Restless & Limited - Pregnancy Journey Update

 As of today, I am officially seven months pregnant! 

Although pregnancy seems to fly by quickly for the non-pregnant folks watching from the outside, it's quite the opposite for those carrying the child. 

I'd say my pregnancy has been a mental and physical challenge.

A little backstory with my pregnancy ----

I had an easy first trimester - up to around 19 weeks. At an anatomy scan, they noticed my cervix was shorter than average. I was immediately seen by the doctor the same day but just referred to a specialist for further review since this is my first pregnancy with no previous losses. 

There was a delay with the offices communicating with each other which further delayed the appointment with a high-risk doctor. During this time, I was also grieving the loss of friendships and figuring out my sudden change of shelter. 

When I finally arrived at the high-risk office, my sister and I waited for the doctor's opinion on the abnormal shortness. The doctor walked in and basically told me I would lose my child since I was already dilated at 21 weeks. My body was preparing for labor to a fetus that was not viable/developed enough. 

This moment was pretty traumatic since I had such a difficult situation with the father and just unsolicited opinions of people telling me to follow up with abortion. My sister and I were distraught in the tiny office room with my son hovering on the TV screen above us. 

Two options were given to me, (A) stay in hospital bed rest until my body decides to go into full-blown labor w/o a guarantee of the baby being saved or (B) undergoing a risky surgery known as a cerclage which can rupture the bulging amniotic sac membrane - risking the baby's life. 

At that moment, I picked to fight for my son. 

I was immediately hospitalized at UCI and the surgery was a success. In preparation for the surgery, various tests were done to test for infection but everything turned out negative thankfully because this also could have been another factor that determined the baby's life. 

Fast forward to now ----------

I've been put on bed rest since then up until we can remove the stitch around 36 weeks. 

At this point, the stitch is holding the baby up and creating a barrier with a good portion of my cervix underneath to prevent any form of dilation. But, it doesn't guarantee labor from stopping so the baby can arrive any time now. Therefore, I had some steroid shots for the baby done not too long ago for his lungs to mature just in case.

Even though all the emotional and mental work of these past few months of bed rest have taken a toll on my self-esteem. I am so grateful to have made it to seven months. The doctors are even satisfied with how the stitch is performing at this point as well. But, I also think it doesn't hurt to desire a full-term pregnancy for the sake of the baby's development.