This following week may be a rocky road for us. As you know, we're expecting in May. We are however an Rh incompatible pair meaning we make babies that my blood type tries to destroy with antibodies. How alien is that? Some people believe it is in fact alien blood that I and 15% of the population carry. Long story short, my body became sensitized with my first pregnancy that ended at 28 weeks. It has taken me almost 7 years to be able to talk about it without physically and emotionally breaking down - it was very tragic. With that pregnancy my blood mixed with the blood of the baby and turned evil. From that point on it has targeted any outside source of blood (pregnancy) and tried to defeat it.
We were lucky with our son in 2012 with being induced a little early and a minor stay in the NICU for two weeks. Unfortunately the numbers are already high in this pregnancy at 23 weeks. If they continue to climb we will be experiencing IUTs or in utero transfusions where the doctors will provide the fetus with 'fresh and healthy' blood to counteract the attack on red blood cells by my antibodies. We will know Monday whether or not we will schedule that first transfusion late next week, steroid shots included.
Meanwhile, in the goat maternity ward, many girls are starting their pregnancy hum in the evenings and mornings being uncomfortable with their ever-growing baby bumps. Lots of first freshening (first time mothers) udders are filling in. Cocoa is the first to kid and has no growing udder. She did this the past two years though. She fills her udder in mere hours before birth. It's very frustrating as a goat mom to watch and feel for weeks just to be surprised by screams in the barn by a doe in labor. I always wanted to be surrounded by babies. In two short weeks we'll have 9 does kid and upwards to 18 or so kids on the ground - super stoked!
Below is a picture of three generations of goats: Ella, Eberly and Emily. Ella had to be disbudded four times before horns stopped growing. Her daughter Eberly and granddaughter Emily are currently unicorns until we band the scurs in the spring for their own safety.