{SURPRISE!!!}

On May 24th we met my new baby doctor. 
An OB/GYN. **GASP**

In the beginning of this pregnancy i had alot of anxiety and stress over being seen by an OB/GYN. I feel as though they tend to over manage care and that they would take one look at me and make me an automatic C/Section. I also despised they way they treated Kreg the whole time, like a bystander who had no voice.  

I had/have ALOT of trauma from the care i received from the OB/GYN who treated me during and after my pregnancy with Klaire. 
I also went through some very scary situations in our infertility journey because of neglectful care form several other OB/Gyn's. So as you can tell, my level of trust is very low and would rather see another kind of care provider.lol 
But due to me having a prior C/Sections medical professionals are gun shy to provide me care. They have no hesitations performing the medical procedures that gave me this red mark, but when it comes time to deal with me again no one wants to take me on. 

My options were/are limited because of my prior C/Section status. 
I could risk it with an OB/Gyn and deal with the possibility of spotty care and having to change care providers a few times. But be in a birth environment that Kreg would feel most comfortable in.
Or see a home birth midwife but pay out of pocket. And also have Kreg stressing out over the what ifs and the perceived risk of a home birth. But *I* would be in my comfort zone.
Or i could see a CNM and get the best and worst of both worlds.



I started off seeing a phenomenal CNM. I cant speak highly enough about her, she is an angel. Very comforting, non evasive, listens well, is gentle, and willing to work with me. But, when the birth was brought up she softly told me her insurance wont allow her to do VBAC's (Vaginal Birth After C/Section). 
My heart sank. 
So, after a long talk and Kreg and i trying to plan out backup plans and what not we found our current OB/Gyn.

In our appointment she was very upfront about her and i working together to make sure i am safe, and the baby is safe, but her and i doing all that we can to VBAC this baby. She is very into doing what i can now to set myself up for success later. She is very supportive of keeping my blood sugars low, my blood pressure low, and not spilling protein. Shes pretty awesome so far! She is also pretty supportive of letting the baby go for as long as it needs to as long as things look good, its a relief that she is OK with me going over my dates.


Her VBAC rate is high, one of the highest in our area which is awesome! Her C/Section rate is pretty dang low which is amazing! And she is on board with sitting back, letting my body just do its thing in a low intervention and low stress environment.
She was so kind and respectful of Kreg as well, which scored huge points with us both. 


So far, she seems to be the right fit for me, for us. 

So she measured me, did some blood work, we talked alot, and all that fun stuff.
As of May 24th here are my stats:

Weight: 273 lbs. So, starting out this pregnancy i was at 272, by April 27th i was at 276. But between April 27th and May 24th i had lost 3 lbs. I was more concerned than she was though. Like i said, my goal is to gain as little as possible to help reduce side effects for me and the babe. So overall, i had only gained 1 lb.lol
Blood Pressure: 100/60 WOOHOOO! Low is great!

Urine: Clear! No protein.
Baby's heartbeat: In the 150's again. This babe likes to hide and be difficult! It always takes a long time to find the heartbeat which scares the holy shit out of me.

I also had blood work done on my thyroid and my CBC done. Everything looks fairly good for now. WHEW!

I was supposed to have my glucose test done as well, but i refused to have it done. The nurses were more upset over me refusing that my OB/Gyn was.lol But really, whats the point of me doing it?! My pancreas SUCKS ASS and i know im going to fail it. Its more effective for me to just track what i eat and monitor myself. She laughed when i told her how stupid i think that test is, she pretty much agreed with me.

I was scheduled 2 weeks out so i could go back and have my blood sugar log looked at. I have to keep my fasting below 90 mg and after eating below 140. However, i like to keep my eating blood sugar below 120, that's my goal each time.

I was also scheduled for Maternal Fetal Medicine appt. This is considered "THE BIG ULTRASOUND!". Its supposed to be the gender finding ultrasound, they look closely at the heart, the facial structures, the spine, the bladder, the pelvis, the leg and arm bones, and so on. They make sure your dates are right and that baby is growing as it should be.
Well, i was going to refuse this procedure as well. I felt because of how closely i was monitored before that i didn't really need to have it done.

But. I'm glad we did it.

And here's why......

We got started and we were looking for the gender. 

The lady asks "So, do you know what your having?" 

My response was "Of course! They told us in March AND April that it was for certain a GIRL!! It was pretty obvious too!". 

Well she got seriously quiet and i was a little wierded out by it. 

Then she said "Are you sure?", well lady, yes im sure! The doctor says "Its a girl!" then you assume he's right and it really is a girl!.lol 

Well, i started looking closer at the screen and noticed THERE WAS A PENIS! 

I said "Oh, is that the lady before me? Is that her image of her son?". She says "oh no sweetie! THAT'S YOURS! Your HAVING A BOY!!!"  

I asked about 15 times if she was sure and her response was "Oh honey, i dont kid about these things!". 

***THUD***as i nearly fell off the bed.

My response then goes to "WAIT! NO! WHAT??!!! WAIT!!!!!! OH NO!!!" In a really panicked holy shit kind of tone.
Not a week or two prior all of baby sisters clothes and junk was purchased!lol 

So as i slowly pick myself up off the floor we started looking at everything else.

Spine is perfect.

Leg bones are a little long for gestation, but not worrisome, Little Brother will just be tall like his sister.

Arm bones are perfect.

Good movement.

Placenta is nice and high away from my prior C/Section scare, but its still anterior so it absorbs alot of the sensations of his movements.

Good amount of amniotic fluid.

Facial structures look formed and great.

Kidneys are beautiful.

stomach is nice and healthy.

Pelvis is looking formed and healthy.

And then the heart. The valves and blood flow look great, they are all moving and flowing as they should be. There's no extra pieces or missing pieces. Just a little on the small side for his gestation, he was only behind by about 3-5 or so days at that point.

So then they look at the umbilical cord.

Some to find out, baby should have 2 arteries and 1 vessel in a healthy cord. Little dude has whats called a SUA (Single Umbilical Artery). So he only has 1 artery and 1 vessel. 

So the amount of blood, oxygen, and food that's getting to him is cut by half. It can affect the size of the heart (hence, why his little heart looked a little smallish), low birth weight, premature birth, and other things.

This issue can either be chromosomal, genetic, or caused by Diabetes. Its also correlated with Downs and a few other issues, but he has no markers for any of those things. 

So we are betting that its from my diabetic status. It is an "issue" that needs close monitoring but out of all the "issues" to have its not a very severe one to have. 

There's nothing that can be done to prevent it or to make it better. It just gives me the drive to take better care of myself so i can better care for him. 

I remember Klaire's umbilical cord being freakishly small too. But no one really paid much attention to my concern. And 10 years ago they didn't screen for this issue. So there's a very high likely hood she had it as well. She had alot of the other side effects after her birth as well. Its just interesting how she may have had it too and is just perfect. 

I go back in July so we can have another peek at him and to check the progress of his growth and heart.

I have faith we will be OK though. We have survived 9 years of infertility. We can and will get through this!

Kreg and Klaire are over the moon to have a boy in the family!lol Kreg was at work when i had the scan done and he got told over the phone. He was in a state of shock for the rest of the day. I had a DVD made and we watched it that night trying to get a good view of his junk so we could double check to make sure he was still a boy.

Klaire is excited to have a little brother. She is getting more and more excited about him and loves to sit and have her hand on my tummy. She LOVES to pick out cute boy things for him. 

We are in such a good place right now. 

Things feel wonderful.

Klaire is beautiful, amazing, intelligent, fun, sassy, and my little pal. She challenges me each day and i delight in her love and affection. My world is so much happier and brighter with her in it. I'm so thankful to be her mom. 

Kreg is doing PHENOMENAL!He is kicking ass at work. He is rocking at life and most everything else he does. And im not just saying that! This journey he/we have been on for a while now has been so extremely hard for both of us, but at the same time so enriching and full of multiple blessings. I am so thankful i have him and that he is who he is today. He is tackling what life gives him and doing it so well. I applaud and admire him greatly for what he is doing in his life. Its not been an easy process.

I wish i could share more about what im talking about, but its been his journey and its his story to tell. With time, it will be made known. Its up to him though and i greatly respect and honor that. 

I feel like people today get so caught up in drama, poor pity me, attention seeking behavior, and other negative things. I dont want that for me and my family. Positivity is a good place to be, its healthy, its satisfying, its peaceful. Its a choice as well. I think we should each take more time each day to look around and to be thankful for what we do have, no matter how simple it may be.