Meet William...

.... maybe!

Tuesday morning dawned bright and clear and Joshua and I headed out for a check up, blood work and ultrasound, little realizing what lay ahead.

Just in case any of you are wondering, the ultrasound was not to determine the gender. Last time, we had a 4-d ultrasound and were told "It's definitely a boy." Three months later, a lovely little daughter arrived to a home full of blue clothes, baby boy toys and William for a name. We finally uncovered one outfit that wasn't completely blue or covered with "sweet baby boy"--a rather boyish yellow sleeper with a green giraffe on front. We learned from our mistake! ;) The purpose of this ultrasound was solely to make sure that the baby was doing well (and so we can see the baby, of course!). It's too early to tell anyway.

From the day that we found out we were expecting again, my desire was to use the amazing midwife that delivered Rosalind, only this time in a birth clinic with a well-qualified OB present and immediate hospital back-up available. Even though we had unexpected complications with Rosalind, the likelihood of a re-occurrence is low and with a well-laid back up plan in place, this option seemed safe and the doctor and midwife graciously agreed.

So we headed up to the clinic for a check-up. After preliminary prenatal work, we were ready for the ultrasound. The moment the wand touched my stomach, a beautifully clear image appeared on the screen. I was taken back by how darling and well-formed the baby already appeared. Even the tiny fingers were clearly visible.

I was just getting ready to inform the doctor that even if he could tell, we really didn't want a guess as to the gender, but as he tried to determine an exact due date, he got a shot that convinced all of us (even me!) that it’s a boy…even though it’s supposedly too early to tell.

[Though I will refer to the baby as "he" until I found out differently, I'm not setting too much faith in it--but at least we have plenty of pink and blue this time. ;)]

"William's" profile

A few minutes later, the doctor stood back and said, "I have good news and bad news. Good news is you have a healthy son. Bad news, your placenta is exactly where it should not be. If you needed further confirmation that God wanted you here in law school and not in rural China right now, I think this is it. Rather than sitting high, your placenta is partially covering the cervix and, more importantly, directly across from your bladder. With your previous placenta accreta, this is very serious and could even lead to a percreta. I will refer you to a specialist who will be able to give you more information, but know that you may be as high risk as they come and expect a hysterectomy and you might not even make it…oh, and you will be having this baby in a high risk hospital in a big city. ” (paraphrased, of course, but how I took it)

Even in the midst of the tears that followed, we were so grateful to know that "William" was healthy. Our biggest concern before the ultrasound was that due to the embolization I had performed after Rosalind, he might not being receiving enough blood flow and nutrients, but still this new development was hard to submit to and it was a while before I finally regained my composure.

The doctor referred us to a Maternal Fetal Specialist for a follow-up appointment the next morning.

The consultation both confirmed and alleviated our fears: at this time the placenta has not grown into the wall of the uterus, but most accretas do not occur until further into the pregnancy. Therefore I will need to be under the care of a MFS with ultrasounds and perhaps an MRI in pregnancy to monitor possible complications. After explaining my history and expressing our desire to preserve the uterus if possible by having another embolization he said that he would recommend a vaginal birth with a radiologist ready to perform surgery unless the situation has become very serious. A C-section would heighten the risk of a hysterectomy.

Another factor that we had not considered was the possibility of blood contamination. Because I received so much blood last time, I will need to have thorough tests run to eliminate any possible problems that may arise from donor’s blood.

He concluded by telling us again that this is a pregnancy for high risk doctors in a high risk hospital.

...so this is where things stand at this point. We would greatly appreciate your prayers for "William" and for me. Though things have certainly not turned out the way we'd hoped or planned, we know that God is in control are grateful to know so early on so we can take proper precautions.