Last week, I was feeling unnecessarily nervous about the pregnancy. The constant urge to go to the bathroom had subsided, I was generally feeling better, and I wasn't starving all the time. It made me wonder if there was something wrong. I tried to tell myself that everything was fine - no bad signs like cramping or bleeding, and that the second trimester is usually the best. I think Gary ended up a bit worried b/c of my concerns, so we bought a $20 heart monitor at Babies R Us on Friday. Of course, the thing looked pretty chintzy and we weren't surprised that we weren't able to hear the baby's heartbeat. Additionally, since I'm only 15 weeks, it's difficult to hear the heartbeat anyway. I think what made me worry a bit more than normal is that it's been a while since we've been to the dr and our next appt isn't for another 3 weeks.
Sunday was not a good day for me. I think the combination of McDonald's for breakfast and indian buffet for lunch did a number on my stomach. I had the worst stomach ache that lasted until 2am. I slept for about 2 hours in the afternoon and then spent the rest of the day/evening on the couch. Thankfully, the stomach ache went away and I was able to sleep most of the night.
Monday (yesterday) I felt some cramping that just wouldn't go away. It didn't hurt - it felt more like someone was constantly poking me in the lower stomach. I became concerned and the longer I sat at work, the more I was thinking that I just needed to have a quick heart beat scan to make sure that everything's ok. I called the Ask A Nurse and she said that it's probably b/c the uterus didn't have enough water. She suggested that I drink 2 big glasses of water in 10 minutes and wait an hour. If the cramps didn't stop, I was to call her back and we'd figure out where to go from there. Well, the cramps stopped and now I'm drinking tons of water to make sure it doesn't happen again. :)
I told Gary about what happened (and that there's nothing to worry about). However, he ended up searching for a better heart monitor and found one on Craigslist for $40 (normally $250). We picked it up last night from a *very* scary looking couple in a trashy looking yard/house. We didn't want to get our hopes up that it would work since I'm still not that far along, but thankfully I was finally able to find the heartbeat! Gary was unable to find it and it took me a while to find the "sweet spot" but it was definitely there! :) I don't imagine we'll use the monitor often - just in times that I feel like I need that reassurance b/c something weird is going on.
So, now I feel better about it and I think I can handle waiting another 3 weeks for the appt. Hopefully the heartburn, stomach aches and other issues lessen b/c it's definitely not easy to be in pain so often. :P
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Second trimester = trudging through desert
We purposefully put our next doctor's appointment and a standard ultrasound at the same time "for convenience." But, now I think we're both regretting it, because after having seen the doctor so many times in the first trimester, this second one is moving at a snails pace! Three more weeks before we see the baby again via ultrasound or hear his heartbeat through doppler.
Clearly too far off from the last one, because we're both antsy!
Clearly too far off from the last one, because we're both antsy!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
13 weeks
Last Friday, I hit the 13 week mark. I had read that women typically start to feel better in the second trimester and I was looking forward to it! I definitely don't have to wear the wrist bands anymore, but the past few days I haven't been feeling stellar. The annoying thing about it is that I can't really explain what's wrong - just that I'm not feeling great. Yes, I still have the gas issues which can be quite painful, but I at least know what that feels like. Some examples of the "new" feelings are:
* One morning, after getting out of the shower, I felt dizzy but this time my vision got weird and I swear I saw stars! I never really knew what they were talking about in cartoons (seeing stars or tweetie birds), but now I know!
* Yesterday at the gym, I was riding the bike and I had another weird vision/dizzy spell. I stopped pedaling fast and just took it easy the rest of the time. I also felt weird twinges on both sides of my stomach so I made sure to take it easy until they went away. I was able to do 30 minutes on the bike, but it was difficult to stay the whole time.
* Last night, there was a weird feeling in my stomach and I felt like I needed to lay still or I would throw up. Not because I was nauseous, but more like I had eaten way too much food (which I didn't) and it was lodged like a ball in my stomach and needed to come back. Thankfully, I never threw up, but I drank milk when I woke up and sat a few times to keep steady.
* This morning I was walking to my office and all of a sudden my vision blurred and I got super dizzy. I made my way to a lamppost and just held on until my head cleared and I was able to continue walking to my office.
Mom thinks that the dizziness this morning might have been caused by low blood pressure. Hard to say, but the last time I had a dr appt (a week ago) I had higher blood pressure than usual (even though it was normal range for most people). I don't have a way to check my own blood pressure, but maybe I'll see if there's something I can do to check it on my own. I know that pregnancy sometimes causes lower pressure b/c it's all flowing differently to help the baby grow, but I'm not sure if that's what's causing the dizzy spells lately.
* One morning, after getting out of the shower, I felt dizzy but this time my vision got weird and I swear I saw stars! I never really knew what they were talking about in cartoons (seeing stars or tweetie birds), but now I know!
* Yesterday at the gym, I was riding the bike and I had another weird vision/dizzy spell. I stopped pedaling fast and just took it easy the rest of the time. I also felt weird twinges on both sides of my stomach so I made sure to take it easy until they went away. I was able to do 30 minutes on the bike, but it was difficult to stay the whole time.
* Last night, there was a weird feeling in my stomach and I felt like I needed to lay still or I would throw up. Not because I was nauseous, but more like I had eaten way too much food (which I didn't) and it was lodged like a ball in my stomach and needed to come back. Thankfully, I never threw up, but I drank milk when I woke up and sat a few times to keep steady.
* This morning I was walking to my office and all of a sudden my vision blurred and I got super dizzy. I made my way to a lamppost and just held on until my head cleared and I was able to continue walking to my office.
Mom thinks that the dizziness this morning might have been caused by low blood pressure. Hard to say, but the last time I had a dr appt (a week ago) I had higher blood pressure than usual (even though it was normal range for most people). I don't have a way to check my own blood pressure, but maybe I'll see if there's something I can do to check it on my own. I know that pregnancy sometimes causes lower pressure b/c it's all flowing differently to help the baby grow, but I'm not sure if that's what's causing the dizzy spells lately.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
YAY!
It was sooner than expected, but the genetic counselor called this morning with the results from the CVS and everything is fine genetically!! Additionally, since they look at the chromosomes, she told us that we're having a baby boy. :) I really don't care what sex the baby is, as long as it's healthy!! However, now that we know the sex, we only have to concentrate on trying to come up with boy names instead of both. I don't know how they knew, but both my mom and Gary's mom told us that it was going to be a boy - so they're right!
Yesterday, we had a regular dr appt. They took my weight (I haven't gained anything) and blood pressure - it was higher than I'm used to but it's still in normal range since I have lower blood pressure regularly. When we met with the dr, she really only just asked if we had any questions and then we listened to the baby's heartbeat (which is always nice to hear). Honestly, I kinda felt like it was a waste of time to take off work for so long for just that (even though I know they like to check things along the way to make sure that I'm not gaining too much weight too fast, etc). She scheduled us to come back in 6 weeks for another ultrasound (where they check the anatomy and make sure everything's ok). Originally she scheduled another regular dr appt for 4 weeks, but I asked her to change it so that I could do both appts on the same day so Gary & I only have to take off work once. So, we'll be going back when I'm around 18 weeks.
Yesterday, we had a regular dr appt. They took my weight (I haven't gained anything) and blood pressure - it was higher than I'm used to but it's still in normal range since I have lower blood pressure regularly. When we met with the dr, she really only just asked if we had any questions and then we listened to the baby's heartbeat (which is always nice to hear). Honestly, I kinda felt like it was a waste of time to take off work for so long for just that (even though I know they like to check things along the way to make sure that I'm not gaining too much weight too fast, etc). She scheduled us to come back in 6 weeks for another ultrasound (where they check the anatomy and make sure everything's ok). Originally she scheduled another regular dr appt for 4 weeks, but I asked her to change it so that I could do both appts on the same day so Gary & I only have to take off work once. So, we'll be going back when I'm around 18 weeks.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
11 weeks
This was the ultrascan photo that we got right before the CVS. The baby was 11 weeks and 4 days. The baby's head is on the left and the "blob" above its forehead is the little hand (kinda like a salute).
As of Friday, I officially hit the second trimester. Thankfully, I still haven't had any bad effects from the CVS (no cramping, bleeding, etc). I'm nervous about getting the results, but I still have a week to go before getting the results (prolly not until Thursday or Friday).
I have another dr appt tomorrow, but it's just a general check-up - thankfully nothing horrific. :)
As of Friday, I officially hit the second trimester. Thankfully, I still haven't had any bad effects from the CVS (no cramping, bleeding, etc). I'm nervous about getting the results, but I still have a week to go before getting the results (prolly not until Thursday or Friday).
I have another dr appt tomorrow, but it's just a general check-up - thankfully nothing horrific. :)
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
CVS
Yesterday was the dreaded CVS appt. First, Gary & I saw a genetic counselor to discuss our genetic background and to talk about any questions we had about the CVS. One thing that kinda came as a shock was that the miscarriage rate for a CVS is actually 1 in 150 - not 1 in 350 like the previous doctor told us. (We have another appt with her next week and you can bet that I'm going to tell her the correct information so that she doesn't tell other scared families the wrong information!)
The counselor told us that the CVS test is 99.5% accurate. The other .5% is in cases that the cells weren't able to culture. It's also taking into account the very slight possibility of a "false positive." We wanted clarification about the false positive b/c if that's the case we would then need to have an amnio to verify the results. Gary & I figured that we might as well skip the CVS and wait for the amnio if that was the case. However, the counselor said that it's a 1 in 1,000 chance that there would be a false positive, so we decided to go ahead with the ultrasound. I don't know if I could explain the false positive so well, but basically, on those rare occasions, the placenta could have the mosaicism of Down's but the baby could still be ok. If that's the case, the numbers would be so wonky and out of sorts that they would know that something is wrong. One thing that eased my mind is that if they are able to culture the cells they would know for sure if there was something wrong with the baby (unless it's the weird 1 in 1000 case mentioned above). Apparently, there would *not* be a false positive or false negative without them knowing something weird is going on and suggesting an amnio to clear up the question.
We went into another room for the ultrasound and she said that everything still looked normal (the size of the baby, etc). The baby already has definite hands and feet and we were able to see that one baby's hand was near it's forehead and that it's legs were crossed. The ultrasound tech looked at the placement of the placenta so that they could get an idea of which CVS method they would need to use (either with a needle through the belly or a tube through the vaginal canal). I was hoping that it would be vaginally since I've heard that it's less invasive (less pain), however it does lead to more bleeding afterwards.
The dr possibly performing the test came in to talk to us to see if we had any more questions and to see if we had decided to go through with it. Then she broke the bad news..... b/c of the placement of my placenta, the CVS would be the needle through the belly. :( Since I had been through an amnio with the first pregnancy, I was asking about the differences, and the dr said that the needle is bigger with a CVS (b/c they're collecting more than just fluid) and that the needle, once in, is moved around more instead of just straight in an straight out so that they can collect all the stuff that they need. I certainly was upset and very scared, but I didn't let that stop me from going ahead with the test. In addition to the regular stuff they test for, we also consented for them to check for cystic fibrosis, which resulted in me having to give blood after the CVS. Yay - another needle. :(
Gary ran off briefly to find a magazine for me to hold over my face so that I didn't have to see what was happening. During that time, I was being prepped for the test. Basically, I just had to lay on my back and pull my pants down low and my shirt up high so they had plenty of access to my belly and pelvic region. They cleaned me off, put the gel for the ultrasound on one section of my stomach and then I just prayed that it would all be over quickly!
Since I didn't watch anything, I can only tell you what it felt like. The ultrasound technician started her thing so that she could guide the dr to the placenta (which wasn't near the baby). Then a sharp needle prick, which was to make the area numb. The dr inserted a needle in which I thought was the beginning of her taking the sample. However, I was wrong! It was actually a guide needle for the other needle that would be taking the sample. When the main needle was inserted, I felt like a "pop" as it went through something (the placenta? the uterus? I don't know). That was painful and completely took me off guard since I thought that the first needle was already gathering the sample (the dr wasn't telling me what was going on as she was doing things). After the pop, I could feel the needle moving around and it was all so gross and I just kept hoping that it would be over soon. Around the time that I thought I couldn't take anymore, she said "almost done", and then it was over. She looked at the sample to make sure that she had enough. During that time, I was starting to panic and hoped that she had enough b/c I really didn't think I could do that all over again. Thankfully, she had enough and it was all over!! The ultrasound technician then did another little scan and let us hear the baby's heartbeat. She said that some people are reassured by it so that we know that the baby's still there and ok. :)
As they were cleaning me up, I slowly started to shake, my teeth started to chatter and I began crying. I think that I had held in the scared feelings as best I could after she first dropped the bombshell of it needing to be through the belly. Once the whole thing was over, a wave of emotion from all the panic, being scared, and in pain came over me all at once. I felt silly for crying, but I tried to tell myself that I'm allowed to cry b/c I just went through something scary and I'm hormonal! I went to the bathroom (since I had to have a full bladder through the whole procedure) and let myself cry it out for a bit.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the end. I had to wait a while for the lab person to call me back, but thankfully, the blood draw wasn't as yucky as what I had just gone through.
After, we treated ourselves to Cheesecake Factory for lunch, and then I laid on the couch all day watching movies. I didn't have any problems the rest of the day - no cramping (except for minor discomfort) and there was only a tiny drop of blood once when I went to the bathroom. I'm not sure how long it's possible to have a miscarriage afterwards, but they only suggested that I take it easy for 24 hours after the procedure. I definitely did yesterday and today I'm just going home after work instead of going to the gym. I'm keeping an eye on things, but so far nothing out of the ordinary.
Now.... we wait for the results. We won't know anything until the end of next week b/c it takes time for the cells to culture and grow. Hopefully, we'll have good news then!
The counselor told us that the CVS test is 99.5% accurate. The other .5% is in cases that the cells weren't able to culture. It's also taking into account the very slight possibility of a "false positive." We wanted clarification about the false positive b/c if that's the case we would then need to have an amnio to verify the results. Gary & I figured that we might as well skip the CVS and wait for the amnio if that was the case. However, the counselor said that it's a 1 in 1,000 chance that there would be a false positive, so we decided to go ahead with the ultrasound. I don't know if I could explain the false positive so well, but basically, on those rare occasions, the placenta could have the mosaicism of Down's but the baby could still be ok. If that's the case, the numbers would be so wonky and out of sorts that they would know that something is wrong. One thing that eased my mind is that if they are able to culture the cells they would know for sure if there was something wrong with the baby (unless it's the weird 1 in 1000 case mentioned above). Apparently, there would *not* be a false positive or false negative without them knowing something weird is going on and suggesting an amnio to clear up the question.
We went into another room for the ultrasound and she said that everything still looked normal (the size of the baby, etc). The baby already has definite hands and feet and we were able to see that one baby's hand was near it's forehead and that it's legs were crossed. The ultrasound tech looked at the placement of the placenta so that they could get an idea of which CVS method they would need to use (either with a needle through the belly or a tube through the vaginal canal). I was hoping that it would be vaginally since I've heard that it's less invasive (less pain), however it does lead to more bleeding afterwards.
The dr possibly performing the test came in to talk to us to see if we had any more questions and to see if we had decided to go through with it. Then she broke the bad news..... b/c of the placement of my placenta, the CVS would be the needle through the belly. :( Since I had been through an amnio with the first pregnancy, I was asking about the differences, and the dr said that the needle is bigger with a CVS (b/c they're collecting more than just fluid) and that the needle, once in, is moved around more instead of just straight in an straight out so that they can collect all the stuff that they need. I certainly was upset and very scared, but I didn't let that stop me from going ahead with the test. In addition to the regular stuff they test for, we also consented for them to check for cystic fibrosis, which resulted in me having to give blood after the CVS. Yay - another needle. :(
Gary ran off briefly to find a magazine for me to hold over my face so that I didn't have to see what was happening. During that time, I was being prepped for the test. Basically, I just had to lay on my back and pull my pants down low and my shirt up high so they had plenty of access to my belly and pelvic region. They cleaned me off, put the gel for the ultrasound on one section of my stomach and then I just prayed that it would all be over quickly!
Since I didn't watch anything, I can only tell you what it felt like. The ultrasound technician started her thing so that she could guide the dr to the placenta (which wasn't near the baby). Then a sharp needle prick, which was to make the area numb. The dr inserted a needle in which I thought was the beginning of her taking the sample. However, I was wrong! It was actually a guide needle for the other needle that would be taking the sample. When the main needle was inserted, I felt like a "pop" as it went through something (the placenta? the uterus? I don't know). That was painful and completely took me off guard since I thought that the first needle was already gathering the sample (the dr wasn't telling me what was going on as she was doing things). After the pop, I could feel the needle moving around and it was all so gross and I just kept hoping that it would be over soon. Around the time that I thought I couldn't take anymore, she said "almost done", and then it was over. She looked at the sample to make sure that she had enough. During that time, I was starting to panic and hoped that she had enough b/c I really didn't think I could do that all over again. Thankfully, she had enough and it was all over!! The ultrasound technician then did another little scan and let us hear the baby's heartbeat. She said that some people are reassured by it so that we know that the baby's still there and ok. :)
As they were cleaning me up, I slowly started to shake, my teeth started to chatter and I began crying. I think that I had held in the scared feelings as best I could after she first dropped the bombshell of it needing to be through the belly. Once the whole thing was over, a wave of emotion from all the panic, being scared, and in pain came over me all at once. I felt silly for crying, but I tried to tell myself that I'm allowed to cry b/c I just went through something scary and I'm hormonal! I went to the bathroom (since I had to have a full bladder through the whole procedure) and let myself cry it out for a bit.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the end. I had to wait a while for the lab person to call me back, but thankfully, the blood draw wasn't as yucky as what I had just gone through.
After, we treated ourselves to Cheesecake Factory for lunch, and then I laid on the couch all day watching movies. I didn't have any problems the rest of the day - no cramping (except for minor discomfort) and there was only a tiny drop of blood once when I went to the bathroom. I'm not sure how long it's possible to have a miscarriage afterwards, but they only suggested that I take it easy for 24 hours after the procedure. I definitely did yesterday and today I'm just going home after work instead of going to the gym. I'm keeping an eye on things, but so far nothing out of the ordinary.
Now.... we wait for the results. We won't know anything until the end of next week b/c it takes time for the cells to culture and grow. Hopefully, we'll have good news then!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
cramps
The past few days I have had a few spasms of cramps. It's not consistent - just occasionally. Whenever it happens, I try to not do anything until the cramps go away. I finally read a little about it today and apparently it's common during this time (10 weeks). It's either the placenta latching on or it's the expansion of the uterus to accommodate all that's going on inside. Either way, nothing to be worried about unless it's accompanied by bleeding (which, for me, it's not).
I was thrown off yesterday when I found out that our genetic counselor/possible CVS appt is actually next week instead of 2 weeks from now. It's not a big deal, I suppose, it's just closer than I was thinking. At least if we go through with the CVS, that part of the worry will be over! If I have it done, I plan on just going home and laying on the couch all day - I think that's what they usually recommend. Hopefully I'll feel good enough to go to work the next day so I don't blow through my sick/vacation before maternity leave. If I don't take any vacation time between now and then (only using sick days) I'll have around 15 days saved up (which is only 3 weeks).
I was thrown off yesterday when I found out that our genetic counselor/possible CVS appt is actually next week instead of 2 weeks from now. It's not a big deal, I suppose, it's just closer than I was thinking. At least if we go through with the CVS, that part of the worry will be over! If I have it done, I plan on just going home and laying on the couch all day - I think that's what they usually recommend. Hopefully I'll feel good enough to go to work the next day so I don't blow through my sick/vacation before maternity leave. If I don't take any vacation time between now and then (only using sick days) I'll have around 15 days saved up (which is only 3 weeks).
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