Happy Halloween!

Yesterday's appointment went great! I feel so bad for complaining about the doctors office for my first experience with them. I think I jumped to conclusions, though I think the idea that you have to pay upfront without insurance is still a bit greedy, especially in this economy.

Click here for how we told Tyler and Kallie

Anyway, we had another ultrasound and we FINALLY have a reason for the spotting. There was no way we would have known before but it's placenta previa! WOOHOO! I've never been so excited to hear something like that, because it means there's a reason and it has nothing to do with baby. For those who aren't OB terminology friendly- placenta previa means that the placenta is covering part of the cervix. This is very likely to correct itself as the uterus grows but the placenta was so small for the past few weeks there was no way they would have been able to see it. I'm on the usual placenta previa restrictions: no sex, no hardcore exercising and no jumping or forceful moves which make put pressure on the placenta/cervix and cause bleeding. If the placenta never moves, I'll be further restricted as time goes but the doctor was very hopeful it would move up, and I'm having a c-section anyway so no worries there.

The ultrasound tech was awesome. She explained everything that she was looking at and let us watch baby for about 3 minutes while he moved. He was very active, and was pushing off my uterine wall with his feet and doing flips. It's so cute now, but in a few weeks- that's going to hurt! LOL! I hadn't even had anything to drink and he was still very active, I think I'm in for a busy baby! Heartrate was 171 bpm. She even checked for the umbilical cord cyst and she told me not to panic, she's seem them quite frequently early on now that ultrasound technology has advanced. She didn't find a cyst anyway so she thinks it's gone away! YAY!

She also showed us baby in 3D. I've seen other babies in 3D, but never my own so I thought this was pretty neat. It's amazing how quickly they grow from a little blob to a tiny human. (This pic has baby's head at the top, a right arm, and a right leg visible.)

I have another ultrasound next week for my first trimester screening so I'm excited to see how much more he's grown and what antics he's up to. I think I can finally start to relax a little bit after I get the results back, but I feel much better knowing why I was spotting.

Halloween Costume!

So, I wanted to make our official announcement (to those not privy to this blog LOL) around Halloween so I thought I would tie it all together.

I think those skeleton baby shirts are cute enough to use so I started looking for one. $20. Twenty.dollars. FOR A SHIRT! Oh hell no, that's not how I roll. I don't spend $20 on a shirt for myself for anything, nevermind $20 on a shirt I'll probably fit into for about 6-8 weeks if I'm lucky.

Me being me, I thought- oh I can totally DIY something. WHAT was I thinking?!? I should add that I did look up some DIY instructions for this because I'm just not crafty enough to figure it out on my own.

I dug out a black shirt that I wore for last Halloween when I was a cat. It's not maternity- but I'm still fitting into my regular clothes so it's perfect. (FREE!)

First, I had to print out the template that I wanted to use and trace that onto freezer paper ($0.50 for the paper and ink that I used, and $3 for a roll of freezer paper--of which I probably used $0.10 worth). I was good with that part. Then, I had to cut it out with an Exacto knife ($3 with coupon at AC Moore). I've never worked with one so I had no idea what I was getting into. Exacto knives don't swivel so you can't cut rounded edges and you have very little control over them even for straight lines. Worst experience of my DIY life. LOL.

I got it all cut out, and slapped it on my shirt. With the use of my handy dandy iron- I ironed the freezer paper to the shirt so that all the edges would stay down. This works wonderfully if anyone ever wants to DIY something like this!

Then started the painting ($1.39 for the bottle of paint- I used half so $0.70). I didn't use fabric paint but I used multi-surface paint which says it works for fabric. I used a spongey brush thing ($.70) to blot it on for the first coat. It was pretty light and you could still see some black through the paint but I let that dry for a little bit. After it had dried enough to stay on- I went back over it again and applied the paint more heavily.

I let that dry for a few minutes and then I started to peel it off so that the paint would not end up adhering to the paper if it stayed on to long. Below is the finished product. I think I am going to add a red heart in the ribs once the white is dried. 

$5 for my whole shirt. Take that Etsy and Ebay!

If we knew the sex I could have added a top hat or bow tie for a boy, or a pink tutu or hair bow for a girl. Maybe I'll add May 2015 across the bottom in pink and blue or something to jazz it up a little? Maybe I should just leave it alone? What do you think?

10 weeks and ANOTHER doctor appointment....

Week 10 brought another 'emergency' doctor appointment. My spotting had turned to more of a red/pink versus the brown/pink it had been in prior weeks. I was highly annoyed and had about all I could handle of it. I kept thinking "What if the baby's heart had stopped and because of the progesterone, my body wouldn't miscarry completely?" I couldn't get this thought out of my head. My nurse is pretty great and got me scheduled for an appointment at the end of the day (my preference).

All day I was annoyed that I have yet to work a full week since I found out I am pregnant. I have had a doc appt every week, with the exception of the one week that I went home sick on a Friday afternoon. By the time I was driving to the appt, I was shaking like a leaf. I wanted Chop to be there with me but he had to stay with Tyler and Kallie. They still don't know and if it was bad news- I didn't want them there for that.

The doctor was great and listened to my worry. I've seen a different doctor each time I've been there for my 'emergency appts'--which is perfectly fine with me since in this practice your doctor does not necessarily deliver. When she first walked in, she introduced herself as Katrina instead of Dr Wyse. I was pretty impressed-there's jsut something about a doctor who goes by her first name.

She said she was going to try to hear the heartbeat, but not to panic if she couldn't find it. Baby is still so small (the size of a baby carrot) and low enough that it may be tricky. As soon as she put the doppler down, there it was. I teared up instantly. The baby's heartbeat is nice and strong, and consistent. She didn't give me a bpm.

Diagnosis: Blood in my urine and a bladder infection. I'm on antibiotic for 7 days, and she has ordered an ultrasound to double check on the spotting.

I have an appointment on Thursday for my regular OB appt, and we're going to have the ultrasound beforehand. Chop's going to go with me so he can get another peek at baby and hear the heartbeat for his first time. The week after, I have another ultrasound scheduled for my first trimester screening to check for Down Syndrome, Trisomy 13 and 18. I'm worried about what they'll find because at the 8 week appt there was an umbilical cord cyst which if it is still present by the end of the first trimester- it's an indication of a serious chromosomal issue. Praying it's gone by the 12 week scan so I can relax a little bit.

Other than the spotting, I feel fine. The only complaint I have is that I'll order something when we go out to eat and as soon as I take a bite- I'm totally turned off. This is some of my favorite stuff I'm ordering- onion rings, mozzarella sticks and a chicken sandwich. Most of the time at home- I end up with carbs because they seem to be the only thing I actually eat. Cereal, spaghetti, french toast, toast, bagels, etc. I've also got a slight cheese obsession too--I dip everything in cheese!

No pregnant woman ever wants to see bleeding...

..and I'm no exception. After 2 miscarriages, even a spot of blood is enough to send me over the edge.

Saturday night I had some beige colored CM. I figured it was just a product of my progesterone. Sunday morning, I woke up with pink spotting on the toilet paper. I freaked. I burst into tears and came downstairs to tell Chop. It was off and on spotting all day, and then my left side started hurting again. I spent all day laying down, my hips started hurting. I thought the worst, and was pretty much a sad mess. I napped, watched TV and read a book all day--what a waste of a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Monday morning, I woke up and had 2 red spots on the toilet paper. I immediately called my doctor and asked what to do. The nurse gave me a 9am appointment with the midwife. When I got there, I thought for sure my blood pressure was going to be through the roof again. It's been routinely 14x/9x. That's very high for me, I'm usually 110/76. The nurse took my blood pressure with the auto one and it was only 134/87. I was shocked it could be so low when I'm such a wreck. She did it manually and it was 122/83. Even better!

The midwife did a vaginal exam, and said when she neared my cervix to check and bumped it- it started to bleed. She thinks that is where the spotting is coming from. She said it just looks irritated and barely bumping it caused it to bleed. My cervix looks to be closed (didn't feel it because it's already irritated). She also took a swab because of the beige colored 'gunk' she found floating around- thinks it may be a yeast infection from the progesterone. She said the progesterone could be contributing to the irritation as well, or maybe just the act of stuffing them up there is bumping the cervix.

 I'm supposed to rest, take it easy, no sex until the spotting is gone (I havent had sex since ovulation anyway, so no issue there). Of course, go back if I start bleeding heavily and not just on the TP when I wipe. 

I'm still praying this little gummi bear is doing ok. The midwife felt confident that baby was ok and I didn't need another ultrasound since I just had one on Thursday. I can only hope she's right, and that the ultrasound could have also irritated the cervix.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers, they are greatly appreciated. I'm sorry I'm such a wreck, I just can't handle going through another miscarriage- especially after it's taken us so long to get this far.

Stupid pain!

Yesterday, I started having this annoying sharp stabbing pain in my left side. It was almost rhythmic and it would be present for hours and then go away for hours. I went to bed early last night because I just got tired of it hurting.

This morning, I called my OB to find out what I could do and she said they wanted an ultrasound to be done. They wanted to rule out the chance that there was a 'twin' that got stuck in my ovary and wasn't visible at the last ultrasound because of it being so early. They scheduled me for a 2pm ultrasound and a 420pm OB appt. The ultrasound techs are amazing here, they have no problem showing you what they are looking at, and make you feel really comfortable even though it's some of the scariest times of a pregnancy.

She did an abdominal scan first, and I could see the little gummi bear but it was hard to make anything out. About the only thing  I could make out of the "blob" was the flickering of the heart. His little heartbeat is beating at 167 beats per minute. Then, she did a transvag and it was much easier to make out. She burned a picture onto a CD for me to bring home. You can see little arm buds and leg buds growing. Amazing how much they change in just 10 days. She's measuring 8w5d, such a little overachiever. ;)

The doctor believes that the pain is coming from the corpus luteum cyst. It grew from 1.5 cm last week to 3c cm. It's likely that the pain is the cyst stretching because they found no free fluid in my uterus to indicate it was leaking. If the pain intensifies, I'm to go to the ER because it goes to 5 cm, it can cause the ovary to twist on itself and that's not good.

She said everything looks good. Baby looks great, no concerns and to keep doing what I'm doing. The only thing I can do for the cyst is to take Tylenol or use a hot pack on it. I'll just struggle through and deal with it- I am just glad to know it's nothing major.

143...the magic number.

We had our 1st ultrasound on Monday, September 29, 2014. I was a nervous wreck which is nothing less than I expected. I got there right on time and got taken back to the room immediately. Chop still wasn't there. The lady asked me if I needed to use the restroom so I said yes, so that I could buy more time. If I was going to get bad news, I knew I needed him to be there. The whole time I was in the bathroom I kept saying in my head "Ugh, he had ONE job. Just ONE job and he couldn't be here on time!" I finished in the bathroom, changed into a gown and put my feet in the stirrups. Just as she was getting ready to do the transvag ultrasound, he came in. *Whew* I felt better.

As soon as she got up to where she needed to be, I saw the gestational sac. *Insert small sigh of relief* Then, I saw our little one. *Insert bigger sigh of relief*. So, we have a gestational sac and we have a baby. The next thing she said had to be the best thing I've heard in a very long time. "Here's the baby's heartbeat flickering". I held back the tears but it was so reassuring. She measured the heartbeat and it was at 143 beats per minute.

I had my first doctor appointment today, which was pretty uneventful. I did ask about my progesterone and the midwife said that she wasn't very concerned that it's still on the low end of normal. Seeing a heartbeat makes it a viable pregnancy and progesterone supplements typically only help in the very early stages. She asked the doctor about it (because she didn't feel that her answer was enough--which really impressed me) and she said that I can double up on my suppositories if I want, it won't hurt. There's no science that says that every single woman has to be above x number. Not every woman is checked so there may be women who are at the same level as I am that miscarry, or women who are lower and have a viable pregnancy. And there's no science that says it's going to help after x amount of weeks. So, I can use 2 until 9 weeks, then drop back down to 1 each night until 12 weeks.

I've also been reading (I know, the worst thing you can do) and many say that suppositories don't always hit your bloodstream because they are being sent directly to where they are needed, the uterus. I am hoping and praying this is accurate at least to some extent. I think I am going to double up. It can't hurt, and at least then I will have known that I did everything I possibly could for this baby. If something is going to happen, it won't be because I didn't try. Right?

I have another appt on October 30 for my regular appt. We will get to hear the heartbeat *God willing!* I will probably be nervous again at that appointment, but I feel better having seen it once already. She would have brought me back in 2 weeks to try, but you can't always hear it with a doppler and she didn't want to cause un-do stress if I was ok with waiting. We'll wait, I don't need more stress. I also have another ultrasound scheduled for Nov 6 for the first trimester screening to check for Down Syndrome, Trisomy 13 and 18. It's a great chance to see baby again.