The pregnancy story for Baby #2

So most of you know how we got here - 5 1/2 months pregnant with baby boy - but we wanted to document the whole process. Read if you want or skip it if you already know!

To start off, Charlie and I thought very long and hard about our decision to have another child. Basically, we have always wanted more children than just one. Yes, Maya needs alot of our attention, but we decided that we wanted a bigger family and that SMA won't rule our entire lives. Plus, she is going to be one great big sister and we can't wait to see this side of her! Our decision to go with the in vitro option came after months of medical research, meeting with counselors, genetecists, and doctors. We went over all the options, prayed about what to do and talked it over with our parents. So, we started the entire process fully prepared and supported. We know the decision we made was the best for our family.

A little background on IVF and PGD:
IVF is in-vitro fertilization. Mainly a process of getting pregnant for infertile couples. So that's not our problem, but this is our "vehicle" of getting there. Next is PGD - preimplantation genetic diagnosis. This process gives you the ability to test your embryos for a genetic condition (like SMA) before you even have it transferred to the womb. A fertility clinic takes 1 itty bitty cell from an embyro, it is shipped to a genetics lab who has less than 48 hours to test a single cell for SMA. Multiply that by 10-20 embryos and you can imagine the great task the genetics lab has to overcome in such a short period of time. PGD can only be achieved by the IVF process. So we chose this route because the chances of having another child with SMA is 1 in 4 or 25%, but by using PDG with IVF, you can eliminate that risk by approx 97%. Given that a every normal pregnancy has a 2-3% risk of birth defects, this percentage of risk was manageable for us.

We began the process August 2009 by meeting with a fertility doctor who was highly recommended by a friend. Within a week, we were also consulting with a genetics lab in Michigan. I began the first round of IVF in October 2009. I had give myself the shots and visit the doctor like every other day which was fun because its about 45 miles from our house! In November, our PGD results reported that over 60% of our embryos were affected with SMA. We had a few carriers and a few non-carrier and unaffected. We decided to transfer one, non-carrier, unaffected the day before Thanksgiving. FYI - a carrier is just like Charlie and I. We do not have SMA, but we are carriers of the genetic mutation of it. And so are one of each of our parents and so on up the family tree. It is entirely possible that our siblings and nieces and nephews are also carriers - which is why everyone in the family had to be educated on SMA. Two weeks from the transfer, we received news of a pregnancy, but within a week, tests showed that it was lost.

Three months later we were allowed to try another round of IVF. All the same shots and medications and all those trips to the doctor again. In February 2010, our PGD results showed that 75% of our embryos were affected with SMA. This was quite shocking considering that the statistics show that only 25% of your future children could be affected. Why do I share this information? We took this as a sign to us that we had no business taking a chance on our own and that the IVF/PGD option was the correct choice afterall. We had no non-carrier, unaffected embryos. After long discussion, we went through with transferring 2 carrier embryos. The only chance we were taking with a carrier was that the 3% error risk in the PGD test could be wrong and the baby could have actually have SMA. Naturally, this was quite stressful for both Charlie and I, but we made a decision and didn't look back. In March 2010, we got news that I was pregnant. A few weeks later we were able to confirm that one embryo made it and the other did not - i.e. I was pregnant with one baby and not twins.

We were excited about the pregnancy, but there was still this cloud of uncertainty whether the baby was in fact SMA-free. The only way to test this now and put it to rest was by going through an invasive prenatal test. We were going to wait to get an amnio, but after talking to our counselor, we decided to go with a CVS test at 12 weeks of pregnancy. At this point, most of the family and close friends knew about the pregnancy, but we had not shared at work, nor on the blog. I was almost out of clothes to hide a pregnancy at work! Remember you get bigger quicker the second time around. We were also able to find out the gender at the CVS test since the ultrasound machine is so great. So at 12 weeks we found out we were having a BOY! Charlie was excited to get his son, but again that cloud loomed on the SMA status of the baby. In 2 weeks time, we got word that the CVS test (another genetic test) showed that the baby was SMA-free!!! Finally, we were able to be excited and look forward to having a healthy (non SMA) baby. We were finally able to share the news to everyone this past May when I was 14 weeks pregnant.

I am now 24 weeks and feeling great. I had about 4 months of sickness like I did with Maya and had no appetite most of the day. But now it is back and I am eating ice cream everyday I think! It is no doubt a challenge to be pregnant and care for Maya. Usually by this time, pregnant mothers having little ones that are either crawling around or walking, but we have the challenge of needing to lift Maya several times a day. It has definitely made me more tired, but I have all the family to thank for their support. I don't usually pick Maya up when the fam is around and I don't ever lift any of her equipment. I get Charlie to get Maya out of the bathtub or every now and again we end up at Gigi's house for pooltime and bathtime! Given all the challenges and all the aches and pains of pregnancy, the pregnancy has been going well.

Maya is SOOOOO excited about her baby brother. There isn't one day that goes by and she doesn't ask to hug and kiss my belly. If I am laying down, she puts her head on my belly, rubs it and says how soft the baby is. When she is eating, she often asks to feed her brother and puts a spoon up to my stomach! She has named him "brudder" (for brother). She already loves him so much and it shows everyday. She is going to be such a great big sister and she will learn to help out in her own way! Until then, the weekly question of when her "brudder" is going to come and play with her is always fun to hear.

In the end, after all the shots and costs and emotions, we are happy with our decision and would do it again should we choose to one day have #3. Now its time to paint a new nursery - this time BLUE! We bought his furniture and Gigi already bought all this bedding! And no, we don't have a name yet. Remember that Maya was named 30 minutes after she was born? This is likely to be the same if not longer!