Questions From Readers about the Cerclage

I have gotten a lot of questions since being featured on the Faces of Loss site. Some I will not answer yet because I haven't gotten to that point in the story, but today I am focusing on the cerclage so I can answer them.

What kind of cerclage did you have?

I had the double McDonald stitch. It was done by a perinatologist at 15 weeks. I had an epidural for the procedure.

Did the cerclage hurt?

The actual procedure did not hurt. The epidural did, but it was bearable. The procedure is uncomfortable, but mostly for the fears that go along with it.

Were you worried about the risks of the cerclage?

I was terrified. There is a risk of infection and a risk of them breaking your water during the procedure and the pregnancy ending right there. However, to go without the cerclage meant certain death for my babies so there was really no choice.

Who was your OB/GYN and would you recommend them?

I had a fabulous OB who took my case very seriously seeing me every week through the first and second trimester. I do not want to post his name on here because it reveals where I live to the internet world, but if you send me a message with your e-mail I will send it to you.

Was there any pain after the procedure?

The was some cramping and occasional sharp pains, nothing too bad though.

How about pain long term after the removal?

I did have sharp pains afterwards that continued until my hysterectomy. The were mainly sharp stabbing pains if I sat wrong, or during intimate times. I think maybe it was from scar tissue. Because they took my cervix as well during the hysterectomy there is no more pain.

Do you think bedrest was necessary?

I 100% think it was! I was dilated to the stitch at 22 weeks with funneling when they applied pressure to my abdomen. Funneling is where the cervix tries to open up when pressure is place. Bedrest took a lot of pressure off of my stitch and my cervix. Although it was miserable, I truly believe it saved my babies.

That is all for this round, if you have further questions about anything feel free to send them to me and I will try to get them answered in future blog posts. Have a great weekend!

Chocolate Makes It All Better

Hello my faithful friends. I am sorry for not posting in so long. I have been following your blogs though, I just have not had time to do one of my own. Last week was my church's Vacation Bible School. I was a crew leader so the babies spent the week in the nursery. It went ok, there were a lot of tears, but by the end of the week they seemed to do a little better. Better than mom anyway who caved in the last hour and went and got them early. It was a really neat experience, I am glad I got to serve in that way. It is so neat to see adults dressing up, singing and dancing all for the service of others. It was equally neat to see the children singing and worshipping God with the enthusiasm and openness that only children can do.

The babies picked up a virus so we have been laying low this week. So far it has not been too bad though. We think Noah may be allergic to hay though. He spent some time with some hay bales and when he came home he had scratched that had welted up everywhere the hay touched him and a terrible runny nose. Poor little guy, no more rolling in the hay for him for awhile, at least not without allergy medicine first. We are supposed to be having family photos taken this weekend, but I am not sure if that will be a go with all of the snot. The babies are also learning new words everyday, and can sign about 40 words. I am very pleased with how they are doing developmentally for preemies.

I have been very busy with my art and have completed several more pieces. I was very excited to start selling them and it is so cool when I see one of my pieces for sale in a fancy gallery. I am also doing stained glass now and have made some beautiful panels. Kimmie and I are talking about selling our two ceramic kilns and buying one digital one that is more suited for glass. I have also finally purchased a refurbished grinder so our workshop is taking place. We will spend this weekend trying to set up a work station in our basement until we move to the bigger house.

One night when the babies were sick, Jake and Aunt Kimmie decided to give them some pudding in a bowl and see how they liked it. The definitely liked it. I am still finding pudding in odd places though. Here are some pics of the night that I thought were too cute not to share. I plan on resuming normal blogging in the next few days, until then, enjoy.

Wow....Look at that face!



"How did that get there? No worries, I can get it."



Noah is upset that his pudding is gone and is using sign language to tell us he wants more.



And finally he is full and very sleepy.

Faces of Loss

There is a blog that has been designed to show the faces of loss and tell their story. It takes the taboo out of talking about it and gives grieving parents a place to connect. Today our story was one of the stories featured on the blog. I am asking that all of my readers please take a moment to read one of the stories and pray for the family involved over the coming weeks. Thank you for your peace and comfort my God and please allow these families to begin to feel it as well.


http://facesofloss.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday Jamie and Linda!

This weekend was Jamie and Linda's 9th birthday. Can you believe it?! Just because money is tighter, this year was a scaled down party. Family and friends that are like family gathered for a party on Sunday night. The kiddos got new gameboys, lots of game stop gift certificates, money, books, and toys. They wanted a Candyland cake and I am by no means a professional, but they really liked the way the cake turned out. A good time was had by all, and we were blessed by all of the people who could make it. Here are some pictures of their big day.

Sometimes I swear I am going crazy

All of you grieving mommies out there might be able to relate to this, or maybe I am just losing my mind. It has now been two and a half years since we said goodbye to our sweet Mason. Things are a little better in terms of how I am handling grief. However, some days, out of nowhere, I will just crash and with the crying and heartache I feel like I have been transported to square one. After a long cry I usually feel better. Sometimes though, the way I can go from just fine to heart broken makes me feel a little crazy. Maybe sometimes you just have to cry.

The First Fruits of My Labor

My first big fused pieces are finished. The first one is hard to photograph because the detail didn't show as well. The main glass is streaked gray reminiscent of rain. The shiny dichroic glass symbolizes rain and water pooling. Where the water pools at the bottom there are mountains, they just didn't show as well. The second piece is done with electric blue background. The pinwheels are each different types of dichroic glass. It has been so much fun. Tomorrow I take a stained glass class. I have already mained a stained glass panel on my own, but I am looking forward to learning from professionals. Enjoy!

"Stormy Nights"




"Pleasing Pinwheels"

Happy Independence Day

Oh I love a three day weekend. It is nice to get to have some family time. Jake was bummed because it rained the whole time and he wanted to go fishing, but what can you do? My mom and sister were down from MO this year so we had a family/friend dinner and then shot some fireworks which both excites, and annoys me. I love to shoot fireworks as much as the next person, but I saw so many people who were out of work, in debt, completely broke, and/or people who usually complain about being broke spending a ton of their money on fireworks. It drives me bonkers. I am not against people buying fireworks in principle, but it annoys me very much to see people who really need that money for something else essentially blowing it up. If you are caught up on your bills, have everything you need, and are not drowning in debt, than by all means enjoy yourself. The kicker is when there are people in my neighborhood whose kids I feed because their parents went to work and left no food in the house because there was no money that week blowing up hundreds of dollars in fireworks and drinking fifty dollars worth of beer. Ugghhh!!

On that note, Jake and I did not buy any fireworks this year. I am not working and so we decided there was more important things we needed. However, my friends and family who are not in debt, nor hurting for money did buy fireworks and we had a good time watching them shoot them off. The babies did pretty good with them which surprised me. Later that night after everything had settled down, Jake and I took time to pray for our soldiers who are fighting to keep America free. We prayed for his brother who is in Iraq right now, and for his sister-in-law and nephew who are without a husband and a father right now. Thank you Jeremiah for your service to your country. Thank you Dianne for your sacrifices as Jeremiah is serving. I am reminded of the verse "Greater love hath no man than he who would lay down his life for his friend." Thank you to all of the great men and women who are serving, or have served our country-the true reason for Independence Day celebrations.