The Roller Coaster We Call Life...: Down to the Wire...Or String

Well, let me first say I'm still pregnant and my cervix is still at a very normal length. I'll hit 36 weeks on Tuesday!! It's amazing to have made it this far and to know that whenever baby boy decides to be born he will do great and thrive. I was only joking about being down to the string that's holding him in. But we are getting down to the wire time wise. I will get my stitch cut on 9/3. That's only 10 days away...but who's counting?

A few weeks ago my mom went to my appointment with me and we asked my Nurse Practitioner what her thoughts were on a cervix being more likely to be incompetent with an IVF pregnancy versus a natural pregnancy. We were curious because I did IVF with Braelyn and Cole and both of those pregnancies I definitely had cervical issues. But this time around, with it being a natural pregnancy, I haven't had too many problems, and my length has stayed long for the most part. The only real scare we had was around 20ish weeks when I noticed some changes and went in to the doctor and my cervix was funneling open and definitely getting shorter. I also had some sort of virus at the time (thanks for that Cole man) that we thought could have caused it. My nurse said that she truly believes that I have an incompetent cervix even though I've been lucky this time around. She said that at the 20ish week mark when I had funneling if I hadn't had my cerclage she thinks that I would have been in danger to have the baby early. Now at the time, she didn't show me at all that she was worried...she has a very good poker face, and I'm glad about that. She is always real with me, but I don't think she wanted me to worry until we knew more. I went home and sat without getting up for a few weeks and it all went back to normal. Not that it matters now, because after baby brother arrives I am never having another pregnancy, but it was good to know that I really did have an incompetent cervix and that there are medical advances this day in age that can help me to carry a baby to full term. I feel so lucky and blessed to almost have 2 healthy baby boys here with me.

This week at my appointment we had quite a scare. Most of the pregnancy has been uneventful, so I think baby boy just wanted to make sure we were still paying attention to him. As if being monitored twice a week isn't enough... Anyway, they did a sono and the first thing she checked was his heart rate. The first measurement came back at 186 bpm. That's very high. The second reading was all the way down to the 130's. That's more normal, but a huge jump. The next few measurements varied greatly as well. I could tell that she was very nervous about this and I know from all of my experiences that it wasn't right. She quickly did the rest of the measurements and such and took us to a room immediately instead of making us go back out in the waiting room. Surprisingly I stayed pretty calm. They brought in the Non-Stress Test machine and hooked me up. For about 30 minutes his heart rate was bouncing between the 130's and the 190's. He was moving like crazy and we couldn't figure out what was going on. I forgot to mention that he still has the cord around his neck, but she checked the cord pressure and it was perfect. I wasn't too worried it was being caused by the cord but I also wasn't sure what was going on. As soon as our nurse left the room to go talk to my Nurse Practitioner about the fluctuations we could see on the monitor that he evened out in the 140's and was steady there for 20 minutes. He basically fell asleep and his heart rate was perfect. Our doctor came in to talk to us and he said he really was not worried about this. He said we have a "super baby" and he was just moving so much that he was accelerating rapidly. He said it's okay and we know he is fine because he went to sleep and evened out. They told me that if over the weekend I wasn't feeling him move much to call them immediately but other than that they would see me back on Monday.

I haven't been feeling him move as crazy as he was yesterday, but he is still moving enough that I'm not worried. And every time I push on him he kicks me back. I am thinking that he is starting to drop a bit b/c I'm feeling his movement lower and lower and I can breathe a bit easier too. I need him to keep cooking for another week and then I'll be ready to welcome him! I try not to complain too much about being pregnant because it is truly a blessing to me after all of the years of trying and also losing a child. But I am only human...and there are times where my back hurts and my hips hurt and I feel huge. It's hard work carrying 30+ extra pounds around (yes, I used the +...but I'm not disclosing the actual weight gain). I know it'll all melt away once I get to nursing this baby but some days are harder than others to get around. Especially because I've been sitting for the most part. When I do get up and move I'm actually pretty sore the next day :) I had to take Cole to the doctor today because he was sick and his pediatrician said to me first thing..."You look great. Your face looks good for being so pregnant." I think that was a compliment that I don't look fat....but I don't really know. I just said thanks! LOL. Cole may have a sinus infection and we had to get him better from that before the baby comes because I can tell you one thing, I'm NOT doing the RSV thing this time around with baby brother. He can be just like Cole in a lot of ways, but not with that nasty sickness so young.

So yeah, all in all, things are cruising right along. I'm feeling pretty good and the baby is measuring great. I feel like I have a lot of small loose ends to tie up at work and home before I'm actually ready for him to arrive, but I should be able to get a lot of that done next week. Then maybe I can relax after I get my stitch cut and just wait on him to come.

Cole Man is doing great! Other than his little sickness he's got going on right now. He's growing (well a little anyway), talking up a storm, and just plain being Mr. Funny Man. His personality cracks me up. He is such a joy to be around and I love him to death. I just keep thinking that soon I'll get to love on two little boys and my heart will be so full. I thank God every day for the blessings that He has given to us and also for the lessons I've learned along the way. It hasn't been an easy road to get here, but come September my family will be complete after years of wishing for this. If anyone is still reading my blog and sending prayers for us I wanted to say thanks again. If it were not for all of the prayers going up often we would not be where we are today. I truly appreciate it.

I'll leave you with a few pictures that we've taken recently for fun.