Hell Hath No Fury.....

So it's been a rather emotional week.

Monday I had to get blood drawn again for my antibody screen. Apparently my OB forgot to give the order to do that at the same time I did my glucose test. So, two pricks (from a needle, ha ha) and one ginormous bruise later, I am hopefully done with the blood draws. The antibody screen is to see if I need another Rhogam shot (which I am pretty sure I will need). Long story short about the shot..it's because of my blood type. If I don't get it, my body could produce antibodies to attack the baby. Like she doesn't already have enough problems to deal with.

Wednesday I called to get the results, which showed I did need the shot (surprise). I asked my OB if I could wait until Friday since I had an ultrasound in the same area that day anyway. They agreed but said I couldn't go later than Friday. So I called Triage at the hospital to make an appointment. The lady there said they don't do the shots on Friday. They only do the shots Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Well let me think...Monday is gone, Saturday is too late, so I guess I'm getting my shot today! I asked if I could make an appointment and she said I had to bring my screening results with me. Well I didn't have those, so I was supposed to pick them up at the OB's office on my way to the hospital. They said I didn't need to make an appointment and it would be a quick in and out deal. My sister came with me to help with Autumn. On the way up there, the hospital lady called me again and said I actually didn't need to stop at the OB's office for the results because the hospital could access the results through the computer. So I get to the hospital and the lady I spoke with isn't there. The lady who is there doesn't have any of my information. So I have to fill out paperwork and wait. Two and a half hours later, the details of which are too boring to recount, except for a few anecdotes, I get my shot and leave.

The few anecdotes: The bereavement counselor at the hospital was there so I got to meet her. She was nice and actually tried her best to get me taken care of --to no avail but it was really nice of her to try!
The nurse who helped deliver Autumn was the nurse who gave me my shot. She asked about the pregnancy and I told her about Carina. It's really like dropping a bomb on people and I felt bad because she got all nervous and started making mistakes on the computer. I told her it was okay and she gave me a big hug. She even said that if I wanted her to come and deliver Carina, that she would. It's been so amazing having friends of ours in the hospital who are wanting to be there for us. It's different having nurses there who are just getting a paycheck, compared to those who love you and want to be there for support. We are so blessed to have that.

Friday I had my ultrasound. For some reason, appointments were about an hour behind schedule. (on a positive note, we got to watch the 10 year anniversary show of Regis and Kelly--woo hoo.) The same tech we had two weeks ago was the tech who saw us. He sort of remembered me. I had called ahead of time to see if we could record the baby's heartbeat at this appointment and they said yes. When we got back to the ultrasound room, I told the tech that we had brought our recording devices (a few phones and the doppler from Build-a-Bear) to get the heartbeat. He said, "If it's still there."

Silence and shocked faces answered him as I shook myself from my trance and said, "Well I've been feeling her move all morning so I'm pretty sure it's still there." I tried not to sound nasty, but this guy had no idea how close he was to meeting my fist.

He then said, "You know there are signs all over that say you can't bring cell phones back here." I was already ready for him to keep making these types of comments so I quickly said, "It says no video recording, which we're not doing." And my mom followed up with, "And under the circumstances, I'm sure this is not a problem." He quickly said, "Oh, well of course." A few beats went by and he said, stupidly, "You know I don't make the rules, the doctors make the rules." To which I replied, "And I'm 100% certain that Dr. Baron (our amazingly awesome ultrasound doctor) would not have a problem with it." He said, "Oh, well I'm sure that it would be fine." He tells me to lay down and we start the ultrasound. He said he would let us know when to record. And I must say, he was very accommodating about that....after we'd let him know that three women were going to beat him to a living pulp if he said one more word about "the rules."

The appointment went fine, overall. Her arms and legs are measuring 11 weeks behind, now. My amniotic fluid levels have increased, and we could see the heart taking up nearly the entire chest cavity now. We also were able to see a small bit of lung tissue, which gives us some small hope that we will be able to have a little time with her after birth. If she had no tissue there, we would probably not have time with her alive. But because there is some there, she should be able to take some shallow breaths for a short time. We are so thankful for that!! We also noticed that a few of her ribs are curving out instead of curving in, which is just more of the bone malformation. The tech thought the bones may have been fractured, but Dr. Baron said it's hard to fracture bones when you're swimming in a giant swimming pool. (That's why she's the doctor and he's not.) Essentially, that's what's going on with Carina. Because of all the excess amniotic fluid, she's able to move and bounce around and play as much as she wants, unencumbered by the space issue. She has TONS of space! Another thing to be thankful for. She will be able to have something not many kids get to have when in utero: FUN! She won't be cramped at all! The only downside is, they need to keep that monitored as well. If it gets too high, they will either have to drain some or (depending on how far along I am) induce me. It's mainly because of the pressure on her little body, as well as my comfort level. I say, I can deal with a little discomfort for her to have another week of play time.

So we had another great talk with the doctor, got a very clear recording of Carina's heartbeat and left. Today (Saturday) we went up to Build-a-Bear and put the doppler into the bear that my dad got Carina for Christmas. I can't believe how precious it is. I've listened to it a million times already. It's so strong, too! Just reminding us that she's here and she's being brave! I can't wait to meet my little trooper.

Thanks again to everyone for your continued prayers. It's a big constant comfort.