Appointment with Rheumatologist and such.

Last time I went to see my Rheumatologist, I was about 16 weeks pregnant.  I had a flare up, and it made my joints swell and break out in a rash severely.  Obviously, not taking my plaquenil as the midwife had suggested was not the best idea for me, especially during the winter when my flare ups tend to start.  So, I had to explain to her that we lost another baby at 21 weeks.  She looked over the bloodwork from the previous appointment and said she couldn't see it having anything to do with the Lupus.  I told her about the shortening of the cervix and how I was familar with Incompetent Cervix because my sister has lost two pregnancies(twin boys at 20 weeks and a little girl at 25 weeks) to it.  She asked if my sister ever had a successful pregnancy, and I told her about my miracle niece, Evie, who was born December 16th via c-section.  With that pregnancy, my sister had an elective cerclage at around 13 weeks.  She started progesterone shots around 16 weeks and put herself on bedrest after 20 weeks.  My doctor thought we could be useful to a study on whether or not incompetent cervix is genetic or not.  For some reason, I really enjoyed talking to her and venting to her about it.  I don't normally like talking to people about it because they seem so awkward.  She wasn't awkward, but she wasn't insensitive either.  It was cool.

My sister and I have similar stories as you can read.  Both her losses were before either of mine.  With her twins, it happened out of nowhere.  Nobody in our family had ever heard of incompetent cervix.  So, we weren't prepared for it.  My sister was very strong, though.  With her second pregnancy, she had a little girl.  They started doing cervical length checks at 16 weeks.  By the time she got her cerclage at 20 weeks, she only had like a .9 cervical length left.  At 22 weeks, her baby's bag went through some of the cerclage.  her foot was in the bag(still intacked) in her canal.  The hospital kept her on her head.  She stayed like that for three weeks.  At 25 weeks, she got an infection, and her baby was delivered via c-section.  That was rough.  I truly feel like that loss hit everyone harder.  We just expected everything to work out, especially after she put up such a strong fight in the hospital. Have I mentioned how much I hate that the medical community expects you to have a couple of losses before they'll take your case seriously?  It's horrible.  These aren't just "failed pregnancies"; they're lost lives.

But anyways, it has helped having my sister around during my losses.  Her story makes me hopeful, also. . .



My miracle niece, Evie :) Born December 16, 2010


Oh yeah, my sister and I walked my puppy, Pancake, today at the park.  Pancake had a blast, but I think it wore her out. lol. She's passed out on the couch right now.





My little Pancake sleeping :)

Oh, and I forgot to post a picture of the flowers my husband gave me for our anniversary



Well, I'm going to finish laundry before my husband gets off work