March for Babies - Team Mason!

On Saturday we participated in the March of Dimes, March for Babies walk on Hines Drive in Livonia. We walked with Team Mason, our little buddy Mason who was born with severe right sided CDH but who is doing great now! It was a gorgeous day and we all had a great time. They had entertainment and lots of refreshments (and bathrooms, which was GREAT for me!) along the way.

We all completed the 6 mile walk, even big old me, in the 80 degree heat:) I did get a little burned but I put enough SPF 70 for 10 people on Austin so he was good to go! Austin did such a great job on the walk, he even walked/ran about 1/2 mile by himself because he wanted to be a big boy. We want to thank everyone who supported our walk and donated to such a great cause. We hope to make this an annual event for our family in support of Team Mason and the March of Dimes.

Up On My Soap Box

Austin checking out the animals at the petting zoo during the YMCA's
Healthy Kids Day over the weekend

I feel like since we have informed friends and family of our scheduled c-section that from a large majority of family we have not received much support or understanding in our decision. I wanted to take some time to again explain how we came to the decision for a scheduled c-section, which was not something we took lightly or decided on as soon as we found out we were pregnant. We actually didn't tell our doctor our decision until we were 28 weeks pregnant, we are now 31 weeks.

This is a highly personal decision that we discussed with all 3 of the doctors in our OB/GYN practice and all 3 gave us the same response, you can try for a VBAC and we will support your decision, but in all likelihood because your first labor was so long without progressing and with the use of a lot of pitocin, it is highly possible that your body lacks the certain protein or enzyme (I can't remember which it was) that allows your cervix to open. And you will end up having to have another c-section anyway. Also, if we go past our due date they will have to do a c-section because they will not induce labor once you've had a c-section as a result of the risks associated with an induction on prior c-section patients. I did not want to have to go through what we went through last time, 24 hours of exhausting labor, being giving the highest amount of pitocin possible making my contractions 15 minutes long with only seconds in between each one without taking pain medication because I wanted a natural birth, dilating to only a 2, and then being told I had to have major abdominal surgery.

But that is not the main reason we decided on a c-section. There are risks associated with a VBAC that I do not feel comfortable with. Up to 40% of women who attempt a VBAC end up in dystocia (stalled labor) or fetal distress, resulting in a c-section. But the biggest factor to me is the risk of a uterine rupture from my c-section scar. If my uterus ruptured during the VBAC Connor could be deprived of oxygen which can lead to brain damage or because of the way the uterus ruptures, I may need a full hysterectomy and would not be able to have any future children. In the worst case scenario a uterine rupture can lead to the death of both the baby and the mother. 1 in 192 women who went into labor and tried a VBAC had a uterine rupture; 1 in 129 who had induced labor w/o pictocin and tried a VBAC had a uterine rupture. In these cases when the uterus ruptured 1 in 18 babies died. There are risks associated with a c-section too, Connor could have lung issues because of the fluid not being pressed out as it is in a vaginal birth, clots can form in my legs, etc. But for us a c-section is the decision we feel most comfortable with.

I realize that many people attempt a successful VBAC, in fact our good friends Rosie and Travis just had a beautiful baby girl having a VBAC with no complications. But it is a decision everyone has to make for themselves. I hope that people will respect our decision because our only goal is to have a healthy baby and not dwell on the way in which he came into this world but to be happy that he is here and he is healthy.

Sick Little Man

Austin at the local Easter Egg Hunt last weekend

What a week! On Monday night Austin all of the sudden got really ill. Vomiting, temp of 103.5....the works. Tuesday he was so lethargic and barely moving, his temp wouldn't break and his throat started swelling and coughing started, not to mention he was still throwing up. Wednesday morning we took him into the doctor and he seemed to think Austin had croup, though I don't know if I agree with that, especially since you don't get high temps and vomiting with croup, it's mostly a barking cough. But he did give Austin an oral steroid to take to help his throat. Finally Wednesday night his temp broke and the throwing up stopped. But then came all the regular cold symptoms....watery eyes, sneezing, coughing, etc. He was still so out of it and he lost over 1 lb because he refused to eat anything. After making sure it was ok to give him benedryl with the steroid medication his cold symptoms started improving and by Friday he was eating!!!!! Today is the first day he has been up and moving around since Monday! What a rough week he has had, I felt so bad because there was not much we could do to help him besides cuddling him and watching his favorite movie (mighty machines) over and over and over and over again. Allen and I have been trading on and off today sterilizing all of Austin's toys and cleaning the house, hopefully the nice weather keeps up since we missed a lot of great outside play time this week.

Allen had a phone interview last week with an engineering company in Saginaw but they didn't call for a second interview. They told him that while they had a great interview with him, their talent pool was so vast and varied. Basically they could pick the best of the best and pay them whatever because everyone and their mother is looking for a job. He went to a job fair for the Border Patrol and FBI last week too and there are some possibilities there so we'll keep our fingers crossed.

We are now into our 3rd trimester and almost 30 weeks pregnant! We decided to have a c-section again. After talking with several of the doctors in our OB/GYN office they all gave us the same advice. Because I labored so long in my first pregnancy without progressing, they believe my body may be lacking the enzyme that naturally makes your body expand and it is likely the same thing will happen with this pregnancy if we try a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section). There are risks associated with both a VBAC and C-section but I would rather not labor for 24 hours again only to be told I have to have a C-section anyway. Some of the biggest cons of a C-section in my view are that I cannot hold my baby right away, I have to go to a recovery room for 1-2 hours first and then I can hold and kiss my baby. Last time I was in there for 2 hours because I had an allergic reaction to the morphine. The other con is that you have to recover from major abdominal surgery. And this time it will be even harder because I will have a toddler who wants me to run after him and chase him around. It's all worth it in the end when I have 2 healthy little boys, 3 if you count Allen ... and I do!