Our preschool stuff has been put on a hold for the time being. Well, not entirely, but I decided to stop trying to follow the curriculum until I can get this baby out of my belly. I'm 37 weeks and 4 days today and finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with anything, really, especially a crazy little 3 year old and her activities. I still have been doing a few random things with her, but definitely not enough to call it schoolwork.
As far as the pregnancy is concerned, I've been ready to get this show on the road for sometime now. It's sort of strange. I spent the vast part of this pregnancy paranoid first about miscarriage, then about preterm labor, but now that I'm term I am so anxious for it to end. I'm not nearly as uncomfortable or miserable as I was with Kayla at this point. With her, I was crying pretty much every day, almost all day long. After 9 months of non-stop nausea and intense rib pain that sent me to the ER, I spent most nights curled in a ball begging for labor to start just to end the torture. I somehow KNEW that I couldn't possibly make it to 40 weeks with her. There was just no way. I feared it! But there was always something in the back of my mind telling me that my body was just not going to make it that long. And I was right. She was 10 days early and raring to go.
This time around, Paige just feels comfy where she is. I don't have that searing rib cage pain, I can breathe easily (I assume I carried very low all along), and the nausea hasn't been an issue at all since the first trimester. There are days when I have a ton of contractions and swear that it will be THE day, but then they slow down and stop hurting and I go back to idly sitting around just wondering what's happening in there. I was convinced that I'd never make to to term for several reasons. I had some early bleeding, and I've read that bleeding early on in the first and second trimesters can increase the likelihood of preterm labor. I also was diagnosed with irritable uterus, and several statistics have said there is a significant increase in chance of preterm labor because of that. My cervix is also very friable- and I don't think there's any literature on that causing preterm labor, but I just had a hunch that it wouldn't be able to hold her in as well as a cervix that was strong and not overly sensitive. Aside from that, Kayla was so early, and it's also common for subsequent pregnancies to go even earlier than prior ones. All of those things combined had be scared to death of preterm labor, and any sign of contraction or blood I was calling the doctor and going to the ER.
Well, here I am, considered term at 37 weeks and 4 days. A recent ultrasound showed my fluid levels and the baby are both doing well, but the doctor does believe she dropped since my uterus started suddenly measuring 3 weeks behind. At 35 weeks my cervix was soft, but not dilated. I don't know if that's changed. I've been experiencing insane and unfair contractions. All Braxton Hicks, of course, but they're so frequent I don't even both timing them most of the time. Most places will say to call the doctor when you get 4 an hour- I get at least 10 every single hour and have for months now. And when I don't get so many of them, I'll get fewer, but ones that actually last for 10-15 minutes straight no matter what I do to stop it. Just walking around with my stomach contracted. There are periods of time where they will start coming with some sort of consistency, but don't get progressively stronger so I never call. That's not to say they don't hurt- oh no. They do. Two days ago, from 9AM to about 6PM, I experienced painful contractions every 3-8 minutes. They lasted about 30 seconds long each, some a little longer, some less. But since they didn't get stronger, I assumed they weren't real. When I talked to the doctor that night they slowed down and were about 20 minutes apart. She told me that if they ever got so frequent again, even if they weren't getting stronger or I was otherwise convinced they weren't real, that I should go into Labor and Delivery anyway just to check. That night they started up again, more painful, but not so often. The next morning they were back to be completely random. So I've come to the conclusion that my body is just screwing with me and I'll be that person that gives birth on the kitchen floor because I didn't realize when real labor started.
I know, I know- there will be a difference that is noticeable, I'm sure. And I'll probably have more than enough time to get to the hospital, even if it does take me a long time to realize. But I've been spending so long now forcing myself to essentially ignore ALL the signs that have come before now that it could be labor that I am worried I'll miss it when it does happen. And for the record, although it's not common, some women really don't realize they're in actual labor. People really DO give birth in their cars and homes and on the side of the road just because their contractions weren't textbook or there was so little warning or a fast labor. Even if it is an uncommon occurrence, it's not entirely unheard of and therefore is a genuine concern in my book!
But since that day with the crazy contractions there hasn't been another like it. I'm still super curious about whether I've made any progress or not, but I probably won't find out. I get the impression my doctor probably won't check. No big deal since it doesn't really mean much, but at the same time, it'd be interesting to know whether all the annoying contractions are for nothing.
In the mean time, with Kayla, I've been keeping her preoccupied with some very lazy sort of things for me. She does a lot of coloring and painting, puzzles, and playing with her blocks and other things. As much as I am embarrassed to admit it, TV has been on much more than I might normally keep it on. On a normal day she will get TV while she's eating (it for whatever reason has helped get her to eat her food more if she can watch TV while she does, and she was a ridiculously bad eater before so I do whatever it takes). Even when the TV is on she often times wanders away to do other things- so I take that as my sign that so far it's not an issue. I can't wait until I have the energy and strength back to get back into doing the more creative and fun things.
I thought that I maybe had a burst of nesting today, though. I woke up with an absurd amount of energy compared to the past few months. I hopped out of bed, got Kayla up, we went downstairs and I was cleaning more than I have in two weeks.
Kayla's preschool stuff isn't the only schedule that's been nixed for the time being- my cleaning schedule has just been entirely ditched temporarily. The house is a wreck and I just don't care at the moment. Brian actually has asked me to stop cleaning the bathrooms because of there's no ventilation, and the last time I tried to really get in there and clean I almost passed out from both fatigue and the smell of Lysol.
Well, anywho, I did a ton of laundry, surfaced clean in the kitchen, actually went around and picked up the toys in the living room that I've been perpetually just kicking to the sides of the room and out of the way. Felt so good! I did still avoid the chemicals because that was sort of scary last time, but I did wipe things down and freshen up the place a bit which felt nice. I'm hoping this little unexplained burst is another sign something is happening soon.
I shouldn't be so anxious to get her out of me, but the more time I have to think about labor, the more nervous I get. Last time labor was so easy for me- 4 pushes and she was out. I'm worried about a few things. 1.) What if it's harder this time? What if I can't do as well with pushing as I did last time? What if it takes more than 4 pushes? I said it was easy, and it was, but by 4 pushes I was already EXHAUSTED. That's embarrassing to admit, but it's entirely the truth. The doctor actually yelled at me because after the 3rd push I told him I was too tired and couldn't do any more. I'm sure after seeing women labor and push for hours, hearing someone who pushed 3 times say they couldn't do any more is annoying. But I'm no athlete. I'm way out of shape, even though I look nice and thin. No muscle tone whatsoever on this frame. And the herculean feat of pushing a person of out me is seriously worrisome. I can't even climb a flight of stairs without being out of breath.
More concerning to me is that last labor resulted in several very painful and long-term problems with my bum. I had hemorrhoids, which are normal and generally go away after a few weeks. Mine did not. I also wound up having an anal fissure that went undiagnosed for 3 years. I had to have surgery on it by the time they discovered it, and only after experiencing some of the worst pain in my entire life. I'd give birth 10000 times before ever wanting another fissure. On the list of my most painful things I've experienced, it ranks as #1. I had just recovered from the surgery when we found out I was pregnant. The idea of pushing and possibly causing that to happen again is frightening to the point of anxiety. I don't even care about tearing in my girly-bits. As long as I don't cause any tearing any where else I'll consider it a miracle.
So yes, I'm a little apprehensive about the labor and the longer it takes the worse it gets. But every time I contract and it hurts, I actually like it. Not in a sadistic sort of way, but the pain like that would mean things are rolling, so I keep hoping for that pain when I know it's the real deal. Ask me how I feel about that statement when I really am in labor.
So, that's basically the update of things around here. I got a lot of gift cards to Barnes and Noble between Christmas and my birthday so I've been dividing them up between myself and Kayla. Bought her some new books and have been trying to decide which books she has to have. So far the only one we received in the mail was Princess Smartypants. It got good reviews, but I didn't read all of them, and I realized quickly that I unintentionally bought Kayla her first bit of feminist literature that borders on Femi-nazi stuff. I didn't read it all yet but.. sheesh. I'll have to get back on how I feel about the book when I do.
So for now, just keeping focused on the goal.. my eyes are on the prize... and hopefully soon I can update with a picture of our new little one and get things back on track around this place.
Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Pregnancy updates
I also forgot to add some pregnancy updates. I'm 28 weeks and a few days... again. They changed my due date and didn't bother telling me, and I had to find out when they sent me to Labor and Delivery to have the baby monitored for slower movements. I really, really, really can't stand my doctor. She has no idea who I even am when I walk into the room and swears she's told me things that she definitely has not.
When I asked her if she delivered at the other hospital in the area, she told me "No, we tell all our patients that the first visit, I definitely told you the first time I saw you." I had to remind her that no, she definitely did NOT, because the first time she saw me I was brought in early as an emergency for bleeding, and she insisted my pregnancy was non-developing. Why would she have told me where she delivers while she's also telling me, absolutely, that my pregnancy isn't developing?
At the last appointment she also insisted my due date has never changed from the start. I had to remind her, again, that she was wrong, and then she gets awkward. It definitely did change, though, and she definitely did recalculate it twice because at my 8 week appointment when I thought I was due Feb. 19th, she told me twice I was due the 12th. Now I'm Suddenly due the 21st. It makes me wonder if she's dyslexic or if the date was written down backwards accidentally at some point. I know what she told me that one appointment way back when- definitely that I was 9 weeks and some days instead of 8 and some days, and that I was due the 12th. If she's insisting it was never changed, then I don't know what to make of it.
Anyway, I know it's a just an estimate, but the 12th is a huge jump from the 21st.
Aside from that my pregnancy isn't as painful as Kayla's was... I'm mostly just tired. All my other symptoms are fleeting and manageable. I did have a scare with her movement earlier this week that landed me in Labor and Delivery for monitoring, but it turns out that she's perfectly fine, just slipped into a position that is making me feel less now. It's just really strange to go from violent kicking all day long to barely anything at all.
My 1 hour glucose tolerance test came back abnormal. I was so surprised (I really expected to pass it) I forgot to ask the actual number while I was there. I read a ton of posts online about people's numbers, and decided to call and see what it was- 174. They said they do the 3 hour for anything over 120... so I was WAY over. Most of the other people online have doctors that fail you after 140. Either way- still WAY over. I did the 3 hour yesterday and that was some new form of torture for me. Fasting starting at 8 PM the night before, waking up hungry, exhausted, nauseous, thirsty, getting stuck with a needle 4 times in 4 hours, having to sit still in the waiting room the entire time... AND the last lab tech to draw blood messed up the needle so my blood squirted halfway across the room- all over me, her, the floor, the chair, and my suede bag that was on my lap. I think everyone in the room was waiting for me to lose it... they suddenly were all very helpful and overly nice. They must get a lot of nasty, hungry, crazy pregnant ladies in there for that test to know that at that point I was ready to rip someone apart anyway. But I was nice and just said it was fine. I was so relieved to be able to leave I couldn't even care at the moment.
By the time I got home I barely made it upstairs before I blacked out. Like, not sleeping- my vision tunneled again and I passed out. Not feeding pregnant people for 16 hours is just stupid. I came to, ate something, and passed out for 4 hours. Thankfully, Brian was home all day so he was with Kayla and I could sleep it off.
I get the results sometime next week. The statistics all say that about 2/3 of the people who have to take the 3 hour pass with flying colors. I'm hoping I'm in that category. I will be so surprised, again, if I actually do have it- I have none of the risk factors. If I do, then I'll be the most miserable person you can imagine being around. I feel bad for everyone who has to deal with me.
I have no problem admitting that my complaints are stupid and shallow, but I can't help it. I never have had to care about my diet- I'm lucky to be able to eat whatever I want and never gain weight. I have no other health problems to make my dieting a concern. I'm spoiled by being able to eat whatever I want, whenever I want. I don't even know what people with diabetes can't eat. Seriously. Carbs? Sugar? I don't even know what a carb actually is. After my appointment at he doctor when she told me I failed the 1 hour, shed told me to assume I have gestational diabetes for now until I get the results for the 3 hour. I stared blankly. She said to watch my carbs. So I came home, subduing the panic attack on the verge of happening, and wanted a sandwich. I remembered I needed to actually pay attention to the label, so I was looking at the bag for the nutritional information and lost it. I just sobbed. ANd sobbed. It was suddenly overwhelming. I was sitting there reading the levels for a slice of bread- I'd have to do this for everything I ate? My brain doesn't function on that level. I have anxiety attacks trying to prepare ONE MEAL without diet restraints- just trying to cook a regular old meal makes my heart race and my head spin. It's a large part of why I hate cooking. If I do cook anything, I need hours to prepare myself to do it. I go over each step in my head over and over. I go through the ingredients I'll need. I have to have all of them lined up on the counter, in the order that I'll need them, and I have to put everything away as I'm done with it because stuff on the counter just sitting there makes me nervous. SO yes, this whole caring in great detail about the carb content of food makes me cry.
But then again, I could, and more likely than not, and worrying over nothing. Since most people don't have a positive result from this second test, I am comforting myself in assuming it was just something I ate the morning before the 1 hour that cause my number to be so high.
I hope.
When I asked her if she delivered at the other hospital in the area, she told me "No, we tell all our patients that the first visit, I definitely told you the first time I saw you." I had to remind her that no, she definitely did NOT, because the first time she saw me I was brought in early as an emergency for bleeding, and she insisted my pregnancy was non-developing. Why would she have told me where she delivers while she's also telling me, absolutely, that my pregnancy isn't developing?
At the last appointment she also insisted my due date has never changed from the start. I had to remind her, again, that she was wrong, and then she gets awkward. It definitely did change, though, and she definitely did recalculate it twice because at my 8 week appointment when I thought I was due Feb. 19th, she told me twice I was due the 12th. Now I'm Suddenly due the 21st. It makes me wonder if she's dyslexic or if the date was written down backwards accidentally at some point. I know what she told me that one appointment way back when- definitely that I was 9 weeks and some days instead of 8 and some days, and that I was due the 12th. If she's insisting it was never changed, then I don't know what to make of it.
Anyway, I know it's a just an estimate, but the 12th is a huge jump from the 21st.
Aside from that my pregnancy isn't as painful as Kayla's was... I'm mostly just tired. All my other symptoms are fleeting and manageable. I did have a scare with her movement earlier this week that landed me in Labor and Delivery for monitoring, but it turns out that she's perfectly fine, just slipped into a position that is making me feel less now. It's just really strange to go from violent kicking all day long to barely anything at all.
My 1 hour glucose tolerance test came back abnormal. I was so surprised (I really expected to pass it) I forgot to ask the actual number while I was there. I read a ton of posts online about people's numbers, and decided to call and see what it was- 174. They said they do the 3 hour for anything over 120... so I was WAY over. Most of the other people online have doctors that fail you after 140. Either way- still WAY over. I did the 3 hour yesterday and that was some new form of torture for me. Fasting starting at 8 PM the night before, waking up hungry, exhausted, nauseous, thirsty, getting stuck with a needle 4 times in 4 hours, having to sit still in the waiting room the entire time... AND the last lab tech to draw blood messed up the needle so my blood squirted halfway across the room- all over me, her, the floor, the chair, and my suede bag that was on my lap. I think everyone in the room was waiting for me to lose it... they suddenly were all very helpful and overly nice. They must get a lot of nasty, hungry, crazy pregnant ladies in there for that test to know that at that point I was ready to rip someone apart anyway. But I was nice and just said it was fine. I was so relieved to be able to leave I couldn't even care at the moment.
By the time I got home I barely made it upstairs before I blacked out. Like, not sleeping- my vision tunneled again and I passed out. Not feeding pregnant people for 16 hours is just stupid. I came to, ate something, and passed out for 4 hours. Thankfully, Brian was home all day so he was with Kayla and I could sleep it off.
I get the results sometime next week. The statistics all say that about 2/3 of the people who have to take the 3 hour pass with flying colors. I'm hoping I'm in that category. I will be so surprised, again, if I actually do have it- I have none of the risk factors. If I do, then I'll be the most miserable person you can imagine being around. I feel bad for everyone who has to deal with me.
I have no problem admitting that my complaints are stupid and shallow, but I can't help it. I never have had to care about my diet- I'm lucky to be able to eat whatever I want and never gain weight. I have no other health problems to make my dieting a concern. I'm spoiled by being able to eat whatever I want, whenever I want. I don't even know what people with diabetes can't eat. Seriously. Carbs? Sugar? I don't even know what a carb actually is. After my appointment at he doctor when she told me I failed the 1 hour, shed told me to assume I have gestational diabetes for now until I get the results for the 3 hour. I stared blankly. She said to watch my carbs. So I came home, subduing the panic attack on the verge of happening, and wanted a sandwich. I remembered I needed to actually pay attention to the label, so I was looking at the bag for the nutritional information and lost it. I just sobbed. ANd sobbed. It was suddenly overwhelming. I was sitting there reading the levels for a slice of bread- I'd have to do this for everything I ate? My brain doesn't function on that level. I have anxiety attacks trying to prepare ONE MEAL without diet restraints- just trying to cook a regular old meal makes my heart race and my head spin. It's a large part of why I hate cooking. If I do cook anything, I need hours to prepare myself to do it. I go over each step in my head over and over. I go through the ingredients I'll need. I have to have all of them lined up on the counter, in the order that I'll need them, and I have to put everything away as I'm done with it because stuff on the counter just sitting there makes me nervous. SO yes, this whole caring in great detail about the carb content of food makes me cry.
But then again, I could, and more likely than not, and worrying over nothing. Since most people don't have a positive result from this second test, I am comforting myself in assuming it was just something I ate the morning before the 1 hour that cause my number to be so high.
I hope.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
In Progress: Cloth Diaper storage and Upcycled bookshelf
So here's the progress on my cloth diaper storage unit. I got the idea from pinterest, so I can't claim originality.
Here's my inspiration:
http://wallfry.blogspot.com/2011/06/upholstered-drawers.html
Here's the result:
The original tutorial mentioned that you needed to use dressers that don't have handles, but I still was able to do this without a problem. I just unscrewed the knobs, and then used an exacto to cut a very small hole through the fabric and batting. The knobs screwed on perfectly and it looks nice.
Ever since I redid the kitchen chair fabric, I'm finding a new love for upholstering. I wonder what else I can add some fabric and batting to around here?
Now if we could just get the crib put together, a mattress, and an actual dresser for in the room and maybe the nursery will start to actually come together. Brian thinks I'm rushing things, but I'm almost 27 weeks pregnant now, and even if I didn't have the bleeding problems early on, Kayla was almost 2 weeks early. I can safely assume that this baby will also be that early since subsequent pregnancies tend to have earlier labors than previous ones. So that means we're down to 13 weeks for a 40 week, full term pregnancy, 11 weeks for a probable 38 week pregnancy, and less if my bleeding complications and friable cervix lead to any other issues later. It is NOT that far away.
Holy crap, it's really not that far away.
Here's my inspiration:
http://wallfry.blogspot.com/2011/06/upholstered-drawers.html
Here's the result:
The original tutorial mentioned that you needed to use dressers that don't have handles, but I still was able to do this without a problem. I just unscrewed the knobs, and then used an exacto to cut a very small hole through the fabric and batting. The knobs screwed on perfectly and it looks nice.
Ever since I redid the kitchen chair fabric, I'm finding a new love for upholstering. I wonder what else I can add some fabric and batting to around here?
Now if we could just get the crib put together, a mattress, and an actual dresser for in the room and maybe the nursery will start to actually come together. Brian thinks I'm rushing things, but I'm almost 27 weeks pregnant now, and even if I didn't have the bleeding problems early on, Kayla was almost 2 weeks early. I can safely assume that this baby will also be that early since subsequent pregnancies tend to have earlier labors than previous ones. So that means we're down to 13 weeks for a 40 week, full term pregnancy, 11 weeks for a probable 38 week pregnancy, and less if my bleeding complications and friable cervix lead to any other issues later. It is NOT that far away.
Holy crap, it's really not that far away.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Nursery Stuff
So somehow, despite getting only 3 hours of sleep a night for the past month and a half, and after chasing around a crazy 3 year old all day, I've still managed to find a little energy left to do some crafty things for the third bedroom. Not too much so far, but still think it's looking pretty cute.
Stuffed owls for a mobile:
Of course I still have the monumental task of assembling the mobile, itself, but so far I am happy with the owls!
Painting:
Those are actually the only two I have pictures of so far. Ha! It feels like I have so much to do left, but really it's only a matter of organizing a few things and making some final touches. I'm having a lot of fun with this decorating thing!
Stuffed owls for a mobile:
Of course I still have the monumental task of assembling the mobile, itself, but so far I am happy with the owls!
Painting:
Those are actually the only two I have pictures of so far. Ha! It feels like I have so much to do left, but really it's only a matter of organizing a few things and making some final touches. I'm having a lot of fun with this decorating thing!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
I'm 15 weeks Pregnant
Well, depending on whether you ask my doctor or my online ticker, I'm either 15 weeks or 15 weeks and 1 day pregnant. The doctor insisted my due date was February 12th, but the also told me I was one day ahead where the online calculators and other Feb. 12th mommies say I am. I'm not complaining, but it's a little confusing.
The baby is doing well. We had an NT scan and the results were all normal- not that the doctor even bothered to contact me about them. I just read the paper before I handed it back over to the tech, and the result was written on there. I googled it later, and the number was very within normal range.
I have to admit that I'm not thrilled with my doctor, but sadly I'm just too lazy to find another at this point. She's never had good bedside manner, and I also don't feel like she's very thorough about anything. I guess the coming weeks will confirm that for me. My only 'normal' appointment with her was at almost 10 weeks, and it was the fastest sort of check up you could imagine. Other than that, my experience with her has been her disinterested comments about my 'almost certain' miscarriage. She has actually delivered news of that nature with a smile, and then a quick, "I'm sorry, I know it's not what you want to hear."
As far as how I've been feeling- meh. The nausea has been better, especially when I take the Zofran. That stuff is just a miracle drug. The only problem with the medicine was actually when the doctor prescribed Phenergan for the days after I ran out of Zofran. Insurance would only cover 12 pills every 30 days, and wouldn't budge when they asked for more. So she gave me the phenergan, and I had a terrible, terrible reaction to it, so bad that I wound up in the ER. I honestly thought I was dying, or having a stroke, or something. I took it at 4 PM, and by 5 I was so tired that I could barely lift my head. When Brian got home, I said nothing and walked upstairs and just collapsed in bed. I couldn't move,and every limb felt like it weighed 100 pounds. I could barely speak because I couldn't move my mouth. I was nearly catatonic. Brian called me down for dinner, and I managed to get downstairs after about 15 minutes of willing each part of me to move, and then I couldn't even hold my arms up to the table or hold the silverware. When I went back upstairs I was completely passed out until the morning. I was nearly immobile for almost 17 hours.
When I got up I could move again, so I thought that was good. I got Kayla up, dressed and downstairs. I gave her some breakfast, and sat down at the table intending to read the medicine's pamphlet to see if my reaction was normal. As I started to read it, I realized that I couldn't see the words. I got insanely hot, my breathing got shallow, and I felt my heart starting to race. My vision started to tunnel to black but with a bunch of light starbusts, and I ran to the bottom of the stairs to call Brian. He didn't hear me, so I started to climb, still feeling everything closing in and, calling him again and again. By the time I got to the stairs, I let out one good scream and collapsed on the floor. I couldn't see anything. I know I told Brian something was wrong, I couldn't see. He got me into bed at some point, and after a few minutes my vision was ok again and I started feeling normal. But I called the doctor and she said it sounded like blood pressure and since I took the meds last night it probably wasn't related. She sent me to the ER just to get checked.
The doctor at the ER barely looked at me, but seemed confident that it was a reaction from the medicine. She called it a dystonic reaction. She was even able to get the insurance company to allow 30 pills a month since I definitely couldn't take any other medicine. All they did was give me benadryl and told me not to take the medicine again- duh. Well, other than that, things have been pretty normal.
I'm showing more this time. I already look 5 months pregnant. oooof.
Still no kicking or anything. I sometimes think I feel things, but I'm not entirely sure.
I'm always, always tired, but I also blame Kayla for that one.
Kayla is her normal, crazy self. She knows of the baby, but I'm sure she really grasps the idea yet. She will tell you that she wants a sister (sometimes a brother, but mostly a sister now). She's so good with babies so I'm sure she will be ok once this one arrives.
Now that I don't have Kylie any more I am trying to force myself to cook more. It's not easy because Brian is so unbelievably difficult, but I'm still trying. Even just crock pot meals- I already have two for the week. I've been horrendously slacking on the preschool curriculum with Kayla, and I just got everything out to get organized again. I want to start the Five in a Row this fall, so I have to finish up the letteroftheweek.com curriculum. I am also going to enroll her in a tumbling class very soon!
I'll post some pregnancy pictures soon. Gotta run for now- naptime!
Edit:
13 weeks, 6 days
The Belly at 15 weeks
The baby is doing well. We had an NT scan and the results were all normal- not that the doctor even bothered to contact me about them. I just read the paper before I handed it back over to the tech, and the result was written on there. I googled it later, and the number was very within normal range.
I have to admit that I'm not thrilled with my doctor, but sadly I'm just too lazy to find another at this point. She's never had good bedside manner, and I also don't feel like she's very thorough about anything. I guess the coming weeks will confirm that for me. My only 'normal' appointment with her was at almost 10 weeks, and it was the fastest sort of check up you could imagine. Other than that, my experience with her has been her disinterested comments about my 'almost certain' miscarriage. She has actually delivered news of that nature with a smile, and then a quick, "I'm sorry, I know it's not what you want to hear."
As far as how I've been feeling- meh. The nausea has been better, especially when I take the Zofran. That stuff is just a miracle drug. The only problem with the medicine was actually when the doctor prescribed Phenergan for the days after I ran out of Zofran. Insurance would only cover 12 pills every 30 days, and wouldn't budge when they asked for more. So she gave me the phenergan, and I had a terrible, terrible reaction to it, so bad that I wound up in the ER. I honestly thought I was dying, or having a stroke, or something. I took it at 4 PM, and by 5 I was so tired that I could barely lift my head. When Brian got home, I said nothing and walked upstairs and just collapsed in bed. I couldn't move,and every limb felt like it weighed 100 pounds. I could barely speak because I couldn't move my mouth. I was nearly catatonic. Brian called me down for dinner, and I managed to get downstairs after about 15 minutes of willing each part of me to move, and then I couldn't even hold my arms up to the table or hold the silverware. When I went back upstairs I was completely passed out until the morning. I was nearly immobile for almost 17 hours.
When I got up I could move again, so I thought that was good. I got Kayla up, dressed and downstairs. I gave her some breakfast, and sat down at the table intending to read the medicine's pamphlet to see if my reaction was normal. As I started to read it, I realized that I couldn't see the words. I got insanely hot, my breathing got shallow, and I felt my heart starting to race. My vision started to tunnel to black but with a bunch of light starbusts, and I ran to the bottom of the stairs to call Brian. He didn't hear me, so I started to climb, still feeling everything closing in and, calling him again and again. By the time I got to the stairs, I let out one good scream and collapsed on the floor. I couldn't see anything. I know I told Brian something was wrong, I couldn't see. He got me into bed at some point, and after a few minutes my vision was ok again and I started feeling normal. But I called the doctor and she said it sounded like blood pressure and since I took the meds last night it probably wasn't related. She sent me to the ER just to get checked.
The doctor at the ER barely looked at me, but seemed confident that it was a reaction from the medicine. She called it a dystonic reaction. She was even able to get the insurance company to allow 30 pills a month since I definitely couldn't take any other medicine. All they did was give me benadryl and told me not to take the medicine again- duh. Well, other than that, things have been pretty normal.
I'm showing more this time. I already look 5 months pregnant. oooof.
Still no kicking or anything. I sometimes think I feel things, but I'm not entirely sure.
I'm always, always tired, but I also blame Kayla for that one.
Kayla is her normal, crazy self. She knows of the baby, but I'm sure she really grasps the idea yet. She will tell you that she wants a sister (sometimes a brother, but mostly a sister now). She's so good with babies so I'm sure she will be ok once this one arrives.
Now that I don't have Kylie any more I am trying to force myself to cook more. It's not easy because Brian is so unbelievably difficult, but I'm still trying. Even just crock pot meals- I already have two for the week. I've been horrendously slacking on the preschool curriculum with Kayla, and I just got everything out to get organized again. I want to start the Five in a Row this fall, so I have to finish up the letteroftheweek.com curriculum. I am also going to enroll her in a tumbling class very soon!
I'll post some pregnancy pictures soon. Gotta run for now- naptime!
Edit:
13 weeks, 6 days
The Belly at 15 weeks
Monday, July 11, 2011
I am 8 weeks pregnant
Yup!
Today I'm tentatively 8 weeks, 1 day pregnant and feeling appropriately like crap. Nothing compared to last time with Kayla when I was throwing up at least 3 times every day, and couldn't even sit in a car let alone ride in one without hurling. So far, I've only thrown up twice and once was Kayla's fault for pooping and smearing it on her bedroom wall. That's another story entirely.
The nausea is pretty much constant but I'm relatively functional. I have been slacking on Kayla's letter of the week, which I really shouldn't and feel guilty. But right now I'm spending much more of my time and focus on not throwing up, so there's very little for other thoughts.
Aside from that I've been a little tired and feeling what I think is some round ligament pain. My pants already are getting tight and something about that just isn't fair.
We had a little scare earlier, so the fact I'm even this far in the pregnancy is a miracle. On June 21st I went to the ER for spotting and cramping and the found that I had a subchorionic hematoma, where there is blood between the placenta and the uterus. Not a huge issue and it usually resolves itself, but the thing that worried me the most is he said they thought I was only 4 weeks. I was dating it at 6 weeks, and that seems like a huge difference. He told me my beta level was at 5999.
4 days later at the regular doctor, they still couldn't even see an embryo, just a sac. And my hormones only went up to 6085. She rushed me to the hospital for an ultrasound to see if it was ectopic, but told me based on everything that it was a non-developing pregnancy.
It wasn't ectopic, so she prepared for the a miscarriage and made another appointment for a week later. Something about making a woman in this position wait an entire week for confirmation of a dead embryo is just cruel beyond measure. I was so depressed by the following week I just didn't care what they had to say. I was still feeling pregnant with sore boobs, nausea, headaches, everything. That, too, seemed unfair that I would lose the pregnancy but still have to suffer these symptoms.
Well, surprise surprise, she saw something on the ultrasound. SHe said because of the hematoma that they couldn't be sure with their equipment that it was an embryo and not a blood clot. She sent me again to be hospital for a better ultrasound the following day, where they found an embryo, heartbeat, and were able to date it at 6 weeks 5 days. That would be almost a week off from what I thought, and a week off from what the ER told me. Some somewhere comfortable in the middle of two wrong dates.
I went from having a 20% chance of a developing, viable pregnancy to having a little embryo with a heartbeat.
It's sort of annoying, however, that my family who knows all about this stuff immediately asks "Well, does this mean the baby will have problems?" Really? That's you first reaction to all this? Shouldn't you just be happy to hear the incredible news that the little bugger overcame an 80% of not even surviving? Sometimes people really know exactly what to say to people, I tell ya.
Well, now I'm waiting for the next appointment in a few days. Hopefully more good news ensues. For now I'm stuck battling my ultra-sensitive nose, which currently can't find the source of the cat food smell it's detecting around our computer desk. We have a cat, but when I smell her cat food, that's not the same smell. Something in this general vicinity smells like catfood, and it's getting nearly unbearable.
Gotta run!
Today I'm tentatively 8 weeks, 1 day pregnant and feeling appropriately like crap. Nothing compared to last time with Kayla when I was throwing up at least 3 times every day, and couldn't even sit in a car let alone ride in one without hurling. So far, I've only thrown up twice and once was Kayla's fault for pooping and smearing it on her bedroom wall. That's another story entirely.
The nausea is pretty much constant but I'm relatively functional. I have been slacking on Kayla's letter of the week, which I really shouldn't and feel guilty. But right now I'm spending much more of my time and focus on not throwing up, so there's very little for other thoughts.
Aside from that I've been a little tired and feeling what I think is some round ligament pain. My pants already are getting tight and something about that just isn't fair.
We had a little scare earlier, so the fact I'm even this far in the pregnancy is a miracle. On June 21st I went to the ER for spotting and cramping and the found that I had a subchorionic hematoma, where there is blood between the placenta and the uterus. Not a huge issue and it usually resolves itself, but the thing that worried me the most is he said they thought I was only 4 weeks. I was dating it at 6 weeks, and that seems like a huge difference. He told me my beta level was at 5999.
4 days later at the regular doctor, they still couldn't even see an embryo, just a sac. And my hormones only went up to 6085. She rushed me to the hospital for an ultrasound to see if it was ectopic, but told me based on everything that it was a non-developing pregnancy.
It wasn't ectopic, so she prepared for the a miscarriage and made another appointment for a week later. Something about making a woman in this position wait an entire week for confirmation of a dead embryo is just cruel beyond measure. I was so depressed by the following week I just didn't care what they had to say. I was still feeling pregnant with sore boobs, nausea, headaches, everything. That, too, seemed unfair that I would lose the pregnancy but still have to suffer these symptoms.
Well, surprise surprise, she saw something on the ultrasound. SHe said because of the hematoma that they couldn't be sure with their equipment that it was an embryo and not a blood clot. She sent me again to be hospital for a better ultrasound the following day, where they found an embryo, heartbeat, and were able to date it at 6 weeks 5 days. That would be almost a week off from what I thought, and a week off from what the ER told me. Some somewhere comfortable in the middle of two wrong dates.
I went from having a 20% chance of a developing, viable pregnancy to having a little embryo with a heartbeat.
It's sort of annoying, however, that my family who knows all about this stuff immediately asks "Well, does this mean the baby will have problems?" Really? That's you first reaction to all this? Shouldn't you just be happy to hear the incredible news that the little bugger overcame an 80% of not even surviving? Sometimes people really know exactly what to say to people, I tell ya.
Well, now I'm waiting for the next appointment in a few days. Hopefully more good news ensues. For now I'm stuck battling my ultra-sensitive nose, which currently can't find the source of the cat food smell it's detecting around our computer desk. We have a cat, but when I smell her cat food, that's not the same smell. Something in this general vicinity smells like catfood, and it's getting nearly unbearable.
Gotta run!
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