I do want to share them, though, but I don't want to bombard everyone with 30+ weeks worth of photos in separate posts... so I'll be sharing them ALL here today. I delivered at 37 weeks, so I'll be sharing weeks 5 through 36.
The pregnancy was anything but uneventful. The first half was normal... we found out she was a girl at 16 weeks, but then at our anatomy scan at 19 weeks, we found out she only had a single umbilical artery - or a two vessel cord! That happens in less than half of one percent of pregnancies, and we had to be monitored extra closely to make sure she didn't have any heart or kidney problems (she didn't / doesn't) and that she kept growing on track (she did) because those babies can be smaller. It also increased our chance of having a stillbirth by quite a bit, so I was going to be induced around 39 weeks anyway... but then at 30 weeks, I tested positive for pre-eclampsia, so the goal was to just get me to 37 weeks.
I had twice a week BPP ultrasounds. If she failed that, I had to do an NST immediately, which happened three times. I met with my OB once per week and the midwife on staff once per week. They did a growth ultrasound every three weeks. I had to go to the lab for blood work one time each week and 24 hour urine tests every three weeks. I was on modified bed rest, which my OB referred to as "chill out rest" because he met Annabelle at appointments and knew there was no such thing as bed rest with a husband in the military. It was so insane, and we utilized a lot of hourly care at the CDC during that time so I could rest.
I was induced at 36 weeks 6 days, and she was born at 37 weeks 1 day! It was a really tough second and third trimester due to stressing over those issues, but in the end, it all worked out. I was able to labor and deliver how I wanted for the most part (I'll share her birth story soon), and Josephine was born absolutely perfect, so all the craziness was 100% worth it!
Without further adieu...
Sorry about that! But I really want these to be documented here, even if it's just for my own personal benefit. Thanks for looking... or for pleasantly skipping over this post if it's not your kinda thing!
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