Happy Leap Day!

I'm 30 weeks today with who knows how many more days/weeks/months to go. Hopefully a couple more for sure. I had an ultrasound yesterday and they were able to 100% determine that I do not have a placenta previa which is good news. I knew that I didn't have one though. When my dr back in Ellensburg did my 20 week anatomy ultrasound the placenta was low lying and not a previa. With the clot in the way I can understand why it may have been interpreted as a previa. They were able to get a better picture of the clot and where the tear from my placenta is. The plan is to still continue bed rest in the hospital until I have an abruption again with lots of bleeding, go into pre term labor or baby is unhappy and then she will be born. They told me that if I had NO bleeding for a week, and it looked like the tear healed itself then I might get to go home on bed rest. I would LOVE nothing more than to be home but I wish they wouldn't have said that MAY be a possibility. I don't want to get my hopes up to only be disappointed when I'm still here. With the medical knowledge that I know I feel much more comfortable with the operating room being only 100 feet away from my room and not a 10 minute drive exc. They are guessing that when or if I have another abruption it will be a big scary one that could harm me and baby. That definitely doesn't sound like anything I'd want to have happen at home.
Yesterday was my roughest day emotionally (other than last Thursday) so far. I knew it was only a matter of time before I had a big giant meltdown but I didn't think it would happen this early in the game. My emotions mostly stemmed around missing my family. I guess Makenna had a particularly rough day yesterday. It broke my heart to know she is having a rough time. I'm sure a good chunk of her issues yesterday were from lack of sleep the last several days but it still made me sad.
On a lighter note, I learned how to knit yesterday. Every Tuesday the worlds sweetest retired woman named Judy volunteers in the OB unit to teach the women on bed rest how to knit if we want to learn. She even gave me needles and yarn and I'm well on my way to making what I believe will eventually be a scarf. Today there is supposed to a retired art teacher coming to teach art as well. I love that there people willing to come and teach me a new skill to help keep me busy while on bed rest.
I'm feeling back to my cheery self and ready to tackle the world again today. It's amazing what a good nights sleep can do for you. I'll keep you posted if anything changes. Happy leap day! Enjoy it because it only happens once every 4 years!

Isnt she beautiful??

Nope not me... I'm looking a little frightening these days sans make up and finished hair but that is part of the joy of bed rest I suppose. I'm talking about my baby that I am thankfully still pregnant with. (yay!) I had an ultrasound this morning. Baby is measuring 4 lbs 8 oz already. Which is in the 96% and measures the average size of a baby about 2 weeks farther along. They are happy she is good size. If she is born early she won't be the runt of the NICU by any means. :o) they haven't told me the results of the other things from the ultrasound they were looking for yet, like the about of amniotic fluid, the size of the blood clot, or if they were able to determine the exact position of the placenta. When they let me know I'll fill you all in. I had no bleeding through the night but I've had some bleeding since the ultrasound but baby is still looking good on the monitor which is nice to hear. I'll post more later but that's my update for now! Love to all! Thank you for the thoughts and prayers!

My new home

Made it safely to the university of Washington hospital today. I was so sad to leave my new friends at Swedish but now that I'm here at UW, I feel like I'm meant to be here to. I've been very impressed with my care providers so far. My room is a little bit more spacious and has more seating room for visitors (hint, hint!). I also have a my own refrigerator here which will be great when I get sick of hospital food. The dr's here have the same plan for me. I will be in the hospital until I deliver and hoping I stay pregnant as long as possible up to 36 weeks. However if I bleed again or she shows signs of distress, baby girl will make her grand entrance. I'm of course hoping to keep her cooking as long as possible. Hopefully she'll hang on 6 more weeks. If not 6 weeks, at least 2 more when I get to 32 weeks. I'll update more tomorrow and I'll try and post pictures of my new digs. Thank you for the continued thoughts and prayers.

The Views From My Bed

Had another uneventful night! 4 days down hopefully many more to go! Yahoo! I thought I would do a post early today because it sounds like I'm headed to the University of Washington hospital today. It seems so silly that my insurance company and not my doctors can determine where my care should take place. I just have to continue to trust that this is just one more thing in part of God's plan to make sure that our baby and I are in the place we are supposed to be. I have met really amazing people here at Swedish and I will be forever grateful that they were here to help and encourage me the last 4 days. I'm sure these last 4 days have not been the hardest part but so far it has been the scariest and with out the encouragement of these awesome people I think that I would have been significantly more emotional than I have been!

I thought it might be fun to show you a few pictures from the view from my bed here at Swedish since I will have a new view later today. This picture is from Friday when my parents brought Makenna over to visit. She must have found this room pretty comfortable to because one of the first things she did was take her socks and shoes off and made herself at home.

She even took a nap with me. My sweet baby girl!

On Saturday she took over Nick's murphy bed. She thought she was pretty cool having a big bed all to herself.

She did however decide to share with Nick for a while to. Gotta love the goldfish in the pink basin.

A happy baby (top line) + quiet uterus (bottom line) = Happy Mama!

This little guy is from my nurse friends in Ellensburg. He helps to remind me why I'm doing what I'm doing and it's so cheerful I can't help but smile everytime I see it! If baby comes early this little guy is going to keep her company in the NICU.

A magazine, a new book to read, and my laptop. What else could a girl ask for?

Do you see that blinding light? I got to wake up to blue sky and SUNSHINE in SEATTLE today! It's a rare occurance in February and I'm thrilled to get to see it. My view is actually pretty cool to. I get to look out onto Harbor View Medical Center. It's been fun to watch the helicopters come in and take off several times a day.

I'll update as the excitement of my transfer to UW winds down today. :o)

Made it another night!

Made it another night still pregnant. Hooray! 3 days down and who knows how many more to go. Last night my bleeding was very minimal and I got to sleep most of the night unhooked from monitors, sans blood draws and doctors in and out which felt SO good! Looks like we're heading in the right direction! Knock on wood! Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers! I'll update more through out the day.

Thoughts from Room 504

Its been a crazy 72 hours to say the least. I have experienced many firsts that I hoped I'd never get to experience in my lifetime but I have also experienced many "tender mercy's" from God through these experiences to.

Waking up Thursday to a pool of blood was one of those experiences I'd hoped to never have. I knew my baby was OK because she was moving but I was still terrified because I had no idea what was going on. I am so thankful that I work in the OB department of my local hospital. I was able to call ahead and let them know I was coming. My doctor just happened to already be there, and the girls had a room and the ultrasound machine already set up for me. With in 25 minutes of waking up I was there and they had started the process of diagnosing the issue.

My doctor did a quick ultrasound and saw the small tear from the placenta, gave my nurse some orders, and came back to finish taking a better peak with the ultrasound a little later. When he came back we (Nick, my Dr, and I) all thought it would best to get a second opinion with the ultrasound. Another Dr came in and looked at the ultrasound and immediately determined the same thing and that it would be safer if I was transferred to a larger hospital with an adequate NICU if my baby needed to be delivered early. They were going to send me to a hospital in Yakima that is only about 30 minutes away from Ellensburg but my Dr couldn't get a hold of any of the doctors he was comfortable sending me to there. He and the other Dr decided to send me to here to Swedish where they have an amazing NICU. I feel like the Dr's in Yakima not being available was God's way of making sure that me and our baby were sent where we are supposed to be. It was such a comfort that my friends/nurses cried and prayed with me. I was so nervous and scared of the unknown but their prayers and thoughts reassured me that everything would be OK. I was so grateful that my grandpa, brother Mitch and Nick were able to be there with me and give me a blessing before I headed to Seattle.

I had my first ambulance ride ever. Which could have been a terrifying ordeal in itself but one of the paramedics happened to be a wonderful family friend from church and the other paramedic Nick knows pretty well, as well as the EMT driving. It was nice to KNOW I was in good hands if anything scary would have happened along the way. They had lights on the whole trip and sirens when needed. The drive from Ellensburg to downtown Seattle takes most people 2 hours and we arrived there in about and hour and 20 minutes. They meant business by golly! I don't know how many of you have experienced an ambulance ride but let me tell you laying flat on a gurney, going who knows how many miles per hour on a bumpy freeway is extremely nauseating and a little scary, even if you know you are in good hands.

The Dr's, and nurses at Swedish have been amazing. The group of doctors taking care of me consists of 4 attending Dr's, and 8 Dr's doing their fellowships. I have met all four of the attendings, and at least six of the fellows and I haven't met a bad one yet. It's amazing that there are so many of them and they all seem be on the same page with everything. It's nice to not hear 12 different stories. My nurses have been so awesome! I know I am here for a reason if nothing else to meet lots of amazing new people.

On Monday I may be transferred to the university of Washington hospital if baby and I are stable enough. Only due to the fact that my insurance company is having a little bit of a fit about Swedish not being a "group health" hospital and UW is. I've got a good team here at Swedish fighting for me to stay and have my insurance continue to pay for our stay, so we'll see what happens. All I know is if I'm transferred there, it will be just one more thing that is in the Lords hands and I'll just have to trust that I am supposed to be there also. I know that UW is a great hospital too and it is Swedish hospital's biggest competitor.

Emotions have been a bit of a roller coaster since this whole experience started. The unknown, and what if's are terrifying. I can't help but worry about being so far away from my sweet Husband and Kenna. Our families have stepped up so much to help out with Makenna and taking care of our house while I'm away. We have the best families ever! Nick and Makenna are going to go stay with his parents in Gig Harbor for at least a few days so we are all on the same side of Snoqualmie pass and about an hour closer together.

From the sounds of things I'm going to be in the hospital until I deliver. The immediate goal is everyday I'm still pregnant is great. The short term goal is to make it to 32 weeks (2 1/2 weeks away) and the long term goal is to make it to 36 weeks and they will deliver her then. Please remind me in a couple of weeks if I start to get crabby of this statement: I can do anything for six weeks if it is for my baby. SHE WILL BE WORTH IT ALL!!!

My update for today is that things are stabilizing. So far today (knock on wood) my bleeding has continued to decrease and they turned the magnesium off for now. I am still on pretty strict bed rest but I can get up to use the bathroom which is nice. Everyday is a new story and I'm hoping things continue to look stable for the health of my little girl.

It's amazing to me how in times like these people come out of the wood work to pitch in and help. To also hear that there are literally prayers for me and baby coming from all over the world is a little mind blowing. Please continue to say prayers... and if you don't pray send positive energy our way. We'll take whatever we can get. :o) I love you all!

Between Nick, my mom and I we are going to try and post some kind of update everyday to share whats going on.

Update:

Baby and I made it through our first night at Swedish Hospital and are about to enter our second overnight. Medically, the day was fairly uneventful other than doctors, nurses, ultrasound techs, blood takers, specialists and the like. The million dollar ultrasound machine was finally able to make a clear diagnosis after numerous technicians and radiologists looked it over. I have a larger than tennis ball, but smaller than softball size hematoma (blood clot) near the placenta and near my cervix and is obscuring the view of the of the placenta to determine partial placenta previa (when placenta is covering the opening of the cervix) is there or not. The bleeding is connected to the clot and where the bleeding from the abruption is pooling. I was doing so well earlier, they took me off the magnesium sulfate. This is a medication which controls contractions and also helps the baby's neurological system to mature and prevent cerebral palsy in premature infants. Well, this evening I had another significant bleed. I was immediately put back on the magnesium. Boo! This medication makes you feel terrible with nausea, headache, hot flashes, and all over flu like symptoms. So, I am confined to bed, flat on my back and feeling overall icky! But if it is for my baby's benefit I can do anything! However, there is good news too. Baby seems completely oblivious to all that is going on around her. She is kicking up a storm and according the doctor, she is a total "ROCK STAR" on the fetal heart monitor. I'm thankful I am secure in my little room. Outside my door is a hive of activity. Lots of Moms and babes with issues. I don't want to catch the frenzy of what is going on here. The best part of my day happened when the cutest little girl in the world got to come and visit me at the hospital thanks to her Nana and Papa. We snuggled, played, told stories and she fell asleep lying next to me in my hospital bed. Thank you Miss Makenna! I know many of you are wondering about how long I have to stay here. The simple answer is, the doctors have no idea. Right now they are saying I have to stay until I have had NO bleeding for at least a week. So, we are counting each day that baby stays in as a blessing. The longer the better. We'd like to shoot for full term which would be 7 more weeks, but we will take each day as it comes and continue to know the Lord has this all under control. Continued prayers are welcome and solicited. Thank you for the overwhelming support and outreach to my family! Love to you all!

Prayers Please!

This baby girl in my belly is already giving us a run for our money and our family could really use extra prayers right now. This morning I woke up in a puddle of blood, and headed to the hospital right away. I was hoping it would be no big deal and the bleeding would stop but it continued through out the day and it appears I have a marginal abruption (where the placenta separates from the uterine lining and can cause issues for both me and baby). Because of all of this, I was shipped to Swedish hospital in Seattle where they will be able to take care of our sweet baby if she needs to be born early. At 29 wks and a few days she has a good chance of doing well if she's born early, but will still be in the nicu for several weeks. As of right now the plan is to hopefully keep me pregnant for at the very least the next 48 hours to allow enough time for the steroids to help babies lungs mature kick in all the way. Baby has looked fabulous all day, and seems happy as a clam to be staying in-utero a bit longer. We won't have a better plan until the morning but please keep me, baby girl, Nick and Makenna in your prayers. I'll update as I know more.