Saying Goodbye to Jacob - December 2

The contractions started getting really bad about 1:00 am. I couldn't remember the breathing exercises to help control the pain since it had been 7 years since my last labor. And, we weren't suppose to start class until January. But, we made it to 1:50 am. That's when the pain was excruciating. Jacob was born at 1:55 am with a heartbeat. It was the most peaceful experience of my life! He didn't cry or open his eyes but he was alive! We were able to hold him and sing to him. He had all his little fingers and toes. He had Stephen's nose and chin! He was precious. He lived for an hour before going up to heaven. Jacob Aaron weighted 10.6 oz and was 12 1/4 inches long.

From Bad to Worse- December 1

8:30 am: It was Tuesday and as usual ultrasound day. This time in the hospital. I went down around 8:30 for the ultrasound. They were measuring Jacob's size, the blood flow thru his brain (mca scan) and checking for fluid. I was in my 24th week but Jacob was only measuring 21 wks 2 days. Dr. Graves came to visit me in my room shortly after. She suspected that Jacob had Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome. It's a very rare autosomal recessive disorder. They did not test for this when they performed the amnio in November. I was heartbroken. I had a very bad feeling the rest of the morning and into the afternoon.

2:30 pm:Dr. Graves had ordered another 24 hours urine analysis that began at 11:00 am on Monday and ended on Tuesday. She wanted to check the protein count in my urine. Elevated levels can indicate advancement of the preeclampsia. My first protein count two weeks before that came back 4.2 grams. That's when they decided to put me in the hospital. The nurses had told me it couldn't get much higher than 4. We thought we were doing better last week because the count came back at 3.6! But, today Dr. Graves came back at 2:30 to tell me this 24 hr urine count was 7.2!!! I knew it was going to be bad when she sat down on my hospital bed. She wanted to induce me ASAP. My protein level was way too high and my blood pressure was starting to creep up. I was having levels up in the 160's/90's and I was already on blood pressure medicine! She was going to give Stephen time to get to the hospital and call our family. Dr. Graves also told me the baby would probably not survive the delivery. I was devastated!

4:30 pm: I was moved down to the labor and delivery side of the hospital. I was told no epidural because I was on the blood thinners for my clotting disorders. They would have to wait 12 hours from the time of my last shot and there wasn't enough time. They put me on an iv with small amount of fluid and anit-seizure medicine. And medicine to thin my cervix.

Mom and Kristie got to the hospital about 8:30 pm. All we could do was wait. They didn't put a heart monitor on the baby because they didn't expect him to live thru the labor and delivery.

From the Hospital

So we are now in our second home, Baptist Hospital in Nashville. We "checked in" on Tuesday, November 24. The doctors are saying we have pre-eclampsia. They are closely monitoring my blood pressure and protein output. Right now the blood pressure is pretty much under control but when I stay out of bed too long it spikes. The protein is still very high. We made it to 24 weeks this past Saturday which is a milestone. The doctors say the chances of baby delivering and surviving after 24 weeks goes up. So each day and week from here is a blessing. We hope that my body can last as long as possible thru this preeclampsia. They say it will be getting streadily worse. At some point, they may have to induce labor if we get bad. I really pray we can make it past 28 weeks.

Tuesday, Nov 17- Our Big Surprise!!!

We had another doctor's appointment today. We had another ultrasound to check the baby's growth, blood flow thru the brain, heart and fluid. Everything is looking good. Baby is still small but is growing. All the results from the amnio were in and we sat down with Dr. Collins to review. The genetic tests were all negative. Then he let us know the baby is a BOY!!! This was a suprise since the tech had told us 2 weeks ago that it was a girl. But you can't argue with the genetic testing. The doctor made it clear that a girl can't have the "Y" chromosome and this baby does. So, we are now waiting for Jacob Aaron to join our family. We are planning to call him Jake. The baby seems to be doing better. They did find that I have two blood clotting disorders. This isn't too earth shattering but Dr. Collins believes this could have contributed to the baby being small. I'm still on bed rest, blood thinners, PTU and beta blockers for the thyroid. Plus the baby aspirin and 3200 mg of folic acid.

Tuesday, Nov 10

We got a good report today! Luci is doing much better! She is a small baby and Dr Graves believes that she is overcompensating by sending more blood to her brain. Basically, protecting her brain and making sure it grows! Most of her amnio results were back and negative for chromosomal abnormalities and infections. There was no extra fluid around her organs and she is very active which mean it's not anemia. I was diagnosed with Graves Disease - a thyroid condition. It sounds worse than it is. I am still on bed rest, blood thinner injections, baby aspirin, 3200 mg folic acid, beta blockers and PTU for my thyroid. And, we will have weekly ultrasounds to monitor her. We are so relieved and blessed. The doctors were very confused last Tuesday and Wednesday. They, honestly, were not very hopeful either. I want to thank everyone for praying for her and our family. I think Luci is a miracle. Please continue to pray for us!

Monday - Nov 9

Stephen was back at work today for the first time since last Tuesday. Luckily, mom came to stay with me. I had to give myself a shot for the first time. Yuck!! I can't even watch the nurse take blood. But, I did pretty good! I went to the hospital today for an ultrasound on my thyroid. It was a little sad. The main entrance is near the Women's Pavilion entrance. I pray we are there in a few months. The thyroid ultrasound was uneventful. It took about 5 minutes. The tech informed me that the radiologist will look it over and send a report to my doctor. We have an appointment with Dr Collins tomorrow morning. I'm very nervous because we are getting lots of test results back. Including more results from the amnio. On the way home, we stoppped at Walmart. I sat in the car while mom went in to get a few things. I have been battling a sinus infection since last week so my sinuses are a little "fragile". I had a mini meltdown while waiting. Every once in a while, I get a little emotional. This all brought on a nose bleed. And being on blood thinners, it was extra bad. It lasted for about 15 long minutes. Enough about poor pitiful me!! We are praying extra hard tonight for Luci to pull thru this. Thanks for your prayers and support!

The good and the bad...

So, we have another ultrasound. The results show the fluid around her heart is gone! But that means she is not anemic. So what is causing her heart to still be enlarged and blood flow thru her brain to be so high? The doctors are stumped. All the partners huddle with their computers trying to solve the mystery. But they agree that a blood transfusion may not be needed and is too risky to do if not absolutely needed. It could be fatal to an already unhealthy baby. A little bit more good news is my blood work is negative for the infections so the baby more than likely is too. But, results won't be back until Monday. They are also waiting on more test results from less common chromosomal abnormalities. Yuck - I thought we were past that!! The doctor also tells us the high rate of blood flow could cause brain damage. So they decided to test my blood for every blood clotting disorder and blood antibody possible. They take about 8 or more viles of blood. They have put me on bed rest. I have to take 1 baby aspirin, 3200 mg of folic acid and inject myself once a day with a blood thinner. We are praying for another miracle and this all works. Luci has been a fighter so far. We pray that she continues to fight.

Results Thursday

My precious husband stays home with me as we nervously await a call from Dr. Collins. We are both trying to stay positive. We have a lot of people praying for our family and I think this helps us not go crazy! Lunch comes and goes with no call. Finally around 2:00 pm, we decide to get out of the house and do something. So, we go to Big Lots - LOL! While we are walking around the store a lady stops me and offers me a business card. She is a lactation specialist and she does it for free. She invites me to call her if I have any questions. I smile and thank her - trying not to break down!! Could that have been a sign to stay positive? We decide to walk around this little shopping center to pass the time. We visit Tuesday Morning and some electronic store. Then Kmart to look for Christmas presents. As we are about to check out the phone rings. I'm too nervous to talk so Stephen answers the phone. It's Dr Collins on the phone! He starts with saying he has a little bit of good news. The amnio showed no signs of extra chromosome 13, 18 or 21. A prayer answered!! But the results of the infections won't be back until Monday. He wants us to come in tomorrow (Friday) for another ultrasound and possibly a fetal blood transfusion. His partner, Dr. Graves, is going to sit in and consult. We are relieved and have a little bit more hope. I am also put on a Beta Blocker for my heart.

The Next Day - Wednesday

Our appointment is at 8:30 am. Dr. Collins asked me to bring an overnight bag in case they need to do a blood transfusion on the baby. After the ultrasound, Dr Collins tell us there is still fluid around the heart and it is still enlarged. The blood flow thru the brain is lower but still way too high. Nothing has changed with the baby. My blood work is back and it doesn't appear to be an antibody in my blood causing all this. The news gets worse. After consulting with one of his partners, they believe they should check the fluid for other chromosomal abnormalities. They are now checking chromosome 13, 18 and 21. If the results show too many chromosome 13 or 18 the outcome will be fatal for the baby. 21 is down syndrome. Dr. Collins is also going to check for a couple of different infections. Both of which are very harmful to the baby. We proceed with the amnio in his office. It's a little uncomfortable but not too bad. Stephen watched the procedure on the US screen. He could see the needle entering my abdomen, then the uterus and going slightly above Luci's foot. The fluid is a light yellow color. The doctor then takes blood to do more screenings for infections and Rh imbalance. He sends me to Baptist hospital for more blood work. The blood bank is going to prepare blood for a fetal blood transfusion. This is a precaution in case we need it. We go home and await the results from the amnio. We are so scared!

Here we go - Tuesday

The day of the ultrasound with Dr. Collins, my high risk doctor, was Tuesday, November 3rd. We decided that my mom would enjoy seeing the baby on the ultrasound - a routine ultrasound or so we thought! The tech first told us we were having a girl! A surprise because we thought boy. Then, she noticed the baby is measuring two weeks small. A few minutes later Dr. Collins joined us in the US room. The nurse started pointing out things for him to look at. The first was the size, then the baby's heart is enlarged with fluid around it and the intestines are a bright white color. Then the doctor looked at me and delivered the heart wrenching news. These are all signs that the baby could have a chromosomal abnormality like down syndrome. He then asked the nurse if she had performed an MCA scan of the brain. She hasn't so he moved back so she could. This measures the blood flow thru the baby's brain. Luci's blood flow is over twice as fast as it should be. That and the fluid around the heart made them believe she might be anemic. My blood work that he ordered two weeks earlier has not come back yet. If I have an antibody that is attacking the baby, that could cause the anemia. But, the results are lost in limbo with Labcorp. Dr Collins is not happy with them. He wants me to meet him in Nashville the next day for an amnio and another ultrasound.

How we got here...

We were so excited and surprised to find out we were having a baby in July of 2009. We had just returned from a family trip to Savannah GA when we learned the news. On our second visit with Dr. Moore, my OBGYN, she noticed that some of my blood tests were coming back a little "off". We repeated them and learned that I have a hyperthyroid. She referred me to the high risk group- TN Maternal Fetal Group. Our first visit was with Dr. Collins and while talking to me about the thyroid condition he noticed one of my bloods tests showed an antibody in my blood. He wasn't too alarmed but did want to schedule an ultrasound to make sure the baby was not anemic. That ultrasound is where everything started getting scary!!

Here it is...

As I write this first post, I am on day two and a half of bed rest. Stephen has just come into the room with my blood thinner injection for the day. FUN FUN!! I wanted to write this blog for a couple of reasons. One, to keep everyone informed about what's going on with the baby and me. And two, I'm bored!! LOL So, I will try to update our progress every day. We are so blessed to have great friends and family who care so much about us. We want to thank everyone for your support and love!