I am pleased to report that we had a perfect doctor’s appointment today! We had an ultrasound, met with the doctor, and did some labs. Baby Greenie is doing awesome and looks like a little baby already!!
This little guy or gal is super active! It may of had something to do with coffee I had right before, but it was really difficult for the tech to get the heartbeat.
Next week I am having a consult at the Perinatalogist. My doctor wants me to be monitored by them as well, so that we can do everything possible to get this baby to full term. Since I had an emergency cerclage with the Green Beans, I may need to have one again. My cerclage the last time really sucked and was totally traumatic for me. It was done as a last resort when I was 19 weeks pregnant. If they recommend one this time, it will be strictly prophylactic. There’s always a risk of miscarriage by doing any procedure, so I’m really torn on if we should do it.
For those of you that have had cerclages before, would you/did you get one again for your subsequent pregnancies?
Above, is a 3D pic of Greenie Baby from today’s visit. When I saw it, I immediately thought it resembled a picture I have of Rylan. Below, is that picture of Rylan. See the resemblance??
On another note, I was doing some reading on incompetent cervixes. Exciting, huh? I was never officially diagnosed with an incompetent cervix, but basically that, with premature membrane ruptures, was the root cause of all my problems with the Green Beans. I read that if you have complications due to an incompetent cervix with multiples, you won’t necessarily have that with a singleton pregnancy. So that is hopeful! I brought this up to my doctor today, and she confirmed that was true.
I am so thankful to God for this miracle baby and so thankful for a very positive update today! I really appreciate your feedback about the cerclage, as this is going to be a big decision for us. In the meantime, I am going to keep on resting, relaxing, and believing that we are going to bring this healthy baby home about 27 weeks!
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteSo happy Greenie Baby is doing so well and the picture is so precious :) We got our first 4D scan at 11 weeks and it was the most anxiety driven, yet exhilirating moment of my life.
As for the cerclage, my dearest friend Nan could shed some light on that for you. She did not have it with her triplets and suffered as you did with the quads...she never had the rescue stitch. However, with her recent singleton, she did have the cerclage and holds a beautiful baby girl today. You can email her if you like and she would be happy to give you info.
There are several types of cerclage stitches, so evaluate your options. I know this can be daunting and scary so I will be praying that you receive the answers you need and that God keeps you and baby greenie close.
Much Love
xxx
The Greenie Baby updates warm my heart! I am so excited!
ReplyDeleteI had a cerclage at 23 weeks. Let me give this some more thought and I'll email you. I understand the sense of being torn on that decision. There are times that I think the cerclage is why my cervix lengthened again after being terribly short (under 1 with funneling!). Then, there are times that I wonder if it would have lengthened anyway with continued meds and bed rest. This is tough. Many prayers.
Greenie brings joy to so many already!
What perinatalogist are you going to? We got to Florida Perinatal across from UCH and they have been with us for all of our babies. I highly recommend Dr. Kalter very sweet and nuturing great bedside manner. For example because of all the complications we had with Sarah he spends extra time checking and reassuring me because he knows that is in the back of my head. There are 6 Dr. there and I have seen most of them but he is by far my fav. So glad little greenie is doing well.
ReplyDeleteFabulous news! Praying for continued good things!
ReplyDeleteI dilated to 5 cm at 31 weeks 2 days with twins my first pregnancy and had them that night. My second pregnancy (one baby), I never had any cervical incompetence and had a scheduled c-section at 38.5 weeks. I think the body is just not "ready" for all that baby going in there for a first pregnancy.
ReplyDeleteI had an incompetent cervix with my second pregnancy. I had lots of bleeding issues through much of that pregnancy, and then ended up going 2 days past my due date and now she is a healthy 7 year old! I did not have an incompetent cervix with my third pregnancy. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteB.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeletelove the pics and yes new baby green bean looks like rylan!
ReplyDeletewe've obviously talked about this....but i had some new thoughts....with peighton's pregnancy we were unsure as to whether i had IC....i had a cerclage with the twins cuz they thought i *might* have cervical issues....so with peighton we took a "wait and see" approach. i was monitored VERY closely and if my cervix was shortening we would have discussed it in depth. that never happened.....just something to think about. maybe you can "wait and see" too with some very close monitoring...since you are so torn on whether you really need it or not.
so happy for you girl!! and josh too :)
love the pics and yes new baby green bean looks like rylan!
ReplyDeletewe've obviously talked about this....but i had some new thoughts....with peighton's pregnancy we were unsure as to whether i had IC....i had a cerclage with the twins cuz they thought i *might* have cervical issues....so with peighton we took a "wait and see" approach. i was monitored VERY closely and if my cervix was shortening we would have discussed it in depth. that never happened.....just something to think about. maybe you can "wait and see" too with some very close monitoring...since you are so torn on whether you really need it or not.
so happy for you girl!! and josh too :)
love the pics and yes new baby green bean looks like rylan!
ReplyDeletewe've obviously talked about this....but i had some new thoughts....with peighton's pregnancy we were unsure as to whether i had IC....i had a cerclage with the twins cuz they thought i *might* have cervical issues....so with peighton we took a "wait and see" approach. i was monitored VERY closely and if my cervix was shortening we would have discussed it in depth. that never happened.....just something to think about. maybe you can "wait and see" too with some very close monitoring...since you are so torn on whether you really need it or not.
so happy for you girl!! and josh too :)
I'm a lurker from your friend Ashley's blog (I got HELLP syndrome at 23 weeks and lost our daughter.) I'm also just one week behind you with our rainbow baby. I don't know much about IC, but I would think that logically your risks are a lot less going from 4 babies to 1 baby. That being said, I really wanted to be pro-active and do anything we could to prevent issues this time. So even though I don't have a clotting disorder that they could find, I'm taking lovenox shots daily, which has some risks...my MFM thought the potential benefits were worth it also. Things like that are very tough decisions, though.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your pregnancy and I'm glad your appointment went well today, and also glad they are sending you the high risk route for extra reassuring!
So happy to see everything's going great, praise God for that! x
ReplyDeletei LOVE those photos of the new baby...what a precious, beautiful sight!!!! i have no idea about the cerclage except from what i have learned from others. i think devon had a good wait and see approach- i remember when we were talking about it when she was pregnant with P, she talked about the risks of cerclage..so that's something to weigh in the balance, too, i guess...
ReplyDeletei am just SOOOOOO happy for you and grateful for a good, drama-free appointment!!!! can't wait to meet this little one in person!
I have had two singleton pregnancies and only had IC with my second one. My cervix shortened to .7 cm and i had an emergent cerclage placed at 22 weeks. My son was born 8 weeks ago after the cerclage was removed and being induced. I asked my doctor about his thought on another pregnancy. He said that i could choose to place a cerclage early...14 weeks or do the wait and see approach. i know that the early the cerclage is placed the less chance of miscarriage. I feel like the cerclage along with strict bedrest helped me bring home my son. But, i think that your experience is unique in that you were carrying four babies which i am sure was a lot of strain on your cervix. So, maybe you could do the wait and see approach. What a hard decision to make. Wishing you lots of luck and many prayers...it won't be long before you bring home your little greenie!! Danielle
ReplyDeleteLauren,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations. I've been following your blog since your last pregnancy. I had problems with IC with my first pregnancy (triplets) and by the time they figured it out it was too late for a cerclage. Luckily strict bedrest allowed me to make it to 31+ weeks. With my second pregnancy (singleton) less than 1.5yrs later, I had no problems whatsoever. My MFM doc told me that it was probably the triplets that caused the problem the first time around and not my cervix. I would think in your case it would depend on whether you have had any other miscarriages because of IC because a singleton pregnancy is vastly different than a HOM pregnancy. I also think it helped that my uterus was already pretty "stretched out" the second time around. :) Best wishes for an uneventful pregnancy for you!
Congratulations on your new little one! I am praying that this one is full term and happy and healthy all it's life down on this earth! A long life down here on earth!
ReplyDeleteSimply adorable Laurem! Love the 4d picture! Great doctor apt too!
ReplyDeleteI lost my first son at 22 weeks. He died and I was then induced. This was followed by 3 years of infertility, lots of tears, lots of time in prayer, and eventually a very sweet closeness with the One who died for me. I surrendered all to Him; He was enough for me. Then I became pregnant. When I was 20 weeks, I had alot of cramping, and I was beginning to dilate and efface. I spent the night in the trendelenburg position, as the membranes were starting to descend in the birth canal; again alot of tears and praying. The following morning I had a cerclage put in. I spent the next 12 weeks on bedrest, had the cerclage removed at 37 weeks and delivered a healthy boy at 40 weeks. I then had a cerclage put in at 12 weeks for each of my next three pregnancies. I didn't hesitate to do so early in each pregnancy and I'm grateful to the Lord and to technology for my four, now teenage, children. I lost my 6th to an early miscarriage. We only get a short window of time to have children and I feel so blessed to have been gifted with four.
ReplyDeleteGet the cerclage. It will make you feel so much better. I got mine at 14 weeks with my son and it was a super easy simple outpatient procedure. They took it out at 37 week and it was smooth sailing after that. Don't fret. Just do it! Especially after the IC diagnosis the first time around.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see more of the little Bean!