The next adventure; we’re having a baby!

“Squash what’s the next adventure?”.  Lately, I’ve been vague with my answer.  It’s fairly standard to wait 3 months before telling people that you’re expecting a baby.  We’ve waited a bit longer than that.

We’re having a baby

It’s good to finally share the news and talk about what I suspect will be the biggest adventure of our lives!

Our baby girl
Our baby girl!

 

I’m actually a little over 5 months but complications mean that my pregnancy is high risk so we’ve been dealing with that and I was also very nervous about making the announcement knowing the risks we are facing.  This is one of the most personal blogs I’ve ever written, I’m sharing it for several reasons; I want to be honest about what’s going on, it might help other pregnant women and families who are in similar situations and someone might be able to share their thoughts/experiences/advice and help us.

Complications early on

In the early weeks of my pregnancy I got a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) you can read my blog about that here.  I really wasn’t a candidate for a DVT; I’m healthy, active, there’s no family history and I don’t smoke or drink!  However, pregnant women are 10 times more likely to get a DVT than a non-pregnant woman (this is due to blood thickening during pregnancy) so I was just unlucky.  I will be injecting everyday with blood thinners until a few weeks after she’s born.  Getting my head around giving myself a daily injection hasn’t been easy!  However, the consultant said that I should make a good recovery.  Running would have to wait until after the baby was born, but being active for the rest of my pregnancy was a good idea.

A gentle hike I did a few weeks ago
A gentle hike I did a few weeks ago – you can see my bump in this pic!

More Complications

A few years ago I had abnormal results from a routine smear test, I was given a colposcopy, a biopsy was taken from my cervix and the abnormal cells were removed.  This is a common procedure.  Unbeknown to me at the time a note was put in my file that said I had a short cervix and any pregnancies would need to be consultancy lead.  I had to have an internal scan to check out my cervix.  I had no idea about this or that a cervix had a “length”.  For those who had no idea like me, I’ll hand over to google.

“Cervical length refers to the length of the lower end of your uterus during pregnancy, the length of the cervix might shorten too soon, increasing the risk of preterm labour and premature birth. Normal cervical length is 4 to 5 cm when not pregnant. One study found that at 24 weeks gestation, the average cervical length is 3.5 cm. When cervical length is less than 2.2 cm, women face a 20 percent probability of preterm delivery.

An incompetent cervix

A short cervix is referred to as an incompetent cervix, not the nicest name!  I had 3.5cm and I was booked in for regular scans to monitor the situation.  I thought things were going well, I was given the go ahead for a short trip to Italy and then the ok for a trip to France, to come back to Tignes for a couple of weeks.  My consultant said things were getting slightly worse, but were still ok.  (There are treatments available, the most common being a cerclage, basically a stitch that is put in to hold your cervix closed, however, this isn’t always done and there can be complications with it).  I saw a consultant here in France for a scan.  In 1 week I had lost 1cm so at 20wks pregnant had just 1.7cm.  The consultant said, “no travel, you must stay here close to the hospital, stop everything you are doing and take it really easy, you are very high risk now for a miscarriage or preterm labour”.

Shocked & upset

This was just over two weeks ago and trust me, not the words any pregnant woman wants to hear.  However, with comfort, reassurance and good advice I have a better idea of what I need to do, or rather not do!

People of course think that I’ll struggle to do so little. But all I care about is the baby and what’s best for her.  Although it’s not nice losing all fitness and missing my daily fix I can handle that no problem if it means our little girl stands more chance of staying in longer.

Telling the world

One of the loveliest things about being pregnant is telling family and friends.  I want to share our journey online, the good days and the bad.  After my last appointment I was nervous to share the news online because I’m so worried about what might happen.  My boyfriend, Jerry, who’s been amazing, said he thought it was about time we told everyone and he had an idea for a photo.  He’s loves motorbikes too!

Jerry, me & the bump!
Jerry, me & the bump!

 

 

 

 

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