Yes, the title is correct.
The news we have to share has left us pretty speechless.
**And fair warning, there are some personal details that some may not feel comfortable reading.**
On January 12th, at my regularly scheduled OB appointment for our 16 1/2 week checkup we got the devastating news that the baby no longer had a heartbeat. My OB tried for a while with the doppler then sent us for ultrasound where they confirmed no movement and no heartbeat. The baby was measuring about 13 weeks which meant that it had already been a couple weeks since the baby passed.
I last listened to his heartbeat with my home doppler on December 28th, so it must have happened shortly after then.
This news came as a shock to all of us because we had recently had the nuchal translucency ultrasound done showing results in normal range as well as the Harmony test that showed low risk for everything and also revealed to us that the baby was a boy.
I waited almost 2 weeks for the miscarriage to happen naturally, but since it had been nearly 4 weeks since the baby passed I chose to go ahead and use the cytotec to induce the miscarriage at home.
I took 4 pills vaginally at 3:20pm on Saturday, January 23rd. I spent the next few hours napping and getting as much rest as possible. About an hour in I started having very light cramping. It stayed like that until about 7:30 and things started getting more intense. I was still in bed breathing through the contractions as they got closer together and longer in duration and at 8pm I had a huge gush of blood that immediately filled an overnight pad. I changed pads and the contractions seemed to slow for about 30 minutes. About 8:30 I started having super intense back-to-back contractions. At 9:09 I felt an urgency to get out of bed and with the next contraction, as I walked into the bathroom, I delivered the baby and placenta whole at 9:10pm.
I'm thankful the blood loss was manageable and I was able to avoid a D&C. I will have a follow-up ultrasound early this week to confirm if my uterus is clear of all fetal tissue.
At this point in time we're unsure if D&I will be moving forward to try again. This is so tough for all of us and at this point we all just need some time to heal. Prayers are appreciated as we navigate the emotions through this process.
