Reality TV and Placenta Previa

There’s fake reality TV, like all the crap on MTV, and then there is real reality TV. Such is the case on the Discovery Health show “Deliver Me” Laura and I stumbled upon last night. I was helping Laura get ready for bed so I could go watch the Braves game, and changed the channel so she could have some background noise while she read. Five minutes later, she screamed for me to come into the bedroom. With everything we are going though, this always freaks me out. What was on the TV was the show Deliver Me on the Discovery Health Channel. It follows three OBs as they deal with different patients and the delivery of their babies. We have never heard of this show before, but what got Laura so interested was that one of the OBs was pregnant and had complete placenta previa. This rare high risk complication that Laura and this woman share has been the top priority in Laura’s pregnancy, other than the baby’s health of course. So much so, that is sometimes takes away from the joys of being pregnant. But if we can gain some additional knowledge in this, we want to know it. The show was pretty interesting up to the planned c-section, when our situation became a little more real. Much of the danger with Laura’s complication is hemorrhaging of the uterus before or during the c-section. It can be so bad that blood transfusions are often necessary. So Laura and I were glued to the TV as clips of the c-section began, and it wasn’t pretty. The uterus began to bleed, and bleed bad. Laura had enough at this point and I turned if off. She became upset and just decided to go to sleep. With my curiosity still going, I recorded it and watched it in the other room. What I saw was a little bump in an almost perfect delivery. Yes, she did bleed, but they were able to stop it quickly and both mom and baby were fine. I know this is one situation, but it was very helpful to see when all you hear about are all the bad things. So, as we get closer to our 36 week mark, please continue to pray for Laura and Charlotte. I pray everyday that things will go as smoothly as they did on this show we just stumbled upon. Grant

Here is a quick video about the show.

Charlotte in 3D!

Yesterday we saw Dr. K the perinatal specialist. We actually had a 3D ultrasound done. These are the images they printed. Charlotte has shown us that her favorite position is face down lying sideways across my stomach. She has been in this position the past two times we have tried to see her pretty little face. Thankfully, Dr. K was still able to angle the ultrasound to get these pictures. It is crazy what they can do with technology these days. What we can tell from the pictures: 1. She is very flexible. In one picture she looks like she is kissing her knee. 2. She has the cutest chubby cheeks :) 3. She is 100% a Sams family descendent. She has my nose (hopefully it will fit her face better than mine :) 4. She is going to be the most beautiful girl in the world!!!!!

Ok, now for the serious stuff. Overall, I felt the appointment went pretty well. Charlotte Grace is a whopping 2 pounds and 1 ounce! I am a whopping.... uh, we won't go there :) Nothing has changed regarding the placement of the placenta. Dr. K still thinks the placenta is an Accreta. This basically increases my changes for a hysterectomy and blood transfusion after Charlotte is born. He has ordered an MRI to be done in two weeks. This MRI will not be done in hopes of changing anything. It is only performed to give the doctors more information about what they will need to prepare for during the c-section. I also received my first dose of steroid injections. I will have one more today and then possibly repeat in four weeks (if she is not born before then, God willing). This is done to help with the development of Charlotte's lungs. They always do this if there is a high risk of pre-term labor. We are hoping that Charlotte will make it to 36 weeks before being born. Dr. K said that if all goes well and there are no emergencies before week 36 my OB will schedule the c-section for July 28, 29, or 30. I have been placed on a modified bed-rest. I am allowed to get out of bed and move around but only 1 hour at a time. I have to stay in a reclined position when resting. For everyone who knows me this is going to be very difficult. As much as I like to go I am really going to have to work hard to stay off my feet. If only Grant and I could switch places. He wishes that someone will put him on mandatory bed-rest! I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.

Thank you to everyone for all of your prayers, meals, and words of comfort! Grant, me and Charlotte are very blessed to have so many people who care about us. Our friends are hosting a shower for us in two weeks. Stay tuned for more pictures!

Baby Shower!

I am so thankful to have such wonderful co-workers! We had a lovely baby shower at my school on Tuesday and I was really shocked at how many people showed up and brought gifts! We got so many adorable outfits and other very useful items! Thank you to everyone who came. It really means alot to work with such great people! Also, thank you to Larry and Cindy for attending as well. It meant alot to have family there! It was also nice to be able to show them where I work and to introduce some of the people that I work with. Thank you for making time to be there! Take a look at some of the pictures from the shower.

Our Baby Pics

We are looking at 25 weeks this Friday, and things are going good. Laura and Charlotte are just fine, and we are just going week by week right now. It is amazing how fast she's growing! I did a double take this weekend and just said "WOW!" looking at Laura's belly. We have two weeks before our next appointment and it will be a big one. This will be our first 3D scan. We will hopefully get a good look at what Charlotte looks like. So, this got me interested in what Laura and I looked like when we were babies. I went through the batch of pictures our parents gave us for our wedding, and found a few gems. Although, we don’t have many of Laura. I will find some more and post them later. But, here you go!

Update!

Ok, there is alot to catch everyone up on. First of all here is Charlotte's latest picture. She is getting so big! Last week she weighed exactly 1 pound. The doctor says that this is right on schedule. In the words of Dr. K "your baby is beautiful but your placenta looks like crap". Apparently, the placenta is looking more and more like an accreta. Here is the definition of an accreta: Placenta accreta is a severe obstetric complication involving an abnormally deep attachment of the placenta, through the endometrium and into the myometrium (the middle layer of the uterine wall). The doctor said that I will be put on mandatory bed rest starting at 28 weeks (4 weeks from now). Again, we are praying that there is no bleeding. If there is, then I will be put in the hospital and have to stay until the baby delivers. Our next appointment is May 24. We are having a 3-d ultrasound! I can't wait to see what she looks like.

Next, the rocker finally arrived! The room is coming together. We still need things for the walls and a rug but it's getting there!