New picture

Don't have much time to post, but here is a new picture! 12 weeks and 3 days.

This time you measured 13 weeks, you always measure ahead. Such an overachiever.

Maybe you'll be born on my mom's birthday afterall. :) But I'm sticking with July 4th as the due date for now anyway!

First OB appointment

Pregnancy Day: 76 (10w6d)
Gestational Age: 62 days (8w6d)

Dear Baby,

It's funny, looking back through my last entry, how tired I must have been when I wrote that. But unfortunately, I went to bed that night and just layed there. I couldn't sleep! It was terrible. I probably slept 2 hours.

Needless to say, the next day at work was terrible. I felt sick all day and so tired. Luckily I was very busy at work so the day went by quickly.

Anyway, so I went to my first appointment with my new OB. She's very pretty and young, and seems to have a good understanding of the most recent medical techniques. For example, I talked to her about my situation with progesterone and how the other doctor told me how (and when) I should stop taking it, and she kind of shrugged and said, "That's fine. The most recent medical evidence shows that progesterone doesn't really hurt or help anyway."

She also felt my tummy and could definitely feel the fibroid there. She was a little surprised it was so big, I think, even though I told her the measurements already.

The funniest part of the appointment was when she checked my cervix. We had talked about my bleeding problems for quite a while already (she was very concerned) so I was anxious to hear what she saw when she looked in there. Happily, she said my cervix was totally normal, and there was no blood to be seen anywhere! Then, she ran a q-tip across my cervix (to get cells for a pap-smear) and she said there was blood on the q-tip. That confirms it - my cervix bleeds at the mere slightest touch. So vaginal ultrasounds or progesterone supplements will easily cause bleeding. A sensitive cervix is not a problem and is very common so at this point I have nothing to worry about.

I was very relieved! This means that there was no bleeding from inside the uterus at all - it was all my cervix. And it is all normal. Yay!

For about two weeks, I haven't had any bleeding at all, but I had a little tiny bit today. It could be from my OB appointment, or it could be just irritation from the suppositories. Hopefully, I will be able to stop taking them soon.

I took a blood test on Friday, testing me for various diseases and immunities, and also testing my progesterone. I went off the supplements cold turkey on Thursday, so when I had my blood test on Friday I had been supplement-free for more than 24 hours. The level of progesterone in my blood will tell me if it is safe to stop taking them, or if I need to for a while. I'm pretty confident that it will be fine and I'll be able to stop taking them. It will be a big relief for me!

I have another appointment in two weeks, when I will be 12 weeks and 3 days pregnant. She will attempt to hear your heartbeat on doppler, so that will be fun. After that, I won't get another ultrasound until probably 20 weeks! I was spoiled at the RE, getting an ultrasound once a week. :) I tried to convince her that I needed more ultrasounds because of the fibroid (to monitor its progress) but she didn't think that was necessary until much later in the pregnancy. And she's right.

It was really cute during the appointment, the doctor asked if we had decided on a pediatrician yet. Kevin sat up and smiled, surprised. The doctor asked what was wrong, and he said he was taken off guard by the thought that we would have a child to deal with after all was said and done! I was like, Yeah, that's kind of the point of this pregnancy thing! :) It was so cute.

Anyway I gotta go, I'm trying to finish the laundry. I'm so slow these days, trying not to hurt my back (it's kind of sore) and trying not to squeeze my tummy. There have been a few times when I bent over funny and my lower abdomen hurt for a minute. Don't want to do that anymore!

Talk to you later!

Love,

Mom

So Tired

Pregnancy Day: 70 (10w0d)

Gestational Age: 56 days (8w0d)

Dear Baby,

I'm so freakin' tired. I'm sorry that I haven't posted for 3 weeks (wow, three weeks) but I've been asleep. The. Entire. Time.

I'm almost serious. I wake up, go to work, sleep in the car on the way home, take a 2 - 3 hour nap when I get home, eat dinner, then go to sleep at 10 pm. On the weekends, I will take 2 naps a day. Sometimes, on the ride home, I'll be in the middle of telling Kevin something, and I will fall asleep mid-sentence. It's rude, I know, but what can I do?

The first trimester is almost over though, so this fatigue should get better soon. Wow, the first trimester is almost over! That is like one-third of the way done, and I feel like I just found out about you.

I'll try to give you a quick update on my pregnancy so far:

1. Still bleeding. I had a pretty bad bleeding episode last week, in fact, where a blood clot came out that was the size of a HOCKEY PUCK. Do you know how big that is? Anyway, my doctor said that because I still have absolutely no cramping, it means that the blood clots are not coming from inside my uterus (because if they did, they would definitely cause cramping, they're so big). The doctor thinks that there is just a blood vessel in my uterus that is seeping blood, and the blood slowly drips from my cervix, and pools around my cervix at the back of my vagina (I'm too tired to think of cute words to use instead of vagina, so deal with it. VAGINA.) where it forms clots. The clots then fall out every few days, causing the "bleeding episodes" as I affectionately call them. My doctor thinks that it will stop at around 10 weeks. Which is now! So let's hope it does stop, it will be a big weight off my shoulders. I haven't bled for 3 or 4 days now (but, that's not a record. I've had no bleeding for four days before, just to have one of my worst bleeding episodes on the fifth day).

2. I'm still taking 3 100mg progesterone suppositories a day. Note that this is a little tampon-shaped device that I must stick in three times a day, which then melts and drips out. Lovely, eh? But hey, I'll do whatever it takes if it helps you out.

The doctor wants me to stay on the suppositories until I stop bleeding. Which I hope it soon.

3. I had my last visit with the reproductive endocrinologist (where he told me all about the two things I mentioned, above). He has now pawned me off on a normal OB. It's almost like I'm a normal pregnant woman now! I have my first appointment with her this Thursday. I have a lot to talk about:

a. Bleeding
b. Vegetarian
c. Fibroid
d. Progesterone supplements

Uh, I'm sure there is more, but I'm too tired right now. Did I mention I was tired?

4. Anyway, the new OB's office is right next to my work, so it should make it easy to go to office visits. I have to choose which hospital I want to deliver at (she is associated with several), so over the next month or so I need to tour the hospitals and see which I like best. I want one with a room where the baby can sleep-in, and I want one with the best Level III NeoNatal Intensive Care Unit. So far, none of the three hospitals where I wanted to go have a Level III NICU, so I might end up compromising for a hospital that is associated with another hospital who has a Level III NICU. There is a hospital that I'm leaning towards, because one of the nurses I spoke with said it was SO GREAT and everything was brand new. I like that kind of thing, but I still have to take the tours.

5. Within the next 2 months or so, I have to start thinking about child care options. There is a place right next to work where I'd like to go, but it has a 6-month waiting list. 6 months!? You practically have to put your name on the list before you start trying to conceive.

My idea is that you'll drive with us to work (me and Kevin can switch off driving, so the other one can ride with you in the back seat!), we drop you off at day care, then I can stop by to breastfeed two or three times a day. (The center is maybe a 3 minute drive from work.) Then we drive home together. So really, we'll only be apart for 6 hours a day, during which time you'll probably be sleeping anyway.

6. Cravings... haven't had too many. There are times when everything in the kitchen is hideously disgusting except ONE THING. So I have to eat that one thing. That's not really a craving though, is it? So far, the non-disgusting things have been fruit snacks and veggie burgers.

7. Morning sickness... I had one throwing up episode, but that's it! I've been feeling better recently too, so I'm happy about that. I used to be tired and sick, and now I've traded in the sick for an extra helping of tired.

8. Oh yeah, pictures:



Here is an illustration which looks just like the ultrasound:



You can see the little umbilical cord coming from the stomach, and the little head. Your kind of slouching though, you should stand up straight!

Gotta go to sleep. So tired. Good night.