We had another checkup at the local hospital's prenatal clinic this morning. Baby's heart beat came in nice and strong, my blood pressure was good and I've gained a whopping 8 pounds! So that brings my total to 9 pounds so far in this pregnancy.
Baby girl's movements have slowed over the last 24 hours, but doctor reassured me that it was very normal at this stage of the pregnancy especially where she is still so little, and I have an anterior placenta. She has to be positioned "just right" for me to feel movement. As I type this right now, she has given me a couple of pokes. I guess she truly is a Diva...she does not perform on command! The doctor kinda laughed and asked me if I had been shaking and poking her to wake her up to get movement, and of course I said "Yes"..and giggled a little. He said "Gotta be careful with that, your baby will be born with insomnia"..lol.. The entire conversation was just too funny.
So my next appointment is in 4 weeks (Dec 29th), and I have to go through the blood glucose tolerance test at that time... bleagh! That orange crap is so sweet, that it is gross! Then I'll have to go back in at 28 weeks for another Rhogam shot, and I know last time they started seeing me every 2 weeks at around 28 weeks anyways.
I ran into one of the sweet nurses who teaches the prenatal class this morning, and we had a nice chat, talking and laughing. She said that usually they don't let mom's who've had a previous still birth go too far beyond 38 weeks. I think that sounds wonderful! Here's hoping the specialist feels the same way when the time comes!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
I LOVE ginger ale
I threw up my breakfast this morning. I think it was likely a combination of eating late, eating too quickly, drinking orange juice too quickly and then add a multivitamin on top of that. I barely made it to the toilet...
Then a slight bout of panic settled in. The only time I got sick with Kheri was the day she died. I still wonder to this day if she was sending me a message that she was sick. Being only 20 weeks + 5 days today, and knowing that she still needs me to survive, I decided to sit down, watch a movie, drink a little gingerale. I felt bump give me a little nudge about an hour later.
I decided to have some cheese and crackers and an apple for a snack at lunch time. This meal stayed down, but required gingerale to keep it down.
The same thing occurred after supper tonight. I didn't throw up this time, but I did lay down on the couch and while I was talking to dh on the phone, I instantly had to sit up.
Bump was very active this evening, and that is very reassuring, given the big hug I had to give the toilet this morning. I am guessing that she likes the gingerale too. I wouldn't wonder, liquid sugar should wake the baby up!
Then a slight bout of panic settled in. The only time I got sick with Kheri was the day she died. I still wonder to this day if she was sending me a message that she was sick. Being only 20 weeks + 5 days today, and knowing that she still needs me to survive, I decided to sit down, watch a movie, drink a little gingerale. I felt bump give me a little nudge about an hour later.
I decided to have some cheese and crackers and an apple for a snack at lunch time. This meal stayed down, but required gingerale to keep it down.
The same thing occurred after supper tonight. I didn't throw up this time, but I did lay down on the couch and while I was talking to dh on the phone, I instantly had to sit up.
Bump was very active this evening, and that is very reassuring, given the big hug I had to give the toilet this morning. I am guessing that she likes the gingerale too. I wouldn't wonder, liquid sugar should wake the baby up!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
November 10 - 18 weeks + 4 days specialist appointment
I know this is a few days late, but I just haven't really had the chance to do up a blog post yet. We had our appointment with the specialist on Wednesday.
She was asleep at the start of the ultrasound, with her back to the
world, sitting sideways/breech and sort-of folded on her legs sound
asleep.
The nurse poked my tummy and woke her up so that we could see some fetal movement during the ultrasound...well then she didn't want to sit still! Everything looks good. She does have a "bright" spot in the pulmonary muscles of the heart. Dr. Butt said that in about 10% of cases is a soft marker for Downs syndrome, however, my maternal serum screen gives us an odds of downs at 1:8000 or so. She said that with the bright spot it would bring our odds of Downs to 1:4600 which is really nothing to be concerned about. The baby's arms, legs are nice and long, her kidneys are not inflamed, the bowels are not bright, she does not have extra fluid in the spine and brain, and she doesn't have a short nose bone, all of which are characteristic of a Downs baby. I asked several times if the bright spot in the heart could be a sign of congenital heart defects, or a problem within the heart. She reassured me that the brightness has nothing to do with the function of the baby's heart. The heart is working fine. She said "It will probably disappear...we'll watch it.. but if this happened in another pregnancy, just as it presents now, I wouldn't have a need to see the patient, so I'm really not concerned about it". She said at the end of the ultrasound "the baby looks good, placenta looks good, I'll see you in 4 weeks".
She also used the probe to check my cervix also and everything looks fine in that department; still long and closed. She said that she couldn't see any source of intra-uterine bleeding, and there are no clots forming within the uterus, so she figures that the bleeding is likely coming from the cervix itself. This is exactly what I have been told all along, but it is still nice to hear it, especially when I had been bleeding off and on for over a week.
So here are the remainder of the pictures. In the first one, it looks like she's talking on the phone! Mouth wide open! Our girl Iris came with us, and I heard her say when this picture was taken "I wonder where she gets that from?" The Doctor said the same thing a few minutes later..it was like surround sound! So here she is, weighing all of 9 ounces!
She was asleep at the start of the ultrasound, with her back to the
world, sitting sideways/breech and sort-of folded on her legs sound
asleep.
The nurse poked my tummy and woke her up so that we could see some fetal movement during the ultrasound...well then she didn't want to sit still! Everything looks good. She does have a "bright" spot in the pulmonary muscles of the heart. Dr. Butt said that in about 10% of cases is a soft marker for Downs syndrome, however, my maternal serum screen gives us an odds of downs at 1:8000 or so. She said that with the bright spot it would bring our odds of Downs to 1:4600 which is really nothing to be concerned about. The baby's arms, legs are nice and long, her kidneys are not inflamed, the bowels are not bright, she does not have extra fluid in the spine and brain, and she doesn't have a short nose bone, all of which are characteristic of a Downs baby. I asked several times if the bright spot in the heart could be a sign of congenital heart defects, or a problem within the heart. She reassured me that the brightness has nothing to do with the function of the baby's heart. The heart is working fine. She said "It will probably disappear...we'll watch it.. but if this happened in another pregnancy, just as it presents now, I wouldn't have a need to see the patient, so I'm really not concerned about it". She said at the end of the ultrasound "the baby looks good, placenta looks good, I'll see you in 4 weeks".
She also used the probe to check my cervix also and everything looks fine in that department; still long and closed. She said that she couldn't see any source of intra-uterine bleeding, and there are no clots forming within the uterus, so she figures that the bleeding is likely coming from the cervix itself. This is exactly what I have been told all along, but it is still nice to hear it, especially when I had been bleeding off and on for over a week.
So here are the remainder of the pictures. In the first one, it looks like she's talking on the phone! Mouth wide open! Our girl Iris came with us, and I heard her say when this picture was taken "I wonder where she gets that from?" The Doctor said the same thing a few minutes later..it was like surround sound! So here she is, weighing all of 9 ounces!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Hello World.
I heard this for the first time last week while getting ready for work but didn't catch the entire video. Then tonight, while DH and I were coming home from an impromptu dinner out, this song came on. Timely perhaps? Here's hoping! We are heading to our 18 1/2 week ultrasound tomorrow morning.
"I see a light, a little hope..in a little girl..."
"I see a light, a little grace, little faith unfurl. Well hello world."
** It seems that when I originally published this post, the embedded video had part of the screen cut off. Many thanks to my girl Iris for helping me out! You can still go to Lady Antebellum's video Hello World here if you prefer.**
"I see a light, a little hope..in a little girl..."
"I see a light, a little grace, little faith unfurl. Well hello world."
** It seems that when I originally published this post, the embedded video had part of the screen cut off. Many thanks to my girl Iris for helping me out! You can still go to Lady Antebellum's video Hello World here if you prefer.**
Sunday, November 7, 2010
*sigh*
So we had to make another trip up to the local hospital this morning. I went to the bathroom, wiped, and there it was again...blood. I have had the occasional spot here and there over the last week, but today, it was enough to make me panic. I sat on the couch for a few minutes, and my DH came up from the basement and I told him what happened. He said, "OK, we'll go get you checked out, it is a good day to hear the baby's heartbeat". I love how he always has a way to calm me down when I get worked up.
By the time we left the house, the bleeding had stopped, which I think just makes the nurses think I'm crazy, but I would rather have it stop, than continue. So I got up to Labour and Delivery, where I had a great nurse! It was the same doctor that saw me today, that saw me the night before Kheri passed away. The nurse found the baby's heartbeat with the fetal monitor, and that was very reassuring. The doctor came in, and we had a nice chat, to explain what was going on, and the possible reasons why. He explained what exactly a friable cervix is, and why it bleeds. I asked if a friable cervix can become an incompetent cervix (that would cause me to deliver my baby too prematurely for it to survive). He said no, but seeing as I was concerned about it, he suggested that we do a cervical check. Everything looks fine, cervix is long and closed, so we don't have to worry about it. I am going to see the specialist on Wednesday of this week for my 18-20 week scan, and he said that he was going to send a note to her to have her check the cervix, and suggested that I remind her as well. I really like the way this doctor took the time to explain, talk, and answer my questions (and there were a few!!). He said "The great thing about this operation is we're always here, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You come back whenever you need to... Anytime a woman sees blood during a pregnancy, she is allowed to be anxious, and especially in your circumstances". (*I have to note, both of those sentences were said, just at different points in the conversation*)
So we spent another hour at the hospital this morning. The nurses and the doctor told me to come back, whenever I need to. *sigh* I just want a living child 20-22 weeks from now, it would be nice if these scares would stop, but one of the kind nurses explained to me this morning that these scares will continue until she is about 13 years old, when her brains fall out and I will want to strangle her...lol. So I have been couch ridden today, I am glad that work is almost over. It will be nice to not have to worry about that too.
And for the record...I straightened my hair yesterday and found at least three SILVER hairs. They weren't white, they weren't colourless, the were silver. I have already removed 2 silver hairs in this pregnancy, it appears that I might be bald by the time this pregnancy is over!
By the time we left the house, the bleeding had stopped, which I think just makes the nurses think I'm crazy, but I would rather have it stop, than continue. So I got up to Labour and Delivery, where I had a great nurse! It was the same doctor that saw me today, that saw me the night before Kheri passed away. The nurse found the baby's heartbeat with the fetal monitor, and that was very reassuring. The doctor came in, and we had a nice chat, to explain what was going on, and the possible reasons why. He explained what exactly a friable cervix is, and why it bleeds. I asked if a friable cervix can become an incompetent cervix (that would cause me to deliver my baby too prematurely for it to survive). He said no, but seeing as I was concerned about it, he suggested that we do a cervical check. Everything looks fine, cervix is long and closed, so we don't have to worry about it. I am going to see the specialist on Wednesday of this week for my 18-20 week scan, and he said that he was going to send a note to her to have her check the cervix, and suggested that I remind her as well. I really like the way this doctor took the time to explain, talk, and answer my questions (and there were a few!!). He said "The great thing about this operation is we're always here, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You come back whenever you need to... Anytime a woman sees blood during a pregnancy, she is allowed to be anxious, and especially in your circumstances". (*I have to note, both of those sentences were said, just at different points in the conversation*)
So we spent another hour at the hospital this morning. The nurses and the doctor told me to come back, whenever I need to. *sigh* I just want a living child 20-22 weeks from now, it would be nice if these scares would stop, but one of the kind nurses explained to me this morning that these scares will continue until she is about 13 years old, when her brains fall out and I will want to strangle her...lol. So I have been couch ridden today, I am glad that work is almost over. It will be nice to not have to worry about that too.
And for the record...I straightened my hair yesterday and found at least three SILVER hairs. They weren't white, they weren't colourless, the were silver. I have already removed 2 silver hairs in this pregnancy, it appears that I might be bald by the time this pregnancy is over!
Monday, November 1, 2010
November 1st- 17 weeks + 2 days prenatal appointment
We had a prenatal appointment at the local hospital this morning. I actually met a doctor I have never met before. A tiny little thing, and when she was measuring my tummy she said that she had twins last year. I popped my head off the pillow and said "Really!? where did you put them?" :P She was really nice though, she asked about work, and addressed any concerns I had. She even asked when my next appointment with the specialist is.
It is official, I have gained an entire pound over my pre-pregnancy weight! So now I think I can guess which way the scales are going to go from here! My abdomen is measuring right on track and my blood pressure was sitting at 126/74 which is a bit high for me,(I usually average around 110-115/60-65), but nothing to be concerned about. Baby was moving around today and the doctor had to work a little to get her heart beat. It wasn't long, but those few seconds always feel like an eternity. She got the heart beat for a few seconds, then had to adjust the doppler to get it again because, as she said "someone is moving around in there!" When she got a reading she said it sounded good and was around 140bpm.
I guess that is it. We go to see the specialist again on Nov 10th for our 18-20 week full biophysical scan. This little girl already has her own calendar! Otherwise I'd never know which doctor to go to and on what date.
It is official, I have gained an entire pound over my pre-pregnancy weight! So now I think I can guess which way the scales are going to go from here! My abdomen is measuring right on track and my blood pressure was sitting at 126/74 which is a bit high for me,(I usually average around 110-115/60-65), but nothing to be concerned about. Baby was moving around today and the doctor had to work a little to get her heart beat. It wasn't long, but those few seconds always feel like an eternity. She got the heart beat for a few seconds, then had to adjust the doppler to get it again because, as she said "someone is moving around in there!" When she got a reading she said it sounded good and was around 140bpm.
I guess that is it. We go to see the specialist again on Nov 10th for our 18-20 week full biophysical scan. This little girl already has her own calendar! Otherwise I'd never know which doctor to go to and on what date.
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