Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Really? Really?

I've been out of town for the past 10 days on my babymoon. Today is my first day back at work and I was greeted with the comment "Wow, you've really blown up, haven't you?" This from the head of our HR department. How do you respond to that? I was completely taken aback and slightly offended (I say slightly because yes, my belly has gotten bigger, but nothing else). Do people really think it's appropriate to say things like that?!?! Argh...

I'll post soon about my super relaxing babymoon and share some updated pics.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Almost 24 week update

As usual I'm running in 25 different directions but wanted to post about my last doctor's appointment, although it was mostly uneventful (I say mostly because there was one measurement that has me a little worried, but I'll explain below in the "UPDATE").

Since I'm short on time I'm going to take the easy way out and use this format:

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 23 Weeks and 4 days 

Size of baby: He currently weighs 1lb, 6oz based on my last doctor's appointment on Monday.

Total Weight Gain: According to my home scale I'm up 13lbs - and the home scale is the only one I'm really paying attention to since I weigh myself every week at the same time on the same day.

Maternity Clothes: I'm about 90% maternity now. There are still two pair of jeans I can wear with the Bella Band but I'm quickly approaching the end of that. I will say the elastic waist is sooo much more comfortable!

Gender: One super-cute (yes, I'm biased) baby boy. He was in a good position at the last appointment and even the tech commented on his cute little nose when we were looking at the 4-D images:)

Movement: He is an active little wiggle worm. He seems to be most active in the early mornings, but I do feel him throughout the day. Yesterday I was able to see him from the outside for the first time. It was surreal!

Sleep: Not too bad these days. I finally caved and bought a "pregnancy pillow" and it has been wonderful. We're leaving for an 8-day vacation on Friday and I wish there was some way I could take the pillow. I'll sacrifice clean underwear for a good night's sleep anytime:)

What I miss: Sushi. Real sushi, not the faux shrimp sushi I have been making do with.

Cravings: Most of my cravings came in the first trimester and even then it wasn't anything that I didn't already eat. The one thing I haven't had since I was a kid and I simply HAD TO HAVE recently was pistachio pudding. It was heavenly!

Symptoms: I'm still having residual discomfort from the fibriods, but I think that's going to be my new "norm" for the remainder of the pregnancy so I've gotten used to it. I've also started to get some ankle swelling but not full blown cankles...yet.

Milestones:  I'm in an odd in-between period. Because of my vacation next week I had to change my 24-week appointment to a 23-week appointment so it's throwing off the milestones. For some reason, 24-weeks feels like a big number. And I know 28 weeks will be huge when I cross over to the third trimester. For now, I'm on auto-pilot.

UPDATE: Everything went well at my 23-week appointment on Monday, but there was one number that the doctor mentioned. She said it wasn't anything to worry about but the Woowoo's head circumference was on the very low side of normal while all his other numbers were on the high side. He's still in the breech position which can affect the head size. The doctor who reads the ultrasound results didn't even mention it and said the Woowoo was in the 65th percentile and looked good. I'm trying not to freak myself out about the low number, but I admit it's going to be a long 4 weeks until my next growth scan. Dr. Google hasn't been my friend and resulted in some scary findings, so I'm done with him for now. I'm not totally confident the tech took accurate measurements because she only measured 3 of my fibriods when I know there are 6 and the 3 she did measure grew?!?! That makes no sense. The immense pain I was in is a strong indicator that the fibriods have been shrinking, not growing. Anyway, these are the thoughts I'm using to try and keep myself sane and not going into a full blown panic meltdown (I admit I was on the verge yesterday, but feel better today). Regardless, I love my little Woowoo more than I thought I could and want to protect him from anything bad...ever!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Mother's Day Recap

For the past couple of years I've intentionally ignored Mother's Day. Primarily because I didn't need yet another reminder that I'd lost my mom, but more recently because I wasn't a mom myself...yet.

This year I'm physically different in a good way, but Mother's Day is still a painful reminder of how much I miss my mom, so my plan was treat it as any other typical Sunday...just business as usual. My well-intentioned family and friends didn't let that happen. I received lots of nice texts, cards, gifts, etc. with Happy Mommy-To-Be messages. It was so sweet and thoughtful of them, but mentally I wasn't quite ready to handle all of it.

I graciously accepted all the well-wishes, but it really made me look back and reflect on things. Primarily on how far I've come through the whole IF process (I chose to still ignore Mother's Day when relating to my mom). I realized just how painful it is for those trying for a baby (regardless if it's through natural methods, ART, adoption, etc.) to be surrounded by constant reminders of mommies for an entire day. My heart goes out to all those trying, and please know I was thinking about all of you!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

The good and the bad

I had my follow-up ultrasound and doc appointment this morning. It's mostly good news with a little not-so-good sprinkled in to keep me on my toes.

The good news is the pain was caused by the fibroids and definitely not appendicitis or pre-term labor. The Woowoo also flipped himself over so he's head down now. It's still so early that it's not a big deal, but regardless I hope he stays that way!

The not-so-good news is that there are double the amount of fibroids than they originally counted. I now have 6 annoying fibroids hanging out on my uterus. Some of them are degenerating which is causing all the pain. The pain has subsided a lot, but is definitely still present. I asked the doctor what I can expect for the remainder of the pregnancy and he said there isn't a definite answer. He did say, most women experience the worst of it now through the next 2-4 weeks and then it should get better. Fabulous...right when Hubby and I are taking our babymoon.

The most important thing is that there is no harm to Woowoo, just pain for momma. But I'll deal with it knowing my baby is still growing big and strong in my belly:)

Thanks for all the thoughts!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

An unexpected doctor's visit

I got to see my sweet boy again yesterday morning...unscheduled.

Over the weekend I had some general discomfort/pressure in my lower abdominal region, mostly on my right side. I didn't really think much of it and figured it was just more growing pains. I woke up for work Monday morning and all hell broke loose. I was in the shower doubled over in pain that was sharp, stabby and then would turn to constant and achy. Regardless of the type of pain, it was pain! Pain to the point I could barely walk.

I finished my shower, toweled off and hobbled into the bedroom where Hubby was just waking up. He sat bolt upright when he saw my face and I broke down in tears and simply said "I don't feel well." He was very calm and reassuring and asked what hurt, if I was spotting, and if I'd felt the baby. Thank God for his calm reaction. I was a basket case and on the brink of total meltdown at that point. He gently pointed out that it might be the fibriods causing the problems. I was so worried it was the Woowoo it never crossed my mind that it might be fibriods.

Anyway, I calmed down, got dressed and settled into the couch to wait for the docs office to open. As soon as I reached them I spoke to the midwife, told her what the problems were and she scheduled me to go in for a visit. One of the benefits of living 6 blocks from your OB/GYN is the ability to go in immediately. Within an hour I was explaining my symptoms to Dr. G (who I met for the first time and LOVED!). The first thing she did was have me lie back and turned on the sound on the ultrasound machine. I heard the tiny heartbeat and immediately started crying. I can usually keep it together better than that, but I was so scared for my Woowoo that I couldn't have controlled my emotions if I tried. She was so comforting and told me he looked great. He was kicking up a storm in my belly. Never in my life have those little kicks been so welcome!

After a lot of painful probing, prodding and poking Dr G. felt the pain was coming from one of the fibroids in the lower right area of my abdomen. But, she didn't rule out appendicitis. She consulted with Dr. R. and he agreed that it was most likely the fibroid. She gave me a pain medicine prescription (not harmful to the baby) and scheduled a follow-up for Thursday morning.

I went home mentally and emotionally exhausted, ate lunch, took my pain med and slept the rest of the afternoon. I'm back at work today, but still in quite a bit of pain. Somehow I'm able to deal with the pain knowing my sweet baby is OK and not at all affected by my fibroid. In fact, he's so unfazed by it that he keeps kicking me in that area!

I will say I am so, so thankful to be under the care of the doctors at my practice. They put me totally at ease and knew my biggest concern was making sure the baby was OK. It's nice to know I have doctors who care and "get it".

Now, if only the pain would go away...

Sunday, May 1, 2011

21 weeks and pictures

I'm 21w1d today and I still can't believe it! I guess these pictures and the karate kicks the baby has been giving me are my reminders:)

The Woowoo was being a little shy for the 4-D image so all we can see is his little mouth, but I love the regular ultra sound pic because you see his little hand in his mouth. And of course, I've put up a pic of me at 20 weeks.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!