Now for the story...This picture is a good representation of my life from February until June of this year. I had a very tough pregnancy, with extreme "hyper-emesis" so I was unable to keep down much food. In the first four months I lost 11 lbs. The doctor kept assuring me that the baby was getting all it needed even though I was really struggling to stay healthy. However, at 21 weeks I went in for a routine check-up and no heartbeat could be found. The ultrasound was confirmation that the baby's heart was no longer pumping. That was a very sad day for us. Four days later I was in a St. Louis hospital where I had to go through the delivery process, even though the outcome would not be that which I had looked forward to throughout the pregnancy. Another very sad day. However, I was thankful for the loving support of friends and family. My mom flew in to be of support to me, and Garrett's parents drove down from Bloomington to stay with our boys.
So, back to the picture. This was at the Stratosphere in Vegas. We had gone up to the observation area on the top, and Garrett went outside to check out the rides up there. With as nauseaus as I felt, there was no way I was going out there and looking down, let alone watching these crazy rides people were going on. So, I sat inside with my trusty "just in case" mug that I carried around always during the pregnancy. I am thankful to not have to deal with throwing up anymore, but I am sad not to have my third baby boy who was on his way to us.
It was determined that the umbilical chord only had two blood vessels going through it rather than the three that are typical, thus the baby was not getting enough nourishment. Also, the chord was wrapped around his leg two times, so it was assumed that there was either a blood clot or constricted blood flow. Regardless to say, things didn't go quite right in his development. This experience has made us ever more greatful for the two little miracles we already have in our family. We love our little boys!
