One week ago, Thursday, we found out that we're having a little girl! We went in for our ultrasound early in the morning. I barely slept the night before, but it was worth the tiredness the next day. I was so excited to know who was finally growing in my belly. We've had names picked out for years so we knew right away what her name was to be. I have a little Rebekah Elizabeth growing!
Now for the stressful part. In the midst of a lot of work stress - shutting down the summer and starting up the school year - I got a call from my doctor. They needed to see me as a follow up to my ultrasound and didn't want to wait until my appointment next Thursday. Okay...something must be up. After some phone tag with the doctors office I went in on Thursday for my appointment and got some possibly scary and stressful news. I have complete placenta previa. What that means is that where a woman's placenta would normally place itself at the upper back side of her uterus, mine has planted at the bottom and is completely covering my cervix. If I were to go into labor with it like that I could hemorrage and bleed to death and the baby could die. Not my idea of an ideal pregnancy here!
I'll go back in in a few weeks for another ultrasound. In the mean time, they're hoping that while my uterus grows to accomodate Bekah's growing little body (which is perfect and healthy) my placenta will move out of the way. Otherwise...I may be looking at bedrest and an early c-section delivery.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Just over 14 hours...
Has it really been four weeks since I last blogged? Man...I really suck at this whole thing! Here's to improvement, right?
Today I am 19 weeks and 3 days pregnant. My pants are definitely becoming uncomfortable, but there's no way that maternity clothes would stay on my body right now. Really, if you passed me in the grocery store (and didn't know I was pregnant) you'd never know it. Sleeping is starting to get uncomfortable now, and has been especially difficult this last week with the anticipation of our ultrasound tomorrow.
In the last couple of weeks I've been feeling a lot of movement. Some patterns beginning to develop but nothing consistent, yet. In the late evening I can lay in bed and feel the baby flopping around and kicking. On Sunday I had Justin put his hand on my belly to see if he could feel it. I had thought I'd felt it from the outside but wasn't sure if I was feeling it because I could also feel it on the inside so I decided to test it. I didn't say anything and allowed Justin to sit and feel and tell me when he felt things. He definitely was feeling the waves of baby pushing and kicks. Then, I swear, the kid did a summersault. I jumped! What a strange and cool sensation! It's neat to finally be able to share in what I'm feeling. I kind of felt like I was hogging the experience.
Tomorrow morning at 7:15 we have our second ultrasound. I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!! We're really keeping our fingers crossed that we can tell the sex of the baby. It will be neat to finally put a name to the kicking and a "he" or "she" instead of "it" or "baby". We've had our names picked out for years (I'm talking about 9 years or so) and it will be neat to finally know who we will be meeting in January!
Today I am 19 weeks and 3 days pregnant. My pants are definitely becoming uncomfortable, but there's no way that maternity clothes would stay on my body right now. Really, if you passed me in the grocery store (and didn't know I was pregnant) you'd never know it. Sleeping is starting to get uncomfortable now, and has been especially difficult this last week with the anticipation of our ultrasound tomorrow.
In the last couple of weeks I've been feeling a lot of movement. Some patterns beginning to develop but nothing consistent, yet. In the late evening I can lay in bed and feel the baby flopping around and kicking. On Sunday I had Justin put his hand on my belly to see if he could feel it. I had thought I'd felt it from the outside but wasn't sure if I was feeling it because I could also feel it on the inside so I decided to test it. I didn't say anything and allowed Justin to sit and feel and tell me when he felt things. He definitely was feeling the waves of baby pushing and kicks. Then, I swear, the kid did a summersault. I jumped! What a strange and cool sensation! It's neat to finally be able to share in what I'm feeling. I kind of felt like I was hogging the experience.
Tomorrow morning at 7:15 we have our second ultrasound. I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!! We're really keeping our fingers crossed that we can tell the sex of the baby. It will be neat to finally put a name to the kicking and a "he" or "she" instead of "it" or "baby". We've had our names picked out for years (I'm talking about 9 years or so) and it will be neat to finally know who we will be meeting in January!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
15 weeks and 4 days...and counting
I'm a couple of weeks into my second trimester, now. I'm finally beginning to feel somewhat human again. Luckily I don't spend all day, everyday nauseous anymore! I'm only getting nauseous when my stomach gets empty or when I get too hot. My energy level is also slowly improving - I can stay up past 8pm, now!
It's so hard to believe that the little peanut we saw on the ultrasound a month ago is now the size of an apple. I'm just starting to show (the extra padding that I have has delayed this process) but not even close to maternity clothes, yet. You can especially tell when I am lying on my back. I definitely have a baby bump, then! A little over a week ago I started feeling some movement...it basically felt like someone tapping me from the inside. No flutters or butterflies, yet, but this should start in the next couple of weeks!
I had the joy of going to the hospital yesterday to see my best friend's newborn baby, Addison. She's beautiful and Lisa was a champ as this is baby #3 for her. She only had to push for 7 minutes! That was one ripe baby! :) As I was sitting there holding her I couldn't help but think about what our baby is going to look like. Whose hands will he/she have? Whose hair? Whose nose? I'm getting excited and I have so long to wait! Even though it seems like an eternity before the baby will be here, the last couple of months (though gruelling) have gone by quickly and I know the rest of it will, too. As difficult as some parts of this pregnancy have been, I'm really trying to enjoy the entire experience. I have to admit...I'm not so sad the puking is over!
It's so hard to believe that the little peanut we saw on the ultrasound a month ago is now the size of an apple. I'm just starting to show (the extra padding that I have has delayed this process) but not even close to maternity clothes, yet. You can especially tell when I am lying on my back. I definitely have a baby bump, then! A little over a week ago I started feeling some movement...it basically felt like someone tapping me from the inside. No flutters or butterflies, yet, but this should start in the next couple of weeks!
I had the joy of going to the hospital yesterday to see my best friend's newborn baby, Addison. She's beautiful and Lisa was a champ as this is baby #3 for her. She only had to push for 7 minutes! That was one ripe baby! :) As I was sitting there holding her I couldn't help but think about what our baby is going to look like. Whose hands will he/she have? Whose hair? Whose nose? I'm getting excited and I have so long to wait! Even though it seems like an eternity before the baby will be here, the last couple of months (though gruelling) have gone by quickly and I know the rest of it will, too. As difficult as some parts of this pregnancy have been, I'm really trying to enjoy the entire experience. I have to admit...I'm not so sad the puking is over!
Monday, July 20, 2009
OOPS!!!
I realized today, while driving home, that I hadn't blogged in...well...eons. I just went back and reviewed my most recent blog. Hmm...March. A LOT has happened since then! I'm kind of upset with myself that I allowed this to happen. I thought that this blog would be a cool way to document our quest at parenthood. It would be good to follow through with this, if that is the goal. So, here we go at a SERIOUS catch-up session.
The last time I blogged was in March, a month before I got pregnant. I was dealing with my body going haywire and the possibility of the fact that I may have polycystic ovarian syndrome. That's a tough blow to deal with normally, but when you've actually been trying to get pregnant...it's like telling a 16 year old that yes, they have a car now, but no license to drive. It took another three weeks before I finally started my period. It was 11 weeks between cycles. That was the first time EVER that I had gone that long between periods. Something was obviously wrong.
Justin and I talked, and though I was distraught, we agreed to just keep trying, work on getting healthier, and things would hopefully work out. Time went by after my cycle finished, and we were headed on vacation in a matter of weeks - DISNEYLAND HERE WE COME! We were so excited to be headed to Disneyland for some fun and family time we just couldn't wait. In the midst of all of the planning I actually got excited that I wasn't pregnant because that meant I was able to go on everything I wanted to. No restrictions, no waiting while everyone else went. I was on the coaster alongside for the ride! My period was due again while we were on vacation, but I didn't think twice when it didn't come. I mean, hey...last time it took 11 weeks. What's one?
We had an amazing time in Disneyland/California Adventure. We got up early and stayed out late each night. Got to meet up with some close friends for an evening of fun together, and all around had an amazing vacation. It was definitely one for the record books! We got home on Thursday, May 21st. I had taken the whole week off and planned to just sleep on Friday. Justin had to work, but when he arrived at work in the morning, they didn't realize he was coming in. He "reluctantly" came home for a day of movies with me. On Saturday we went back to SeaTac to pick up his mom from the airport. She had flown to Arizona for his brother's law school graduation (the reason for the trip to Disneyland - to celebrate - in the first place) and was coming home. We headed out a bit early and planned to pick up some coffee when we got to the airport before his mom's flight came in.
On the way home, I was feeling slightly nauseous. We stopped at Denny's for a late-night meal and nothing sounded good. I forced myself to eat a BLT thinking that maybe it was just because my stomach was empty and I had only the coffee. I felt better after eating so I thought nothing of it. Sunday morning I woke up nauseous again and thought that I was coming down with the stomach bug that my sister-in-law and brother-in-law had on the trip. We had just a quiet day at home with a lot of rest, hoping that it would go away. On Monday, Justin and I went to go grocery shopping. He offered to stop for coffee, but it just didn't sound good, so we didn't. Tuesday morning Justin got up an made coffee like normal, but when I came downstairs to get my lunch ready for work, the smell made me nauseous. All I could do was turn off the coffee pot and walk away. Tuesday morning he asked me if he should even bother...to which the answer was "no". All the time, this nausea was not going away. I was having to force myself to eat because if I didn't it got worse. However, the thought of food was making me nauseous, too. 6 of one, half dozen of the other. We were beginning to get suspicious...and hopeful. I was trying not to get too excited, though, because of the last time(s) we thought I was pregnant.
By Thursday, I was really sick. I came home from work and forced myself to eat a small dinner. It made me feel quite a bit better, and I even got hungry again a bit later, so I ate an apple...ALL of which came back up again about 10 minutes later. At this point it's about 9:15 at night. Justin is sleeping, but woken up by my gastrointestinal pyrotechnics. He asked if I was okay...then told me I should pick up a pregnancy test on my way home.
Friday at work one of my co-workers asked me how I was feeling (I wasn't looking too hot). When I told her I had been puking the night before she smiled and asked me, "Are you pregnant?" I told her I wasn't sure, and that we were going to take a test that evening. I picked up a test on my way home after depositing Justin's paycheck in the bank. Justin was already home waiting for me. We took a deep breath and headed upstairs for the life-changing moment that was ahead of us...
The last time I blogged was in March, a month before I got pregnant. I was dealing with my body going haywire and the possibility of the fact that I may have polycystic ovarian syndrome. That's a tough blow to deal with normally, but when you've actually been trying to get pregnant...it's like telling a 16 year old that yes, they have a car now, but no license to drive. It took another three weeks before I finally started my period. It was 11 weeks between cycles. That was the first time EVER that I had gone that long between periods. Something was obviously wrong.
Justin and I talked, and though I was distraught, we agreed to just keep trying, work on getting healthier, and things would hopefully work out. Time went by after my cycle finished, and we were headed on vacation in a matter of weeks - DISNEYLAND HERE WE COME! We were so excited to be headed to Disneyland for some fun and family time we just couldn't wait. In the midst of all of the planning I actually got excited that I wasn't pregnant because that meant I was able to go on everything I wanted to. No restrictions, no waiting while everyone else went. I was on the coaster alongside for the ride! My period was due again while we were on vacation, but I didn't think twice when it didn't come. I mean, hey...last time it took 11 weeks. What's one?
We had an amazing time in Disneyland/California Adventure. We got up early and stayed out late each night. Got to meet up with some close friends for an evening of fun together, and all around had an amazing vacation. It was definitely one for the record books! We got home on Thursday, May 21st. I had taken the whole week off and planned to just sleep on Friday. Justin had to work, but when he arrived at work in the morning, they didn't realize he was coming in. He "reluctantly" came home for a day of movies with me. On Saturday we went back to SeaTac to pick up his mom from the airport. She had flown to Arizona for his brother's law school graduation (the reason for the trip to Disneyland - to celebrate - in the first place) and was coming home. We headed out a bit early and planned to pick up some coffee when we got to the airport before his mom's flight came in.
On the way home, I was feeling slightly nauseous. We stopped at Denny's for a late-night meal and nothing sounded good. I forced myself to eat a BLT thinking that maybe it was just because my stomach was empty and I had only the coffee. I felt better after eating so I thought nothing of it. Sunday morning I woke up nauseous again and thought that I was coming down with the stomach bug that my sister-in-law and brother-in-law had on the trip. We had just a quiet day at home with a lot of rest, hoping that it would go away. On Monday, Justin and I went to go grocery shopping. He offered to stop for coffee, but it just didn't sound good, so we didn't. Tuesday morning Justin got up an made coffee like normal, but when I came downstairs to get my lunch ready for work, the smell made me nauseous. All I could do was turn off the coffee pot and walk away. Tuesday morning he asked me if he should even bother...to which the answer was "no". All the time, this nausea was not going away. I was having to force myself to eat because if I didn't it got worse. However, the thought of food was making me nauseous, too. 6 of one, half dozen of the other. We were beginning to get suspicious...and hopeful. I was trying not to get too excited, though, because of the last time(s) we thought I was pregnant.
By Thursday, I was really sick. I came home from work and forced myself to eat a small dinner. It made me feel quite a bit better, and I even got hungry again a bit later, so I ate an apple...ALL of which came back up again about 10 minutes later. At this point it's about 9:15 at night. Justin is sleeping, but woken up by my gastrointestinal pyrotechnics. He asked if I was okay...then told me I should pick up a pregnancy test on my way home.
Friday at work one of my co-workers asked me how I was feeling (I wasn't looking too hot). When I told her I had been puking the night before she smiled and asked me, "Are you pregnant?" I told her I wasn't sure, and that we were going to take a test that evening. I picked up a test on my way home after depositing Justin's paycheck in the bank. Justin was already home waiting for me. We took a deep breath and headed upstairs for the life-changing moment that was ahead of us...
Friday, March 27, 2009
This means war...
This week has been an emotional one. On Monday I went to the doctors after being three weeks late. The only up side of my doctor's visit was when I got weighed. Confirmed that I've lost 16lbs even on the doctors scale. Why is it that home scales are usually so far off? Anyway, when I got there, they did a urine test to check for pregnancy. Negative. I talked with my doctor (who I love) and she said that she wanted to do a blood test to confirm that I wasn't pregnant. Then came the bad news... She said (in not so many words) that if I wasn't pregnant that it may be I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Something told my gut that I wasn't pregnant and this is what I was going to be faced with.
A little history: Two years ago I ended up in the emergency room at 5:30 in the morning because I woke up with a searing pain through my abdomen. Justin called his insurance company's nurse hotline and they told us we needed to go to the emergency room, especially because the pain was on my right side (hinting at appendix). Long story short, after two catscans and thousands of dollars they figured out that I had an ovarian cyst rupture and that the pain came from the fluid spreading into my abdomen. At the time, the doctors told us that most women get cysts monthly when they're getting ready to release an egg and that it was nothing to get worried about. He said that it should not effect our chances at having children, either.
Here I am, now, two years later being faced with the worst case scenario. My blood pregnancy test came back negative, which implies that I have PCOS (I still have to follow up with my doc). I was devastated on Monday when she mentioned it, and broke down again on Wednesday when the test results came back. Basically, because of too many cysts, my body has stopped being quite so sensitive to my insulin levels which triggers the hormone that matures my eggs. In other words no egg = no pregnancy.
Luckily the outlook is fairly positive (at least I'm trying to be positive). I have to lose some weight (big surprise), and then I might be put on a medication to make my body more sensitive to my insulin levels to help me ovulate. I will find out more next week when I go back to the doc. So, for now, I've kicked up my exercise schedule from 2-3 days a week to at least 5 and I'm being more careful of my eating habits.
One thing I have to say: I have an amazing husband. He has been so supportive and positive and is ensuring that his cooking is healthy and loaded with veggies. He's encouraging me to work out (and doing so himself) and continues to reassure me that things will be okay. If anything this has forced me to focus on my own health in order to create new. I've waged war on my own body, and I'm bound and determined to win this one!
A little history: Two years ago I ended up in the emergency room at 5:30 in the morning because I woke up with a searing pain through my abdomen. Justin called his insurance company's nurse hotline and they told us we needed to go to the emergency room, especially because the pain was on my right side (hinting at appendix). Long story short, after two catscans and thousands of dollars they figured out that I had an ovarian cyst rupture and that the pain came from the fluid spreading into my abdomen. At the time, the doctors told us that most women get cysts monthly when they're getting ready to release an egg and that it was nothing to get worried about. He said that it should not effect our chances at having children, either.
Here I am, now, two years later being faced with the worst case scenario. My blood pregnancy test came back negative, which implies that I have PCOS (I still have to follow up with my doc). I was devastated on Monday when she mentioned it, and broke down again on Wednesday when the test results came back. Basically, because of too many cysts, my body has stopped being quite so sensitive to my insulin levels which triggers the hormone that matures my eggs. In other words no egg = no pregnancy.
Luckily the outlook is fairly positive (at least I'm trying to be positive). I have to lose some weight (big surprise), and then I might be put on a medication to make my body more sensitive to my insulin levels to help me ovulate. I will find out more next week when I go back to the doc. So, for now, I've kicked up my exercise schedule from 2-3 days a week to at least 5 and I'm being more careful of my eating habits.
One thing I have to say: I have an amazing husband. He has been so supportive and positive and is ensuring that his cooking is healthy and loaded with veggies. He's encouraging me to work out (and doing so himself) and continues to reassure me that things will be okay. If anything this has forced me to focus on my own health in order to create new. I've waged war on my own body, and I'm bound and determined to win this one!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Beyond frustration
I'm now over three weeks late and am continuing to have negative pregnancy tests. On Friday morning we took one and thought that there was a faint line. We weren't sure if we were seeing it because it was there, or because we wanted it to be there. I went ahead and made an appointment to see my doctor on Monday just in case. We then took another test this morning which was most definitely negative.
At this point, I'm beyond frustrated. My body is obviously not doing what it should be. I'm really late, supposedly not pregnant, and don't know where to go from here. At this point, I'm so late that I've completely missed what should have been the next cycle and chance for us to get pregnant. So, if I'm really not pregnant, we're looking at January at the earliest to become parents.
I'm depressed, annoyed and worried. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there isn't something wrong with me, but at this point I have this sinking feeling that it might be the case. I'm going to the doc tomorrow morning so we'll see...
At this point, I'm beyond frustrated. My body is obviously not doing what it should be. I'm really late, supposedly not pregnant, and don't know where to go from here. At this point, I'm so late that I've completely missed what should have been the next cycle and chance for us to get pregnant. So, if I'm really not pregnant, we're looking at January at the earliest to become parents.
I'm depressed, annoyed and worried. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there isn't something wrong with me, but at this point I have this sinking feeling that it might be the case. I'm going to the doc tomorrow morning so we'll see...
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Whoops there goes another rubber tree...
Another negative pregnancy test this morning. Not sure what's going on. Today I am officially two weeks late. I'm headed to the doctor on Monday because now I'm getting worried that there's something wrong.
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