Thursday, February 12, 2015
More Ow.
I laid on the couch after work last night and after awhile I took a couple of Tylenol, which helped calm the cramping down. After a 45-minute nap, Cory woke me up to go to bed, where I had a fitful night, tossing and turning, feeling like there was a rock in my intestines. I called in sick for the morning, and then the whole day, trying to get some sleep and attempting different positions, hoping it'd shift the rock. I took some Colace, drank orange juice, and just got back from a walk to try to induce some movement. I don't know what it is - my initial thought was constipation, and maybe that's it. Colace doesn't help super quickly, and the pain kinda wraps around to my lower right back, which I hear can be a symptom. I'm not dehydrated though, and yesterday's lunch was a huge salad with kale and tomatoes and radishes... all I know is that I'm quite frustrated to not be able to shake this, and there's always that little niggling thought in the back of my mind that it might be affecting Ivy. Even though if this IS constipation it's common and isn't affecting her at all.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Good Ol' BH
I slept too long on my left side and my left hip feels bruised now. Ow.
Also, I think I'm starting to experience Braxton Hicks contractions. They don't feel like what I've heard other people describe, so maybe they're not. I don't know. They're not just a tightening of the lower abdomen, they feel like period cramps. And my lower back is achy too. They happened at lunchtime yesterday for an hour or so, and then they happened when I jumped in the shower this morning. I laid down this morning for a few minutes and they went away, and also I think I'm not drinking enough water, both of which sound common to BHs.
They're no fun, but I'm not worried enough to call the doc yet. If they keep happening for several days or they get worse or anything, I'll be calling, at least to get it on my chart.
Also, I think I'm starting to experience Braxton Hicks contractions. They don't feel like what I've heard other people describe, so maybe they're not. I don't know. They're not just a tightening of the lower abdomen, they feel like period cramps. And my lower back is achy too. They happened at lunchtime yesterday for an hour or so, and then they happened when I jumped in the shower this morning. I laid down this morning for a few minutes and they went away, and also I think I'm not drinking enough water, both of which sound common to BHs.
They're no fun, but I'm not worried enough to call the doc yet. If they keep happening for several days or they get worse or anything, I'll be calling, at least to get it on my chart.
Monday, February 9, 2015
21-week Appointment
Today I had an OB appointment. It felt so good going into it - I wasn't nervous at all, coming off of the ultrasound and starting to be able to feel Ivy's movements.
Weight and blood pressure were great. I asked about what allergy medicine I could use (same as I always do - though I'm still a little nervous about taking it), and if waking up sometimes on my back was bad (not really, as I get bigger it'll be uncomfortable for me to be on my back and it'll wake me up).
Then she went over the ultrasound results. Ivy looked wonderful, she said, but one thing that concerns her a little bit is a fibroid in my lower abdomen that might grow big enough to block the birth canal, which would result in a c-section. She said they'd still let me try for a vaginal delivery, and she'd seen women with 10-12cm fibroids give birth just fine. Mine is 6cm with a potential to grow because of the pregnancy hormones.
We also went over the chronic hypertension issue. Because I'm at a higher risk of pre-eclampsia, I'll be going in for monthly ultrasounds, take a 24-hour urine test (where I collect it for 24 hours and they can measure the protein in it), and then twice-a-week one-hour monitoring appointments (non-stress tests, I think) after 32 weeks.
Then on the way out, the scheduler said I needed to schedule a 28-week appointment, because all women need to come in at 28 and 32 weeks. It just happens to be the week that I'm in Dallas on a business trip, which I explained, and asked if I could do it the following Monday. She said nope. So I said I'd have to call in to schedule it later, which I did, with someone else, for the Friday before my 28th week (27 weeks 6 days). So there.
So it was kind of a mixed-bag appointment. I was happy to see that even though I don't think I've been eating very well, I haven't gained enough for anyone to be concerned. And it is nice to know that they're taking such great care with me, making sure that they catch any potential problems early. But the c-section possibility is weighing heavy on me. I know that the important thing is a healthy baby at the end. Everyone says that having a birth planned out and pinning my hopes on the plan happening the way I want it to is silly. But I can't help wanting the best of both worlds - a healthy baby born naturally. Today's news wasn't a death knell for natural birth, but it makes me sad that it eventually might be.
Weight and blood pressure were great. I asked about what allergy medicine I could use (same as I always do - though I'm still a little nervous about taking it), and if waking up sometimes on my back was bad (not really, as I get bigger it'll be uncomfortable for me to be on my back and it'll wake me up).
Then she went over the ultrasound results. Ivy looked wonderful, she said, but one thing that concerns her a little bit is a fibroid in my lower abdomen that might grow big enough to block the birth canal, which would result in a c-section. She said they'd still let me try for a vaginal delivery, and she'd seen women with 10-12cm fibroids give birth just fine. Mine is 6cm with a potential to grow because of the pregnancy hormones.
We also went over the chronic hypertension issue. Because I'm at a higher risk of pre-eclampsia, I'll be going in for monthly ultrasounds, take a 24-hour urine test (where I collect it for 24 hours and they can measure the protein in it), and then twice-a-week one-hour monitoring appointments (non-stress tests, I think) after 32 weeks.
Then on the way out, the scheduler said I needed to schedule a 28-week appointment, because all women need to come in at 28 and 32 weeks. It just happens to be the week that I'm in Dallas on a business trip, which I explained, and asked if I could do it the following Monday. She said nope. So I said I'd have to call in to schedule it later, which I did, with someone else, for the Friday before my 28th week (27 weeks 6 days). So there.
So it was kind of a mixed-bag appointment. I was happy to see that even though I don't think I've been eating very well, I haven't gained enough for anyone to be concerned. And it is nice to know that they're taking such great care with me, making sure that they catch any potential problems early. But the c-section possibility is weighing heavy on me. I know that the important thing is a healthy baby at the end. Everyone says that having a birth planned out and pinning my hopes on the plan happening the way I want it to is silly. But I can't help wanting the best of both worlds - a healthy baby born naturally. Today's news wasn't a death knell for natural birth, but it makes me sad that it eventually might be.
Monday, February 2, 2015
I Can Feel Her
I've had a couple more kicks in the last few days, but what I suddenly noticed this morning (bear with me) is that... I can tell she's there now. It's hard to explain - kind of like when you eat a really big greasy meal and you feel it sitting in a ball in your stomach? That's kind of how it feels; not kicking really but kind of squirming around sometimes, or just... she's there. It's just so strange. And awesome. :)
Friday, January 30, 2015
Anatomy Scan!
I felt like my body was buzzing all night last night and then this morning as I went through the motions at work. I only had to work for two hours before picking Cory up for the anatomy scan, but it was a long two hours.
I drank all my water on the way to get Cory, and then we still had some time to kill before we had to be at the appointment, so we sat at an outdoor table at Starbucks for 20 minutes, chatting about work mostly, but I was still buzzing.
Then it was on to the hospital. We got checked in, and a sonographer came to pick us up. I was a little worried because a coworker had told me that some sonographers there are not very helpful, they kind of rush through and don't give you many photos at the end and unfeelingly blurt out the sex of the baby. The sonographer who ushered us back into the room made me nervous for the first second, but then I realized he was pretty awesome. He had 25 years of experience, and six kids himself (foster kids, adopted kids, natural and IVF), and he was super nice. We spent a lot of the time chatting and joking.
He started with the heart, and moved up to the head, and all the while I was thinking "move down! Move down!" Apparently he did, even though I couldn't tell what angle he was coming from and what we were looking at, but he said "I'm pretty sure I know what it is, but I'm going to come back to it and see if I'm right."
We watched, absolutely fascinated, as every little body part came into focus. It was a squirmy little thing, starting off lying on its back and then two minutes later flipping onto its belly, and then going upside-down for awhile. I had to change positions a few times and he had to push on my belly with the transducer to get it to move away from the uterine wall so he could see its little spine. At times it looked like a little monster or ghost 'cause we could see the skull and all the bones.
The sonographer did a good job explaining most everything we were looking at. My very first question as I was lying down on the table was "if there's a problem, how soon will we hear?" and he said if it was bad we'd probably hear today. (My phone didn't ring, so I'm feeling pretty good.)
When he told us it was a girl, Cory and I just looked at each other and grinned, and I cried. We both wanted a girl and it was so nice to put a sex and a name to what's going on in my belly.
The last bit of the ultrasound was slightly spoiled by the fact that my bladder was starting to get uncomfortably full, especially when I had to change positions or the transducer went down towards my pelvis; and it was also pretty cold in the exam room. With my belly exposed and covered in gel, I was all tense trying not to shiver too much. He also measured several fibroids - he said that they didn't look like they were in an area to be concerned about, but he measured them so that they could see if they grow. He tried the 3D view for a few minutes but nothing was jaw-dropping; she was wiggly and had all of her limbs up by her face so we caught glimpses of her but nothing amazing. She's measuring about four days behind, it looks like - he estimated her due date is 6/24 rather than 6/20, and her length (10") and weight (10 oz) are slightly below average, but that's not that big of a deal.
After 45 minutes, we were done and I got to PEE. (YAY.) The sonographer handed Cory a dozen photos, and sent us on our way.
We kind of floated downtown to have lunch, and talked about middle names. We ran the gamut from serious to corny (including a list of hipster names like Fixie and Beard and IPA), and have a front-runner but we're going to let it percolate for awhile. We also spent a great deal of time just staring at each other with giddy smiles. I had to keep saying it out loud - "we're having a girl!" It kinda felt like when I first found out I was pregnant and had to say that out loud too.
Then we went to the store and got some cookies with pink sprinkles and brought them back to work with us so that we could celebrate with our coworkers. It was cute to see them come down to the kitchen near my desk and squeal when they saw the cookies.
And now we're home, slowly coming off of the high of today. I can feel myself bonding more, now that I know what she is and can put a face and a name to what's going on in there.
Ivy Granholm, ladies and gents!
I drank all my water on the way to get Cory, and then we still had some time to kill before we had to be at the appointment, so we sat at an outdoor table at Starbucks for 20 minutes, chatting about work mostly, but I was still buzzing.
Then it was on to the hospital. We got checked in, and a sonographer came to pick us up. I was a little worried because a coworker had told me that some sonographers there are not very helpful, they kind of rush through and don't give you many photos at the end and unfeelingly blurt out the sex of the baby. The sonographer who ushered us back into the room made me nervous for the first second, but then I realized he was pretty awesome. He had 25 years of experience, and six kids himself (foster kids, adopted kids, natural and IVF), and he was super nice. We spent a lot of the time chatting and joking.
He started with the heart, and moved up to the head, and all the while I was thinking "move down! Move down!" Apparently he did, even though I couldn't tell what angle he was coming from and what we were looking at, but he said "I'm pretty sure I know what it is, but I'm going to come back to it and see if I'm right."
We watched, absolutely fascinated, as every little body part came into focus. It was a squirmy little thing, starting off lying on its back and then two minutes later flipping onto its belly, and then going upside-down for awhile. I had to change positions a few times and he had to push on my belly with the transducer to get it to move away from the uterine wall so he could see its little spine. At times it looked like a little monster or ghost 'cause we could see the skull and all the bones.
The sonographer did a good job explaining most everything we were looking at. My very first question as I was lying down on the table was "if there's a problem, how soon will we hear?" and he said if it was bad we'd probably hear today. (My phone didn't ring, so I'm feeling pretty good.)
When he told us it was a girl, Cory and I just looked at each other and grinned, and I cried. We both wanted a girl and it was so nice to put a sex and a name to what's going on in my belly.
The last bit of the ultrasound was slightly spoiled by the fact that my bladder was starting to get uncomfortably full, especially when I had to change positions or the transducer went down towards my pelvis; and it was also pretty cold in the exam room. With my belly exposed and covered in gel, I was all tense trying not to shiver too much. He also measured several fibroids - he said that they didn't look like they were in an area to be concerned about, but he measured them so that they could see if they grow. He tried the 3D view for a few minutes but nothing was jaw-dropping; she was wiggly and had all of her limbs up by her face so we caught glimpses of her but nothing amazing. She's measuring about four days behind, it looks like - he estimated her due date is 6/24 rather than 6/20, and her length (10") and weight (10 oz) are slightly below average, but that's not that big of a deal.
After 45 minutes, we were done and I got to PEE. (YAY.) The sonographer handed Cory a dozen photos, and sent us on our way.
We kind of floated downtown to have lunch, and talked about middle names. We ran the gamut from serious to corny (including a list of hipster names like Fixie and Beard and IPA), and have a front-runner but we're going to let it percolate for awhile. We also spent a great deal of time just staring at each other with giddy smiles. I had to keep saying it out loud - "we're having a girl!" It kinda felt like when I first found out I was pregnant and had to say that out loud too.
Then we went to the store and got some cookies with pink sprinkles and brought them back to work with us so that we could celebrate with our coworkers. It was cute to see them come down to the kitchen near my desk and squeal when they saw the cookies.
And now we're home, slowly coming off of the high of today. I can feel myself bonding more, now that I know what she is and can put a face and a name to what's going on in there.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
A Kick?!
Last night as I was winding down for bed, I started getting really nervous about the ultrasound on Friday. I knew it was because I was tired, so I was able to redirect the pressing need to Google "why haven't I felt the baby yet" towards chatting with a friend who has two little ones. Logically I know I have almost three weeks before I should be worried, but whenever my brain was sorta idle last night I thought "what could it mean if you never feel it? Is it dead, or does it have a terrible birth defect that keeps it from moving?"
I'm mostly over it today, after a decent night's sleep. (I'm still finding it hard to get comfortable enough to fall asleep and I wake up several times a night to turn over or pee or for no particular reason.) And then as I was putting my coat away after arriving at work, I felt a quick little... something. It was low down, on the left side. It could have been a gas bubble but it was too far over to the side, past where I'd normally feel them. It kinda felt like someone took their index finger and poked me really gently for just a second. Well, not REALLY gently, it didn't hurt but it was substantial enough for me to think maybe it was the baby.
One more day!
I'm mostly over it today, after a decent night's sleep. (I'm still finding it hard to get comfortable enough to fall asleep and I wake up several times a night to turn over or pee or for no particular reason.) And then as I was putting my coat away after arriving at work, I felt a quick little... something. It was low down, on the left side. It could have been a gas bubble but it was too far over to the side, past where I'd normally feel them. It kinda felt like someone took their index finger and poked me really gently for just a second. Well, not REALLY gently, it didn't hurt but it was substantial enough for me to think maybe it was the baby.
One more day!
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Eep.
Three more days. I've swung from forgetting what's on Friday to being super nervous about it. Eep.
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