I never took the time to write about how baby number 3 came about- so here it is. After I gave birth to the girls my doctor told me I would be very fertile so be careful. We really wanted to get pregnant as soon as possible and without medical intervention so we thought this was great. When I stopped nursing the girls and my periods returned we were ecstatic to get a positive pregnancy test in October 2013 (The girls were only 10 months old!!). Of course, the pregnancy was short lived and soon I miscarried. After that experience we were really unsure of what to do next. Trying to conceive without medical intervention seemed to not be working for us (we had miscarried in August 2010 also). We had our five embryos in Las Vegas to consider as well. As time passed we came to the conclusion that we were very content with our two children and that our family was complete. Our first decision was to donate our embryos to science. I called many research universities and no one was accepting embryos with our qualifications. Unfortunately the only other option we felt comfortable with was to thaw and discard our embryos in June 2014. Jason made an appointment to get a vasectomy in August 2014.
Literally 2 weeks before his appointment, I got a positive pregnancy test. We could not believe it. Well, I guess we could believe it. GETTING pregnant doesn't seem to be my main issue as much as STAYING pregnant. I was very nervous for our first appointment and was really thinking that worst- that there would be no heartbeat. To my surprise we found a strong heartbeat. The first trimester went by without any complications. We met with the high risk specialist to discuss whether or not I was at risk for an incompetent cervix or preterm labor again. She said that they cannot know whether or not it was the twin pregnancy that caused complications, but she believed that we could make it through this pregnancy without any issues. She agreed to monitor my cervix every two weeks and to put me on weekly progesterone shots.
My cervix appeared to be stable ranging anywhere between 2.6 and 2.8 cm. A normal cervix should measure between 3-4cm. The specialist said that this was fine, but we just had a bad feeling about it. From our past experience we knew that the cervix could go from 4 cm to .6cm in two weeks and didn't want to take any chances so I asked to be monitored weekly. At this weeks appointment the lowest measurement they took was 1.6 cm. It had decreased significantly and gestational-wise I was at the point where it was now or never. I am 22+5 weeks and they stop putting in cerclages at 24 weeks. The specialist decided to send me to Vanderbilt for overnight monitoring of contractions and to get a cerclage in the morning.
During monitoring they found that I was not having any contractions so the shortening was not due to pre-term labor. This is good because a cerclage will not help stop pre-term labor or contractions. In the morning they got me prepped for surgery. The procedure only lasted about 30 mins. I had a spinal epidural (as in a C-section, but not as dense) and some happy medications so that I wouldn't remember anything. Recovery only took a few hours and then I was sent home with instructions to take it easy for a few days. The doctor told me that I can pick up the girls, but to try not to or have them climb onto my lap. The doctors are very against bed rest and believe that it could do more harm than good. After I get a few stable ultrasounds they are going to let me resume activity as normal.
The implications of delivering a baby at this point in my pregnancy are so scary. At this point a baby would not survive and even in a week or two survival would mean a micro preemie which comes with a long road in the NICU and possibly beyond. We are praying that this cerclage does the trick and I can keep this baby cooking for at least another 3 months.
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