Ok, I am now 26 weeks pregnant! I just came from a doctor's appt where she informed me that everything looks great with me and the baby, what great news. We are getting ready to go on our family vacation in a couple of weeks and I will have to go back to see my doctor the day before we leave to do a glucose test and have the doctor check my cervix to ensure I haven't started dialating.
A couple of weeks ago, on a Sunday afternoon, I started feeling pretty bad. I had a horrible pain in my right, lower side. The pain started out a little concerning then progressively got worse throughout the day. Derek was planning to take one of his finals that day so I tried really hard to stay calm and wait it out to see if I would start feeling better. Around 5pm I tried to get out of the bed to use the restroom only to find I couldn't even sit up on my own the pain had gotten so bad. I thought I had appendicidous or a ruptured ovararian cyst of some sort. I had to call him in to help me and he told me that we should probably go somewhere to get it looked at if I was in that much pain. Long story short, we went to the emergency room and I was admitted to the hospital since I am more than 20 wks pregnant...common procudure for pregnant folk. After about 3 hours of monitoring the baby and making me wait for a doctor to show up, the told me that it was something called round ligament pain. I told Derek that there was no way in the world it could be pain from a stretching ligament due to a growing uterus! The pain was so bad I couldn't believe the diagnosis. I had packed my bags to stay for a few days at the hospital because I thought I was going to need surgery on something. Thank goodness the diagnosis was something so simple and non threatening to me or the baby. Several of the nurses commented on how cooprative our little sweet baby is. They said they had never seen such a good baby at nearly 25 weeks. The baby was easy to monitor which I guess they typically aren't at that gestational age. Hope the baby stays cooperative! :)
On a side note, shortly after recovering from the soreness of my expanding ligaments, Derek and I were alseep one night and out of nowhere....a knee, right in my stomach! Derek must have had a dream about something and kicked me right in the stomach pretty hard. It startled both of us and I wasn't able to go back to sleep for about an hour.
This is going to be one tough baby!!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Week 24
Well, this week marks the start of month 6. I have been able to consistently feel the baby move now for the last 4 weeks. This, of course, keeps me sane while I am in between doctors appts. It has been 3 full weeks now since I have seen my baby and thank heavens I can feel him otherwise, I am certain I would be driving myself and Derek crazy. In addition to being able to feel the baby move better I can also now observe her many kicks by looking at my stomach. It is incredibly interesting to me and I could sit for hours and just feel and watch the baby move. I wonder what the baby looks like and what he's doing in there. I just love it!
Friday, April 25, 2008
Week 21
Hi All, I just got back from week 21 sonogram...very exciting! Doctor says my placenta has moved up another 3 mm and my cervix looks good. One more appt. and she is going to feel confident that the 2 issues should be just fine. I must admit, I will really miss seeing the baby every week. I will have to go 4 whole weeks without seeing the baby. Kinda makes me sad but if that means that all is well, that's the important thing.
So, now on to the fun stuff. Last week I had the male sonographer and he had no interest in seeing anything but the cervix and placenta, boring! This week, I saw Linda again...thank heavens! She always checks the heartbeat and explores to make sure all looks well with the baby. She did a 3D scan today which is somewhat odd. She said it looks funny because the baby is still pretty skinny at this point in time. It was really neat though. The baby now has a sense of touch and books I have read say they begin investigating things on their bodies at this time. This must be true because during the entire 3D scan, he (or she) was touching his face and rubbing his eyes. I got to see him swallowing again which is really neat too. Cutest thing though was when he decides to investigate his foot. He raised his entire leg up and put his toes on his nose right while we were watching! I loved it!!! I have a great picture of it as well.
Everything looks great with the baby and things appear to be looking better for me as well. I am going to have a smile on my face all day and likely all weekend after seeing how cute our baby is.
What a miracle!
So, now on to the fun stuff. Last week I had the male sonographer and he had no interest in seeing anything but the cervix and placenta, boring! This week, I saw Linda again...thank heavens! She always checks the heartbeat and explores to make sure all looks well with the baby. She did a 3D scan today which is somewhat odd. She said it looks funny because the baby is still pretty skinny at this point in time. It was really neat though. The baby now has a sense of touch and books I have read say they begin investigating things on their bodies at this time. This must be true because during the entire 3D scan, he (or she) was touching his face and rubbing his eyes. I got to see him swallowing again which is really neat too. Cutest thing though was when he decides to investigate his foot. He raised his entire leg up and put his toes on his nose right while we were watching! I loved it!!! I have a great picture of it as well.
Everything looks great with the baby and things appear to be looking better for me as well. I am going to have a smile on my face all day and likely all weekend after seeing how cute our baby is.
What a miracle!
Friday, April 18, 2008
A sweet poem I found
I am not alone
Running errands and talking on the phone,
I am pleasantly reminded that I am not alone.
Little tiny hands, a precious rounded knee,
pushing and twisting that no one can see.
Oh sweet child kicking up your heels,
it is our little secret that only I can feel.
I look forward to your birth,
when I can kiss your skin,
but for now I will just smile,
as I feel you play within.
Running errands and talking on the phone,
I am pleasantly reminded that I am not alone.
Little tiny hands, a precious rounded knee,
pushing and twisting that no one can see.
Oh sweet child kicking up your heels,
it is our little secret that only I can feel.
I look forward to your birth,
when I can kiss your skin,
but for now I will just smile,
as I feel you play within.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Surprise or no surprise? That is the question.
I should start by saying I am not a surprise kinda girl. Derek is not only a surprise kinda guy but a very adamant one that doesn't appear to be anywhere near changing his mind. He doesn't want to know the sex of the baby (though we both have our opinions). First and foremost, both of us are just so happy that we are going to have a baby and know that this is such a blessing it won't matter if the baby is a boy or a girl. I have thought about both scenarios as I am sure he has and I just can't say one way or the other which I would prefer. Little girls vs. little boys, how could there be an argument over which you prefer when both are so cute in there very different little ways.
Derek has opted not to participate in the many sonograms I have had (at least from week 16 forward since this is the time of genital development) so he wouldn't accidentally see anything that might reveal the sex of the baby. I, on the other hand, have informed the sonographer to not tell me anything but not to avoid the area on my behalf. This is my attempt at trying to sneak a look to see if I might "accidentally" find out if the little sweet baby inside of me is a girl or boy. I have had no luck! This baby seems determined to not show his or her mother anything! Those cute little legs are either folded up tightly or crossed nice and neat so Mommy can't see anything. The guessing game will have to continue for now.
Derek has opted not to participate in the many sonograms I have had (at least from week 16 forward since this is the time of genital development) so he wouldn't accidentally see anything that might reveal the sex of the baby. I, on the other hand, have informed the sonographer to not tell me anything but not to avoid the area on my behalf. This is my attempt at trying to sneak a look to see if I might "accidentally" find out if the little sweet baby inside of me is a girl or boy. I have had no luck! This baby seems determined to not show his or her mother anything! Those cute little legs are either folded up tightly or crossed nice and neat so Mommy can't see anything. The guessing game will have to continue for now.
My many sonograms
To date, I have had 11 sonograms and I am in week 20. Sonograms at this frequency are discouraged unless there is reason to keep a close eye on the development of the baby or in my case, the mother. I am really glad that I have a doctor that caught a couple of potential issues and is willing to spend the time monitoring things to ensure we are aware of and prepared for potential problems.
In the meantime, while my doctor is monitoring things, I get that absolute pleasure of seeing my baby develop over time. Just a couple of weeks ago, the sonographer, Linda, began her assessment of my cervix and there, plain as day, are these 2 perfect little feet sticking straight out as if to say, someone pay attention to me! The following week as she was scanning for brain development, she suddenly stopped and got excited (which is nice to know other people that see this stuff all day long still get excited) and told me to look quickly. The baby was taking large gulps of fluid into his mouth! I was so amazed. His mouth and face were so distinct and easy to decipher. Linda said he must be hungry and I agreed since I had not had anything for lunch and I was starving. Honestly, that has to be the best thing I have seen to date on any sonogram. That does bring to mind my 12 week sonogram though. Derek and I went in for our 12 week video and the baby was in the wrong position to see a profile and was upside down, things just didn't seem to be going very well for the video and then suddenly, the baby starts jumping like a little bean, up and down, firmly pushing off with his feet and bouncing around. I loved that almost as much as the gulping. Last week, I saw the babies little nose and lips just as plain as day. I can't wait to see what this sweet baby is going to look like!
In the meantime, while my doctor is monitoring things, I get that absolute pleasure of seeing my baby develop over time. Just a couple of weeks ago, the sonographer, Linda, began her assessment of my cervix and there, plain as day, are these 2 perfect little feet sticking straight out as if to say, someone pay attention to me! The following week as she was scanning for brain development, she suddenly stopped and got excited (which is nice to know other people that see this stuff all day long still get excited) and told me to look quickly. The baby was taking large gulps of fluid into his mouth! I was so amazed. His mouth and face were so distinct and easy to decipher. Linda said he must be hungry and I agreed since I had not had anything for lunch and I was starving. Honestly, that has to be the best thing I have seen to date on any sonogram. That does bring to mind my 12 week sonogram though. Derek and I went in for our 12 week video and the baby was in the wrong position to see a profile and was upside down, things just didn't seem to be going very well for the video and then suddenly, the baby starts jumping like a little bean, up and down, firmly pushing off with his feet and bouncing around. I loved that almost as much as the gulping. Last week, I saw the babies little nose and lips just as plain as day. I can't wait to see what this sweet baby is going to look like!
The last several weeks
Shortly after week 12, I met with my OBGyn here in Austin for her initial check into the pregnancy. When I scheduled the appointment with her, I asked if I would be having anther sonogram and much to my sadness, she said no. A quick urine test and chat with the doctor (I am back at Austin Regional Clinic if that doesn't say enough) and I was out the door. I had read so many articles about your first meeting with your OBGyn and the lists of questions I should have asked her regarding the million and one things I should know about the pregnancy and delivery. Needless to say, it was in and out and all those questions I had read went out the door as quickly as she did. I left having heard the babies heartbeat which always makes me feel so relieved and excited and quite honestly, I couldn't recall all those questions I was supposed to ask. Derek would have told me to write them down but I didn't.
I received a call from the doctor's office two days later and anyone that has an OBGyn knows they don't call you unless you need to be informed of something. In other words, if all is well, you won't hear from them at all. The nurse let me know that the doctor had reviewed my entire file and noticed that 10 years prior, she performed a procedure on me to remove pre cancerous cells from my cervix (this is called a LEAP procedure) and that they wanted to monitor me for several weeks to ensure I had a healthy and strong cervix. Studies have shown that LEAP might be associated with pre-term labor and/or miscarriages late in pregnancy. I panicked like I usually do and immediately began researching the topic. I found lots of info to keep my mind occupied and unsettled. I went in the following week, week 15, for a sonogram to check my cervix and all looked fine. The sonographer was nice enough to let me look at the baby while she was investigating everything else. How cute! I went home a little less troubled and with some very cute pictures of the baby. Right now, I am 20 weeks and have been to the doctor at least once a week for the last 5 weeks and have 2 more appts scheduled before they give me a clean bill of health and consider my pregnancy to be normal as apposed to high risk. I have lots of pictures that have been added to my collection over the last few weeks as well as another potential issue to occupy my mind. They found a few weeks ago that my placenta is low lying and told me the risks involved followed of course, by the typical "really there's no need to worry just yet" comment they like to end their findings with. Finally this week, it had moved up about 2mm and they are excited and hopeful that it will be making its way back to where it belongs and all my worries can be put to rest for the remainder of the pregnancy.
I am sure everything will be just fine.
I received a call from the doctor's office two days later and anyone that has an OBGyn knows they don't call you unless you need to be informed of something. In other words, if all is well, you won't hear from them at all. The nurse let me know that the doctor had reviewed my entire file and noticed that 10 years prior, she performed a procedure on me to remove pre cancerous cells from my cervix (this is called a LEAP procedure) and that they wanted to monitor me for several weeks to ensure I had a healthy and strong cervix. Studies have shown that LEAP might be associated with pre-term labor and/or miscarriages late in pregnancy. I panicked like I usually do and immediately began researching the topic. I found lots of info to keep my mind occupied and unsettled. I went in the following week, week 15, for a sonogram to check my cervix and all looked fine. The sonographer was nice enough to let me look at the baby while she was investigating everything else. How cute! I went home a little less troubled and with some very cute pictures of the baby. Right now, I am 20 weeks and have been to the doctor at least once a week for the last 5 weeks and have 2 more appts scheduled before they give me a clean bill of health and consider my pregnancy to be normal as apposed to high risk. I have lots of pictures that have been added to my collection over the last few weeks as well as another potential issue to occupy my mind. They found a few weeks ago that my placenta is low lying and told me the risks involved followed of course, by the typical "really there's no need to worry just yet" comment they like to end their findings with. Finally this week, it had moved up about 2mm and they are excited and hopeful that it will be making its way back to where it belongs and all my worries can be put to rest for the remainder of the pregnancy.
I am sure everything will be just fine.
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