The final two week wait

Today, I am 37w2d pregnant! It been like forever since I've blogged. I've had a really rough time with this pregnancy. That's why I haven't been updating. I appreciate all of your concern and I feel badly for not updating you all.

The last time I posted, I was extremely nauseous. Guess what - Nothing has changed. Zofran is still my best friend. ha ha Because of of the constant nausea, I haven't been able to eat much. As a consequence, I've lost about 25 lbs. Normally, I'd be thrilled. What woman wouldn't want to lose a few pounds, right? But not during pregnancy. Thankfully, my weight has steadied toward the end of the second trimester.

In addition to the nausea, we found out that we have marginal cord insertion. That's when the umbilical cord is at the edge of the placenta. When I had the bleed early on (at around 6 weeks pg), the placenta must've hit a big artery when it was digging in. And when the placenta hit the artery, it stopped growing in that direction and started growing in the opposite direction. So the umbilical cord is left at the edge of the placenta. The reason that both my OB and perinatologist are a bit concerned is that the umbilical cord might not be as firmly planted as if it was in the center of the placenta. And there might've possibly been some issues with the umbilical cord not passing on enough nutrients to the baby or the umbilical cord detaching (worse case scenario). My doctors have been keeping a close eye on me and the baby. I've been seeing the OB every week and the peri about every three or four weeks.

Earlier this week, during my 36w5d peri appointment, it was discovered that the baby measured in the 37th percentile (6 lbs 3 oz) so he's a little on the small side. Oh did I mention that we're having a boy!!!! Anyway, the ultrasound also revealed that I had low amniotic fluid. Jerry and I both freaked out. My peri said that it could be caused by a few things, including dehydration or the placenta not functioning as well. All I heard was the latter, so we started freaking out. Thankfully for my sanity, I had an appointment with my OB a couple of days later. So on Tuesday, I've been keeping track of my water intake more diligently. Jerry would give me water and keep track of how much I've been drinking.

At my OB appointment last Wednesday (37w), we spoke with her about our concerns. So she gave us "the works" - cervical check, fetal monitor, and biophysical profile (BPP). My cervix has thinned, which is normal at this stage of the pregnancy. I was put on the fetal monitor, and everything was normal. The baby wasn't moving that much, so I stayed on the monitor for a really long time. I didn't mind though. There's something about hearing his beautiful heartbeat (really sounds like horses galloping) that puts my mind at ease. Then my OB did the BPP and saw that the amniotic fluid was within the normal range and gave me a score of 8 out of 10. So maybe I was a little dehydrated. My OB wanted me to have another BPP the next day (last Thursday) and then two more next week.

So yesterday, I had my BPP at my OB's office. The baby measured in at 6 lbs 12 oz. I'm not sure if the baby grew that much or maybe just a different person doing the measuring (peri's ultrasound tech vs OB's ultrasound tech). The amniotic fluid was still within the normal range. And the umbilical cord blood flow was good as well. Whew!

This has been a long, rough, and lonely road. I don't feel like we've beat infertility. We'll always be infertile. Instead, we're one of the lucky ones that found a way to by-pass it. This baby "saved" us. Not in the sense of "saving" us as a couple (we've become closer than ever through this struggle) but "saving" us in another sense. We were both at the end of our ropes, not knowing how to get past the feeling of loneliness, despair, hopelessness. That's all we knew for the past 10 years. And now, we look forward to starting another chapter in our life. I am planning on starting another blog, as I don't think "Empty Vessel" applies anymore. But I will let you all know!

Thank you for keeping up with me and for all of your support! You have been there for me during my lowest point. I wish you all the best and may each & everyone of you receive your miracle baby(ies) one day!!!