What would YOU do???

***Disclaimer - this post may be TMI for some of you, but as I've never been known to keep it in, here it is. I promise not to be too graphic :-)***

As some of you may know, I had a pretty important dr's appointment on Monday....yeah, I know it's already Wednesday and I'm just now getting around to posting about it but eh, I've been busy. The subject of this appointment was my (ok, OUR) reproductive future. We wanted to get an idea of what we would be dealing with if we decide to have another baby. There are other options, but those will keep for another post.

First of all, Dr. D had a diagnosis... I have an incompetent cervix.... Seriously!?! Who are you calling incompetent!?! Those of you who know me, know that word kills me! Basically, the cervix has one main job, keep the baby in...which mine did not do. (Click on the link above if you'd like more info) Dr D said that it's pretty rare given my history and the fact that there was no discernable cause, but without precautions there is a strong possibility it will fail again.

Given that, he does feel confident that with the proper precautions we will be able to have a successful pregnancy. However, nobody said those precautions would be easy...

The first precaution would be frequent visits to both him and the high risk obstetrics doctors. Most likely office visits every couple weeks and more frequent ultrasounds. (Extra pictures of the baby? Heck yeah, sign me up!) Read into this additional time off of work...bank account doesn't like that!!

The second precaution would be a "simple" procedure called a cerclage, which is basically a stitch to keep the cervix closed. This would be done between 13-15 weeks and would remain in place until I deliver (ideally-a scheduled c-section at 37 weeks). The risks associated with a cerclage are relatively low but the success rate when elective can be between 80%-90%.

The third precaution is probably the most...um...concerning (you could also substitute the words inconvenient, annoying, life-altering, money-draining or just plain pain-in-the-a$$). Bedrest. Dr D said that at the first sign of anything abnormal during the pregnancy, I would be placed on bedrest. He did mention that this could start as soon as the cerclage was placed. Now, I can do math and that could possibly equate to up to 24 weeks of bed rest. I did 6 days of bedrest with Jack and it was incredibly difficult (and boring). (Read into this that I would NOT be paid for this "vacation" from work.)

Dr D said the physically we should be ok to start trying again in another 6 months (hard to believe that it's already been 6 months since God brought Jack into our lives). Emotionally ready is an entirely different story. We don't know yet what our future holds as far as expanding our family. We are doing a lot of praying over our options and are trying to stay open to God's plan for our family. I think we both feel that our family is not complete but we just don't know yet what the next step will be. Hopefully when we are ready to take the next step God will have lead us in the right direction.

This leads to an interesting question that I would like to pose to all of you. What would you do??? Knowing the risks (preterm labor, weeks in the NICU, miscarriage, etc.) and the potential precautions (inconveniences). What would you do?? Notice I'm not asking if you would endure these if you were already pregnant, but would you intentionally put yourself in this situation?? Feel free to comment here (you can comment anonymously), on Facebook or just send me a message. I won't be offended if you tell me I'm crazy for even considering this, and understand that when push comes to shove, DJ and I will make the decision we feel is best for our family. That being said, I really would appreciate everyone's honest opinion on this.

Thank you guys for listening and I'm so glad that you guys are reading and enjoying my outlook on life :-)

~Jeny