Bad News, Great News & Photo Opportunities

Yesterday was a very trying day for us. Monica has been experiencing painful stomach cramps, along with other symptoms that led her doctor to believe she was having a miscarriage. They sent her back to St. Mary's hospital to get another ultrasound to confirm our worst fears.

Monica called me in tears, and as soon as I answered the phone, I knew what was wrong, although I didn't want to believe it was possible. I told her that I'd meet her at St. Mary's, and I rushed out of McDonald's, where I'd been grabbing a quick, sinful bite to eat, and headed over to St. Mary's as fast as possible. I beat her there, and had to wait for her arrival, all the while thinking about what was to come.

When Monica arrived, I accompanied her to the check-in/registration desk, and a nice gentleman attempted to sort out a scheduling issue. The doctor had told her to go to the hospital straight away, and had put her down for a 4:30 PM appointment, both verbally and on paper. The hospital computer, however, said that Monica's appointment was for today (6/12.) But after a few calls back and forth, and some more stressful moments for us (we thought we'd have to go home and come back the next day, without knowing exactly what was wrong with Monica), we were told that they'd called in a technician to perform the ultrasound at the previously mentioned time.

The lady who ended up doing the ultrasound has been the one to do all of Monica's ultrasounds so far, and she's very nice; we both like her. She was worried though, because she knew why we were there (to see if Monica HAD indeed had a miscarriage), and didn't want to be the one to confirm the bad news. She also didn't want to give us good news, only to have it turn bad. But she went ahead and performed the tests, and external and internal ultrasound, and lo and behold, there was the little Sea Monkey, still alive and kicking (metaphorically speaking anyway, at this point.) It's riding rather low in the womb, which is a bit of a concern, but Monica was still pregnant, and the baby's heart rate was about 168 beats per minute, right where it should be.

Needless to say, we were overjoyed! The lady informed me that things could still go south, but the fact that the baby was still visible, and had a strong heartbeat was and excellent sign!

Monica is still having sharp stabbing pains, and other continuing symptoms, and the chances of a miscarriage are still quite good, unfortunately, but the Sea Monkey is hanging in there! Monica is still on bed rest through the weekend, and when/if she returns to work on Monday, she was given a note by her doctor informing her bosses at Home Depot that she must sit down while she is on the job, for the next 2 weeks at least. That should be a challenge, given Monica's job! lol

Anyway, while Monica was getting dressed, the technician handed me the first ultrasound pictures that we have seen. I was surprised, because we hadn't been given any yet, due to the fact that most of the equipment they'd been doing the scans on didn't have the software to print out the images, or something like that. But she was like, "See, I promised you pictures after the next ultrasound!" It was exciting. :)

So here are the first images of our baby-to-be. The top image is actual size I believe, and the bottom image is enlarged 200%, or something like that. I have added some descriptions to the 2nd image, for clarification, since ultrasound pictures are kind of vague to start with. We're not out of the woods yet, as far as a potential miscarriage goes, but we're just happy to still have a healthy, growing baby. Please keep Monica and the baby in your prayers. That little one is going to need all the help it can get! Thank you.