On Tuesday May 26th I went in for my second ultra sound. I was now 9 weeks and 4 days and anxious to get this appointment over with. All we knew was that my doctor had found a small spot on my uterus during my 8 week ultra sound and that she wanted to get a better look at it. She wasn’t sure what it was so she told us not to get too worried or upset especially since all my tests were normal and the baby looked good with a strong heartbeat.

I went in with an open mind knowing that anything was possible but hoping for the best. The ultra sound tech was an older lady who was very nice. She explained that she would be performing an external and internal ultra sound to get the best reading and pictures possible and that it would take about an hour. I prepared myself mentally as she lubed up my belly. I knew I probably wasn’t going to be able to hear the baby’s heart beat again but I was hoping I could at least sneak a peak to see how it was going. 

As she got started it seemed like forever before she spoke. I swear my heart didn’t beat for a solid mintute as I waited for her to say something… anything! As I laid there still and worried she finally said there it is, that white light flickering is your babies heartbeat. (Whew, exhale, heartbeat, sigh of relief..)

She continued on with the ultrasound only making small talk about how far along I was and confirming that my due date was spot on for Christmas Day on December 25th, asking what I did for a living, if the pregnancy had been planned. It was a good 15-20 minutes in before she turned the screen to me and said “there is your baby” as I looked up I couldn’t believe my eyes. Baby Stew had literally doubled in size from a week and a half ago! As we zoomed in to take a better look the tech started laughing and said “it looks like you’re going to have a gymnast like yourself, look at the legs they haven’t stopped moving!” I couldn’t believe it Baby Stew’s legs were kicking like crazy! The baby was actually moving! It was like dance dance fever in there and my heart melted into a thousand pieces. 

I came home from the ultra sound feeling extremely happy and excited at how big and cute Baby Stew had gotten but I was also nervous and anxious. I had gotten a weird vibe from the tech and I just knew in my heart that the spot was going to be something more than just “nothing”. 

I called my doctor that Friday since I hadn’t heard anything and the receptionist told me the scans were in and my doctor would call me if anything was abnormal. If there wasn’t anything abnormal then she would just go over them with me at my next appointment that following Friday on June 5th. I waited all week anxiously by the phone and by Friday when I hadn’t heard back I went into my appointment feeling relieved, clearly it was nothing major since she never called. 

I got to my appointment at noon and I met with the nurse. There was so much paperwork and health history to go over and once all of that was finally done I waited on my doctor. She came in and we went over the usual. How was I feeling? Any new symptoms? Anything that was concerning me? Umm yea what the hell was that spot! I asked her about my results of the ultra sound and waited as she delivered the news. 

The spot was a uterine septum — a what? A uterine septum — english please. 

Basically a uterine septum is a common type of congenital uterine anomaly meaning that when the uterus is formed during embryogenesis by the fusion of the two Müllerian ducts something goes wrong in the process and it causes incomplete absorption. The reasons for this happening is not known. So basically in English and to the best of my understanding I have an abnormal shaped uterus and depending on how big or small the actual uterine septum is it could cause different problems / complications with my pregnancy. 

I’m pretty sure my heart stopped beating again while my doctor delivered all this news. Part of me couldn’t understand what the hell she was saying while the other part was so scared I didn’t want to understand it anyways. As I caught my breathe I finally asked so what’s next? 

I have to see a specialist from Oahu next month to see if the septum is minor or more serious. So far my doctor thinks it’s very minor but she wants to take a better look at it. If it goes more than half way down then that’s considered extreme and I’ll be considered a higher risk pregnancy which means I could be at risk of delivering the baby early or for the baby not having enough room to grow and being breech in which case I would need to have a c-section to deliver. In extreme cases the baby can actually implant on the septum and if that happens it would most likely cause you to have an early miscarriage because the baby can’t get enough blood and nutrients to survive. My doctor does not think this is the case with me since all my tests have been normal and my ultra sound shows the baby is growing. 

She did say however that this was most likely the reason we did have a harder time getting pregnant and it was also most likely the cause for my irregular periods. She also said that she still felt safe that we could announce our pregnancy at 12 weeks if we chose to since as of now the baby was fine. 

After all that “ugly news” she had me lay down and she did an on the belly heartbeat ultra sound. It was instant, Baby Stew’s heart was beating strong.

My next appointment is on July 6th and then I’ll see the specialist on July 14th. I’m nervous and scared and anxious but mostly hopeful. At this point I need to believe that everything is going to be alright and that Baby Stew (and my pregnancy) are going to be happy and healthy! 

For now we only ask that you please add us to your prayers or send positive vibes, light or love our way as we continue to hope for the best. I just know in my heart that this is meant to be. 

 
My best friend Kristen sent me this amazing & thoughtful framed scripture for Baby Stew’s nursery. The moment I opened it something in my heart went still as it was just so powerful & reassuring to me. We are so grateful to have such an amazing and strong support system as we journey into this next chapter. 

 

Until next time…