A Great Day for Appointments

Despite it being only 4 degrees (with wind chill of -11), it turned out to be a wonderful day for doctor appointments.  Our first stop with MFM.  Before we even started the ultrasound, I told the text that he is very much awake and active.  This was one of the first ultrasound baby was breech.  We did a little bit of moving, but let the text get in all of her measurements and we even got 2 beautiful 3D pictures.  You can see his hands were at his mouth in one of the pictures. Then we she unfroze the camera, we were able to watch him suck his fingers and see him swallow on the screen.  It was so neat!

All of our measurements came in good.  My cervix was just 2 mm shorter than last time but still long and closed.  We were use to seeing a head pushing on my cervix, but this time it was little legs moving in the screen shot.

Next, I had my OB appointment.  After the u/s, that's a rather uneventful appointment.  He just listened to the baby's heart and measured my belly.  All done!  I will have another appointment with him in 4 weeks, but I'll have to go in before for my gestational diabetes test.

Mommy/Baby Stats
Weight:  I'm .10 of a pound below my ppw.  I think I'll get there this week since I'm still off of work and not so active.

Sleep:  Been doing real good!

Symptoms:  None!

Cravings:  Ice cream whenever I can!  I don't know how so much time as gone past, but Baby will finally have his first taste of crab legs and lobster tomorrow night for New Year's Eve!!!  I'm so excited for both of us!

Movement:  He is very active.  He had a schedule going, but I think with me being home for Winter break, it is all thrown off.  Now, I just feel him moving and rolling all throughout the day.  Some kicks have been hard enough to see my stomach move and for the kids to feel.

Next Appointment: January 13 for another cervical check.

Baby size: Personalized to him this time- he is estimated to weight 1lb 5 oz and measured about 3 days ahead.

22 Weeks

Yesterday, marked the beginning of week 22.  For my past 2 pregnancies, this has been the point of heartbreak.  This coming Monday (12/23) will be the longest I've been pregnant since over 2 1/2 years. I am so grateful that everything is going in our favor.  Now on to 24 weeks when we reach viability!

We had another cervical check last week.  Everything was closed and measured fine. Baby again continued to be difficult.  He refused to give us a good picture. Once the tech got the good view, he threw his arm up to cover his face.  Then turned his head into my placenta.  We'll just have to wait until next week.

Mommy/Baby Stats:

Weight:  I'm still below my pow, but I'm getting closer.  By the time we are done with Christmas, maybe I will have gained that last pound.

Sleep: I getting longer stretches of sleep several nights a week.  Still wake up throughout the night, but not staying up that often.

Symptoms: Doing pretty good with the indigestion.  Sometimes it gets hard to stay sitting up for 2 hours after eating.  Itching is probably my biggest issue right now.  Between stretch marks on my stomach and eczema every where else, the itching is making me crazy.

Cravings/Aversions: nothing exciting

Movement:  He moves quite a bit.  Haley has been able to feel him move once, but he won't budge at all when Chase comes around.  Baby also gets really excited at loud events (school Christmas Concerts).  I've also started doing kick counts (trying to feel 10 kicks in 2 hours).  Most of the time, I feel all 10 kicks in less than 1 hour.  I'm started to learn his wake patterns and he's pretty active between 7:30pm-8:30.

Next appointment: On Dec 30, I'll have a cervical and a growth check with MFM.  Then, we'll go to OB for the last monthly appointment before we move to every two weeks.

Baby's size: He should be about the size of a large banana, weighing about 1 lbs! He has eye brows and lashes and maybe even a little hair is starting to grow on his head. He can hear my heartbeat and my voice as well as recognize out voices.

Anatomy Scan

Today was a busy day with 2 doctor appointments on completely different parts of town.  The first appointment was with MFM for my anatomy scan. It went great!  Baby was perfect.  I laughed at how it used to be that as soon as the baby was born, mom and dad checked to make sure that baby had 10 fingers and 10 toes.  Well, we were able to do that today!

My placenta moved, so placenta previa is no longer a concern and  my cervix was also long and closed. Now, it looks like I'll only have to more visits to check cervical length and then my visits will be more for monitoring his growth.

Baby at 19wks 3 days

Then after a quick ice cream stop, we headed to my OB appointment.  This was another quick and uneventful appointment.  We listened to the heartbeat, which is now easy to find because he is getting so big.  I'll have one more appointment with Dr Saikie in 4 weeks, then I move to every 2 weeks.

Mommy/Baby Stats

Weight: I'm still down albs from my ppw, but I think the chocolate chip cookies the kids and I were eating and then Thanksgiving helped with my gain last week.

Sleep:  Still keeping strange hours.  Can be up for an hour during the middle of the night and other times can sleep straight through the night (expect for bathroom runs).

Symptoms:  Some form of indigestion everyday, usually pretty mild.

Cravings/Aversions:  Cravings very, but nothing strange or unusual.  Aversions- still no McDonalds (except for a large Hi-C orange) and now no Cousin's Sub (the seasoning is suddenly disgusting).

Movement: I feel baby move several times throughout the day. It was fun to see what he was doing on the ultrasound as I was feeling the movements.  He is partial to the right side of my stomach. My stomach can be visibly lopsided at times.

Next appointment:  So far my next MFM appointment is scheduled for Dec 16.   Luckily no more tests for a while.

Baby: He measures about 6 inches and is about the size of a mango!  He is also about half a pound.

More to Watch For

After a long month, I finally had an ultrasound where I was able to see the baby!  I had my first cervical length check today.  Baby was active as usual with his legs just kicking.  He was butt down today and my inner monolog told him to get that all out of his system now and be the right way when it's time.  My cervix measured over 3 cm (Dr couldn't remember exact amount by the time she came to talk to us).  But of course, there is a negative for that positive.

It was discovered that I have a low-lying placenta.  This means that my placenta is less than 2cm away from my cervix. So now with my biweekly cervical checks, they will also be looking to see if the placenta is moving.  The hope is that as my uterus expands, the placenta will move further away from my cervix.  If it doesn't then I will have to have a c-section.

When the doctor was going over things that could happen as a result of this placement, I asked if this could have been the cause of my bleed a few weeks ago, and she said yes.  She warned that I could have more bleeds.  Therefore, I am on pelvic rest, no strenuous activities and no heavy lifting.

More good news- a picture of baby at 16 wks, 4 days!

Mommy/Baby Stats
Weight:  I was pretty stressed last week and ended up losing about 3 lbs.  Working on putting it back on.

Sleep:  I've created a weird sleeping pattern.  I go to sleep when I put Chase to bed between 9-10pm.  I'll sleep for a few hours and then wake up between 1-3am and take my night meds/vitamins, maybe some ice cream and go back to bed.  I'm feeling that I need to stop this.

Symptoms:  Things have been pretty calm this week.  Mild nausea one day, but that's been about it.

Cravings/Aversions:  Just ice cream (not really that different)

Movement:  Random.  It figures since the placenta is in the front, I'm missing some of the action.

Next Appointment: Still have to schedule them.  My next appointment for the cervical check will also be my anatomy scan, so that will be an interesting appointment.

Baby: He is over 4 inches long from his head to butt and weighs over 2 ounces.  His legs are now longer than his arms and he is started to grow finger nails.

15 Weeks

Day 1 of week 15 has been nice a quiet. Today was my first day back at work since getting my cerclage.  I had the cerclage put in on Tuesday evening.  The actual procedure was better than with the last pregnancy.  The best part was that the room wasn't an ice box this time.  Unfortunately, I experienced more abdominal pain afterward this time.  Dr. Mastrolia gave me 2 types of medications that were really appreciated for that first 24 hours.  I've only had 2 pain pills today, so that's pretty good.

Baby continues to get nice and big.  I'm able to find him very quickly using the doppler. I haven't been that obsessive with it as my husband feared.  I only take a listen one a day!

Mommy/Baby Stats
Weight: I still have about another 1.5 lbs to gain before I get back to my pre pregnancy weight.

Clothes: Barely fit into my last pair of jeans.  I did get a new pair of pants that fit really nice and they aren't maternity.  I may have another 2 weeks left in those.  Otherwise, it's maternity all day every day.

Sleep:  Can't complain.  The Vicodin the last couple of nights have helped me sleep all day and night.

Symptoms: The morning sickness is much better.  My stomach gets a little uneasy ever so often, but nothing horrible.  I had 2 bad days of heartburn, but my problem now is mostly indigestion.

Cravings/Aversions: I haven't had much of an issue with food lately.

Anxiety: Just hoping to make it through each day without any medical issues.

Movement: I have been feeling little flutters for about 2 weeks now. I'm starting to wonder if I'm starting to notice more.

Next Appointment: I have an OB appointment on Monday and then my first cervical check on Nov 12.

Baby: He is around 4 inches long, about the size of an apple or navel orange.  He is a little shy of 2 ounces.

Until next time- Prayers for a quiet, uneventful week!

Scary Day

Everything started off fine today.  I had a little pain on my side at the bowling, but it went away after I started walking.  We got to the car and drove right down the street to Target.  As I was getting out of the car, I felt something come out that didn't fell like pee.  My first thought was to make it inside Target and go straight to the bath, but I changed my mind. I reached down the back on my pants, checked my hand and saw blood.  I look at Terry and said I need to go to the hospital right now.

At the hospital, we got our first bit of good news after the pelvic check.  I wasn't actively bleeding and my cervix appeared closed. The nurse eventually came back to check for baby's heartbeat. She warned us that she is not an OB nurse, so if she can't find an heartbeat not doesn't mean anything is wrong.  I told her my own OB doctor couldn't find this boy's heartbeat and gave up and just did an ultrasound.  She was able to find it 2 two times for about a second each time, so we ended up having to do another ultrasound.  I wasn't able to see the ultrasound, but Terry was.  He said baby was bigger than the last time and still just as busy.

They checked the baby, the placenta and throughout my uterus-everything was fine.  Bad news-they couldn't find any cause or reason for the bleed.  Therefore, the diagnosis was a threatened miscarriage.

So, I was sent home for bed rest the remained of the weekend.  I have to call and check in with Dr Saikie on Monday morning and still get my cerclage Tuesday afternoon.  The Doctor also said no strenuous activity "for the next 6 months"! He stressed things like cleaning floors and laundry...I wonder who will do them.

2nd Trimester

I am now 13 weeks and officially into my 2nd trimester.  After waiting for over 2 weeks, I finally got my results from my Maternit21 test yesterday.  Baby is perfectly healthy, no T13, T18, or T21

Mommy/Baby Stats
Weight: I'm still in the negative for weight gain.  I'm down 3.4 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight.

Clothes: I'm down to only 2 pair of jeans that I can fit and comfortably close. I'm starting to fit into my maternity yoga pants without them falling down.  All maternity shirts are quite comfortable.

Sleep: I've been going to bed when I put Chase to sleep lately.  I sleep to about 1am and then get up for a few before returning to bed.  I'm currently exhausted because we've had parent conferences at school, so I'm there late and then get home and still have to help the kids finish up homework before I get to go lay down.

Symptoms: Morning sickness is becoming less frequent, but it has been bad on a couple of mornings with painful dry heaving. I haven't had to drink much prune juice the last week, so that is good!

Cravings/Aversions: I haven't had any cravings lately. I'm finding that I can no longer eat McDonald's. We just don't really get a long anymore.

Anxiety: Trying to find a name for this baby!  Suggestions?

Next Appointment: EKG in a few hours.  Then cerclage on Oct 29.

Baby: My baby is now almost 3 inches long and around .8 ounces, about the size of a peach.

Gender:I found out the gender when I got my genetics results.  Funny thing is the baby told me that morning during a dream what sex it was.

200 Days To Go!

I had my first OB appointment today and it went very well.  Dr Saikie received the report from MFM and I will have quite a busy pregnancy.  For just the next 2 months or so, I will have an 24hr urine collection (this weekend), an EKG (don't know why), must start baby aspirin (to help regulate my blood pressure after delivery), will have cerclage placed, bi-weekly cervical checks, start weekly progesterone shots (to prevent pre-term labor) and during anatomy scan at 20 weeks, they will do a detailed something on baby's heart (because IVF babies are more likely to have heart issues)  There is still more but I can't remember it all.

My due date is April 25, but I now know that baby will be born early.  According to MFM, I will have baby between 37-39 weeks.

Dr Saikie was trying to use the dobbler today to hear baby's heartbeat, but it was being such a tease.  Every time he thought he found the heartbeat, it was gone, so he had to get the ultrasound machine.  Well, baby was very busy again.  Arms were moving and S/he was bouncing around.  I love that baby's been putting on a show for use the last couple of times!

Graduation Day!

We had our last visit with Dr Hayes today.  It was a good visit and even Baby was happy. While doing the ultrasound, Baby was very active.  It's arms and legs were going and it even did a complete roll for us. We were all laughing.  Dr Hayes had a hard time getting a picture for us because of all the movement.  She was eventually able to get us 3 good pictures. We also got a nice little "graduation" present: a new monkey, a onesie and a baby hat, plus 3 different pregnancy magazines.

The other good news of the day:  my estrogen and progesterone levels were great, so I am done taking them.  That means no more shots!!!!  My butt will finally have a chance to heal after being poked twice a day for the last 9 weeks.

Mommy/Baby Stats
Weight: lost more weight.  Won't know amount until tomorrow morning weigh-in.

Clothes: Any pants with a button or zipper is uncomfortable in the morning when I put it on and straight irritating by the time I get home from work.

Sleep: Same as before.

Gender:  Will know pretty soon.  Wondering so much about it has given me at least one nightmare.

Symptoms: Morning sickness is getting worse instead of better.  I don't remember throwing up (or practicing, because there was nothing in my stomach to throw up) during the 1st trimester of any other pregnancy.  Now, I can add constipation to the list.  I hate drinking prune juice, but it helps keep the tears away.

Cravings: It's weird- I want any kind of sandwich that has ample amounts of mayo on it- Cousin's sub (extra mayo) Grand Chicken from Steak Escape (with extra mayo).

Anxiety:  Took Maternit21 test this week.  Now waiting for the results.

Next Appointment:  First OB appointment on Monday.  I know he's going to send me to the lab and drain all my blood.

Baby Stats: Baby measured a couple days ahead on today's ultrasound and heartbeat was 163, Dr Hayes said both were great.  At 11 weeks, Baby should be measuring about 2 inches, weighing at about 0.3 ounces. My placenta is now up and working and supporting the baby.  It's head is still twice as big as the rest of its body.  It's ears are moving towards the side of the head and reproductive organs are becoming more distinguished.

10 Weeks

We are 10 weeks along today and had our consult with MFM this afternoon. The ultrasound was quite exciting.  Blob was very alert and active. It was so cute seeing it's arms and legs moving.  The tech even got a picture where Blob appears to be waving.

Blob continues to be an overachiever measuring in 4 days ahead. We also have a our 3D picture!

We go in for our last appointment with Dr. Hayes on Tuesday.  While we are there, we are going to also meet with the geneticist and take my Maternit21 test to check for any chromosomal abnormalities. We met with a new Perinatologist today.  He was very nice and gave me lots of new information.  We decided that he will be the one to perform my cerclage which should be scheduled for the end of October.

Mommy/Baby Stats:
Weight: Gained 2 lbs this past week

Clothes: Getting a little tighter.  Underwear are starting to roll beneath my tummy

Sleep: Sleeping very soundly at night.  Difficult time waking up during the night to go to the bathroom. I really miss not having any time to take a nap in the afternoon.

Gender:  A few more weeks

Symptoms: Zofran is still my friend.  I just got a new prescription for it and this time Dr Hayes gave me the kind that dissolve on my tongue.  I continue to have indigestion all the time.

Cravings: Pretty much anything that doesn't turn me off.  I can get a little funny about texture of food.

Scare: I had a slight panic this past weekend when I saw a very faint streak of pink on the tissue.  I wiped 3 times, but it only showed the first time.  Nurse said to rest for remainder of weekend and make sure to increase water intake.

Looking forward to: Last appointment with Dr Hayes, genetic testing and my first OB appointment (which I must remember to make that appointment).

Baby stats: Baby is about 1.2 inches, about 0.2oz and the size of a prune. It is now a fetus!  All vital internal organs are formed and little toes and fingers are developing.

Grow Baby Grow!

I had another appointment with Dr Hayes today and got more pictures of Blob.  Blob is measuring a day ahead at 8wk6d.  It has a very strong heartbeat at 172.  Things were still very hard to see, but we did see the heart, and the little hand and leg nubs.

I'll have one more appointment with Dr Hayes and then I will be released to Dr. Saiki (my OB). I have another 2 weeks of estradiol tablets and the dreaded progesterone shots in the butt.  With shots 2x a day for almost 2 months, my butt extremely sore!

8 weeks

I turned 37 years old this past Wednesday and  8 weeks pregnant today.  It's been a rough couple of days.  Here are some current stats:

How far along: 8 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I'm now down 4 lbs.

Clothes: Any pants that zip and  button are that comfortable.

Sleep: I'm not sleeping as much as I should.  Since I work longer and the kids get home a few minutes earlier, I don't have time for an afternoon nap.  So, then I sleep really hard at night.

Gender: ????

Symptoms:  Nausea and morning sickness are in full effect! It can take over an hour to eat a peanut butter & jelly sandwich some mornings.  By the time I make dinner, I often can't stand to eat it.  For 3 days now, I've had to take Zofran (nausea meds) to feel better.  When I am able to eat, sometimes I over do it.

Cravings: None this week

Looking forward to: My appointment on Wednesday

Baby stats: My little Blob is over 1/2 long and is about the size of a raspberry.  The fingers and toes are beginning to form.  It is also beginning to look more humanlike (less like a blob!)

My Blob!

Today was the big day.  I finally had  my first ultrasound.  Not only were we excited for this day, but so was our nurse.  She wanted to know how many were cooking, too.  Despite my high numbers, there was only 1 baby. Baby is measuring nicely at 1-2 days a head, so around 6wk6d or 7d.  We were able to hear the heartbeat and it was about 122bpm.

Dr. Hayes was very nice today.  Due to the last two traumatizing pregnancies, she offered me the opportunity to come in next week for another ultrasound instead of waiting the typical 2 weeks. As much as I liked the idea, I stuck with coming back in 2 weeks. It wouldn't have been a problem if I weren't back at work, but now I have to keep taking time off of work to come down to the hospital.

How Far Along: 6weeks 5 days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I initially lost 3 lbs but at exactly 6 weeks I was down 3.2lbs.

Clothes: I wear long dresses and elastic waisted capris so I don't notice them getting tighter, but I did wear a pair of jean capris the other day and they were a little snug.

Sleep: I'm sleeping fine.  Waking at least once a night to go to the bathroom.

Gender: No idea, but for some reason, I have a feeling it is going to be a boy.

Symptoms: Fatigue and occasional nausea

Cravings: McDonalds' Double Cheese Burgers have been really good lately.

Looking Forward To: Being able to make my appointment for Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM)

Next Appointment: Next ultrasound is Sept 18 @ 11:15am.

Miscellaneous: Baby is the size of a small pea!

Last Beta

I had my last beta test this morning... 2496! My doubling rate has slowed down, but it is still much faster than the normal doubling time at that amount. After 1200, the doubling rate changes from 31-72 hours to 72-96.  My time was 51 hours, so pretty good!

My first ultrasound is scheduled for Sept. 4.  That is going to feel like an eternity.  I'm not feeling that great today.  My sinuses are killing me.  I have pressure on my forehead and around my nose.  Makes me want to take a nap.

Holy Crap!!!!

I had my first Beta (blood pregnancy test) on Saturday.  I got the results back, but forgot the exact number so I didn't post on Saturday.  Well, the exact number was 443. That had me shocked all weekend, because I know that it is considerably high.  To be a healthy pregnancy, the numbers should double  every 48-72 hours. So my next test was this morning.

Suzette was there again and we talked while she drew my blood.  She was also surprised by my first test and stated that they typically suspect multiples with numbers that high.  We both giggled at the thought that maybe the embryo split, but said that we have to take things one day at a time  starting with today's Beta.

Well...I got today's Beta results.  Not only did my numbers double, they TRIPLED!!!!! Today's number was 1340. Now...we wait for the next test on Wednesday morning.

STATS:
I'm 4weeks 3day
Baby is the size of an orange seed
Symptoms: Tired, gagging when I brush my teeth

Preliminary Result Are In......

After days of peeing on sticks, I finally have results strong enough that show on a picture.  It looks like I"ll be having a baby!!!

I went in for lab work this morning.  I told Suzette (my favorite nurse) that I was a compulsive tester and I had a light positive since Saturday.  She felt as though that was a a really good sign considering how early it was.  I will go back in for my official blood test on Saturday morning.

I told Suzette that besides being tired, my only issue right now is easily sweating and being out of breath.  She said since I wasn't having any pains in my chest or calfs, it was probably just from the increase in estrogen. My lab work should that my estradiol is now 28.2 and my progesterone went up to 33.5 (which is good, considering is was low, 14. last Wednesday).

The Peeing Addiction Begins

I held my pee for a long time last night/ this morning to make sure it would be concentrated with hormones. I took my first test this morning. I know it is early but it's a sick kind of fun.

To the untrained eye and on this picture, you see... nothing. But to a professional pee'er, when you look at it in the light, there is a slightly visible outline of a second line. 

So, this picture is 3dp6dt (3 days past 6 day transfer).

Single Embryo Transfer (SET)

After 2 fresh cycles of IVF, I’m left with transferring a single embryo.  Dr Hayes and Amy (the embryologist), informed me that my little embryo was darn near perfect and had a great chance to result in a pregnancy.

I’m was very excited to hear this.  My transfer was Wednesday, Aug 7th, 2013 at 11am.  It was nice and quick.  I was released from the hospital a couple of hours later to go home and rest for the next couple of days.

Last night was pretty crazy.  I’m hoping that I had my first weird pregnancy dream.  Despite all the sleep I had yesterday, I had no problem taking at least 3 naps today and once I finish this, I don’t foresee a problem going back to see.

I’ll probably start testing Saturday.  I don’t know if I’ll be able to wait until Sunday.  I go back to the clinic for a hormone check, but they won’t do a pregnancy test until the weekend of the 16th.

Here is my little embryo baby at 6 days old.  The part outside the shell will develop into the placenta and the part inside the shell will become baby.