Tracking Pregnancy with Bloomlife

Hello Lovelies!

It’s been awhile since I’ve had the privilege of gracing your screen, and unfortunately it’s for a good reason.

Let me start with a little pregnancy update.

Months ago, at my 20 week appointment, a small issue popped onto my anatomical ultrasound. It indicated small little cysts on the baby’s brain. This is one of multiple medical abnormalities they refer to as a “soft marker”.

“Soft markers” can mean one of a few things, but basically this particular instance is commonly found in babies with Down Syndrome.

My doctor wasn’t nervous at all when she went over the information with me. Typically there needs to be two or more “soft markers” to cause any real concern for Down Syndrome. Because all the baby’s bone measurements were within proportion, there was no real reason to be worried. Typically the cysts disappear on their own. We set up a 32 week ultrasound as normal procedure to make sure they were gone.

Moving along 12 weeks of life to January. I had my 32 week ultrasound and appointment. I could tell something was off by the middle of my ultrasound when the tech kept taking recordings of movement and blood flow. Her mood had changed and she asked me to stay in the room a little longer to go over the recordings with her supervisor.

I went to my appointment nervous that maybe the cysts hadn’t disappeared. I noticed when the tech took measurements of arm and leg bones they weren’t measuring up with my due date. They were actually almost three weeks behind in growth. Maybe my baby had Down Syndrome. I had never actually contemplated the seriousness of that possibility because it was brushed off.

I met with my doctor, as usual. We chitchatted about life and waited for her computer to connect and take her into my file. She turned to me, “Now let’s talk about you,” in a very serious tone. It was so drastic from the conversation we were having before, that I had forgotten I was worried coming into the appointment.

She went on to tell me that the reason I was doing a follow-up (the cysts) had completely disappeared and baby was looking very healthy. But, something else came up that had been overlooked in my 20 week ultrasound. I have what they call a Velamentous Cord Insertion.

Essentially, the baby’s umbilical cord is supposed to insert into the center of the placenta and then expand inside to feed the baby oxygen and nutrients. In my case, the umbilical cord does not insert inside the placenta. Instead, it is attached to the outside membranes and is not feeding the baby the proper amount of nutrients. Therefore, the baby is measuring very very small.

Because of this scary little hiccup I am being monitored very closely by my team of doctors and specialists. Every week I have two ultrasound scans and an appointment with my OBGYN. Every other week I have an appointment with a Specialist in Maternal Fetal Medicine to go over my scans and reassess the baby’s health.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t stressed. I cry on a whim. It’s been hard to look at things positively when I’m in charge of this whole other person’s life. His life depends on me, and I’m just trying to keep him healthy and growing. All I have found peace in is praying and knowing I get to see my little peanut twice a week until I meet him face to face.

Before I was labelled as a high-risk pregnancy, Bloomlife reached out to me and asked if I’d do a trial rental! I was thrilled because with my first two pregnancies I had no idea how to tell the difference with contractions.

Bloomlife is a women’s health company focused on improving the health of moms and babies. Through their clinically validated tracker, expectant moms can track and count contractions. It’s the first in the world of clinically validated wearable contraction monitors!

Bloomlife simplifies contraction counting. This is something that’s so important to me because sometimes it’s hard to tell if your contractions are regular or irregular. The monitor tracks your contractions and sends all the information to your phone through the Bloomlife app. This way you have all your stats available at your own convenience!

The tracker is just what it sounds like. A great tool for first-time moms and honestly any low-risk pregnancy. In the last 6-8 weeks of pregnancy, so many changes happen as your body prepares for labor. Sometimes you can’t even feel contractions, so this is such a cool way to get a little insight to what’s happening in your body.

Tracking my contractions has been pretty fun, honestly. I have been feeling them like crazy for the last four or five days! They have all been irregular, but it’s still fun to see on a screen. It’s almost like I have one more little thing to share with this sweet boy while he cooks away in my tum.

If you’re interested in tracking your contractions with Bloomlife, check out their website and use code TAYLOR10 for a special 10% off!

xo

Tay

This post was written in collaboration with Bloomlife. All words and opinions are my own.