11 weeks...

So we had an ultrasound at 11 weeks this past weekend. The baby is getting so cute :) Tony and Kendra were both able to be there - it was fun to see Tony's reaction, since this is the first time he has "seen" the baby! Everything is moving right along. The bleeding area is totally gone (thank goodness!), and I am now off every single one of the medications (FREEDOM!!) and off any restrictions. It feels great to finally be done with everything and go on to a normal pregnancy schedule. The medications were really starting to wear on me, so it is a relief to be done. However, the whole area where I had to do all of those awful injections is numb and achy at the same time. I don't know how long this will last - hopefully not permanent!! It is really strange because I have been off the injections for a couple weeks now. The good news is I think I am getting my energy back and morning sickness is subsiding (knock on wood!!). 2 days of feeling pretty great - I hope it continues! I haven't had a headache in a few days either, so I am thinking I am on my way to 2nd trimester bliss - haha :) Couldn't come soon enough!

time is flying.... and all is well...

So far so good. I am almost totally weaned off my meds (no more shots - yay!!) and the only symptoms I have been really having (besidse being exhausted) is nausea and pretty brutal headaches, which I am hoping will start to go away in a couple of weeks. I had my first OB appointment last week. I was just under 9 weeks, so I wasn't expecting much. But the Dr. decided he was going to try and hear the heartbeat with the doppler anyhow. And to my absolute surprise... he found it!!!! 164! I couldn't hear either of my own kids heartbeats by doppler until like 13 weeks, so this was great! I am starting to feel really positive about this pregnancy now. Sometimes I let my fears/past experiences get in the way just enjoying things and keeping a good outlook. I know that is something I really need to work on, because as Brandon likes to remind me all of the time, if you are going to worry and expect the worst to happen, it might as well just happen, because you have already experienced it as if it had. It's true - I know! Anyhow, I get another ultrasound in a couple of weeks and then yet another one a couple of weeks after that. It is awesome getting to get all of these little sneak peeks at the baby! In normal pregnancies you definitely do not get all of this reassurance that everything is okay. It makes the time go much faster when you have so many small little milestones to look forward to :)

The only negative experience I have had so far is that the doctor I met with last week (who is definitely NOT my favorite doctor in the group) informed me that there is no way to make any exception to allow both Kendra and Tony in the OR when I have the c-section. This is extremely upsetting to me!!! How can you have a couple pay to have their baby in your hospital, and then not allow them both to be there to see the birth of their child?? I am furious and will definitely be seeing what I can do to change this. He said I can only choose one other person (besides myself) to be there. So of course I would pick Kendra, but it is just not fair! Not only will one of them not be able to see their child be born, but for myself, I am doing this whole thing so that in the end I will get to see the expression that they will both have holding their baby for the first time, and I will be missing that if they can't both be in there. Well, policy is policy, but we will see what happens with this one! I will not be letting this go very easily, that is for sure!

8w ultrasound....

I was so dreading this appointment today. After having some more spotting this morning, I was just terrified that the ultrasound today would reveal something bad. I was so nervous in the morning that I couldn't eat, so I took my prenatal vitamin on an empty stomach (bad idea!!). I ended up throwing up before we left the house with 2 kids crouched over me in the bathroom asking me "What is wrong Mommy??? What is going on???" Not my finest moment - haha. I won't be making that mistake again!!
So anyways, we were fortunate enough to get good....GREAT... news. The baby (which looks like a little gummy bear) has grown tiny little arms and feet and was wiggling all around. The heartbeat was 167. And the best news is that the bleeding area that had doubled in size is now HALF the size it was, and is starting to clot up. That is such fantastic news!! So Dr. Jacobs says that the risk of miscarriage has dropped to 2%, and will be down to 1% by next week. I feel as if a ton of bricks have been lifted off of my shoulders! He released me to my normal OB and gave me a schedule to wean me off of all medications slowly over the next few weeks, as well as to resume all normal activities after 2 more weeks. Him and all of the nurses that I have gotten to know over the past couple of months seemed truly happy that everything looks so good right now. And of course Kendra seemed ecstatic that things are moving along. This was a really big appointment because we are really close to when we both had our miscarriages. So getting good news today was the best thing possible. So hopefully there will just be boring updates from this point forward - haha!! Who am I kidding? This journey so far has been anything but boring - who knows what we will have to conquer next? But I am confident that we can tackle any challenge that comes our way from this point on :)

7w3d - ultrasound...

So the next ultrasound showed the baby with a heartbeat of 145 and perfect growth for its age! It was wonderful news, followed by not so wonderful news. The SCH they were worried about last week has not only not gotten better, it has doubled in size :( One of the things I had thought when I saw this, was that maybe it has to do with the baby aspirin I am taking. It is meant to thin the blood to provide better blood flow to the baby, but wouldn't that mean that it would make a spot that is bleeding internally, bleed more??? So I asked then nurse, and she didn't seem to think so, but asked the doctor anyways. He advised me to stop the aspirin (I knew it! Why didn't I ask this LAST week????) and then to go on 24 hours off my feet. I am also restricted to no exercise or heavy lifting, and then I go back for yet another ultrasound next Tuesday. Thankfully, my mom offered to take the kids overnight and until tomorrow evening so that I could truly rest - it was a blessing!! So I am really trying to take it easy, although it is very difficult with so much going on. Today is Carmela's 1st birthday and we have a big party planned for this weekend. I am swamped with invitation orders, and work is very busy as well. So in between all of these things, I know I need to take a step back and just relax. I need to let this thing heal!! I am praying it will begin to clot up and next week will reveal better results. Fingers crossed!!!