A Late Night Scare

26 weeks 4 days.  Just when I was starting to feel more secure, to start entertaining the possibility of actually agreeing to have a small baby shower at the gentle prompting of friends and family, and after my husband and I gave each other some sentimental baby-related Christmas gifts, the insecurities of infertility and repeat loss became reality again last night around 12:30 a.m. when there was red blood on the toilet paper after I went to the bathroom.  It was mild, but it was bright red.  And I was jolted awake from my drowsiness by the sight of it and also jolted my husband awake in my panic.  My fears were heightened by the fact that I really hadn't felt the baby move since lunch time yesterday.  That alone wouldn't have freaked me out because I have yet to experience any patterned movement by our little one and what I have experienced has been inconsistent.  Some days the little one is more active than others and I have just come to expect that as normal for me and this pregnancy - especially because I have an anterior fundal placenta which apparently makes it more difficult to sense the baby's movements.  But that combined with the blood caused immediate fears.

I called my OB's answering service and got a call back from the doctor on call within 10 minutes.  By that time, we were already on our way to the hospital.  The OB on call asked me a series of questions - was the blood red or brown? [red] Did I have any cramping? [no] When was the last time we had intercourse? [a long time ago because I have been too nervous to have anything potentially disrupt this pregnancy].  When I told her that I had multiple miscarriages in the past, she told me to go to Labor and Delivery to get examined.  I thought she said she would meet me there, but as it turned out, once I was there and being monitored, one of the residents did the examination and consulted with the OB on call.  The OB had called L&D and they were expecting me when we got there to check in.  I was quickly taken back to a bed and placed on a fetal monitor and we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat right away.  It was strong and we were so relieved.  We spent a few hours at the hospital on the monitor while they ran a series of tests.  Everything came back normal and the cause of the bleeding could not be determined.  I wasn't having any contractions, my blood pressure was low, I didn't have a UTI, my urine tests came back good, my cervix was closed and the resident couldn't see any blood anywhere.  In addition to hearing movements on the monitor (which sounded pretty forceful and strong, but I couldn't feel), we had a quick ultrasound and saw the baby, too.  We headed back home around 4:00 a.m. and all the excitement apparently made the baby finally decide to be more alert.  Thankfully, I was feeling the baby on and off on the drive home and as I was finally able to fall asleep once we got home.

I stayed home from work and spent the day in my PJ's on my couch.  I'm drinking tons of water and just hope that I won't see any more red blood any time soon (although I was forewarned that I might spot for a few days since they were poking around in there last night).  The baby has been pretty active today, maybe because I have been lounging around so much more than I have been lately.  I know that we are technically in the viability stage, but I really want this baby to stay safe inside for as long as possible and continue to grow before making his or her grand debut.  At my last appointment with the OB, we discussed the possibility of delivering either by induction or c-section around 36 weeks due to my prior losses and the increased risks of cord complications and meconium poisoning beyond that point. Basically, my OB is of the opinion that once we make it that far, he wants to avoid any other potential complications at the end.  Last night's bleeding scare has brought back the lack of trust in my body.  Keep growing strong, baby!  Only 10 more weeks to go!!