Tuesday, October 13, 2009

My Story

Usually I just post pictures and fluff. I like it that way. Keep things in my life a little private and my very private husband likes it that way. :) Thought I would write a shorter version of "my story." It is still really LONG! But if you have the time and interest. . here it is. . . .

This pregnancy started out as normal as any of my others. Sure I was tired, but what women isn't tired in the first trimester? First appointment (17 weeks) ~ Check. Ultra Sound (20 weeks) ~ Check. My placenta implanted a little low but I was told 90% of placentas move away from the cervix by 32 weeks. I was told no need to worry. We'll do another ultra sound. I thought, "YAY for extra baby pictures!!" It wasn't a week later and I started bleeding. I had "spotted" in early pregnancy before, but nothing like this and we weren't in "early" pregnancy anymore.

Tim and all the kids had piled in the ultra sound room. We saw our baby. We felt her moving. We talked about her and how blessed we were to have a baby coming to our home. She was real in our family. Heck she even had a name, at least her "in the womb name." "GUS" is what we called her.

I went in for an appointment/another ultra sound that day. Heart rate was normal. Baby looked great. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. The doctors told me to go home and take it super easy. From 21-26 weeks. . .I did just that. I did a lot of sitting. Every once in awhile I would push it. . .Instead of sitting on my couch. I would "sit" at the water park. Or "sit" at the park down the street. "Sit" in the backyard and watch the kids play. "Sit" at the beach. I did a lot of "sitting." The best "sitting" this lady could do. I would give me a metal in "sitting."

At 26 weeks I continued to have bleeding and massive blood clots and that is when the hospital visits started. At hospital visit 1 I was given 2 steroid shots to help develop the baby's lungs "just in case." Anything that I considered out of the ordinary for this pregnancy usually landed me in the hospital and when I wasn't there I was on strict bed rest at home. Between my mom and Tim it was STRICT!! They didn't let me get up for anything. At one point the docs diagnosed me with placenta previa. After one hospital stay my doctor told me, "placentas don't have feet and don't walk, but as the uterus stretches there is a chance that the placenta will in fact move away from the cervix. Week after week I held on to the hope that my placenta would grow feet and move and my world would return to somewhat normal. I would have even settled for the "sitting" phase. In my mind I just knew that every time I had a major bleed the placenta had moved! It hadn't.

Appointment after appointment it was the same information . . . which in my mind didn't help much. It meant nothing to me. I found too much information on the Internet about a condition I wasn't even sure I had. The Doctors recommended bed rest. . and. .we hope we don't see you back in the hospital again . . . etc. . . Never any real answers. And honestly I just don't think they had the answers. At 31 weeks I had hospital stay 2, I was given morphine pills to stop contractions. Which thank goodness did stop them and eased the bleeding. Physically i felt like I could do anything, but emotionally and mentally this pregnancy had taken its toll. After my 3rd hospital stay (34.5 weeks) and a series of morphine injections (3) to again stop labor. This lady was spent. I was emotionally done.

Two days later I came to the hospital for my weekly ultra sound and bi weekly NST (Non Stress test). As soon as I arrived in labor and delivery I was greeted with warm faces that had become my friends. . . I broke down. I kept thinking. . "what am I doing. . . compose yourself Shauna. . you're not a crier." I don't cry. But with so much going on with my body and so many unanswered questions I was a wreck and apparently I am a crier and just so you know I do cry. I cried and shared my concerns with one of my past nurses and boy did she take action. She had my doctor in my room so fast. They did a full work up. . . and a complete ultra sound were they found that my placenta apparently does have feet and had moved away from the cervix, but still no real answers to why all the bleeding and clotting. The next day I woke up with more extreme bleeding and clots. We decided to go in to the hospital yet again. And that brings us to where we are today. . .

Two of my six doctors said. . if they had to put their finger on the situation they would say that my placenta keeps tearing away from the uterine wall . . not all the way just enough to cause clotting and bleeding. . .that temperamental thing. Thank goodness my body clots really well or we would have prob had a baby long ago or no baby at all. The reality is that the doctors really aren't 100% sure what is going on. I just hope and pray every day for a healthy baby and a quick recovery. Is that possible with a c*section? I've had a c*section with the twins and they are brutal, but if that is the safest path to get our baby here I'm on board.

Good news!! My c*section was moved up today to the 20th. Gus and Jacq will share a birthday. I'm sure some day Jacq will not think that is so cool but right now she is so excited for "GIRLS" birthday. :) I love that girl!

10 comments:

not tim said...

you left out a ton of stuff!
week 1- yelled at Tim for gettin you knocked up
week 2- griped at Tim for not doing all the dishes (how dare he simply wash the easy ones and leave the pans)
week 3- bark at Tim for not vacuuming fast enough
week 4- point out that laundry is backing up too fast
...
week 23- tell Tim to go to the wrong Dr office- Provo NOT Orem
week 24- Don't listen to Tim and search google for terror stories
week 25- give Tim a hard time because 'there is never anything good on TV'.
etc...

J Glazier said...

HA Ha WEEK 1 is a CRACK UP!! WHat a roller coaster you and your sweet family have been on. I'm so excited for you and for the GIRLS birthday at your house :-) Hope to see you REALLY soon. C-section was brutal for me too but I'm sure you'll be back to your self in no time. PLEASE call on the Glaziers for lots of HELP.

kingwritergirl said...

WOW! Good luck, I can't tell you how excited both my girls are for you. I hope things go as smoothly as possible. I think there is nothing more difficult than pregnancy, and the truth is I only think women are strong enough to handle it! Your amazing!

crystal said...

I bet it feels good to get all that on paper!! Love the commentary Tim!!
We can't wait to meet "Gus"! I meant to ask you the other day if you have a "real" name picked out yet. That was always the hard part for us :)

My Many Coloured Days said...

Thank you for "your story" - it is nice to have a glimpse into your "real" life. You have gone through so much. We will definitely keep you and Gus in our prayers on the 20th and hope for a wonderful baby and recovery for both of you. You guys are such a great family. (Love Not Tim's comments too!) Pregnancy sucks. I would rather give birth once a month for nine months than be pregnant... good luck with the final days. HUGS

Deanna said...

yeah and their coolest auntie nana sometimes takes the kiddies to McDonald's and sneaks M&Ms into the hospital for Shauna as she shares boy drama stories...dang drinking fountain.
xoxoxo

Becca said...

You are going to be so glad you wrote that down! It's quite the story and I'm amazed at your optimism throughout this experience. Gus will be forever grateful... you'll definitely be able to hang that over her head! :) So pumped for Tues!

PS- What size clothes does little Gus need??

Jaimee said...

Yay I bet mama gus is very excited for the 2 days earlier, every day counts in so many ways when your pregnant! Especially w/the issues you've faced for so long. You are such a strong mom and this proves you can truly be faced w/anything and come out of it w/flying colors! I know it may not seem that way right now but you really are magnificant :) That is really cute that the girls will share a B-Day--how fun! Good luck on Tuesday, your in our prayers :)

Stephanie said...

Thanks for sharing all that Shauna. I am the same way about sharing too much personal stuff for some reason. I cannot imagine the emotional stress you are going through, on top of the physical! Hang in there! We'll be sure and keep you in our prayers. I think it's cool that Jacq and Gus will share a birthday! How fun for your girls!

Loved all the little comments that not Tim posted. :)

Anonymous said...

Bless your heart! I am so sorry for all you and your family have had to go through. You are quite the trooper. I am so glad that you and Lola are safe and healthy! Lola is so sweet! She is so tiny. I'm glad that she was able to take on a new name. DOn't get me wrong, Gus is a great name, but I think she'll appreciate the after womb name she was given. :)