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Wednesday, April 7, 2010

A hodge podge of happenings around here

So much has happened since I last blogged. My heart is healing, albeit very slowly. We have answers now as to what happened with our precious daughter and why we lost her.

The autopsy revealed a congenital heart defect called ventricular septal defect. It was greater than 50% of the septal wall, which is huge in the medical world's eye. We searched for reasons why this defect would have occurred and found out that she was genetically perfect, but further testing on me revealed a couple of things. I have 2 blood clotting disorders that I had no idea I even had. One is called MTHFR for short, or methylenetetrahydrofolate for long. Haha. The other is lupus anticoagulant. The MTHFR causes 2 things. It causes me not to metabolize folic acid like a normal person, which not only leaves me deficient, but also is detrimental to a growing fetus. It also causes blood clots. I am on a prescription type of folic acid called Metanx, and also baby aspirin and an injectable blood thinner called Lovenox every day. The blood clotting more than likely caused placental issues and inefficiencies during the pregnancy. The lack of folic acid likely played a part in the hole left in Rachel's heart, so hopefully the Metanx will protect the baby I'm carrying now.

Yes, I'm pregnant again, thanks to my great fertility doctor Gayla Harris. We got pregnant on the 3rd month of trying with Bravelle injections and IUI. It has been a very scary road so far. My nerves are absolutely frayed on a daily basis, but I'm dealing the best I can. I'm trying to remain positive for this baby. We have affectionately named this little miracle Skittle. I am currently almost 13 weeks pregnant, and due October 15th 2010. So far, baby is checking out fine on all ultrasounds, but I am being followed closely with weekly OB appointments and ultrasounds. My OB is very cautious and is doing everything he can possibly do to make sure this little one arrives safely and alive. I will have a fetal echocardiogram around 20 weeks to take a good close look at the heart and placenta, since these things were the cause of Rachel's demise. I'm praying that comes back good so I can finally relax just a little bit during this pregnancy. It's been a stressful roller coaster but we are thankful for each day with this day and pray all goes well this time. Here are a few pictures of our newest little baby.

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