Introduction

Hello Everyone,
My name is Christine Villovas, I am 19 years old. I am married to my best friend Erik as of July 2012 and we have a son Jaxton who was born on the 16th of August in 2011 and we are expecting another baby in June of 2013!

Erik and I have been together since September 2009 (our freshman year of highschool) and although we have had so many ups and downs things are better than ever and I am so excited to spend my life making memories with him.

In March of 2010 we got pregnant for the very first time. We were young and stupid, I ended up miscarrying on April 28th 2010. I started bleeding and passing clots at school so my mom picked us up and took us to the ER. I had an ultrasound down and there was no baby. I later found out at a post check up with my family practioner that I had a bicornuate uterus which may have been the cause of the loss and may cause problems in the future. I bled and bled for months and was put on a high dose birth control pill (I was taking 3 a day at one point) to stop the bleeding.

I continued the birth control, taking it everyday at the same time not missing doses and not taking medication to tamper with it. On December 1st of 2010 I found out I was pregnant again. I was sure I was just going to miscarry again. January 5th 2012 I saw my little baby for the first time. I got to see the little peanut's heart flickering away. It was a relief but we were not out of the woods. In the early weeks I visited several doctors because we were all in the dark. We didnt know if the baby implanted where my uterus could provide for it, or if my uterus would grow accordingly, or if I would go into preterm labor or what.

I was basically told to take it easy and we would just have to see how it turned out. I had an ultrasound every 2 weeks and everything was looking great. Baby was in my right "horn" of my uterus as they refer to it. So the baby was basically in half the size of a normal uterus and my other "horn" was just empty.

At 19 weeks I went in for my normal 20 week anatomy scan. This is where things got scary. I was told my cervix was short. A normal cervix should be between 4 and 5cm.. Mine was measuring 1.6cm and baby (which we now knew was a boy) was head down against my cervix. I was put on bedrest and had to drop all my classes. The next day I had another ultrasound with a parinatologist over at a maternal fetal place. My cervix had gone down to 1.4cm.. I was too far along to get a cerclage because  the risk of the surgery putting me into full blown labor was too high. I was also having contractions.

Being told "You have to keep this baby in until 24 weeks because that is the point of viability" is quite possibly one of the scariest things ever. I was put on a very high dose of Ibuprofen (which is not recommended in pregnancy) to relax my uterine muscles and a progesterone suppository to help keep my cervix from shortening and dilating. From that point on I had to have weekly (and sometimes twice a week) ultrasounds. Fun right? No. Every single ultrasound has to start off transvaginally to get a cervix measurement. Having that wand shoved up your who-ha is never fun. And then I would have a transabdominal as well to check Jaxton's heart (because of the ibuprofen)

After weeks of ultrasounds, medication, and bedrest I finally reached "full term" I wass so ready to have my son that I tried everything for weeks on end to go into labor. I was in inactive labor for weeks. I had contractions every 5 minutes for days and days and sometimes they would hurt so bad. But my cervix stayed the same.. Full term came and went, my Duedate came and went.

Finally at 40w4d I talked my doctor into setting an induction date. I had gained 50lbs and been on my butt for months I was so ready to meet my son. This was a Monday. He stripped my membranes for the third time, set my induction date for 6am on Wednesday and sent me on my way. Of course after having my membranes stripped I started getting really bad contractions (again) as the day progressed they were so bad I was in tears. I finally headed off to the hospital that early evening. Once I got there all the rooms were filled and so was triage so I had to wait around in the lobby in the most pain ever.

They finally got me back to be checked and said that I was exactly where I was that morning so I wasn't in labor. They tried to send me home! I told them no, I was over due and to be induced in a little over a day so I was no leaving without a baby. They suggested I get up and walk around the hospital and get checked again in an hour. So thats what we did. I walked around and felt almost like I was leaking but honestly no more than the normal crazy amount of discharge you have your whole pregnancy.

So, when I went back I mentioned it... hoping that it would be an excuse to stay. They checked me and not only had my contractions slowed down so far that I was feeling great but I had not changed at all. So again I mentioned the leaking and the annoyed nurse (who was at the last maybe half hour of her shift) said she would check to see if I was leaking fluid.

As they were preparing my discharge papers the test came back. I WAS LEAKING. To everyone's surprise and I mean everyone I was having a baby. I was not leaving without my son. So around 7pm I was admitted!! They got me back into a room and 2 new nurses started their shift. They got an IV going and started pitocin because I wasn't having contractions anymore. I walked around and things weren't really going anywhere.. so I decided to take a bath. Right before getting into the bath they bumped my pitocin. I got undressed and got in the water and no more than a minute later I was hit with the worst contraction of my life.

The rest was a blurr.. I don't remember much. I remember being told to sit still for an epidural but saying I was in too much pain to sit still.. and the guy had to do it 3 times because I kept getting a shooting pain in my left side. After that I fell asleep and felt better. I woke up to intense pressure. I told the nurse and she said she would check me soon. I told her no, I needed to be checked now because the pressure was unbearable. She checked me and I was at a 9 and a half! It was time to push.

Pushing didn't hurt, and I felt like I was doing a good job. I was annoyed that they kept wanting me to move to my side which is nearly impossible when you cant feel your legs and they feel like foreign objects that weight 1,000 pounds each. Then I got more annoyed when they told me not to push. NOT PUSH?! are you crazy? you have no choice but to push, you just can not, NOT push.. Then I remember being asked if they could use a vacuum and I said yes. Next thing I knew he was out and taken away.

Erik didn't get to cut the cord and I didnt get him placed on my chest. But what I didn't know was that he was face UP and his heart rate kept dropping dangerously low. He turned out to be a healthy 7lb10oz 21.25inch boy. He was a little jaundice but not bad.

We went home a few days later and then when he was about a week old he stopped breathing. I ran to my parents room holding him screaming "he isn't breathing!" my mom jumped up and called 911. By the time they got to my house he was breathing again. They checked him out, said he was fine and started to leave. As they were leaving he stopped breathing again. I ran into the street and the firetruck had left but the ambulance was still there. They saw him not breathing and got him breathing again.

We rode the ambulance to the ER. They did so many tests including a spinal tap.. which is so hard to see your week old baby get. I was a mess. He stayed in the hospital for a few days and everything came back clean. Now he is almost 18 months old and the healthiest boy you could meet.

We decided months later we wanted another. So I stopped birth control.. I didn't get a period for 60 days, then again in 80, and then again in 100. I got diagnosed with PCOS (poly-cystic ovarian syndrome) which basically means you don't ovulate. I started tracking my temps and taking opks with no luck. So we started clomid. Clomid is a drug that makes you ovulate. We were told it could take up to 6 cycles without working. But, my very first cycle I got pregnant!

Again, we were scared because of my uterus. Would I be on bedrest? Would I need a cerclage? Would I miscarry early? Luckily the baby is in the right uterus again, which is good because since that uterus has carried a full term baby once it should be able to again (and be easier, with less pressure on my cervix)

I am now 20 weeks and we havent had any problems. My cervix is short but good at 3.4-3.8cm. I am not on bedrest or pelvic rest. Although - I must say this pregnancy is SO PAINFUL!

Anyways, I am making this blog to document my pregnancy, my life, and all the crafts in between.