Welcome Georgia!

Georgia was born on her due date, August 13, at 5:46pm! She was so much bigger than I ever expected- considering I really thought she'd be tiny. She was a whopping 8 pounds and 11 ounces! 19.68 inches long. And even more surprising, she was born with a head full of dark brown hair! Chase was practically bald with some strawberry blonde peach fuzz. And Madison and Aaron were also fairly bald with light colored hair. We're just amazed how different she looks than her brothers and sister.

We got quite the shock when she was about 10 hours old: after hours of her not nursing and not wanting to take a bottle, the nurse discovered our sweet baby girl has a cleft palate. We were shocked and I was devastated. I knew in my heart immediately that it was due to my seizure medication and blamed myself. Within the first 24 hours of her life, we met with the pediatric plastic surgeon, occupational therapists, pediatricians, lactation consultants, and the coordinator for the Craniofacial Clinic at Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters (CHKD).

Breastfeeding became a far away dream... attainable at some point but not right now because she doesn't suck properly. We went to formula for the time being (with a special bottle for children with cleft palates), and I began pumping. My ultimate goal is to pump exclusively and switch her totally to breastmilk as soon as I can. So far pumping is going well, I see an increase every day and am excited at the thought of having enough for full time.

We had Georgia's first appointment at the CFC this past Tuesday and we met with the surgeon, lactation consultant, social worker, and speech pathologist. We got a lot of new and helpful information and are so happy we've got a team of great people to help us get our little girl to where she needs to be.

We had issues feeding for awhile but seem to have found the trick. One of the stipulations of her being able to have surgery is appropriate weight gain and we were positive this past week she wasn't gaining at all. Her discharge weight from the hospital was 8lb 6oz (down 5oz), then at her weight check the following day she was 8lb 2oz. At her weight check yesterday, she was still 8lb 2oz and the pediatrician said most likely she had a loss but is gaining it back. I hope so!

She currently has no hearing either but we are optimistic it is due to fluid in her ears (very common for children with cleft palates) and it will be fixed with ear tubes. Hopefully her surgery for those will be soon- I hate that we can't soothe her.

Here are some pictures of my sweetie:

Ready to go see the doctor!

My baby boy, Chase, and his little sister <3

Daddy and Georgia the night she was born

Ready to go home!

Napping on Mommy

Mommy and Georgia

Sweet girl in her pretty dress

Prenatal Visit: 38 weeks!

No change since last week unfortunately. No dilation or effacement, cervix is still really high.
Baby's heart rate was good (150s), and I assume she's measuring on track. I forgot to ask the doctor, oops.
My blood pressure was good (102/70) and no protein in my urine.

I asked about a possible induction next week because of Joey's leave schedule. His leave is scheduled for 8/6-8/18, and the whole point of that leave is to HELP with the baby. At this rate, she's going to end up coming after his leave is over and I'm going to be stuck with 4 kids and no help at all.
The doctor basically said that
a) They don't schedule any elective inductions prior to 39 weeks, so at the very earliest we're looking at 8/6.
b) They won't induce if you're not dilated or effaced because it highly increases your risk of emergency c-section, infection, etc.

So basically she said if I go to my 39 week appointment on Tuesday and I am dilated to about 2-3cm and like 70% effaced, we can talk about scheduling an induction for later in the week. If I go in and there's still no progress I have no choice but to still wait it out.

She said hopefully I'll just go into labor on my own prior to Tuesday but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Prenatal Visit: 37 weeks!

37 week check up today... and it was a bust! I was so hoping to go in and have made some progress but no such luck this week.

I'm still not dilated or effaced; cervix is still high and posterior. On the plus side, the baby is still head down and the doctor can easily feel her head so at least I know she's ready to go in that aspect of things.

Her heart rate was great (140s), and this week she measured exactly 37 weeks despite being 2 weeks ahead last week. I was a little disappointed to hear that because I was really hoping for an extra ultrasound! Oh well, guess I have to wait until she shows up to see what her little face looks like!

My weight gain is still good but I gained a bit more this week (2 lbs!), doctor was okay with that though since I lost a few pounds a few weeks ago. Blood pressure was good- 118/76- which was a relief because on Monday evening I had an awful headache and blurred vision. I went to the drug store to check my blood pressure and it was 138/90- a really high number for someone like me who runs ~100/60 usually! I called the on call doctor and she assured me that while that number was higher than usual it was really borderline and had me take more Tylenol to see if it helped. I ended up falling asleep and when I woke up the headache was gone.

Group B Strep test was negative! (As was HIV test, but I knew that would be)

Next appointment on Tuesday- really hoping for progress next week now!

Prenatal Visit: 36 weeks!

36 weeks! I cannot believe it, only 4 more weeks until my due date!

Today's appointment went well! It was my first cervical exam (yuck)... had my Group B strep testing done too, so I will get results for it next week. Hopefully it's negative.

My weight is still really good, I've hardly gained anything (in addition to losing some here and there). Blood pressure was good (112/90), no protein in my urine.

Baby's heart rate was good- 140s. Fundal height is measuring 2 weeks ahead all of a sudden! My doctor said that if she's still measuring 2 weeks ahead next week we will do an ultrasound so they can get an estimate on her weight and go from there. I'm not sure what the options are if she's really that much larger though.

Internal exam went about as well as you could expect one to go. It was painful to say the least. Doctor could hardly even check because my cervix is so high up still. She thinks I'm not dilated though. Baby is head down (woohoo)!

Weekly visits from here on out! I'll update again next week!

Prenatal Visits: 32 & 34 weeks!

Sorry for lack of updates for these two appointments! Honestly they were both very uneventful- just your typical belly measurement, heart rate check, and ask questions kind of appointments.

Everything is going well still, although sleeping has become very uncomfortable!

Prenatal Visit: 30 weeks

30 week appointment today! I seriously cannot believe I'm 30 weeks along already!

Appointment went well! My blood pressure has been normal the whole pregnancy but it's been elevated for what's typical of me. I've been running about 120s/80 and today it was finally back to my normal! 106/60! So yay for good blood pressure (and of course for no protein in my urine!)

I lost another pound this week. Doctor doesn't seem to believe me that I'm not skipping meals, but I'm really not! I explained again that the baby is up so high that I can't eat a normal amount of food in one sitting anymore or I can't breathe. She told me she'd like me to start eating something small every hour to at least maintain my weight, I don't necessarily need to gain anything. I don't think that's going to work either but we'll see!

Baby's heart rate was good: 145ish. She's measuring a week ahead still. Doctor wasn't able to determine her position but she said she will probably be able to next visit.

Until next time!

My first trip to L&D!

I was hoping to go the whole pregnancy without having to go to L&D but no such luck!

I woke up yesterday (Sunday 5/26) morning at about 4am and tried to roll over in bed because my Braxton Hicks were really painful- the entire room started to spin and I passed out. I didn't know what to do, so I left a note for my sister and brother in law (we're staying with them until our new house is ready), saying that I had to go to the hospital and that Chase was still asleep. I (stupidly) drove myself to the hospital because I didn't want to wake anyone up and inconvenience them. I, of course, waited for the dizziness to pass before I drove!

Long story short: I am anemic and my potassium was way low. My contractions were picking up on the monitor but thankfully they weren't in a "labor pattern" according to the doctor. I had to drink 2 awful potassium supplements (never, ever do that if you can help it!) and then got hooked up to a potassium drip for 3 hours while it replenished mine.

Apparently that can make you pass out AND have contractions. Who knew!

Thankfully baby and I are both okay! :) Joey is still out of town so I had to relay this all to him via texting and the phone. Poor guy was worried sick.

Pulmonary Appointment

I saw the Pulm doctor today for the wheeze and inability to breathe... I have asthma! Yay? ;)

I ended up leaving there with a prescription for Flonase for my allergies, Pulmacort for the asthma, as well as a rescue inhaler for when it's real bad.

I go back in about 2 months for some breathing tests.

Prenatal Visit: 28 weeks

Welcome to the third trimester!!

Appointment today was pretty good- blood pressure is good still.

I lost 4 POUNDS since I was seen 2 weeks ago! :o The doctor wasn't worried about it, I told her about how I can't really eat anymore because of not being able to breathe when I'm too full. She seemed okay with that.

Baby is measuring 29 weeks instead of 28, and her heart rate was in the 140s :)

Semi-update...

Nurse called me this morning for something unrelated to labs but while I had her on the phone I asked if my results were in yet. She said they were but they had to be reviewed by the doctor first before they could be discussed. But she said they "look good," and just to hang tight to have the doctor review. So I'm thinking that means no diabetes?! Woo, I'll take it! Was pretty sure I HAD it so that's a huge relief. And I don't feel like dealing with Maternal Fetal Medicine and their Diabetes program again.

I didn't get any phone calls this afternoon, but my patient chart online isn't update with labs either so I will recheck tomorrow and hopefully have an official verdict.

No mention about the UA, I don't think she realized I had that done as well so hopefully I'll hear about that tomorrow too.

Side note: Our house is almost sold! We found a house we love and now we just wait. lol

Prenatal Visit: 26 weeks & labs

Showed up for my labwork this morning at 8:30am, armed with my phone and a good book! The lab today is for gestational diabetes and at my office they do a 2 hour test first, so I needed some entertainment.

Got fasting blood drawn, given the awful sugary orange drink (which HAS to be worse on an empty stomach!), and sent on my merry way back to the waiting room. The lab tech told me to just come right back at 9:40 and then at 10:40 and not to even bother stopping at the desk.

First hour surprisingly went fast. Went back, got redrawn (and ouch! she drew from the same darn spot!), and back to the waiting room I go. Candy Crush and Word Chums really passed the time!

Part of this appointment was a visit with the doctor after the labwork, I figured to get my results. I got called back around 10:15am and was a bit confused because my final labs hadn't been drawn yet. I get back to nurse triage and she does the normal stuff: weight, blood pressure, urine sample. Then she goes over a bunch of paperwork (hospital waivers and such)... She brings me to the room and peeks her head in a few minutes later and asks if I'm spotting. :\ I said no and she let me know that my sample had blood in it. Great.

Doctor comes in and... surprise! It's actually a 26 week appointment! Apparently I'm on 2 week appointments earlier than I thought! (I thought it was 28 weeks) She also goes over everything about delivery and has me sign some papers too. Gives me information on taking a tour of L&D, and my admission paperwork for the hospital. Scary stuff right there! That means we're really getting close!!!

Find out that I am NOT getting labs back at the appointment, she said the nurse will call me if my sugar came back elevated and if I don't get a call it'll go to my online chart as normal and I can view it there. As for the urine, she said I might just have an infection so they're going to check on it to see if I need an antibiotic.

Baby measures right on track and her heartrate was 140s again. :) Doctor found her on the first shot this time!

Finished the evening up with an awful headache, probably because of my weird eating schedule for the day. I'll update when I get the labs back.

Oh, and I got referral to Pulm.

Prenatal Visit: 24 weeks

(I'm back blogging this entry and I can't remember the exact date off the top of my head, oops!)

Discussed the following with obstetrician:
-Heartburn... ouch! (Turns out it's acid reflux and I got a prescription for Nexium)
-Weight gain... feeling like I'm gaining too much, too fast! (I gained a total of...0 pounds! Not what I was expecting and needless to say, the doctor didn't feel the need to explore this topic further lol)
-A very, very slight wheeze (Could be asthma, allergies, or from the reflux. Getting referral to Pulmonology at next visit if the Nexium doesn't help)


Appointment in 2 weeks for testing for gestational diabetes (on 5/7)

Follow-up Ultrasound

We had the follow-up ultrasound yesterday (if you remember from my last post, the tech wasn't able to get the heart measurements that she needed)... the day was full of awesome: first, it was beautiful outside! Then I got a surprise text from Joey that he would be able to make the appointment afterall! And then the appointment itself went really well. :)

She got the measurements she needed and told us that her heart was "beautiful." She told us not to anticipate any phone calls from the doctor because everything looked perfect (woohoo!)... then she double checked gender again: still a girl! And finally, she did her very best to finally get us some good face pictures! Baby's position and the anterior placenta have both prohibited us from getting a good profile shot or 4d in the past, unfortunately. Last visit the tech didn't get a good shot, and told us she'd try again this week.

And she did a wonderful job! It's not perfect because the placenta was in the way still but we totally appreciate her effort and the glimpse of our baby girl we haven't seen before!

My very first thought when I saw her in 4d is, "That's Madison!" She has her Daddy's nose and mouth, and my chin from what I can see so far. The part of her face that was obscured by the placenta was above her nose so I can't tell who she resembles from that area.

Here are the pictures:

I'm still a girl!

Her sweet little profile (check out Daddy's nose!)

Another profile shot

The best 4d image she was able to capture: isn't she a cutie already?!

Face shot

Stretching her fingers out! <3

Next appointment is in 2 weeks-- just a quick Ob visit, hoping to get some information on the gestational diabetes test! Been feeling really funky after eating sugar and checked my sugar yesterday and it was a bit high.

I also need to get a move on! I have her baby book but haven't filled it out recently (have been going back and doing multiple pages at once).

Prenatal Visit: 20 weeks

Today I had a double appointment- first the anatomy ultrasound at 1:15pm and then my regular prenatal appointment afterwards.

Luckily, Joey was able to get off work early today to come with me to the appointments! We picked the big kids up early from school and then dropped all 3 off with our friend to babysit (otherwise we ran the risk of the appointment taking too long and missing the kids' bus).

Did routine stuff: weight (+3 pounds this month! Ack!); blood pressure (122/72); and urine sample (no protein). Then off to the ultrasound we go! We had a really nice tech this time, and she asked first thing if we were going to find out the gender. We said yes, and didn't mention that we already knew it because I wanted to be sure she saw the same thing without having a hint of what we were previously told!

She did all kinds of measurements: femurs, kidneys, brain, stomach, etc. She wasn't able to get measurements on the heart because of the position the baby was laying in AND she kept moving too much (oops, soda before ultrasound was a bad idea I guess lol). So we get a repeat ultrasound in 2 weeks to get those heart measurements!

Then came the gender part- she went for the "potty shot" and very, very quickly and without a doubt said "Baby is a girl!" YAY! I looked at Joey and he was grinning! I told the tech that we had an ultrasound weeks prior and at first had been told boy and then girl so I was worried she had been wrong! Whew, a ton of weight off my shoulders now- I can go back into shopping mode! ;)

Joey said he saw the baby's profile as the girl was looking around and she definitely has his nose. "The curse," is what he referred to it as! lol I saw that she definitely has my chin (the same one as my sister, nephew, and my son Chase have), and she's got really long legs and a chubby little belly! Her heart rate was great (140s), I think I saw her trying to suck her thumb too. I have a small (15mm) fibroid on the left side of my uterus but it's absolutely nothing to worry about. :) The tech didn't get the best pictures because the baby was just moving so much! She promised me at the next ultrasound she will try to get a good view of her face for me... and I won't be drinking caffeine before!

Prenatal appointment afterwards went well too- we met with the Nurse Practitioner today and she was very friendly! She went over the ultrasound and confirmed that everything looked normal, and that the heart did too but they need the measurements and that's why I have to come back. We pretty much had no questions, just filled her in on my seizure medication adjustment. She listened to the baby with the doppler (140s again), even though she had a hard time finding her! She kept pushing away from the doppler, silly girl. ;)

I go back on 4/7 for the next ultrasound so I will update then!
Here are the pictures I got today:

Face (see! my chin!)

Confirmation that she is 100% girl!! <3

Prenatal Visit: 16 weeks

Today I saw Dr. Rogers for my prenatal visit, this was the first time I've met her. I have been with their practice for about 4 years, but it seems like their Ob team made a lot of changes in the time I wasn't pregnant! A lot of my doctors from last time are gone and there are a lot of new ones to replace them.

Blood pressure, weight, urine were all normal.

Visit itself was pretty quick--- she came in and chatted for a minute, then used the doppler to find baby. Guess what! She actually found the heartbeat this time, and I was so thrilled! Heart rate was in the 140s, she said. Each time she'd find the heart rate we'd hear, "WHOOSH!" - baby was kicking away from the doppler! She's already a little troublemaker! ;)

I asked about stopping the folic acid supplements (she said to wait until 20 weeks), and vitamin D supplements (told me to just keep taking them).

I got word yesterday that Tricare is no longer covering my Lamictal and I need to switch to generic, so I am going to see my neurologist tomorrow to try to get that straightened out. Wish me luck!

IT'S A...

Joey and I had scheduled our elective gender ultrasound for 2/23 and we got antsy and decided to move it up! We ended up getting in for the appointment on 2/18 to find out who this little one is!

The tech started the scan and had a hard time finding the gender due to baby sitting "Indian style!" Finally she got what she thought could be the gender...

But she wasn't feeling 100% about it, so she had me get up and move around to try to get baby to uncross its' legs... about 10 minutes later she FINALLY was able to get a good gender shot!

It's a girl!!!!!

We had a "gender reveal" party yesterday (2/23) so we could surprise our family and friends with the gender! I think almost everyone was convinced this baby was a BOY so we knew it was going to be quite a surprise for them all! My sister actually joked multiple times that if we had a girl, she was going to need to get a second job! So, we had HER open the box with a "Little Sister" onesie in it... check out her reaction!

This is her opening it:

And this is her reactions seeing the onesie! Great, isn't it!?!

Needless to say: everyone is SUPER excited! :D

Now we just need to figure out a NAME for this little girl!!!

Changes...

Long time, no post! I didn't forget about the blog at all, just things have been a bit of "sit and wait," since I don't have another appointment for awhile and overall I've felt pretty well!

If you remember, I was told at 12 weeks I could stop the Progesterone and it worried me to death! I decided not to stop cold turkey like my Obstetrician said I could... I weaned starting at 12 weeks on the dot. Went from 3x day, to 2x a day for a week, then 1x a day for a week... and then I was planning to alternate 1 per day for about a week. I did that twice and decided I think it was just safe to stop it at that point. Monday I took my last pill! So far so good, no cramps or bleeding or anything else worrisome. Praying all is still well in there!

I also stopped my Metformin at 12 weeks, and I have to say I'm enjoying having downsized my little bedside pharmacy!

Symptom wise I'm feeling well: I had some morning sickness early last week, which was a little strange to me! It passed quickly, and may have been partially due to congestion I believe. The fatigue is much better, I'm able to stay up later at night and pretty much can forgo from daytime naps! Hunger has kicked in pretty strong, I can eat a ton and my stomach is still growling after. But if I eat too much, I feel sick so I'm trying to figure out what is the best route to take with eating until I'm full.
Headaches have been frequent this week, I didn't want to take any Tylenol but it was so strong I ended up giving in and took a low dose which helped instantly just about.
Shortness of breath is starting a little, mainly in the evenings if I've eaten too much. I think I just get too "full" in the stomach area and it makes it a bit harder for me to breath. Nothing serious at all, just feel like I need to take an extra deep breath!

Today I am 14 weeks and 3 days pregnant! I have an elective gender ultrasound scheduled for next Saturday (2/23), at 15 weeks and 4 days! We are SO excited to find out who this little person is! If it's a boy, we have a name 100% picked out so it'll be exciting to know his name the second we see he's a boy. If it's a girl, we have some work cut out for us because we've only decided on a middle name!

My "Mommy Intuition" is saying BOY! And honestly at this point, I am equally wanting either gender! They both have perks---
A little girl would be amazing because I've never had the experience of having a baby girl. Of course I have Madison, but I wasn't around for any of her baby stuff and when it all boils down to it-- I'm not her Mommy, because she already has one. I want the girl experience, the dresses, the bows, the Barbies, and having someone sweet to cuddle. Madison desperately wants a little sister!
A little boy would ALSO be amazing because I love Chase with all of my heart and would be blessed to have another little Momma's Boy. I also love that if this is a boy, we will be naming him after both of our (deceased) fathers. That would be so special, and I would love to do that.

So! I'm split right down the middle either way!! I just can't wait to know WHO this is! :)

I will definitely be updating sometime after the appointment next week, with pictures of course!

Don't quote me on this...

But I think I felt the baby flutter around in there.

I thought I felt it a couple of days ago but chalked it up to gas, since I'm still really early and I don't think I felt Chase until closer to 20 weeks (probably about 17 or 18 weeks).

I felt it again today though, just a very light fluttering- almost like bubbles. I definitely don't have gas, but who knows- I read with the anterior placenta feeling movement can be harder earlier on so I won't bet on it. lol

I could be off my rocker, but I did hear sometimes you feel it sooner with a second baby!

Just figured this could be worth documenting if I am, indeed, feeling a tiny bit of movement.

Ultrasound: 12 weeks 1 day

Today I had my ultrasound! I've been really looking forward to this one for so many reasons: getting a rate for the heart beat, seeing the baby actually starting to look like a baby (not a gummi bear, lol), and making sure everything is okay (including the placenta).

I am also really happy to say Joey was able to come along! It was scheduled for early this morning, so he got a few hours off from work. :)

We got there at 8:35 or my 8:45 appointment... and pretty much didn't get seen for close to 30 minutes after my appointment time! I was getting a little annoyed because even though he was off for a few hours, Joey did have something he had to get to in time.

We go back, and right off the bat I tell the lady I had a few questions for her:
1. Can she tell me if the placenta is the right size, looks normal, etc?
2. Has she heard of the "nub theory," and can I get a picture of it?
3. Does she have any guesses on gender?

She told me the placenta looked perfect and is anterior (front of my uterus), but that was no concern. (Woohoo!)

She said she hadn't heard of the nub theory and pretty much tried to say she wasn't allowed to touch on gender at this visit because it's so early that anything is just a guess at this point. Understandable. Except she pretty much made it seem like she wouldn't even print the picture out for me! And needless to say, I never bothered to ask about the gender guess because she made it quite clear she wasn't going to guess it.

She started the rest of the ultrasound- we got to see the umbilical cord and that it has 2 arteries and looks good. She looked at the heart, and show us the blood flow even, and that looked good. The brain also looked good.

At some point, I did see the nub on the screen! I figured I wasn't getting a picture, so I studied it while it was up on the screen... I have a thought but I'm not sharing since I don't have an image to back it up.

The baby was moving like crazy! Legs kicking, arms moving and covering its' face, and my personal favorite: ricocheting from one side of the uterus to the other! This baby is just a non-stop mover already at 12 weeks, I'm going to be in trouble in about 20 weeks when it's doing this at 3am! lol

Baby's heart beat was 166, but she didn't turn it on for us to listen to.

I got 5 pictures at the end of the visit... and surprisingly, she said "I got the picture you wanted, even though it's not accurate at this stage. They all look like girls right now." I was really surprised and then I realized she actually got a POTTY SHOT of the baby. It's okay, she tried! But even I know potty shots at 12 weeks are pretty useless, lol. She genuinely didn't know what the nub shot was, but that's alright. Just means in 4 weeks we'll have a nice surprise with no guesses beforehand! lol

Here are the pictures:

4d shot

4d capture of baby- check out those long legs! And an ear! 

Profile shot of baby

This is the "potty shot" - I labeled what it all is. :)

Our little guy's face and belly!

Progesterone

I can't do it cold turkey, I just can't. I have about 2 weeks of pills left... so I'm going to wean myself off. There's no harm in doing it this way because the progesterone can't cause any harm.

Right now I take 600mg each day: 1 at breakfast, 1 at lunch, 1 at dinner.

Starting today I will take 400mg a day for a week: 1 at 7am, 1 at 7pm.

The last week I will take 200mg a day: most likely around lunchtime. 

If I somehow have extra, I would like to alternate one day taking 1 pill, the next with none, and so on until they're all gone.

Wish me luck, I'm terrified!!!!!

Prenatal Visit: 12 weeks

Today was my 12 week prenatal visit with my regular ob/gyn (not high risk doctor). I went with high hopes of hearing baby via doppler, and that's pretty much all I was concerned with since otherwise I feel great.

This appointment... well, let's just say it went in another direction in every single aspect.

Doppler: Doctor looked around for quite some time and pretty much only picked up my own heart beat. I wasn't too panicked because I know even at 12 weeks (and me being overweight to begin with) catching the heartrate on ultrasound is iffy. She eventually said to me, "Do you hear that in the background?" I could very faintly hear a second heart beat in the background of my own... She gave up right about then because I guess that was good enough for her. She said that she couldn't pick it up well enough to get a reading, though.

High Risk Doctor: I had to ask her why exactly I was sent to Maternal Fetal Medicine for diabetes when I'm not, in fact, diabetic. Her response? She laughed. She said, "Oh there must have been a miscommunication between offices! We only sent you there for your seizures and the seizure medication!" *grumble* I had a feeling something was strange with this situation. She told me my insulin resistance wasn't big enough of a concern unless I failed my glucose tests later on in the pregnancy, and in that case my regular ob/gyn would still manage me. I told her they had me testing my sugars 4 times per day and on a strict diabetic diet. She basically said that a diet would never hurt so I could feel free to follow it (sure...), and that there was no reason to check my sugars.

Metformin: I was told I could stop tomorrow (when I'll be 12 weeks); fairly happy about this news because those pills choke me every night when I take them!

Progesterone: *le sigh* My progesterone has been my crutch since 5 weeks. My levels tested at 6.4 and I was given an option for the supplements. Of course I took them, and I'm not 100% sure but I think they are responsible for letting me carry this far. I am absolutely terrified to stop them, but know that they are typically stopped between 9-13 weeks along since that's when the placenta is supposed to take over production of the progesterone. But there's no way to know if it HAS taken over- it's pretty much a shot in the dark at this point. Well, she told me to stop them tomorrow. Cold turkey. No weaning, no lab draws like I was told about. I'm fairly annoyed and terrified at the same time.

I've been in a funk since my appointment... at least I have my ultrasound Wednesday. Some ladies on a message board I frequent suggested asking them to check the placenta for me on Wednesday to let me know how it looked.

That's basically the gist of today's appointment.

11 weeks 4 days

I am excited to almost be 12 weeks!

This upcoming week I have 2 appointments:
1/28/13: Routine Obstetrician check-up. Definitely hoping to hear baby's heartbeat via doppler at this visit! May have to bring Chase with me- if I remember correctly from my other Ob visits, there's nothing "invasive" and he should be fine to come along. Plan to ask the doctor for more details about stopping Progesterone and also about stopping Metformin.
1/30/13: NT scan (nuchal translucency screening). You can read about it here. Praying everything looks as it should, and I am definitely excited to be able to see the baby again. By this point in time, he/she will look a lot more like a real baby! :) This is also the ultrasound where if I'm lucky, I can get a "nub shot." Hopefully the tech will help out! I also have heard that sometimes they can make a pretty good guess at gender, but they won't always try. Happy that Joey may be able to come along to this one!


As for how I'm feeling... pretty much feeling fine now. I have some minor round ligament pain (like a pulling pain around the uterus), my fatigue has lessened into just being tired, bloating, and emotional. A lot of the other symptoms kind of disappeared around week 9... and I have to admit, it really scares me. I am praying everything is okay at Wednesday's ultrasound.

That's about all... I'll update after my appointment Monday. Have a good weekend.

Diabetic diet/glucometer update

So... for starters, I found out I have a Vitamin D deficiency so now I take 2 more supplements. That brings my daily pill total to 13:

3 Progesterone supplements 
1 Lamictal (anticonvulsant)
1 Metformin (insulin resistance)
2 Prenatal gummy vitamins
3 Folic Acid supplements
2 Vitamin D supplements
1 Calcium chew

Everything except the Lamictal and Metformin are pregnancy related... but, at this point, the Metformin is also being used as something to help with the baby too.

Diet Update:
I followed the diet for 4 days, perfectly. My blood sugars? PERFECT.
I tested my theory and I ate normally for 1 whole day... my blood sugar? PERFECT!

So I've decided to be non-compliant and not follow the diet or check my sugar anymore. After my 12 week ultrasound next Wednesday, I'm asking to be discharged from their practice because I do not belong in their "Diabetes in Pregnancy" program. I don't have diabetes. I don't run high blood sugars. I don't even have a history of gestational diabetes. And, my insulin resistance was exactly the same during my pregnancy with Chase so clearly it's not that big of a deal if no one bothered with it then.

As far as I'm concerned, this program is a waste of my time and insurance. Even my husband thinks it's crazy and very unfair to put a pregnant woman on a DIET she doesn't need. So, I'm done! :P

Maternal Fetal Medicine Appointment

Today I had my first appointment with Maternal Fetal Medicine (ie: Perinatology/High Risk doctor)... I have to admit, I was pretty confused about this whole appointment in general. I was told by my Ob at my first prenatal appointment that I'd be scheduled for "one" appointment with MFM (and also I had the option to do the 12 week NT scan with them as well)... this made sense, since I also had one appointment with them with Chase as well.

Logically, it made sense that it was for my Epilepsy and my anticonvulsant medication.

However, I was shocked with the nurse from my Ob's office called me and scheduled me for FOUR appointments with MFM! I thought that was strange but attributed it to the fact that I had multiple seizures in August and they wanted to be extra cautious.

Imagine my surprise when I showed up to my MFM appointment (after going to the wrong building, might I add, because my Ob's office gave me their old address), and they are bombarding me with questions about my diabetes. Why was I surprised? Maybe because I don't have diabetes. The nurse said, "How long have you been diabetic?" My reply was, "I'm not..." She said, "Oh," but kept asking me diabetes related questions. Now I do have insulin resistance which basically means I'm "borderline diabetic" and run a higher risk of developing diabetes as I get older. This is due to my PCOS, and it's regulated with Metformin.

My "quick appointment" turned into a 2 hour long teaching session about diabetic diets and checking my blood sugars. I left there pretty darn annoyed. I was given a very strict diet to follow (complete with a sample meal plan), and a glucometer with instructions to check my blood sugar four times a day, every day! This new diet includes fish (I don't eat), meats (currently having aversions to), only whole wheat breads... and even worse is what they cut out of my diet. I'm not allowed to eat cereal with milk for breakfast (my favorite thing!), most fruits are cut down and/or limited, no sweets (my cravings!!!!!!)... it's pretty ridiculous.


On the plus side, I did get to see my little Gummi Bear. It was a very quick ultrasound (using a handheld ultrasound machine!), so we didn't get pictures or exact measurements but we saw the heartbeat and were told the baby looks just as it should for 10 weeks.

Maternity clothes

Joey found my box of maternity clothes up in the garage attic this past weekend! I was so excited to see those things, that'll definitely save some money!
Being that Chase was born in June, I have quite a bit of summer-y items too! Tank tops, tshirts, some shorts, a skirt, dresses. I definitely will be stocking up on more of those though!

We found quite a few pairs of maternity pants too but they're all the full paneled pants and I won't be needing those for awhile.

However, I had a slight dilemma: I'm so bloated that my pants won't zip! :\
We looked everywhere to find a cheap pair of maternity jeans that don't have the panel, but have the elastic waistband. No luck! We found them but they were all like $40+! I don't want to spend that kind of money on one pair of pants because if this pregnancy is anything like Chase's, I won't be able to wear those kinds of pants after a few more months. The waistband bothers me too much when I'm like BIG pregnant.

Old Navy to the rescue! I checked out their website on a whim (after having no luck in the store), and sure enough- found two pairs of pants and the total for both was $38 (and that was with shipping)!

They came in the mail yesterday and fit perfectly! I'm so excited!

I should also note: I don't "look" pregnant yet, but I have such bad bloating that my pants won't zip up anymore! I have one pair of jeans from before I lost all that weight this summer, and while they do technically zip up they do not fit me at all. The legs, butt, stomach area are all way too saggy. It looks like my pants are falling off. So I figured I'll just start wearing the maternity ones with the elastic waist but are actually my size! :)

I feel like I have my own pharmacy

I picked up 3 more prescriptions today! I got a refill of my Progesterone supplements, a folic acid supplement, and prenatal vitamins. Doctor gave me the ok on Wednesday to stick with the gummy vitamins until I can swallow the regular prenatals without throwing them back up... but I have to take folic acid as well since the gummies only have .8mg.

My folic acid came with 30 pills and instructions to take 3 times daily- I was definitely a bit confused and called my doctor's office to see if they meant to only give me 10 days worth. Apparently my prescription got lost in translation somewhere between their office and Rite Aid. New Rx was called in.

Today I'm feeling good at 8 weeks and 3 days! Had some intense nausea this morning and was so tired I could hardly get out of bed. The nausea subsided shortly after I ate breakfast (Lucky Charms again, surprise surprise!). Went food shopping, came home and randomly had the urge to clean the entire house. I think my nap today is well deserved! ;)

Oh and very exciting: I scheduled an appointment at Prenatal Miracles to find out the gender! It's for March 2nd (a Saturday, so we can be sure Joey is able to go!), super early in the morning so I don't have to wait! hehe I will be 16 weeks and 4 days so I'm hoping they'll easily be able to tell the gender! Fingers crossed!!

Ramzi Theory (& a hello)

Lately I've been consumed with figuring out if this Ramzi Theory is legit. It boasts a 97% accuracy, and somehow I just can't fathom that being right. (Cliff's Notes of the theory: This study claims that you can accurately determine fetal gender based on which side the placenta is on, during 6-8 week gestation ultrasounds. If you'd like to read the entire published study, click here.)

In order to properly use this theory, you first must know which side your baby's placenta is located on. This can be troublesome if all you have is an ultrasound and no tech around to tell you which way is which. Popular rumor is that abdominal ultrasounds are transverse (ie: right is left; left is right), and that vaginal ultrasounds are true to form. However, this isn't true. When researching more into this theory, I saw certified ultrasound techs give plenty of reasons they felt this theory was inaccurate. They explained that many factors could determine which view they decided to use for your ultrasound and 9 times out of 10 there will be no marker on the image itself for you to know. If you're like some of the girls in my due date group, you may be lucky and your tech may have marked off your left or right ovary in the image and then you have the correct orientation.

My ultrasound with this pregnancy has no markers to let me guess which side is which. Yesterday at my first Ob visit, I asked the Obstetrician about the theory and she pretty much laughed. She said there was no way something like that was 97% accurate, because if it was it would be common knowledge in the medical community. (This study was published a few years ago so there would have been plenty of time for it to make it's way around) We were discussing my own ultrasound and she said even their techs don't label left and right for the doctor's to view because they are more interested in the fact that the placenta is developing normally rather than the side it's on. The only thing she said that would be labeled were my ovaries. So no accurate guessing for me!

With every gender theory, there is a legitimate 50/50 shot at being correct... so of course I've been having a ton of fun looking up other people's results. One board in particular that I visited had a poll for members to mark if it had been accurate for them... and the results? Literally split 50/50! No surprise there!

I am very curious to see how it plays out for our little one...
I tried it with Chase first, since I still have a 7 week ultrasound from my pregnancy with him.

Okay, so this one is hard to decipher because to me he looks like he's smack dab in the middle. But then again, we don't actually know the legit orientation of this ultrasound. I would say this is inconclusive.

Here are my ultrasounds from 6 weeks (ultrasound says 10 weeks, but that was incorrectly based off my LMP) and 7 weeks 1 day during this pregnancy:

6 week image is inconclusive because it is a sagittal view (according to the ultrasound tech I asked to interpret the image for me). 

7 week image appears to have the baby on the left (the brighter white), and the light circle towards the center of the sac is the yolk sac. I'm not sure where the placenta is in relation to this, but I would venture to think it's by the baby, yes? If so, and if this is in the correct orientation, this would predict a boy.

I guess we need to wait another 8 weeks to find out for sure!! ;) 

I have another ultrasound in a few weeks at maternal/fetal medicine, and I may try out the "nub theory" as well. 

Toodles! 

Jamie