Lots of milestones

I haven't posted in a long time due to a number of things- most namely I've been too tired!! Until I was about 13 weeks along or so, I would just go to work and then lie on the couch the minute I got home until I found the strength to crawl into bed. I had what I would call "moderate" morning sickness (though it was all day) without really any vomiting until about 11 weeks. No real distinctive food aversions but some days smelled pretty bad during lunch time at the office.

I started experiencing round ligament pain shortly after about 13 weeks which is pretty interesting- some days worse than others. I went for my NT scan at 13 weeks as well and the baby was measuring a week ahead!! That meant they couldn't do the test but the main reason I wanted to do it in the first place was to see the baby....

At about 15 weeks or so I'm pretty sure I began to feel some fetal movement which is pretty cool- it is definitely getting more frequent and noticeable as the days progress, which is pretty awesome!

On Monday I went to the second part of the screening tests and the ultrasound tech did all the measurements ( with a full bladder on my part, which is NOT fun!) and we found out we're having a girl!!! We are very excited!!! Mom already started buying and making cute outfits!

So long story less short- everything seems to be going fine as I approach my halfway point in this pregnancy- next on the list is a checkup appt in a couple weeks and planning of the nursery. My weight gain thus far seems ok- about 5-7 lbs and I'm DEFINITELY beginning to show- more pics to follow- I'm off for a nap

It's a puppy!

So....I had my ultrasound appointment on Friday and it revealed a small figure that to me, represents a little puppy!! Brad and I went together and we got to see our little one in the "big screen" with heart beat and all! The Dr printed out the picture and I think it bears a resemblance to a puppy!! We go in May 11th for an NT test and on May 25th for a heartbeat check. I'm just glad there was something in there. The last ultrasound I had revealed an empty uterus. This one was much more exciting! We told the moms that afternoon and will be slowly telling other friends and family as time progresses. The baby measured 8 weeks and 2 days which gives me a due date of December 1st. That's pretty much what I had figured. We didn't want a December baby but beggars can't be choosers. It's far enough away from Christmas that it should be ok. Brad is super excited so that makes it even more exciting for me!! We will still be taking each day as a blessing and enjoy everday if this pregnancy we can. Once 12 weeks is behind us, I'll probably relax a bit but I won't truly be relaxed until that little puppy is in my arms!!

A sign of things to come?

Today I am seven weeks and one day pregnant. In one week and two days I'll be going to my first ultrasound appt. I'm VERY excited about it!! Along with my excitement comes the sheer exhaustion, headaches, frequent potty breaks, bloating, breast tenderness and my all day bouts with nausea. The most uncomfortable for me of course is the nausea. Luckily, I haven't actually thrown up yet- just some dry heaving and gagging- but I feel nauseous pretty much from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed. I have a package of crackers with me at ALL times. I've also been drinking TONS of water. I've had some pretty strong aversions to food- I am living off of peanut butter sandwiches, crackers, water, soup and apples. I actually ate meat for the first time in a while. Oh yeah- heartburn too. At least that's what I think it is ( I've never had it before this but since my chest burns, I'm pretty sure that's what it is).

I'm hoping I can get away with just that being the worst of my symptoms, but I don't think I'll be as lucky. I guess we'll have to see!

Milestone for me

Today I'm five weeks and six days pregnant. With my last pregnancy I started miscarrying at this point. Needless to say, I've been pretty nervous about seeing blood all day but since my boobs are sore and I've been pretty queasy all day, it is a little bit of a relief. I also got my 48 hour hcg results and my levels rose to over 5000! That is excellent news! My levels are right where they should be for a normal pregnancy (possibly twins too!). I am ecstatic that my levels are looking good especially since my # at 5 weeks 6 days for my miscarriage were 152.

My intake appt on Friday was pretty uneventful. I'm more excited about the 23rd. Once everything looks good we'll tell our family and close friends about this pregnancy. I'm a little nervous about the morning sickness part since I've already been kind of a wus about it and I haven't even thrown up yet. I'll just take it day by day and get lots of rest- I'm definitely REALLY tired.

Tests of encouragement

The last few days have been "positive" and encouraging! I wanted to see if my results got darker as my possible pregnancy progressed. My boobs were definitely feeling more sensitive and full (I've felt that before so I took it with a grain if salt). And I wasn't cramping as much as I did with my misarriage. I didn't spot at all so that was the biggest relief. I took tests every day or two, and each one got consecutively darker, all through 20 dpo. The last one was darker than the control line so that was awesome!! The nausea and extreme exhaustion was definitely a new symptom. My temps also rose to 98.2 and have stayed there consistently which is good.

This pregnancy is already feeling a lot more real than my last one. I'm starting to get more excited but I don't want to get my hopes up too high until I hear/see a heartbeat. I scheduled my intake appointment for April 2nd and the ultrasound April 23rd. Very exciting!! I emailed the dr who dealt with my miscarriage if I could take an hcg test just to make sure that my levels were normal. The first was 2156 and I take another test on April 1st. If they double, then I'll be in pretty good shape!!

Surprising results

So this cycle was super ambiguous this month and it was definitely a huge source of stress for me. It definitely contributed to my break down at my Drs office. The reason why it was such a source of frustration was I wasn't sure when/if I ovulated. Usually my preovulatory temps are about 97.2/97.3 but this cycle it was around 97.6. Strange for me. So when my temp dipped to 96.8, I figured it was my ovulation date. Much to my dismay, when my temp shifted, they hovered at 97.6 still!!! This happened for about 4 days. I also had EWCM. I was so confused!! I didn't know what to think! I figured Brad and I were screwed this cycle and we were gonna wait this next cycle to avoid a Christmas baby.
For the next 5-6 days, my temp went up to 97.9 so that made me feel a lot better. That at the least insisted that I was ovulating. This would be helpful information for my OB when my appointment time came around.
A couple days after that, my temp rose a little higher. On Saturday, march 21st, Brad and I were doing work in the garage and I started feeling a little gross. I don't know what compelled me, but I thought to myself "just for fun, I'm gonna take a pregnancy test". I had no expectation but I thought it would be fun. So I POAS and no sooner did I flush and wash my hands did I see a light pink line in the positive part of the test!!! Although admittedly it was light, it was still darker than any other test I've ever taken of that brand. I was super surprised and happy! I went to Brad and showed him. He was surprised too and said- we'll see what happens! I don't blame him based on what happened when I miscarried. We are both being very cautious and not telling ANYONE until the ultrasound.
The miscarriage was was really hard on the moms when it happened and although they wanted to be supportive, I think it was worse for them than it was for me. I don't want to put them through that again so I'd rather take the risk and potentially deal with another miscarriage on my own. Based on the date of my pregnancy test I calculated that I did in fact ovulate on march 9th when my temp dipped. I'm not sure why my preovulatory temps were so high but as long as I'm pregnant, I don't really care!! That means that I'm 12 days dpo. That would give me an EDD of November 30th. This is also the earliest positive I had. When I miscarried, my definite positive test was 16 dpo. The ones before that were squinters. This new one definitely was not!! I guess we will have to see what the future hold for us!!

My Dr appt breakdown

A couple weeks ago I had an appointment with my endocrinologist. I see her periodically to check my thyroid levels and she is aware of us trying to have a baby. My cycles are between 32 and 42 days long and that can be really frustrating. I sought her guidance to see if there was anything that could be done and make sure it wasn't related to my thyroid. She said that my thyroid levels looked fine and didn't think they were related. She asked how my weight was doing and I pretty much just broke down in her office. It was so embarrasing- I had no reason to be crying like that. I explained to her the stress I was under with work and the whole reproductive issues and the fact that no matter what I seemed to do from a weightloss standpoint it didn't seem to help. I know I could be doing better but I wish there was an easier solution. She asked if I wanted to see a dietician and I agreed. She also stated that I should see the OB to see what could be done about my long cycles. With that, I felt hopeless but was at the same time, hopeful for some answers. My OB appt was sched for April 13th.