My doctor asked me last week how my pregnancy with Noah went. My response - FLAWLESS. Then she asked, "Was he a good baby?" My response - YES! She said, "Darn, I was hoping you would have issues now and then have a good baby also." Yes, that means, I can not seem to win with this pregnancy with Liam. He has thrown me curve balls the entire time.
As I mentioned in the previous post (which was forever ago!!) Liam was quite a surprise for us. We were trying to get pregnant but were having some issues. Let me rephrase - I was having some issues. My body would not cooperate and do what it needed to do for the pregnancy to be an option. We tried for month - help from the doctor to regulate things. May/June was our last month to try to regulate before a more drastic measure would be taken. It was beginning to get frustrating, I was discouraged and began to wonder if Noah might be an only child. The thought scared and upset me but I knew I would be happy with my little buddy. My disappointment came more for him.
The end of June came and my body still had not done what it needed to do. More frustration came. The nurse gave me one more dose of medicine to trigger things with the instructions to call for an appointment with the doctor. I was already upset because 6 months before I found out I was having thyroid issues (which is common in women) and knew that could be one cause of issue. Then reality hit that I was getting older and things weren't as "easy" as they used to be. Yes, it is hard to admit that! I've always been the baby - and now I'm the old one having issues! UGH!! Back to the story - so I took the final round of medicine and waited patiently. Nothing happened. The day Keith and I were to leave for Kid's Camp (for my first trip ever) I noticed I had a pain that seemed all too familiar. I took a pregnancy test and was SO excited to see a little "+" sign. I asked Keith if that is what I think it is and he agreed to my findings. He told me not to get too excited that we should call the nurse. She told me the same thing Keith said: "Don't get too excited yet. Could be false positive from the medicine." I told her I had no clue how it could be positive since my body did not do what it needed to do - so I thought. I'm still puzzled.
So mum was the word. Couldn't tell anyone. I went to the Dr the next week for blood work. Received a phone call the next day -- I was excited to answer the phone. Not so much. The nurse told me that I was in fact pregnant but my numbers were very low and that was not a good thing. She phoned in a prescription of progesterone that I was to take immediately that evening and again the next morning and come in that afternoon for more blood work. My numbers needed to double by the next afternoon. I was crushed. I called Keith in tears completely unsure what to think. I cried out saying "I want to tell my mom!!" Why is it - a girl always needs her momma - no matter HOW old she is!!! He agreed and we decided to tell just our immediate family and the church staff what was going on. We felt our little bean needed all the prayers we could get. We needed him to stick! I cried on my mom's shoulder that night and she assured me that we would get through it no matter what. God had a plan and HE was in control. Our sisters each seemed to already know that we were pregnant - how they do that, I have NO idea!!
The blood work the next day was encouraging but not as we had hoped. It was higher which was definitely a good thing but had not quite doubled. This meant that I would be on the progesterone twice a day every day for the first 12 weeks and I had to have my blood taken every week. It was a long 12 weeks but definitely worth it. The lab girls at the dr office are wonderful!!
Everything seemed to truck right along. At the 12 week mark, the nurse went to hear the heartbeat and couldn't find it. Talk about another freak out moment. I headed to ultrasound and she found him tucked really high just fluttering right along. And trust me - he has been there the WHOLE time! I swear he is kicked back on my ribs!!! HAHA!
At 20 weeks we headed back to ultrasound for measurements and gender reveal if we wanted. We had the tech write it down and we hosted a gender reveal party for our family and close friends. That's when we found out Robert Liam would be joining our family. Noah was so excited. I admit, I was convinced he was a girl because he had been dealing me fits so much!
The 24 week appointment came and it was time for the dreaded sugar test. Yep - failed it the week of Thanksgiving. Trust me, I enjoyed every bite at Thanksgiving dinner because I knew I had a 3 hour test ahead of me and the results of that test may tell me I couldn't eat anything that we enjoyed at Thanksgiving. Needless to say, I passed my test and could carry on.
Christmas came and I started my every 2 week appointments. I could not believe we were already to this point. We had just moved to Corner in December and everything was hectic to say the least. I sat in my appoint on Jan 3rd and told Dr. Kennedy that I had a feeling I would not make it all the way to March 11th. She said that I was measuring a week ahead and he was already head down. Needless to say - I freaked because we had not even put up the crib yet. (We JUST did this weekend. HAHA!) She told me I better get to work. 2 weeks later I was headed to my appointment and cancelled on the way because Birmingham was having a small snowstorm. It was horrible trying to drive and quite honestly, I didn't want to have a wreck and have to go to the hospital in snow and ice. I rescheduled my appointment for the following Monday afternoon.
The weather was cleared the next day and everything was back to normal. Saturday was mom's bday so we headed to Trussville for a bday party for one of Noah's friends then to lunch with Mom and Rinda. We enjoyed dinner with Gigi and GrandDanny before loading back up to head North to Corner.
Sunday was a typical day for us. Church that morning then we grabbed lunch and did our weekly grocery trip. Nap time came and it was wonderful! As it was time to get ready for church, I started having a pain in my back that felt like it was coming through to a spot between my ribs. I don't think I had ever been in so much pain. Seriously! I tried to make it at church but it didn't happen. I started feeling nauseated and light headed. I sat in the room with Keith and called the on call doctor. He told me it was probably a muscle spasm and how I could relieve the pressure. Nothing worked. I told Keith something wasn't right and I felt we needed to head to Brookwood. We called parents on the way. Let me just say - they ALL beat us to the hospital. LOL! Disadvantage for living 45 minutes from hospital! They had a wheelchair waiting when we pulled up and had me registered with the nurse. Advantage to parents beating us to hospital! We weren't there long before the nurse told me I was having contractions and my bp was raised. It wasn't long after that I started throwing up. I cried because Keith and Mom saw me get sick. The nurse came in and became my best friend with the medicine she put in my iv. It was obvious we were not going anywhere that night. The on call Dr came and evaluated. He still thought muscle spasm but said my OB would probably order a gallbladder ultrasound the next day.
I slept off and on pretty much all night - thanks to the wonderful medicine. Poor Keith did not. Dr. Kennedy came in that morning to check on me. She told me the sad news that I couldn't eat or drink anything ALL day and that I would have to go to radiology for the ultrasound. I was upset to find out that my gallbladder has "too many gallstones to count". That can't be good! The nurses all told me that gallbladder surgery can be done while pregnant. That thought freaked me out! Dr. K sent a surgeon in to check on me. He told me that I am too far along and Liam is too high (as he has been the WHOLE time) for them to do anything now. The good news is that my gallbladder is not infected so there is no rush to get it out at this time. Liam can keep cooking. Bad news is that I am on a very limited very strict diet here on out. No fat/lowest fat diet - ie: lots of grilled/baked chicken or fish. No dairy (which is a big killer for me), no creams, cheese, coffee, carbonated drinks, fried foods, etc. As Dr. Littleton said, if it tastes good, I can't eat it.
This also means that Liam is in no danger, he did not cause the gallbladder issues though pregnancy can contribute to inflammation. I was discharged on Tuesday with instructions to rest and recover, a prescription of pain pills in case I get into trouble and to call Dr. Littleton after I deliver to set up surgery to have it removed 2-6 weeks after Liam is born. How lovely is that - 2 recoveries ahead of me. Double time for Keith to be off from his new job. Nice!!
It's been 2 weeks since all of that happened and as of last Tuesday I was already down 5 lbs. I'm trying to find a bright side to this ordeal. The end is not in sight for us - I guess that is a very good thing. Just means momma is miserable. Liam is still has high as he can be but I have not even started the progression part. My bp was raised last week at the dr office but it came down before I left so nothing to worry with right now. We will go as long as we can and won't start talking about induction until 38/39 weeks unless we start having issues. I am 35 weeks today so I still have a little while to go! My belly has gotten much larger and I am having contractions already but nothing consistent. Life must carry on at this point.
Keith started a new job today and Noah started his new school last week. The baby bed and changing table have been set up. Waiting on the bedding to arrive, washing clothes and getting organized is what is going on now. The ladies at our church gave me a tea yesterday and I was more than thrilled with everything. Liam received lots of amazing things and I was so honored. God has brought us to an amazing place at Highpoint. I still feel like I am dreaming that we are here with them. As Keith keeps reminding me - all of this is just another chapter in our book. I'm just anxious for the chapter on Liam's birthday!
~Randi
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