To
say I was ready to not be pregnant anymore would be an understatement. A LOT has happened since my last bump-date!!
I ended up getting the surgery to remove the big kidney stone from my left
side. Surgery was successful and after a
night in the hospital, I was discharged with a stent in me. That damn stent was so uncomfortable and I
could not wait to get it removed the following week. Thankfully, after the stent was removed I
started to feel much better. I was so
happy to not be in pain, but I was still itching – and not just minor itching –
my entire body and mainly at night. Annoying! I mentioned the itching to the maternal fetal
specialist, so she had some blood drawn.
Sure enough, I was diagnosed with Cholestasis – which is a liver disease
while you’re pregnant. I was put on
antibiotics to help my acid levels and the medicine ended up working off and
on. I had to get ultrasounds, blood
work, and stress tests done weekly to make sure baby girl was doing well. She was perfect the entire time thankfully! Having cholestasis is considered high risk,
so we scheduled my C-section at 37 weeks.
Itching
continued to get worse, which was a little alarming to the doctors. On May 1st, they decided to do amniocentesis
to see how mature baby girl was. If the
fluid showed she had mature lungs, they were going to immediately deliver
me. Also, if she had meconium showing in
the fluid they would have delivered me as well.
The test came back that she was mature, but it was border line. Doctors made the decision to let her grow a
little longer in me than risk her having some breathing issues.
The
following Monday (May 5th), I went back to the doctor to have my
normal tests done and baby girls bowels showed full. Since this was a change from the last week
they were going to start monitoring me twice a week. No big deal.
The next morning (May 6th) I got a call to come in for an
ultrasound and to not eat. This was a
little alarming, so I knew to bring my packed hospital bag…just in case. The maternal fetal specialist was concerned
about her bowels being full, me still itching, and the fact that I had to pump
(and got 4 ounces) even though I was still pregnant. She made the decision to go ahead and deliver
me – even with risk of potential NICU stay.
The meconium, cholestasis, and still birth risks were higher than
keeping her inside of me any longer. We
were going to be parents of THREE little girls by the end of the day!
.JPG)
Last belly picture taken - 36 weeks
Talk about a cliff hanger!
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