A Visit to My New Perinatologist

My freakishly tall husband and I just got back from seeing a perinatologist for the first time. You'd think we had gone before because of:

1. One miscarriage prior to Ryder
2. Advanced Maternal Age (I'll be 35 in August- holy shit.)

Now, with a second miscarriage under our belts, we've succumbed to the possibility that carrying a fourth baby to term just might not be as easy as we thought. Babies really are miracles, and I thank my lucky stars every day that I at least have one. I mean, just:

1. Getting pregnant
2. Carrying the baby to term
3. Surviving childbirth

is an extraordinary science that shouldn't be taken for granted.

We were enlightened while we were there, and he knows his shit. After giving him my pregnancy history, he gave us the run down of reasons why I might be having difficulty carrying a baby to term:

1. Possible cervical incompetence
2. History of pre-term labor
3. Infection
4. Fibroids
5. Mis-shapen uterus

Now, numbers 1 and 2 can be completely unrelated. I've told him that before giving birth to Ryder, my lower back had hurt so severely that my freakishly tall husband had to literally beat it with a hammer to iron out the knots. The same thing happened right before I miscarried a second time. My lower back hurt so much that I went to a chiropractor so he could contort me into odd shapes to iron out the knots- sans hammer. This raised an eyebrow on the perinatologist (whose nickname I'm still trying to come up with), and he said that- it could be just pre-term labor- in which case- a cerclage isn't going to help whatsoever (which would help if I have number 1 above).

To really mix it up then, he added that numbers 4 and 5 could cause numbers 1, 2, and 3. Or, 3 could cause 2, or 2 could cause 1. Or, 1 could cause 2. Or, 1 could cause 3. And I'm totally not lying here when he said ALL of those scenarios. Point is, we don't know. The plan is:

1. Get worked up for Incompetent Cervix
2. Get worked up for any underlying infection that I just might be living with happily
3. Get my uterus mapped out so we know EXACTLY what it looks like- fibroids and all

That all will start next month. All of this said, I'm really happy that we're taking the steps to a healthier fourth pregnancy. And I have every ounce of my faith aimed towards a second child. A playmate for Ryder. Then, he dropped one more tidbit of information:

1. Wait a full year before attempting another pregnancy.

Looks like I'll be having my second with all of the other gals who may be going on their seconds, and thirds. Sounds like fun to me!!!!! That also means that I could possibly conceive in Lake Como next year.

Now that sounds like a PARTY!