My Planned C-section

So I have some news....I'm pregnant! 

Okay, so family and friends are already tracking that info, especially since I will be 34 weeks on Saturday. What some of you may not have heard is that I am currently planning for a cesarean section at 37 weeks.   This may come as a shock to many of my friends who know me as a bit of a birth advocate and crunchy mama.  Trust me, it came as a shock to me too.  We have known about my placenta previa since my 18 week ultrasound, but I never stressed over it, knowing that this condition usually resolves itself by 26 weeks as it did with my first pregnancy.  So I went on my merry ol', pregnant way enjoying a complication-free and relatively easy pregnancy--that is until my 28 week ultrasound showed I still had complete placenta previa.  Bummer. For my non-birth nerd friends, placenta previa is pretty much the one scenario that about 99.9% of midwives, OBs agree is a guaranteed c-section--even the most natural OB wouldn't recommend attempting a natural birth. The other 0.01% are crazy. 

Even with the prospect of a c-section looming in my future, I decided not to stress. "This is a really uncommon birth scenario," I told myself, and considering my daughter came at 41.5 weeks, I figured my uterus still had plenty of growing to do in the following weeks and that my placenta would likely grow to be free and clear from the cervical opening in the next month or two. So I refocused my hopes on a homebirth or at least an unmedicated, natural birth at the birth center in Seoul.

At 31.5 weeks, however, I woke up with heavy spotting.  Knowing the risk of placenta abruption, I knew I needed to be seen as soon as possible. The scary part is we didn't really have a plan or a 'go bag' packed. After a bit of head scratching and scrambling around, I assured Jonathan I could drive myself to Seoul (1-2 hrs away) and that he should go on to work and that everything was fine. I had Jonathan take a quick (potentially final) pregnancy pic, packed a overnight bag for Lucy, and dropped her off at a friend's house on my way to Seoul.

 "Quick take my picture, even though I might be hemorrhaging internally."  Brilliant.

 About halfway to the birth center I realized how dumb I was to drive myself. What if it really was an abruption!?! Praise God the ultrasound showed it wasn't and that everything was fine with baby. It also showed that I still had complete previa; in fact, the placenta was a good 2cms past the cervical opening and would have to do a substantial amount of growing to avoid a c-section. My OB still said we would wait until 35 weeks to make any decisions and I was sent home.

That night I began working on our contingency plans if something happened again before 35 weeks. My head was spinning with possible scenarios and the reality of how limited my birthing options are here in Korea. The closest Korean hospital (covered by insurance) that an ambulance would take me to is still 45 mins away, the Army hospital and my birth center are 1-2 hours away up in Seoul, etc. And then there was the reality of possible complications from abruption or even planned c-section--blood transfusion, hysterectomy, death.  I was mentally and emotionally exhausted by the 'coordinating' aka scenario building.

The next day, I still had spotting but it was old blood, nothing fresh, so I wasn't alarmed.  That afternoon, however, I started having regular contractions, lower back ache and cramping.  I decided this was a good time to go up to the Army hospital in Seoul and get a second opinion and ask detailed questions to the English-speaking staff.  Again, the ultrasound showed everything was fine and I was sent home.   (As a side note, the Army hospital ultrasound measurements showed a "MEGA baby--97th percentile in size--we should move your due date by 2 weeks--5lbs 4 ozs--blah blah blah," which means either the baby had an AMAZING growth spurt from the day before when he/she was measuring at 4lbs 12 ozs at the birth center OR ultrasound measurements may not be completely reliable...hmmm) 

So after A LOT of back and forth and strategizing, Jonathan and I have settled on a planned cesarean at the Army Hospital, most likely at 37 weeks and 2 days on May6th (could still change). The biggest factors being that it will be free, the staff is experienced with c-sections, they speak English, and the hospital seems more supportive of breastfeeding and do not have the mandatory separation time for 'observation' that many of the Korean hospitals maintain, and the doctor was very supportive of my birth plan.

I met last week as a normal, non-emergent OB appointment with a doctor at the Army hospital, and it couldn't have gone better. My doctor took a very long time to sit down and discuss in detail all of my options, my birth plan, the dangers, and even the possibility of placental movement in next few weeks--yes, she entertained my hope that a natural birth might still be possible if the placenta miraculously moved. We will see next Friday, when I have my 35 week ultrasound. That's when the final decision to schedule a c-section will be made. I still have a final consult at the birth center as well (where we pay out of pocket due to insurance) the same day...just in case things have changed.  I will keep you posted.

In the mean time, I covet everyone's prayers. I've already felt a great sense of comfort during this trying time and I'm confident it is a direct answer to prayer.  The biggest thing to pray for right now is for no new bleeding between now and the pending surgery.  If new bleeding occurs, I will be calling for an ambulance and going to Dankook, which is the local Korean hospital with a NICU. Also, the dangers of abruption are still present. A planned c-section is dangerous for me, but mostly safe for baby. An emergency c-section due to abruption, however, is dangerous for both of us, and both baby and I could lose a catastrophic amount of blood between here and the hospital 45 minutes away.  Pray for a safe SCHEDULED surgery and limited blood loss for me and safety for baby.  Since I have an anterior placenta, the surgeons will actually have to cut THROUGH my placenta. That's not good, nor is it routine and the risk of blood loss is much higher for me. Baby again, should be fine and will be removed quickly, but the docs will have to work quickly afterwards to manage my blood loss.  You can also pray that the placenta moves--doctor said it is more likely for placenta to move enough to attempt a vaginal birth than it is for placenta to move out of way of incision site.  Honestly, I'm not sure I want the placenta to move enough to allow the option of natural birth any more.  Even then the placenta will be close enough to cervical opening that abruption could occur and same dangers are present, except I wouldn't already be prepped for OR. I'd prefer a planned c/s over an emergency c/s any day, and I really hate the idea that I might have to make a decision that would endanger my baby over a 'safer' option of c-section.  In that sense, I'm okay with having my cards dealt to me and moving on with the current plan.  Also, just pray for comfort for me and Jonathan. We've had a lot to process and still have a lot to process and it's honestly a little scary when I actually stop to think about it.  And just as a request, please don't ask me how I'm doing.  That's really a hard question right now. I'm fine. If I wasn't I'd be in an emergency room or OR at the moment, but feeling fine right now doesn't really have any relevance to how dangerous my pregnancy or current condition really are, so I don't have a simple answer for that question, especially since this is my attempt to 'summarize' what's going on.  Soooo....a week and a half until my next appointment. No news is good news until then.

Oma's Garden

Now that we are back in the States for a few weeks, Lucy and I have just been enjoying the simplicity of being outside as much as possible. What a treat to have her grandmother's garden(s) to enjoy. Lucy has spent a lot of time exploring the varieties of flowers and veggies sprouting all around the yard. She even got to help Oma with some of the harvesting.

Space-A Adventure: Hawaii

 Last Friday night my husband and I sat down and started seriously looking at our projected calendar to figure out when Lucy and I should fly back to visit family in the States. We've been hoping to come back home since June and it seems like each month we keep pushing it further back. It didn't take long before we realized that if Lucy and I were going to make it back anytime soon it had to be this month. So the next day we packed up and prepared ourselves for a whirlwind adventure of space available (Space-A) military flights.

For those who don't know, Space-A allows military families and personnel to fly for free (or for a very small cost) on military flights. Since we live overseas I am allowed to travel without my sponsor (Jonathan) with a simple memo from his commander approving our travel.  What could be better than FREE international airfare? Well, the flight schedules are only announced in 72 hour windows, which makes it hard to plan since you don't know exactly where the flights will be headed, though some flights are pretty regular but nothing is guaranteed. Another downside is that you can show up with 30 seats available on a certain flight just to have all the seats cancelled right before roll call. Anyway, it demands a lot of flexibility and a willingness to spend a couple of nights in airport terminals or crummy Navy lodging.  I've experienced a lot of heartbreak with Space-A, including missing a flight back to my sister-in-law's wedding by just 1 seat, and this week missing a flight straight into my hometown after they cancelled the flight right before roll call. My consolation prize? 

 An overnight in Hawaii.

Sunrise from C-17 Cargo Plane an hour before landing in Hawaii

My flight path took me from Osan, Korea-->Kadena, Japan (2 hr flight w/ and overnight in Kadena)-->Hickam, Hawaii (9.5 hr flight with an overnight in airport terminal)-->McGuire AFB, NJ (10 hr flight with overnight with friends)   From there I bought commercial flight from Philadelphia into Minneapolis. Amazingly enough, it was the commercial flight that was the worst and the longest flight from Hawaii to NJ that was the easiest. You just never know what you're going to get with Space-A, but you will almost always meet some really cool people and everyone is super helpful since we are all in the same boat, er, I mean plane. I would share some cool pics from inside the C-17s that we flew in, but I'm not entirely sure that that is in line with OPSEC, so just imagine us in the belly of an empty Air Force cargo plane with unlimited room for a toddler to run around along with about 10 other children, enough loud engine noise that no one can hear a child cry or scream and plenty of room on the floor for you to stretch out and take a nap. Good stuff...you just have to get past all the "Hurry up and Wait" that the military throws at you.

Anyway, Lucy and I had a great day in Hawaii. It was going to be about a 24 hour timeline before our flight took off again, just shy of needing to get a hotel room, so we opted for a rental car instead and for about $50 we were able to roam the island all day checking out the sites, hitting a couple of beaches, and catching up on our sleep in the car. If you ever head to Hickman via Space-A, just know that planes tend to 'break down' a lot there. Your crew may want to see the island, so a lot of times the flights get delayed a few hours or even days so the crew can hang out on the island. Also know that there is a shower in the women's bathroom of the passenger terminal, so go hit the beach! You will definitely have a place to get cleaned up afterwards. ;)

The island was SO beautiful. I know I didn't even capture half of its beauty in these pics. Most of my pictures were taken while driving *tisk, tisk* I know.  Anyway, you can pick up a rental car in the passenger terminal and then just drive until you find a beach you want to pull over and take a dip in. There are loads of gorgeous beaches. I'm not sure I've ever seen such a beautiful  place in my entire life. I drove the entire perimeter of the island and only spotted about two bays that were lacking the amazing blue-green water that I spotted everywhere else.

Back to School!

Excitement is in the air...today is the first day back to school for children here in Korea.  

Can't you just smell the freshly sharpened pencils?  

 Over the past few weeks, I've enjoyed watching my Facebook newsfeed slowly fill up with first day of school photos from all my friends back in the States. My, oh, my how much these kids have grown! For that reason, I think I will have to follow suit one day by capturing first day pics just to chart our kids' growth and, of course, the style they choose for their back to school clothing. I wonder, do homeschool kids get to buy new outfits for the first day of school?  Maybe our kids will just pick out a new pair of pajamas each year.

Lucy in her cute backpack from the Seoul Zoo

Working on buckling and unbuckling the front clasp.

Thankfully we're not there yet. Even though I look forward to one day attempting to homeschool my children (we'll see if it works for us), I'm glad to have another year free of lesson planning and buying tons of books. Actually, scratch that--buying tons of books sounds pretty amazing. 

 I may start introducing some short, structured learning time for Lucy soon, something like the plethora of learning crafts and activities over at Totally Tots. In the meantime we'll just enjoy simple play and activities for toddlers (AKA walking sponges).  

Singing Praises

Lucy with her new favorite book:

"Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself" ~Matthew 21:16

Not a day goes by where Lucy doesn't drag out our Trinity Hymnal and flip through its pages. So far she's only ripped out the title pages. It's surprising how gentle she is with it as she sits for a good ten minutes just flipping through the hymns with occasional humming and "ahh"ing.

This book became a favorite once she recognized the sheet music from her piano duets with Daddy (she's quite the accomplished pianist, you know?).  Now when we pull the hymnal out for family devotions at night, her eyes light up and she starts excitedly signing the word for music/song. It's very dear. And even though she rarely sings along with us she always follows up with her own version of the "Threefold Amen" when we conclude devotions every night...never with us, mind you but always after  we sing. Either way, it is my greatest joy and desire in life to worship together as a family.

Anseong Farmland

My poor, nature-deprived child.
Somewhere along the way my girl has become a city slicker. I can't say I didn't see it coming. I started seeing glimpses of her city-dweller lifestyle coming out when she would plop down in a small patch of grass on our way from the parking lot into the PX. She would just sit there for as long as I would allow her--just pulling up blades of grass and throwing them in the wind. I finally decided it was time to break out of our high rise this week after she tried petting a chipmunk on the television.

So this weekend our little family of three made a trip to the local petting zoo at Anseong Farmland.

Admission Prices for Anseong Farmland

Tractor Ride at Anseong Farm

We even coughed up an extra $3/person for a tractor ride, which was okay but not really necessary. The main attractions for our toddler were the animals, but she did seem to enjoy the ride especially when she could hear the water splashing as we went through puddles. I personally found the ride relaxing with the fresh breeze we had today and the simple pleasure of being in the middle of a field free of flashing neon signs and street noise. It definitely afforded us some pleasant views.

Set for a Korean Drama called Padam Padam

Fake Cows at Anseong

Lucy checking out the photos of animals at the farm

Daddy being licked by the friendly donkey

Lucy petting a sheep for the first time

You can buy food for about 1,000 won to feed the livestock

Korea Kwirk--it is really common for couples and families to dress matchy matchy here. You'll see mothers and daughters dressed in matching vests or couples dressed in matching shoes and/or shirts. You can even buy matching underwear at lingerie shops in town.

I've got my eye on ewe.

Pheasants at the Pharm

We learned a new Korean word today: 토끼 pronounced (toe - kee), which means "rabbit"

Lucy feeding a goat some grass

All her practice pulling up grass in the parking lot really paid off!

Feeding the goats got a little giggles from this girl

Heading to the cow pasture

I loved the row of pinwheels lined up over the hills at Anseong Farm. You can kind of see them in the distance.

The Deutch Ville at Anseong Farm

The Hoffen Grill, where we ate lunch. A little pricey but yummy.

All in all it was a great day out of the apartment! I'm sure we will return sometime this fall and explore more of the farm. In the meantime I need to work on finding more grass and greenery for this kid to play in, which looks hopeful now that it is cooling off a bit here! 

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DIRECTIONS TO ANSEONG FARMLAND