Life has been pretty busy lately, with:
1) Jeff's internship with Deloitte in Chicago this summer
2) Jeff, Chase and I moving in with my parents for 8 weeks
3) Family functions GALORE!
4) Being Pregnant
5) Having an active toddler ;)
6) Losing a good friend
So basically I have not blogged for QUITE a while... Which makes it difficult to sit down and try to share all that has been going on. First off, there have been some 'scares' in this pregnancy, which I have not wanted to publicly share since it was not until recently that baby and I were 'cleared' and approved for a normal pregnancy/birth. They basically thought there was an aneurysm on the umbilical artery, which is VERY rare, and in most cases, the outcome for the baby is, shall we say, not good. They have kept track of it, via ultrasounds, over the months, and the last appointment I had basically showed that there was no growth of this 'thing' and that it was so insignificant that if they had not seen it in the first place, they wouldn't have noticed it now! Can we say "THANK YOU JESUS!" Prayer has become a much more regular thing with this pregnancy, and for that I am glad, trust is such a big thing, especially in the face of the very scary unknown.
The next thing that has been going on with this pregnancy is that, with all these ultrasounds, we have been able to keep track of the baby's growth rate. And when first 'scored' she was in the 50th percentile, more recently she was between 26-28%. For the midwives and the MFMs (high risk OBGYNs, for those of you not familiar with the term... I had no idea they existed before this pregnancy), it is something to note, but not necessarily something to be overly concerned about. Since 1) I am small and most of Jeff's family is small and 2) Chase was only 6lbs at birth, which means that I might just make small babies (good for birthing, mind you!).
The only thing is, that with Chase, my fluid levels were shockingly low (2cm), and I was going to have to be induced with him. But by the grace of God, I went into labor spontaneously the night before they were to induce me, and I didn't have to take any drugs. (I had planned a Birth Center birth from the beginning, and never dreamed I would have to get induced!)
Because of this history with Chase, they have been monitoring my fluid levels as well with all these ultrasounds. Two weeks ago, the day after I traveled back to Pittsburgh from my parents house in IL, I went in for an ultrasound and my fluid levels were at 8.7-8.9cm. (For those of you not familiar, a typical range of fluid levels go from 5cm-25cm. Anything between 5 and 10cm is on the low side, and usually needs to be monitored.) I went in for a follow up ultrasound 4 days later, and my fluid level had rose to 11.1cm. Which convinced us that I had been dehydrated, probably because of the move back to Pittsburgh, the packing/unpacking and the intense heat we were having that week.
Just today, at my now weekly check up with my Midwives, I measured small again :(
That could mean a couple of things, 1) I am dehydrated, which I am almost positive I am, and have been thinking it since the weekend, or 2) I just get low fluid levels at the end of my pregnancies, but which would have to be addressed. I am supposed to schedule an ultrasound for as soon as I can... but I think I am going to try to schedule it on Saturday or after, that way Jeff will be done with his Internship program and if anything comes of the ultrasound results, then he will be here.
Me: 38.5 weeks pregnant:
On another note, we suddenly lost a good friend of our family, Roark. He has basically been an uncle to me my entire life. My parents were friends with him in High School, and he is the only person to have actually visited us in every city we have lived in. He has been such a big part of our lives that to loose him so suddenly by pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the heart) was a huge shock. The worst part of it for me was that there really was no practical way for me to get to Milwaukee, where the Memorial Service and Mass were held. While the Midwives couldn't have stopped me, they couldn't promise that I wouldn't have this baby somewhere along the road while driving there. At 38.5 weeks pregnant, it was just a bit too much to do. Plus, I gave birth to Chase at 38.5 weeks, and had already been dehydrated from one long car drive. Not to mention the emotional stress that I know would come about from being there. It hurt me a lot to have to stay here, but I know Roark would have been the first person to step up and tell me not to risk such a thing. He was such a giving and generous person with such a big heart for everyone. He was greatly loved and will be sorely missed. I love you so much Roark, it is just too hard to say good-bye.
