The story of Chris

I've shared information about what 16p11.2 duplication means to us.  I've shared that the duplication was inherited through my husband.  What I haven't shared is the story of how Christopher came about (not that graphic).  Chris, we say, is our miracle child. 

I have PCOS along with a few other stemming from surgery I had to remove part of my cervix.  My husband had poor morphology.  We were given a 1 percent chance of concieving on our own. Jon and Matthew had been IVF babies.  As a result, when I skipped a period I didn't think anything of it until I began to notice some wierd signs.  I couldn't button my jeans and I was tired, falling asleep right after Jon and Matthew were falling asleep.  Jon and Matthew had just turned 16 months old.  Being pregnant again was far from on my mind until a friend of mine asked if I could be pregnant.

With my kids in tow, February 13th I went to the store to buy a pregnancy test thinking it would be negative again.  As a person with infertility, the blank stark white negative pregnancy test was the norm.  Obviously this wasn't the case.  I was completely freaked out!  I ended up freaking out to my friend while we chatted on the computer. 

George came home very excited not that long afterwards telling me he got me an early Valentine's Day gift.  I hadn't gotten him anyting yet.  I was plaing the slacker wife card and had planned on getting him something the next day so I ended up wrapping up my positive pregnancy test and gave it to him.  He gave me a laptop.  It ended up being so useful over the next several months!

I called my OB/GYN office the following day and was able to get in about 2 weeks later.  It turns out that I was 5 weeks along when I had found out.  I was very scared as I had hyperamisis with Jon and Matthew.  I made it through the time that I had began to get sick with them.  I remember thinking that the throwing up would miss me this tome around.  I was wrong!

8 weeks along and I threw up like it was my job!  I was a teacher at the time and couldn't make it through a period at the middle school where I worked without being in the bathroom at least 10 times.  A period lasts 45 minutes.  I ended up losing almost 30 pounds, was hospitalized so often that the doctors joked and said I needed my own room with my name above the door.  I had a zofran pump, iv's through the hospital and at one point they suggested a PICC line and getting my nutrition through the PICC line.

During my anatomy scan the doctor found a marker on Christopher's heart.  There was no issue at his 12 week scan.  Because of the marker we were sent for an anatomy scan with a high risk doctor.  There was no marker on his heart at that point; they said it had resolved itself.  My genetic bloodwork came back with no issue.

At 23 weeks and 5 days I had a regular appoitment and my cervix started shortening.  I had my cervix shorten with Jon and Matthew and I was hopeful that wouldn't happen again.  Obviously it did.  I had a cerclage again.  I was put on bedreset.  It was obviously difficult with two toddlers at home.

At 28 weeks I started having preeclampsia.  I was put back on modified bedrest.  At 30something weeks I started seeing spots and was having appoitments 3 times a week.  Through all of this I still held out hope I'd have a full term baby take home baby.  At 34 weeks I was put on bedrest again.  4 days later I ended up in the hospital for high blood pressure and headaches.  I ended up started having pain in my rib area and my liver function showed things were failing.

The choice was made to deliver him on September 12th and by the time we were ablo to get into a OR it was after midnight.  My baby boy was born 1 hour into our 35th week weighting in at 5 pounds 8 ounces and 18 3/4 inches long.

Chris was admitted to the NICU from here as he had problems breathing.  He would stay 7 days in the NICU more for apnea and bradycardias than anything else.

Don't forget I'm doing a giveaway all week!