It has been awhile since I did a monthly update for Nick, so here is a quick summary of how my little guy is doing at eight months old (six months adjusted), along with an update on some advocacy work I've been doing:
Weight:
At the doctor this week, Nick weighed just over 19 pounds. Between his chubby cheeks and all the rolls in his thighs, he reminds me a lot of the Michelin man these days :) He wears size three diapers and 9 month clothing.
Eating:
As hard as it is to believe given how chunky he is, Nick is struggling a bit with eating solid food. I probably introduced solids too early, since he is only now six months old based on his adjusted age, but he has been eating solids for about two months now and still struggles with eating from a spoon. When I place the spoon in his mouth, he will push the spoon out with his tongue, and then suck the food from the spoon like it's his bottle. I remember my other children doing the same thing with their tongue the first two or three times they ate from a spoon when I fed them solids, but Nick is still having a hard time getting used to the spoon two months later. I know Nick is getting all the nutrients he needs from his formula, so I'm not pressing solids too hard. He drinks 6 ounces of his formula every three hours or so, and I give him one serving of pureed fruit and vegetables a day.
Milestones:
Nick's first tooth came in this month! He has gotten good at rolling both ways, and likes to roll across the room and find things to chew on. I am getting better at accepting that Nick will reach his milestones when he is ready, and, even though it's hard not to compare him to my older children, who always hit their developmental milestones ahead of schedule, I am doing a better job of remembering that Nick will start sitting up and crawling with time. It does worry me that he doesn't babble at all (and by that I mean no "mamas" or "dadas,") and it's hard to imagine him ever doing so. But, I remember a few months ago when I couldn't imagine him smiling, and he smiles whenever he sees me now, so I know it will come with time.
Coming Up:
I am so excited to celebrate Nick's first Halloween and take him to the pumpkin patch and trick-or-treating…especially because all of his candy goes to me :) Between now and Christmas, we will have a lot of "anniversaries" to relive, which will be emotional, but I also have the opportunity to do a lot of advocacy work over the next few weeks.
Advocacy Work:
Through my fellowship with the March of Dimes, I had the chance to help launch of the Blanket Change campaign this past week to draw attention to the maternal mortality crisis in the US. Also, November is Prematurity Awareness Month, and I have the opportunity to participate in my state's Signature Chef Auction and dinner. Even though a lot of my work just involves sharing information on social media, it's empowering to do so and I become more and more passionate about maternal and child health every day.
High Risk Hope Indianapolis:
As I have shared on my blog and Instagram account before, for months now, I have been trying to find a way to support women in my community with a child in the NICU. Over the summer, I discovered the amazing nonprofit, High Risk Hope, which is based in Tampa but is active in hospital across the country. High Risk Hope provides Bed Rest Baskets for women on hospital bed rest that include different self-care items that a mom stuck in the hospital might need, like chapstick and a pedicure set, and NICU Napsacks for new moms with a baby in the NICU. The napsacks include a story book, milestone cards for pictures, etc. The point of HRH is simple: brighten a mom's day and let her know she isn't alone when going through a difficult and lonely time. I am so excited to be starting a branch of HRH in my hospital in Indianapolis. I plan to find different and more exciting ways to fundraise, but on Friday I started a Facebook fundraising page to introduce HRH Indianapolis to my friends and family, and we already raised $500. I am so excited and happy to bring this amazing program to my hospital, and to help women from my hometown going through something similar to me.
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Friday, October 5, 2018
One Year Later
One year ago today, on Friday, October 6th, I experienced my first big bleed and the start of all my pregnancy complications. I was 11 weeks +5 days pregnant with Mr. Nick, and was having nasty first trimester side effects (lots of fatigue, LOTS of nausea, and a horrible aversion to coffee that would make me throw up on the spot if I smelled it brewing.)It had been an extra long week at school: I had parent/teacher conferences Wednesday and Thursday night after a full days of teaching, and it was also the week before fall break, so my third graders were extra rambunctious. By Friday night, I was ready to sit on the couch, in my yoga pants, with my feet up, and spend the following week resting and hopefully starting to feel a bit better.
I was doing just that-sitting on the couch in my yoga pants-and talking to my mom on the phone when I felt a pop-pop-pop in my lower left side, near where my ovaries are. It wasn't painful, like it would be in the future, and I didn't think anything of it until I felt a big WOOSH of blood. It was enough to bleed through my pants and onto my couch (though it stopped right away, and was more like a big gush than a continuous bleed.)
This was the first time I think my brain seemed to sense that something terrible might be happening, and I immediately went into survival mode. I calmly went upstairs to my room, changed pants, cleaned myself off, and called the after hours hotline at my OB's office. I remember explaining to the nurse that I suddenly lost a lot of blood, and she said it "could be nothing, but it also could be something," and that I needed to come to the Emergency Room right away.
While all this was going on, Cory was putting our then four-year-old and one-year-old to bed. I remember telling him that we needed to go to the hospital because I was having a miscarriage, so we called my parents to come to our house so we could drive to the ER together. As we drove to the hospital, I remember being so sure I was losing Nick. What else would cause so much bleeding? It still gives me chills to think about how I prayed that God would spare my baby anyways, and I remember thinking to myself how I would explain a miscarriage to Annabelle. Even though I was only 11 weeks pregnant, Nick was very real to Annabelle and already very much a part of our family.
When we got to the ER, I remember whispering to the lady at the front desk that I was 11 weeks pregnant and had started bleeding (because I was still in the first trimester, I would stay at the ER, while in the future I would be sent to Labor and Delivery.) I was taken back to ER, and all my vital signs and health information was taken. Next, a nurse came with a portable ultrasound machine. She explained that she was an ER nurse-not a labor and delivery nurse-and the point of the ultrasound was just to confirm a heartbeat. I remember bracing myself as the ultrasound began, and was stunned when it revealed a perfectly healthy 11-week-old fetus. Nick was totally fine. A second nurse then did a cervical exam to check for dilation (which would have been another sign of a miscarriage,)but that too was normal. An OB then came to talk with us, who explained that sometimes during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester, women will have bleeding, but it doesn't necessarily mean anything. I remember thinking there was no way she was right, and that there had to be a reason I had suddenly bled so much. I was allowed to leave the hospital, and was told to call my physician on Monday to see if he would want to see me. When I called the following Monday, the receptionist said my OB didn't need to see me unless the bleeding continued, or if I experienced any cramping. Since the big gush of blood Friday night, I hadn't had any other bleeding, so everyone assumed it was a one time thing.
About a week later, I passed a blood clot that was about the size of a grape. After this, I had a more thorough ultrasound and a consultation with my primary obstetrician. This ultrasound revealed the pesky Subchorionic Hematoma that would cause so many problems throughout the next four months. At this time, my doctor didn't think anything of it. He explained that SCH's are relatively normal (according to my Google research, it is the most common cause of bleeding in the first trimester,) and they normally heal on their own, and are gone by the 20 week ultrasound. Usually. But, since SCH's do slightly increase the risk of miscarriage, my doctor recommended pelvic rest (no exercise, no heavy lifting, no sex, etc) until the 20 week ultrasound.
I still don't fully understand the link between the SCH and the placental abruption that would cause Nick's premature birth (which is so weird since it's had such a huge impact on my life,) but, over the course of the next four months, I would be admitted to the hospital five times, spend 11 weeks on bed rest, have 15 total ultrasounds, and make eight more separate trips to the hospital. It's hard to believe it has been a year since all of this started, and it's even harder to accept how different our lives could be if I had bled just a little bit more. It's definitely an emotional day, and I think I will spend some extra time cuddling my lucky little boy today.
I was doing just that-sitting on the couch in my yoga pants-and talking to my mom on the phone when I felt a pop-pop-pop in my lower left side, near where my ovaries are. It wasn't painful, like it would be in the future, and I didn't think anything of it until I felt a big WOOSH of blood. It was enough to bleed through my pants and onto my couch (though it stopped right away, and was more like a big gush than a continuous bleed.)
This was the first time I think my brain seemed to sense that something terrible might be happening, and I immediately went into survival mode. I calmly went upstairs to my room, changed pants, cleaned myself off, and called the after hours hotline at my OB's office. I remember explaining to the nurse that I suddenly lost a lot of blood, and she said it "could be nothing, but it also could be something," and that I needed to come to the Emergency Room right away.
While all this was going on, Cory was putting our then four-year-old and one-year-old to bed. I remember telling him that we needed to go to the hospital because I was having a miscarriage, so we called my parents to come to our house so we could drive to the ER together. As we drove to the hospital, I remember being so sure I was losing Nick. What else would cause so much bleeding? It still gives me chills to think about how I prayed that God would spare my baby anyways, and I remember thinking to myself how I would explain a miscarriage to Annabelle. Even though I was only 11 weeks pregnant, Nick was very real to Annabelle and already very much a part of our family.
When we got to the ER, I remember whispering to the lady at the front desk that I was 11 weeks pregnant and had started bleeding (because I was still in the first trimester, I would stay at the ER, while in the future I would be sent to Labor and Delivery.) I was taken back to ER, and all my vital signs and health information was taken. Next, a nurse came with a portable ultrasound machine. She explained that she was an ER nurse-not a labor and delivery nurse-and the point of the ultrasound was just to confirm a heartbeat. I remember bracing myself as the ultrasound began, and was stunned when it revealed a perfectly healthy 11-week-old fetus. Nick was totally fine. A second nurse then did a cervical exam to check for dilation (which would have been another sign of a miscarriage,)but that too was normal. An OB then came to talk with us, who explained that sometimes during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester, women will have bleeding, but it doesn't necessarily mean anything. I remember thinking there was no way she was right, and that there had to be a reason I had suddenly bled so much. I was allowed to leave the hospital, and was told to call my physician on Monday to see if he would want to see me. When I called the following Monday, the receptionist said my OB didn't need to see me unless the bleeding continued, or if I experienced any cramping. Since the big gush of blood Friday night, I hadn't had any other bleeding, so everyone assumed it was a one time thing.
About a week later, I passed a blood clot that was about the size of a grape. After this, I had a more thorough ultrasound and a consultation with my primary obstetrician. This ultrasound revealed the pesky Subchorionic Hematoma that would cause so many problems throughout the next four months. At this time, my doctor didn't think anything of it. He explained that SCH's are relatively normal (according to my Google research, it is the most common cause of bleeding in the first trimester,) and they normally heal on their own, and are gone by the 20 week ultrasound. Usually. But, since SCH's do slightly increase the risk of miscarriage, my doctor recommended pelvic rest (no exercise, no heavy lifting, no sex, etc) until the 20 week ultrasound.
I still don't fully understand the link between the SCH and the placental abruption that would cause Nick's premature birth (which is so weird since it's had such a huge impact on my life,) but, over the course of the next four months, I would be admitted to the hospital five times, spend 11 weeks on bed rest, have 15 total ultrasounds, and make eight more separate trips to the hospital. It's hard to believe it has been a year since all of this started, and it's even harder to accept how different our lives could be if I had bled just a little bit more. It's definitely an emotional day, and I think I will spend some extra time cuddling my lucky little boy today.
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