35 Weeks!

I've been waiting to update until I knew when my cerclage would be removed, and then so many things kept happening between getting a confirmed date.


I'm still working through the gestational diabetes.  I'm on 2 pills a day-one before dinner and one before bed.  That seems to work most of the time.  I'm also doing a lot better with my water intake.  I haven't made it to a gallon yet but I am usually over 80 ounces everyday.  Next appointment with the Nurse practitioner is on Friday.

Baby and I have still been having our weekly tests.  He is passing his biophysical profiles every Tuesday with flying colors!  He is also doing well with his non-stress tests.  I've said it before, he is such the overachiever. We also ended up having a stress test and he did well with that.  At last Fridays appointment, I was having a lot of big contractions and his heart rate did exactly what he was supposed to do.

This led to my busy weekend!  Not knowing whether or not I was actually about to go into labor, we had some last minute shopping to do Saturday morning.  I  made another payment on his crib, bought his bassinet and car seat cover (since it's apparently still winter) and also got my breast pump.  At home,  we made sure my hospital bag was ready to go with things for me, Terry and the kids.

From Friday's appointment to Saturday, I had contractions for over 24 hours and then they slowed down…..That is until Sunday afternoon!  While grocery shopping, the contractions and back pain came back with a vengeance.  Those required another call to the doctor and lasted over 5 hours.

This weekend's activities lead to me going on maternity leave a week early.  I left at lunch time and really didn't expect to become an emotional mess when I left.  These crazy contractions also led to me having my cerclage removed today in the office instead of in 2 weeks at the hospital.  That was quite an ordeal.  It took 2 doctors.  Dr Saikie tried and gave up without hurting me too badly.  His partner on the other is one tough cookie.  Dr Berg delivered my twin and at that time, I felt that she had big hands for a woman.  Well, she is also very determined!  She got the cerclage out!  It hurt and caused me to nearly break out in a sweat!  I may have even stopped breathing for a second.

Good news is that now we now longer have to worry about going into labor early.  I'm free to have strong contractions without worrying about tearing my cervix or doing any type of damage.

Baby's growth has also slowed down.  He's gone from being about 2 weeks ahead to measuring right on schedule.  At the last growth scan, about 2 weeks ago, he was weighing about 4 pounds 10 ounces. So if he comes soon, he may just be close to 6 pounds.

That's A Lot of Water!

I had quite a bit of activity in just the last couple of days.  First, my dinner number were kind of haywire, so my Nurse adjusted my meds again, up to 2 pills before dinner.  Well, I would be so hungry and tired the last two days that I forgot to take the pills.  Some how, my numbers for 2 days were perfect, except for the first fasting one.  So, until they change again, I get to stay with my one pill in the evening right before bed.  The nurse cautioned us that she typically has only seen numbers correct themselves about a week or so before the person goes into labor.   Being  that I am  now  33 weeks, she   said that baby's chance of survival is really good, but we'd expect that he would have breathing problems, because the lungs are quite fully developed. Fingers crossed that I'm just eating better or not that stressed any more and nothing else.

After that appointment, I had my fist NST.  I'll have this test every Friday.  I get hooked up to monitors, one to watch baby's heart rate and make sure it increases when it should and the other monitor is to check for any contractions. Well…. to my surprise, during our half hour test, I had at least 4 contractions.  Funny that I didn't feel any of them like I had for 2 hours last week Friday.

The tech took my printout to the MFM Doctor.  Thankfully he said since I couldn't feel them, I was allowed to go home and drink tons( a gallon a day to be exact) of water, like Kaylen said above, instead of being checked in to the hospital.  Hopefully, I can get this water issue under control before next Friday.

A couple of weeks ago, the family and I took pictures.  They are finally online.  They turned out really nice.  Now we just must decide which ones we want to purchase!

Highs and Lows

I guess all journeys have there high and low points.  I have them both going on this week.  My highlight for the week has been going to my first biophysical profile appointment.  This is the ultrasound/test I'll have every Tuesday. Baby passed with flying colors.  He scored an 8/8.  It fairly easy-it's a regular ultrasound and they look for 4 things: breathing (they can see his diaphragm and lungs move), movement (he moved his arms and he had hiccups), good heart rate and right amount of amniotic fluid.  It's scored all or nothing, 2 points each area.  Baby is still head down, and fingers crossed that he doesn't find a way to turn.  He was a little more cooperative this time, so we were able to get a few pictures.  His cheeks do show that well on the pictures, but the area so chubby already!

(My pictures won't transfer from  my phone, so I'll have to put it in later.)

My low is that I've really been struggle with the diabetes.  I was put on medication, about 2 weeks ago, because my fasting numbers were consistently borderline high.  Just one pill at bedtime with a lite snack.  After see this tiny little pill that fits in the tip on my fingernail, I was ok.  Now, I'm having trouble with  my numbers after dinner.  They are high more often than not.  The nurse practitioner then added another half a pill and moved it up to before dinner instead of at bed time.  Well, it didn't help this past week.  I really thought she was going to put me on insulin today, but she let me go with 2 whole pills for now.

The part of having to keep track and report my numbers every 5-7 days and then worrying if they are going to be high or not, is completely making me crazy.  I've had a few days or episodes to where I am just miserable and I cry.  Those are the days when I'm ready for the pregnancy to be over.  I had a little talk with myself today and figured that I can make it, because I should only have close to 30 days left.

Mommy/Baby Stats

Weight:  After all the work I did to gain weight, with this new diet plan, I've now lost about 5 pounds.

Sleep:  Sometimes more than others.  I can't get comfortable at night. It's recommended to sleep on your left side for blood flow, but then my arm falls asleep.  If I lay on either side too long, my hips hurt.  His movement, if he is even awake, doesn't bother me at all.

Cravings:  Ice cream, cake, cookies…just the things I'm not supposed to have.

Movement:  He is still pretty active but much stronger.  Some kicks/punches are really darn strong!  He likes to stretch, so then I have to make sure I"m sitting up straight.  He also gets himself into a little ball and then my stomach will stick out.  I think when he balls up he pokes out his butt!

Next Appointment:  Non-stress Test will be on Friday, along with another appointment with the nurse for a diabetes check-in.

Looking forward to:  Seeing my maternity pictures.  We took them a little over 2 weeks ago, so I should be able to see them any day.

31 Week Check-In

Well, I don't have a whole lot going on this week.  I had an OB visit yesterday. Uterus is measuring about 33 weeks so baby continues to grow pretty nicely.  I'm secretly hoping that he will be under albs when he is born.  I don't know how much luck I will have with that.

My sugar levels have been relatively good.  Most of the time when they are elevated, I know it because of what I ate.  I get upset and a little sad when they are elevated and I didn't expected them to be.  Checking numbers 4 times a day is really stressful.  I've been put on a low dose medication right before bed time.  It's called Glyburide.  My fasting numbers were constantly 90 or slightly above, but now they are doing better.  I'm starting to notice that things that have ok to eat are starting to have a little higher numbers, which I guess is expected as I near the end of the pregnancy.


Starting next week, I'll be making trips to the hospital 2x a week, every Tuesday and Friday, for a biophysical profile and an NST (Non-stress test).  I don't know much about the bop, but the purpose of these tests will be to check baby's movement, see if I'm having any contractions and his growth.  Plus, I still have regular bi-weekly appointment with my OB.

Hopefully, I'll know when my cerclage gets removed in the next 2 weeks.  Dr. Saikie said he will talk with MFM and see who will remove it and when (35 or 36 weeks).  I'm ready for a date, so I can put in my maternity leave notice at work.

Week 29 updates

I'm only 4 days in to week 29 and they have been very busy.  The week started with an email from the dietitian after turning  in my numbers for the past week.  I had a couple high numbers, but most were pretty good.  My biggest problem is my fasting number first thing in the morning.  It is supposed to be UNDER 90 and my readings are coming in at 91 up to 94 almost every morning.  So the dietitian complimented me on doing such a good job tracking my levels and then said it's time to make an appointment with the lady in the metabolic center, to discuss medication.  I'm not really looking forward to this appointment.  I spoke to my high risk doctor today about.  She said she is ok with my numbers right now ( the fasting one) but the problem is that it is going to get worse as the placenta and baby continue to grow.

On to better news… I had my baby shower this past weekend.  It was so nice!  The weather managed to keep a few people away, but we still had a nice turnout.  We received many cool gifts with a few duplicates.. Apparently, my registry wasn't working correctly, because it wasn't showing that there were any purchases.  We were completely monkey's' out, from Monkey decorations, gifts with monkeys on them and ….banana cake!!!  I was delicious!

It gets better…. I had my growth scan today.  Baby Boy is measuring 30 weeks 1 day and weighs approximately 3 lbs 4 oz.    He was also head down! Of course, I'm hoping he stays in that position but the tech says he still has time to move.  Terry and Dr. Strickland noticed that he has started to drop a bit.  I can't really tell.  She said that doesn't necessarily mean that labor is soon, but just watch for any signs.

We went over the plan for the rest of the pregnancy (and boy is time going to go fast).  Starting at 32 weeks, I will start having Non-stress tests 2x  every week, plus another growth scan at 34 wks.  Then my cerclage will be removed at 36 weeks.  Depending on what my body and baby feel like doing, I can have him anytime after that comes out, up to 38 wks.  She is thinking that if nothing happens on my own, we will have to induce at 38 weeks!  WHAT!  I knew I was going early, but week 36-38 is really soon!

No new pictures this time.  Not only was he head down, but he also had his face towards my back the entire time, so we only got a picture of his foot!

Another Bump in The Road

Last week, I took my 1 hour glucose test and failed it big time.  This past Saturday, I had to go back in to take a 3 hour glucose.  I had to fast for 8 hours the night before  and then go to the lab for a baseline blood draw, then drink the sugar solutions and have another blood draw for each of the next 3 hours.  Well, I failed 2 of the 4 blood draws, so I am now considered to have Gestational Diabetes.

I had my 4 week OB check today.  Dr Saikie went over things with me, informing me that because my body is now producing all of these hormones, as the placenta grows, it is making more more insulin resistant.  He said I am no more of a higher risk pregnancy than I was before, but now they will just be monitoring my sugar level, also.  The rest of my appointment went as usual.  Baby's heartbeat was good and he is apparently going to be a big boy-  my uterus was measuring about 3 weeks ahead!

An order was sent in for me to have a consult with a dietitian.  As soon as we got home, her office called and said they could get me in today, so back out we went.  The appointment with her was like a class.  She first went through what diabetes is and how it developed and affects pregnancies. Then we went over what my levels were and where they should be.  I learned how to check my levels, which I now have to do 4 times a day and report them every week.  Then we moved on to the next "session" which was about my new diet-monitoring and counting carbs.

As much as I was panicking Sunday about this diagnosis, I'm starting to feel much better.

Mommy/Baby Stats
Weight:  Just slightly 2 lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight.  I probably won't be gaining much anymore with the new diet plan.

Sleep:  I'm falling asleep most nights between 9-10, but then I'm up again after 12:30 to as late as 2 am.

Cravings:  FOOD!

Movement:  Baby continues to do a lot of moving.   I was able to catch him on my cell phone video moving around.  It was hilarious watching him move my stomach like that.  His activity patterns changed during Christmas break and now it seems like he is awake a lot more often.

Next Appointment:  Growth Scan on Feb 10.

Acrobatic Baby

I had my last cervical check today.  My cervix was actually crazy long and even some how managed to curve.  For now, I have to wait a long month before my next MFM visit.  Then we will do another growth scan.

Of course we had picture time today and he cooperated-somewhat!  Baby was head down, but he had his feet all the way on his head.  After a couple of tries, we were able to get a picture that showed his face and foot.  The tech said he is very flexible!  While she was figuring out his position, she quickly moved and asked if we knew his gender.  We said yes.  She said good and then moved back to where she was and said because he wasn't hiding anything today!

Quick update:
We are 25 wks and 3 day and according to our apps, he is the size of a cauliflower!

Couple minor scares- Braxon Hicks Thursday evening and off and on Friday.  Also, was feeling quick of bit of movement, but when I did a kick test, it took almost the full 2 hours to get 10 kicks.

I will do my 1-hour glucose test within this week, maybe Thursday or next Monday.

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!