Friday, May 23, 2008

A Bump in the Road

Disclaimer: If reading about things like my cervix length and vaginal bleeding are going to offend you, read no more.
Yesterday we had quite a scare. I woke up, went in the bathroom and discovered the last thing any pregnant woman ever wants to discover: bleeding. LUCKILY Derek hadn't left for work. I called Maternal Fetal Medicine, they told me to get to the ER asap. I don't make very good decisions at 6:30 in the morning. For some reason I put on the dirty clothes I'd worn yesterday with food stains from Miri flinging her food at me. At least I didn't forget a bra. Derek got Miri's diaper changed and got her in the car and I called my great sister in law Becky (thanks Beck) woke her up and told her we're dropping Miri off.
When we got to the ER things starting sinking in a little and I got really nervous thinking about all of the terrible possibilities. At one point I remember praying "please don't let them all be gone." It was a nightmarish feeling.
A very kind nurse told me that I wouldn't have an ultrasound for awhile, but that she was going to help set my mind at ease with her Doppler (which is like a sophisticated stethoscope that can pick up the sound of babies heartbeats.) It didn't put my mind at ease at all after10 minutes when she could only pick up one heartbeat.
Awhile later some doc wheeled in a prehistoric ultrasound machine that must have been a hand me down from the 1950's. It took about 3 minutes to confirm that all three babies still have a heartbeat. What an incredible relief. The monitor showed my heart rate and blood pressure go down significantly after the good news. They did warn us that although this is promising, they still needed to find the source of the bleeding. The doctor said that my cervix appears to have shortened which they don't like to see, especially this early in a pregnancy. They discharge me from the ER and told me to go upstairs to maternal fetal medicine and Dr. Sullivan would be able to see me in about an hour. I got another ultrasound. All 3 babies look great... they are measuring right on schedule and heart beats are strong. Two of the babies weigh 4 oz and the third weighs 5 oz. They checked my cervix length and said it was fine (ER dingbats) Then they found the source of the bleeding... there is a hemorrhage on the wall of my uterus. Right now it doesn't seem to be affecting the babies. Dr. Sullivan's exact words "I'm not going to say I'm REALLY worried, but these things always cause concern." So more likely it will heal without affecting my babies. Worse case scenario it could get bigger and then.... well I don't want to go there yet, and I don't think that I'll have to. We're hopeful that everything will be fine. Please keep my babies in your prayers! I know it's going to take prayers and faith to get them all here safe and sound.

11 comments:

Natalie said...

Oh my goodnes - I can't imagine how scared you must have been! I'm so glad to hear that everything is still okay. We will for sure keep you in our prayers!

Delgado Fam said...

Ooh Stephie I am so sorry you had to go through all that trauma! I am so grateful things turned out okay. We love you!

P.s. I love reading your blogs.. keep em comin!!! =)

Shmoobie

SuzyO said...

Oh Steph! So scary. I'm praying for you day and night. (And I'm praying for the babies, too.)

Hang in there Steph. (And babies, you hang in there too!)

Sweet Tweets Boutique said...

Holy cow, you scared me! Didn't you have the same thing with Miri? I don't know why, but that sounds so familiar. I will keep those little babies in my prayers. Could they tell the sex?

Herlean Family said...

I hope all goes well for you. Things like that are soooo scary. We will keep you in our prayers.

TheShippenFamily said...

I am so glad that everything was okay. You are in our prayers.

Amanda C said...

I will definitely say a prayer for you and your babies.

Pead Family said...

Oh my goodness, my heart was beating so fast as I read your paragraph. I am so freaked out with that stuff now. I am SO GLAD to hear that all is fine and things look good. Good luck and take it EASY! Ashley Pead

stacey said...

yikes! glad you are doing better. we will keep you and the babies in our prayers1

Breeana said...

It is really good news that all babies are okay. We will keep you all in our prayers!

Jen Panunzio said...

I definitely understand what you are going through! It is the worst feeling in the world to have a scare like that. I will keep you and your family in my prayers!!