Another setback

This is hard to write about because I'm still having trouble processing it. 

Thursday was mine and Lane's 4th anniversary. On a whim I decided to go to Marshall (where he works) and have lunch with him. I picked him up and we went to a cute little cafe downtown. We had a nice lunch and were having a good time just relaxing ad joking around. I felt totally fine, which is why what happened next came totally out of the blue.

We stood up to go pay our check. While lane paid, I went to the restroom before the drive back home. I immediately came back out and told lane we had to go to the E.R. I was bleeding. Bad. I didn't have cramps or anything, it was totally painless.

He somehow got me to the Marshall E.R. In record time while I tried not to fear the worst. The check in lady was just taking her sweet time and I was trying not to freak out and yell at her. Finally they brought a wheelchair down and after what felt like the longest elevator ride of my life, we made it to labor and delivery. They immediately hooked me up o a doppler and I've never been so happy to hear that sound...her heart beating away. They started examining me and hooking me up to all kinds of monitors and an IV. They sent up a portable ultrasound and the tech and radiologist mentioned that it looked like the placenta was just barely over the cervix. A condition called placenta previa, which can cause painless bleeding like I had. They decided to transfer me to the Longview hospital since they weren't equipped to handle this type of situation. It was a 45 minute ambulance ride. Can't wait to get the bill on that one!

By the time we got to the hospital, I was in good spirits.  More monitors and IV, and the baby seemed as happy as can be in there kicking away and oblivious to everything going on. Emilee and my mom came and we spent a lot of time talking and laughing. My doctor also came and sounded reassuring and said we would run more tests tomorrow. Everyone left and I tried to get some sleep, which was impossible with all the monitors hooked up that kept constantly alerting. They had one to track her heart, but anytime she moved or I moved, it would lose her and ding incessantly until someone would come reset it 20 minutes later. So, not a fun night.

They took me to ultrasound at 6 am, then back to my room. My doctor came back with the report that said complete placenta previa, which is a dangerous condition where the placenta is completely covering the cervix.  Women who have this can hemorrhage and have to deliver the baby immediately. I was lucky that my bleeding stopped when it did. But I'm basically a ticking time bomb and it could happen again anytime.

They moved me to another room and monitored me for another night to make sure baby was ok and there was no more bleeding. I had lots of visitors to keep me company. They also gave me steroid shots to help the baby's lungs mature in case I have to deliver early.

I'm home now on strict bed rest. I can only get up to shower or use the restroom. Luckily I have lots of friends and family offering to help us. I'd like to say the outlook looks good, but you never know with this condition. The odds are on my side. I'm just taking it one day at a time and hoping we can make it another month or so without any complications. I

Yay summer!

Summer is finally here and it's been so nice to relax a little. It was harder than I thought it'd be to say bye to all my students and coworkers. But now that I'm on my second week of no work, it all seems like a distant memory.

I went to the high risk doc in Shreveport yesterday and got a great report. He said everything looked perfect. The echogenic bowel they found last time still showed up on the ultrasound, but it looks to be improving and since all the tests they ran were negative, the doctor seems confident that it is nothing to worry about. Lane got to go with me and was just in awe the whole time. He had seen her on ultrasound before, but now that she's bigger and more active, you can actually tell what you're looking at. She kept opening and closing her mouth. It was so cute!  She is measuring right on track and is 1 pound 7 ounces. The only thing that worried me a bit is that the doctor said he wants me to deliver by 38 weeks. He said a lot of lupus related complications can crop up in those last few weeks. I'll talk with my regular OB and see what she thinks. I also have to go back to him every three weeks and see my regular OB every week. Yikes.

It's been so fun to start decorating and planning. We haven't painted the nursery yet, but we put the crib up and have started on a few projects. Here are some pics of my life lately.

Lane putting the crib together

I made these bows and bow holder and think they are SO cute!

Finished the valance for the window. These are the fabrics we'll be using in the nursery.

12 weeks and 23 weeks.  I haven't gained much weight, but that belly sure is getting big!

Hannah's first book. We couldn't resist buying it!