12 weeks

Sorry this is a day late, I was laid up in bed most of the day yesterday.  Last weekend we headed out to Pittsburgh for Dave's cousin's wedding.  It was absolutely beautiful and we got to tell a lot of his family about the baby.  They were all so excited!  While the wedding was fun, the drive back and forth to Pittsburgh was very taxing.  By the time we got home on Sunday I was so done.  Dave ordered Chinese food, but after a few bites of pork fried rice I had the worst acid/heart burn ever.  I guess baby girl does not like Chinese food.

I am starting to be able to feel the top of my uterus coming up from my pubic bone.  It's really strange, but makes me feel a little better about my crazy bump.  Things are definitely stretching and growing down there, the round ligament pain has started.  I'm really looking forward to wading in the pool and ocean this weekend.  I am also really looking forward to not having to pack any meds!  Yesterday was the last day of taking PIO, Delestrogen, and Prometrium!  It feels so good to be free.

Our NT scan is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.  I cannot wait to see how much butterfly has grown!  We'll meet with the OB, Dr. B, afterwards for a check-up and I'll get some more blood drawn.  Afterwards we'll be off to Wildwood for the weekend!  I've been looking forward to this vacation for a long time.  Once we get home we'll be posting our public FB announcement.

12 weeks

How far along? 12w1d
Total weight loss/gain? Haven't weighed myself this week
Stretch marks? Nothing new
Maternity Clothes? In maternity bottoms full time
Sleep? Getting rough, between the discomfort and constant peeing I can never get enough sleep.
Gender? Girl
Best moment of the week? Telling Dave's family about butterfly!
Movement? Just stretching sensations
Food cravings? White cheddar cheez-its
Belly button in/out? In
What I miss: Sex and wine
What I am looking forward to: NT scan tomorrow and Wildwood this weekend!
Milestones: Butterfly is the size of a plum and I was able to stop my meds.  

11 weeks

Not much to report.  Life has been pretty boring.  I'm usually passed out in bed by 10pm most nights.  Did get good news from the insurance company that the NT scan and blood work will be covered.  We'll also be doing the Inherigen blood test.  It tests for 163 inherited diseases as well as testing for Fragile X.  That is also fully covered by our insurance.  I'm getting excited, our appointment is only a little over a week away!

11 weeks, I really need a haircut

How far along? 11 weeks
Total weight gain/loss? +3.5 lbs
Stretch marks? Nothing new
Maternity clothes? Wearing maternity bottoms all the time
Sleep? Having very vivid dreams and waking up more often to pee
Gender? Girl
Best moment of the week? Buying little pink booties for our FB announcement.
Movement? Just some stretching feelings
Food cravings? Chocolate chip cookies
Belly button in/out? In
What I miss: Not feeling nauseous all the time
What I am looking forward to: Heading to Pittsburgh for Dave's cousin's wedding and getting to see lots of family.
Milestones: Baby is the size of a lime!

10 weeks

Holy cow, I'm officially in the double digits!

Over the weekend Dave and I headed to the mall.  My pants just do not fit anymore.  Even using the Bella Band it is just too uncomfortable.  With the IF treatment weight gain and insane bloat none of my summer shorts and capris fit either.  It was time for some maternity clothes.

The Old Navy maternity section was pitiful.  They have so much great stuff online, but the in-store selection was shoved into one tiny corner of mostly long jeans.  Not exactly ideal for summer.  Luckily Motherhood Maternity was right across the way.  A very kind associate greeted us as soon as we walked in.  I started gathering up some shorts and capris to try on.  The associate came over again and offered to set up a fitting room for me.  She took everything I had so far and put it in the fitting room so I could continue browsing.  Dave found a comfy chair next to my assigned fitting room and played on his phone.

All in all we probably spent over an hour in the store.  I needed a dress for Dave's cousin's wedding in two weeks, but had a hard time find something that fit over my crazy boobs.  The awesome associate was a huge help and brought a ton of dresses for me to try on.  The one I ended up falling in love with is a little black lace dress.  It comes with a black skinny belt, but I plan on switching it out for a mint green skinny belt and wearing mint green flats.

I ended up walking out with two shorts, two capris, the dress, a tankini top, and two cross front t-shirts.  With all that I feel confident that I won't need to buy anything else until late second trimester.  A lot of my tops are very flowy and should cover any bloat/bump until then.  We headed to Nordstrom after that to look at bras.  My current 34FFs are getting very tight in the band and cup.  Again, a very helpful associate came to my rescue.  She was a very similar size and brought me a great stretchy bra that should hopefully grow with me for a while.  Ended up buying that bra in black and nude.  It was a very productive shopping day.

Didn't have time for a proper pic this morning

How far along? 10 weeks
Total weight gain/loss? +2.4 lbs
Stretch marks? No new ones
Maternity clothes? Maternity bottoms have become a must, still fine in regular tops.
Sleep? Sleeping a little bit better these days, but the crazy dreams have started.
Gender? Girl
Best moment of the week? Buying new clothes and bras that make me feel comfortable again.
Movement? Just some uterus stretching sensations
Food cravings? Mac n cheese with peas
Belly button in/out? In
What I miss: Having energy, I feel like a slug most days
What I am looking forward to: Stopping meds in two weeks!  Also our NT scan on July 3rd
Milestones: Hitting double digits and butterfly is a prune.

9 weeks (and a scary OB appointment)

This is very long, skip to the bottom for a TL;DR and weekly info/pictures.

Yesterday was my first OB appointment.  It was just an introductory meeting to go over medical history and do a physical so I told Dave he didn't need to come with.  I worked from home in the morning then headed to the appointment just before noon.  Now I had experienced some bleeding the day before and passed two very small clots right before leaving for the appointment.  I was worried, but had experienced no cramping or pain.

After being called back and having blood pressure and weight done I was put in a small room.  Nurse A came in and we went through medical and family history.  She discussed all the different testing we could have done, vaccines we should get, restrictions during pregnancy, and I got a nice big packet of forms to look through and sign.  Nurse A wished me luck and brought me to an exam room to wait for Nurse D.

I had just missed the cut off for having a current PAP on file so I got into the little pink gown and waited for Nurse D.  I had seen Nurse D twice before and she was very nice.  When she came in we went over the appointments I would have over the course of the pregnancy.  With the UU I'm considered high risk so we'll start cervical checks at 16 weeks and have extra growth scans to check on baby girl.  They also do the glucose fasting test at 16 weeks for patients with PCOS, hooray.  I was impressed with how much they recognized the risk factors with my uterus, no need to go looking for a separate MFM.

It was time to get down to business and Nurse D started the physical.  My boobs hurt so much, but she finished the breast exam very quickly.  It was time for the evil speculum.  I had explained about the bleeding and small clots so she looked closely at the cervix.  She said it was only old blood in there and my cervix was closed tight.  Once everything was done she explained that I may have some bleeding from the PAP.  After having a few vials of blood drawn I was sent on my way.  Our next appointment would be the NT scan on July 3rd.

It is only a five minute drive from the OB to home.  As soon as I got out of the car I felt a gush.  Freaking out I double timed it up to the condo and felt a few more gushes.  Got to the bathroom and my underwear was soaked through with blood.  Then I felt the clots pass.  I stared down at them, they were enormous.  My heart fell and I started sobbing, positive that I had just miscarried.  Two of the cats were sitting with me in the bathroom, staring up at me with concern.  After pulling myself together I called the OB office and the receptionist said a nurse would call me back ASAP.  Less than a minute later a nurse called and told me come back right away.

Cleaned up as best I could and headed back.  In the waiting room I texted Dave and my IDOB girls.  It felt like the world was crashing down around me.  I was called back and brought to an exam room.  Nurse D came in and tried to calm me down.  She checked me again and said that it was much more than the usual amount of blood expected after a PAP.  She found some small clots, but my cervix was still closed.  I had not and was not having any cramping or pain.  I was sent for an ultrasound to check on baby girl.

In the ultrasound/blood work waiting room I had multiple messages and a missed call from Dave.  I was getting almost no service so I texted him back saying that I was going in for an ultrasound.  He was leaving work and heading home and wanted updates as soon as possible.  The tech called me back and I got set up in the ultrasound room.  Their machine is very fancy and they have a separate screen mounted on the wall so I could see what the tech was looking at.  As soon as she put the dildo cam in, there was butterfly.

I held back the tears and the tech told me to breathe.  She started taking measurements and I was amazed by how much baby girl had grown in a week and half.  Her heart was beating very strong at 173bpm.  The tech said everything looked fine, handed me a printout of butterfly, and said one of the OBs would discuss the results with me.  Back to the big waiting room I went and immediately called Dave.  He was still driving and sounded so scared when answering the phone.  When I told him she was okay his voice cracked and I could tell he was crying.  This in turn made me start crying.  We decided to meet at home and I was called back to see the OB.

I go to a large practice with six OBs on staff.  They want you to have an appointment with each one during pregnancy since any one of them could be on call the day butterfly is born.  The OB I was seeing today was Dr. B.  He was a very kind man and calmed me down a lot.  He said everything looked fine with baby and they didn't think the bleeding was from the uterus.  I likely have an incredibly sensitive cervix.  To be safe I was put on pelvic rest and told to just take it easy, no heavy lifting or strenuous exercise.

My next appointment is July 3rd for the NT scan.  I'll be seeing Dr. B again for an OB check as well.  After such a crazy day I was very happy with how the office handled everything.  It's easy to feel like just another name on a chart in a large practice, but everyone was very caring.  I headed home tired and hungry.  All in all I had spent over four hours at the OB office.

Upon arriving home Dave grabbed me into a hug and through tears said that I would never be going to an appointment alone again.  We cried together for a few minutes.  He had ordered dinner, my favorite chicken and broccoli stromboli, and we ate together while watching a movie.  I spent the rest of the night on the couch with a big bottle of water.  Hikaru refused to get off my lap until bedtime.

TL;DR: Had first OB appt.  PAP was done.  Got home and bled profusely and passed massive clots.  Back to the office for ultrasound.  Baby girl is fine, cervix is closed, bleeding likely came from cervix or vagina.

Here's a picture of our little trouble maker from yesterday.

8w6d beautiful butterfly

9 week blump

How far along? 9 weeks
Total weight gain/loss? +.8 lbs
Stretch marks? Nothing new
Maternity clothes? Going out either this weekend or next to pick up some shorts and a new dress for Dave's cousin's wedding.
Sleep? Have a bit more energy these days, but finding it difficult to find a good position to sleep in.
Gender? Girl
Best moment this week? Seeing butterfly after thinking I had miscarried
Movement? None
Food cravings? Ice cream
Belly button in/out? In
What I miss: Sex.  Likely won't be getting any until at least second tri
What I am looking forward to: Our NT scan on July 3rd!
Milestones: Butterfly is an olive!

 

8 weeks

Things have been fairly uneventful since the last post.  On Friday I called my OB office to set up the first appointment.  They needed my records for review, but were closing early that day.  She said I could drop them off Monday and that should be plenty of time for the doctor.  My first appointment is next Monday (6/9) with one of the nurses.  It's a simple appointment to go over medical history and do a physical.  Hopefully at that point I can get an idea of what their high risk care is like.

The evening sickness has been starting earlier and earlier every day.  I haven't gotten physically ill yet, but I feel it is only a matter of time now.  The bloat has also gotten ridiculous.  We were running late this morning so I threw on my outfit without much scrutiny in the mirror.  Upon arriving to work I went to the bathroom and was shocked when I saw my side view.  I took a picture last night at home to have a nice 8 week bump pic, but the picture today was just too insane not to post.

How far along? 8 weeks
Total weight loss/gain? +2 lbs, looks like I lost a pound this week.
Stretch marks? Nothing new
Maternity clothes? Have to use the Bella Band with my jeans, things are getting very tight
Sleep? There is never enough sleep
Gender? Girl
Best moment last week? Seeing butterfly again and being released from the RE!
Movement? None
Food cravings? Salt and vinegar chips
Belly button in/out? In
What I miss: Alcohol.  Our friends came over this weekend and left a few Leinenkeugal Shandies, my favorite summer beer, in the fridge.  They taunt me.
What I am looking forward to: Getting quotes on flooring for the nursery and finishing up painting the kitchen.
Milestones: Butterfly is a raspberry!  Also having my PIO dose cut in half, only three more weeks of meds to go!

Graduation day!

Yesterday was graduation day!!  We left work a little after 3 and headed to the office.  We were called back quickly and Dr. S started the ultrasound.  Butterfly showed up right away, her heart steadily beating away.  Dr. S started taking measurements and pointed out that she was a little trouble maker already.  She wouldn't move out of the way so he could get a look at the fetal pole.  Definitely Dave's daughter.

Dr. S did find a small dark spot where the placenta had separated a bit.  He said that was likely the cause of my bleeding episode last week and it should fix itself.  My right ovary was nowhere to found and my left was being obscured by my uterus.  He mentioned that if I have a C-section we should have them look for my right ovary while they're in there just to see what it's up to.  It hasn't been seen since ER in February.  

The little trouble maker

Once he finished the scan I got dressed and we met in his office.  He went through my enormous chart and flagged pages for the secretary to copy.  I am to stay on my meds until July 1st, when I'll be 12 weeks along.  He did cut my PIO dose in half, hopefully that will help make it more bearable.  Dr. S said that if the PIO became too much we could switch to all Prometrium, one in the morning and two at night.  I'd rather stick with what's working to be honest.  The pain is temporary, my butt will have time to heal.

After finishing the flagging we went to the front desk so the secretary could start copying.  Dr. S wished us luck and asked us to bring the baby around next year so everyone could meet her.  All the staff congratulated us on our graduation, apparently there had been a lot of graduations that day.  Our files were copied quickly and we left the office.

It felt strange to be released from our RE.  For the past year and a half that office has been a huge part of our lives.  Now we're back in the real world and going to my OB.  I'll be treated like a normal, albeit high risk, pregnant lady.  I still can't believe that this could be it, butterfly could very well be our rainbow.  I talk to her every night before going to sleep, tell her how much we love her, and ask her to please keep growing big and strong.  Dave kissed my belly and said good night to our little blueberry last night.  He is getting so excited about being a dad!  He's going to be an amazing father :)

7 weeks (and our Memorial Day weekend adventure)

Well, it's been a crazy week.  On Wednesday Dave and I got up early to finish packing.  The taxi picked us up at 9:15 to take us to the train station.  We would be taking NJ transit to Metro Park to catch our Amtrak train.  Once in Metro Park I felt some wetness and went to the bathroom.  My panty liner was almost filled with reddish brown blood.  Cue extreme panic.  I immediately called the office.  Nurse V said to stay calm, stay off my feet, and monitor the bleeding over the next few hours.

Once on the train we met up with my brother and his girlfriend.  The bleeding slowed significantly and stayed reddish brown and I never had any cramping or pain..  About thirty minutes before I had to check in with Nurse V I sneezed and felt a clot pass.  After checking in the bathroom there was indeed a good size black clot surrounded by brownish blood.  I called Nurse V and she said to continue taking it easy and if I had anymore red bleeding or pain then we had to go to the ER.  Dr. S was not in that day so a nurse would be calling me the next morning with further instructions.

We arrived in Boston and were picked up by my Dad.  By the time we got to my parent's house I had to race inside before I peed myself.  At that point I was only having very light brown spotting.  After filling everyone in on the situation I was sent to the couch.  My mom brought me dinner and my siblings went out to get me ice cream.  I was very happy to be surrounded by loving family.

The next day there was no spotting in sight.  We went out to our favorite breakfast place, then came home and loafed around for most of the morning.  Around 3:00 we started getting ready for my sister's graduation.  My phone rang, it was Dr. S' office.  Nurse E was on the other end, Dr. S wanted me to go to the ER and get a Rhogam shot as a precaution since I am Rh-negative.  I've had this shot once before during my previous miscarriage, but thought it wouldn't be necessary this time around since Dave has the same blood type.  Nurse E was insistent.  I was angry at the timing, they should have called earlier in the day.  We made plans to head to the ER after the graduation.

We met up with my aunt, uncle, and cousins at the school.  They had come down in the RV, we had planned to leave from my parent's house after the graduation.  We started talking about the trip down to Kings Dominion and we informed them of my non-rider status this year.  They were all thrilled at the news.  I also was able to share the news with my great aunt and she was delighted.  The graduation was beautiful, it was crazy to see my baby sister walk across the stage and get her diploma.  She's all grown up now.

After the ceremony was over and pictures were done, Dave and I took my sister's car and headed to the ER.  The closest hospital happened to be the hospital my siblings and I were born in.  Luckily the ER wasn't too crowded and I was called back relatively quickly.  They wanted to do an ultrasound, but Dr. S had said he didn't want one done to keep the trauma to the uterus and vagina to a minimum.  Instead I got a few vials of blood drawn and we waited.  They needed to confirm my blood type before the pharmacy would release the Rhogam.  After nearly an hour another PA came into the room.  The blood bank needed a double confirmation on my blood type.  Of course.  He had to draw blood from a different place than the previous PA so he had to go for my hand.  Awesome.

Three hours after we had been called back they were finally able to do the shot.  We were tired, hungry, and upset.  The shot was over quickly and I was finally discharged.  The nurse printed out the blood work results so I could give them to Dr. S.  My HCG came back at 14,644, a doubling time of about 64 hours from the previous draw.  Well within the normal range of where it should be.  We headed back to my parent's place, finished packing, and started the journey down to Virginia.

I ended up having to do my Prometrium and PIO in the back bed of the RV because of the timing.  At least we were able to do the PIO while stopped at my brother's place.  Once we got to the hotel we deposited our stuff, showered, and got some much needed breakfast.  After breakfast we headed into the park.  It was very quiet on the Friday and everyone was able to get on the rides very quickly.  I sat with my mom and aunt they made sure I was drinking enough water and eating properly.

Over the weekend I had a few instances of stretching feelings in my uterus.  I think little girl was making it known that she was okay and still growing strong.  Other symptoms have been very heavy breasts, a crazy bloat blump, evening nausea, and a serious craving for english muffins with butter and jelly.  I kept well hydrated and stayed off my feet as much as possible.  It was a really fantastic weekend.  I can't wait for next year to introduce baby girl to our wonderful family tradition.  She did get to go on her first ride this year though, a leisurely spin on the carousel.

7 week blump with bonus cat and messy bedroom

How far along? 7 weeks
Total weight loss/gain? +3 lbs
Stretch marks? Nothing new
Maternity clothes? Just my comfy Old Navy maxi, it's getting a lot of use
Sleep? Definitely still tired all the time.  I went back to sleep after PIO this morning and didn't wake up until 9:30
Gender? Girl
Best moment last week? Sharing the news with more family.
Movement? None
Food cravings? English muffins with butter and jelly
Belly button in/out? Innie
What I miss: Sex
What I am looking forward to: Our next ultrasound on Thursday!
Milestones: Butterfly is the size of a blueberry!