pills and taking them, then yes. Yes it IS what you are thinking. Now, some of you make shake your head in disgust. Others may have a look of terror on their face. But maybe a few of you are thinking that's great! Haha. At least I can hope, right?

    Now before those of you who have the look of disgust on your face get too carried away and want to vomit, at least I'm not talking about frying my placenta in a pan and eating it. Or tossing it in a blender and making a placenta smoothie. Yeah, those would probably make me have a similar look of disgust. But let me tell you about placenta encapsulation and why I think it may be a good thing for me.

    Here is a blurb from one of the many websites I've been looking at:

Did you know there is a supplement you can take after birth that:

• Is completely safe for your nursing baby?
• Can significantly decrease postpartum bleeding?
• Helps your uterus return to it’s pre-pregnancy size within a couple of weeks?
• Enriches your milk and ensures an abundant supply?
• Smooths out the postpartum hormonal “crash”?
• Can prevent or reduce postpartum depression, naturally and safely?
• Can be taken for PMS, Menopause, or other hormonal imbalances?
• Was made by your body, and is therefore able to specifically address your hormonal and physical needs after giving birth?
• It’s Your Placenta!

    I underlined and bolded the line about postpartum, since that is really the issue at hand for me. 

Here's another little blurb that caught my attention.

"Use the placenta to help with your postpartum recovery. Your own placenta, made into capsules, is incredibly nutritious and beneficial to you. Women who take their placenta capsules tend to have better postpartum experiences, avoid the baby blues, have an increase in energy, and an increase in milk production. Traditional Chinese Medicine has used placenta for centuries to treat issues such as fatigue and insufficient lactation, and scientific studies have bolstered the use of placenta for these conditions. Using the placenta for your postpartum recovery is a very easy and natural way to help you feel better after the birth."

    Doesn't sound too bad of a deal does it? If something helps, why not use it? Even if it does seem strange and "witch doctor-y" as one of my friends put it. Basically we would save the placenta after I deliver, and Ryan would take it to the "Placenta Lady", who would do all the magical things to it to transform it into pills. We would them pick up the pills and I would start taking them. It isn't much different than an herbal supplement, right? I'm pretty sure that as long as I don't google images of how it's turned from placenta (bloody, squishy, scary blob thing) into non-scary normal looking pills, I think I can handle it. I know it's not conventional per se, and not something that is publicly known about or approved of by the standard population. But I'm thinking that if it does in fact help me with postpartum, then it would be worth it. And if it does all the other stuff for me too, that's just an added bonus! 

   Have any of YOU had any experience with placenta encapsulation? Positive? Negative? I'd love to hear it! 

Pregnancy- The Photo Progression

    Ok, so I know I'm not done yet, but I thought it would be fun to put

 together a collage now of my growing bump! 

   

30 weeks!

    We've reached the 30 week mark today! Baby is growing still and we are getting more and more excited to meet him! It'll be here before we know it.

Symptoms: 

• Acid Reflux- I've had issues with this my whole life, but it's definitely worse being pregnant! I do my best not to eat before going to bed, and especially not anything spicy. I sleep with 2 pillows to stay angled enough that it doesn't get too bad. This symptom was WAAAAAAY bad when I had my cold. For some reason, being congested was a sign for the acid reflux to act up. Cough drops were needed, but also made it worse. So if i started coughing during the night and had to use a cough drop, I was done for. I'd have to sleep sitting up for the rest of the night. 
• Pelvic Pain- This comes and goes. Some days it's so bad it hurts to walk, other days I barely notice it. Certain things I do will cause stabbing pain, like when I roll out of bed in the morning. It feels like a knife is being stabbed right in the front of my pelvis (in the pubic symphysis). Not very pleasant, but at least it isn't as regular as it was during weeks 15-25.
• Back Pain- This is similar to the pelvic pain. Some days it's awful, other days it's not too bad. The more I walk, the more it hurts. This is just a fact of life!
• Frequent Peeing- This one has come and gone for me throughout the pregnancy. I guess it's getting to its worst phase now though, since some nights I get up twice in night to pee instead of just once like I was during the other trimesters. I wouldn't say I have to pee all the time though. Yet. :)
• Breathing- Since he's sitting breech, he's not kicking my lungs and ribs, so I don't feel that I'm really having any trouble with breathing yet. I get out of breath faster, but that's cause I'm carrying extra weight! This will probably get worse over these last few weeks as he keeps growing and hopefully flips.
• Swelling- Still don't have much of this! My wedding ring has started to feel more snug, but since I can still take it off I think we're doing ok. I still have my tiny ankles, so maybe I'll get through this pregnancy without having the dreaded "cancles" (or however it's spelled)!
• Emotions- I feel like I've started becoming more emotional lately, kind of like when I was in the first trimester. I'm more prone to crying over silly things, and having my feelings hurt more easily. Ryan is handling all of this like a champ, and just letting it happen. 
• Weight Gain- This one is hard for me. I know that weight gain in normal, cause I mean come on, I'm growing a human being! BUT, it's still hard to see the numbers increasing. Since I haven't been active and I don't always eat the way I should, I've gained more than is necessary. My OB says my weight looks fine and hasn't said anything else about it, but I'm getting more and more aware of it. I'm up 32lbs currently. Hopefully watching my diet better and walking regularly will help that not to rise to a much higher number by the end. 

Exercise: 

• I've started doing 30 minute walks around the track at the rec center with a friend. That seems to be the perfect amount of time. By the end I feel swollen, especially in my hands, my back starts to hurt & my waddle increases, but I feel good and not like I've over-done it. I think if we went for a longer time, those discomforts would become real pains. It is hard to find the motivation to go everyday like I want to, since at the end of the work day I just want to go home, have dinner, and veg. So it's a work in progress!

Other:

• I've been sleeping with a pregnancy wedge pillow thing to try and help with my back pain. I think it helps, but not so much that I think it's the best invention and I need to tell all pregnant women about it. We'll see if it becomes more important to me as my belly continues to get bigger and heavier.
• I ordered a maternity support belt at the suggestion of my OB, and I'm excited to give it a try once it arrives. It's supposed to help with both the pelvic & back pain I have.
• I've been making some of my regular shirts work as maternity shirts, but I'm at the point now that I won't be able to continue doing that. I do have maternity shirts, but even those seem to be getting snug. I don't want to buy more now since I only have 10 weeks left, but wearing the same things over and over gets boring. A sacrifice I'm willing to make though to save money!

Baby:

• He is still breech, but has plenty of time to flip before the big day. I don't mind not getting kicked in the ribs, so this arrangement works out great for now!
• He isn't a super active baby, so I cherish all of his movements. He's more active in the evening and later, although I'm starting to feel him during the day more frequently.
• He responds to music and flashlights that are placed on my belly
• He hasn't done anything that causes me pain, although I think he's found a nerve or something to bump in there on the left side that he'll hit sometimes. It sends this shocking feeling down my leg. Since it catches me off guard, it normally makes me jump. It happened at church once and startled Ryan when I jumped suddenly. Pretty funny!
• He should be almost 3lbs, and about 15-17in long. 

Overall, I still LOVE being pregnant! I'm going to miss feeling him move once he's out, that's for sure. It's still hard to wrap my mind around the fact that there is a BABY in there, and I'm not just gaining weight. It blows my mind how we're able to grow people. Take a second to think about it, like REALLY think about it, and you'll probably have your mind blown too! It's such an incredible thing to be a part of. I'm grateful to have this opportunity, as I know that not every woman does. Sometimes when I look at my belly (stretch marks and all), I can't help but feeling incredibly blessed. 

New Year Scare

    I've decided that Baby Deuel has a goal to give his mom & dad heart attacks before he makes his grand arrival into this world. Here's our latest adventure caused by him!

    We flew home from California on January 1st. We got to the airport that afternoon and said our goodbyes. After Ryan and I checked our bags, we started walking towards security. Baby felt reeeaaaally low, and I felt a ton of pressure. It was making it difficult to walk. I made a comment to Ryan about needing to ask the doctor at my next appt if it was normal for him to be so low at only 27-28 weeks. We walked slowly throughout the airport and finally got to our gate. We boarded the plane, and once we took off I started trying to get comfortable so I could sleep for the flight. My back was hurting, but that wasn't anything unusual for me and my poor body. I was able to fall asleep, and slept for most of the flight. I wasn't sleeping so deeply though that I wasn't aware of how bumpy this flight was. We were on one of those little planes, the ones that just have 2 seats on each side. I think the size of the plane made it so we felt the turbulence more easily. But other than that it was an uneventful flight.
    Once we landed and got off the plane, I let our ride know that we were going to get our bags and then we would call them once we were ready. Ryan and I both decided to make a stop at the bathroom before heading to get the bags. When I wiped, I discovered blood. Not just spotting either, but like I had started my period. My head started spinning and I couldn't quite catch my breath. With tears streaming down my face, I got myself together and headed out to tell Ryan what was going on. Seeing my face he obviously knew something was wrong right away, and I did my best to explain without starting to sob. We headed towards baggage claim so we could find someone to ask where the closest hospital was. I was reviewing in my mind when I had last felt him move, and as I thought about it I hadn't felt him move since before we boarded the airplane. It was getting harder to breath as my panic kept growing. We got downstairs to the baggage claim and Ryan headed straight to a police officer he saw.  After they spoke for a minute, the cop had Ryan him to me, and then over to some chairs. I was so scared, and on the borderline of having a panic attack. The cop asked for details of what was going on, and he jotted down some notes as I spoke. He then said that he was going to call in the paramedics to come talk to me. As we waited for them, several other police officers started gathering around me. One went with Ryan to watch for our bags. By the time the paramedics arrived, we had about 5 cops around me, plus the one with Ryan. I'm sure to on lookers, it was quite a scene with me bawling and surrounded by cops, and Ryan being escorted by a cop. There ended up being 4-5 paramedic firefighters in addition to all the cops. They took my vitals, instructed me to calm down so I didn't cause problems for the baby, and then told me to tell them what was going on. As we were talking to them, I continued praying mightily for our baby, and for guidance. Ryan and I both felt that it would be ok to refuse the ambulance and just have our ride take us straight to the hospital, and the paramedics seemed to agree. Since I wasn't coding they wouldn't have gotten us to the hospital any faster, and we couldn't really afford the bill for an ambulance ride! The paramedics left but all the police officers hung around until our ride got to the door. The one that had been by my side the whole time took a look around, laughed, and said "Obviously you've got quite a few officers hoping that they would get to deliver a baby today!" I guess so! Haha.
    Our friends let Ryan drive, knowing how I am in cars and not wanting to get me more upset than I already was with everything. How thoughtful, right? We got to the hospital quickly, and were sent straight to the maternity ward. We sat there for quite some time before they had a room ready to take me to, and in the meantime we made some phone calls to let our families know what was going on & to ask for extra prayers. Once they got me into a room, they had me change into a gown and then hooked me up to 2 monitors. One for baby's heartbeat, and the other to watch for contractions. As soon as she got me attached to those, he finally moved. So with that and hearing his heartbeat, I finally started to really calm down. We told the nurse everything, then waited for the doctor to come and do her evaluation. When she got there, she continued to put us at ease. She had a GREAT bedside manner, and we liked her a lot more than my own OBGYN. She asked us to go over our story again, and then listed off the tests she wanted to do. I ended up having some blood tests, a urine test, regular ultrasound, intrauterine ultrasound, and the fetal monitoring. Once baby moved again, he had the wiggles and just kept going. He even got hiccups once during the time we were there, which sound funny on the heart monitor. It would cause a funny static sound when he moved, and then when he had the hiccups it was a different sound. All of the tests came back normal, and they couldn't find the cause of the bleeding. It had stopped on the way to the hospital, which was a good thing. I didn't have any contractions, and his heart rate stayed strong the whole time he was being monitored. They did say that he is currently breech, but that isn't something to worry about yet since he still has plenty of time to flip. He was sitting really low though and putting a lot of pressure on my cervix. That would explain why it was uncomfortable walking! Eventually they said that either it could have been related to the subchorionic hemorrhage I had back at week 6 of the pregnancy (the initial bleeding scare), the altitude changes from the flight (although it didn't happen on our way there), or it was my body just having a freak moment. I think the last is most likely, since I have a long history of it doing just that! I was given instructions to stay home from work the following day and rest, and to keep taking it easy over the next few weeks. If it happened again, I was to call my OB immediately and go from there.
    After all of that, I was finally released a little after 2 am. We got home and into bed by 3am. Our flight had landed at 9:35pm, so it had been a looooooong and exhausting night! Our dear sweet friends stayed with us the whole time, and then went to work as usual the following morning at 8am. We are so lucky & grateful to have such amazing friends!!
    Since that whole episode, things have been just fine. Although I was going to the bathroom every ten minutes (at least that's what it felt like) for the next few days to check for bleeding, there hasn't been any more. Like I said, I think baby just has a goal to give me a heart attack before he comes! We were both grateful that everything turned out so great, and not having a teeny tiny 2lb (give or take) baby join us almost 3 months early. He still needs time to grow in there! I had my regular follow up appt with my OB on the 10th, and I told her about the whole experience. While she could access the records electronically, they didn't send them to her so she had no way of knowing anything had happened. I was surprised they didn't, but oh well. She didn't like what had happened, and again gave me strict instructions to call if anything seems to be going wrong. We discussed the upcoming birth, and we are going to move forward with a regular vaginal delivery. After hearing her talk about it, and the fact that she got 4 other opinions from various maternal fetal doctors & orthopedic surgeons, I feel much better about things going this way. They all feel that there isn't any risk of re-breaking my pelvis (which was a HUGE worry of mine), and that even with the screw my pelvis should still allow enough movement to let baby get through. And because my doctor is aware of my history, she will be watching baby extra closely to monitor him for fetal distress. At that point, we would switch to a c-section.
    It's hard to explain how I feel about all of it. After operating under the absolute knowledge of needing a c-section for the last 6 1/2 years, it's really hard to suddenly switch gears mentally and be happy and excited about this change. I know that there are pros and cons to both ways of delivering,  but you don't really know how your own body will respond to a certain type of delivery until it happens. No one knows for sure what really will be best for my body, because my circumstances are so unique. The way my doctor put it, I don't have a problem (like gestational diabetes, etc) where she can go research medical journals and get ideas on how to proceed. So she's just coming up with the best plan that she can, based on her knowledge and my medical history. I have to trust that. If at any point I start to have a feeling that things need to be done differently, I most certainly will voice that opinion! We're feeling pretty good at this point that things will all work out ok.