We have a beautiful daughter Elia, who is as healthy as can be and will be 17 months old on December 6th. My pregnancy with her was textbook and we were very lucky considering she was a frozen embryo after many failed IVF cycles.
Our first appointment with the specialist went well and we were told that everything looked great. We were confident that we were progressing just as we did when we were pregnant with Elia.
On November 16th, we had another follow up appointment with the specialist and honestly had high hopes that they would tell us that we were not high risk and that we could be released back to the care of our OB. We were asked if we wanted to do an optional test where they measured the cervix to determine if preterm labor could be a concern. My husband, the comedian, made some funny remark about having a tape measure in the car and we could take care of it ourselves. Ha, ha…silly husband.
We opted to proceed with the test on top of the scheduled growth scan. The doc started with the growth scan, and everything looked great. He worked his way through his checklist and we were so relieved that everything looked good and the baby appeared to be healthy. We also found out that we are having a BOY!
At that point he decided to measure the cervix and made a comment that it appeared short. After measuring he determined that we were under the range of ‘normal’ for this point in the pregnancy. The doctor sat down, put on his serious face and told me that I would be on bed rest going forward. He asked if I worked outside of the home, because if I did, I wouldn’t be anymore. Thank goodness, I work from home or we would have been even more stressed. He then told me that I was not to pick up our daughter or lift anything—basically, I was to get home and get to bed and only leave the house for doctor appointments or if the house was on fire. Shocked, I said “But, we’re heading to the airport. We’re going to Ohio for a wedding and Thanksgiving.” And, he gave me a look and said, “Not anymore.”
We were shocked and stunned and barely able to process this information. We went home, I kicked my feet up in the recliner and realized that my life as I knew it was going to be very different for the next few months. I then had a pity party (table for one)—and then I got over it. It was then that I realized that, this is our reality and I have so much to be thankful for.
We'll be monitored every week with a sonogram to measure my cervix to make sure that it’s not decreasing. If it does, then I’ll be admitted into the hospital for the rest of my pregnancy. We had our first follow up today and everything looked the same which means that I'll still be on bed rest but I get to spend Thanksgiving with my family and not in the hospital and that makes me very, very happy. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’d like to share what I’m thankful for and why I feel we are so dang lucky.
I’m thankful...
- For my wonderful husband who has jumped right in and taken over so that I can rest.
- For our amazing daughter who, even though she doesn’t understand, has been so resilient and has rolled with the punches.
- For our healthy baby boy for hanging in there even though he’s anxious to be reunited with his sister.
- For our amazing family who have all offered to do whatever we need to make it through the rest of the pregnancy.
- For my incredible boss and co-workers who have offered words of encouragement and have offered to help however they can.
- For our doctors and their support staff for keeping us informed and erring on the side of over-cautious to make sure that we keep the little man in there for as long as possible.
- For my body, because even though we have struggled with every aspect of conception, pregnancy, delivery, and recovery that it’s allowing us to have another child.
- For each and every day that our baby boy is growing inside of me and that takes us one day closer to our due date.
Team Ibrahim Wishes You, and
Yours, a Wonderful Thanksgiving!
