Guess What...

We are so excited!!  I am about four and a half weeks along (just found out on Friday) and should be welcoming our new little one sometime in October! 

Thanks Abigail, for this cute announcement idea!

Pregnancy Update

I have already updated most of you through texts or Facebook, as I am not ready to talk out loud about it yet, but for the rest of you, I thought I should post this.

Had my first prenatal appointment this morning.  I was very anxious about this appointment because it was with a new doctor, I was going by myself, and of course I couldn't wait to hear the heartbeat! 

Had a wonderful experience with the doctor, nurse and staff.  Everyone was very friendly and professional.  We did the exam and I asked if I could hear the heartbeat since I was 11 weeks.  The doctor said she would try but sometimes at this stage the baby is still so small and well hidden in the pelvis that it is difficult to get a reading.  At twelve weeks we shouldn't have any issues hearing it.  So she checked, and checked and checked and couldn't get the heartbeat.  She did not seem worried.  Just said she'd send me over to get an ultrasound for peace of mind and they would do the baby's measurements and make sure the due date was right on and all of that. 

It was an internal ultrasound.  The technician found the baby right away, but I could tell by the look on her face something wasn't right.  She said there was no heartbeat.  She tried and tried to pick up the heartbeat, but there wasn't one and there was no movement from the baby.  The baby also measured about four weeks behind - measuring in at 7 weeks 2 days instead of 11 weeks.

The doctor said that normally when this happens, the baby's growth slows/stops prior to the heart stopping, so it is very hard to tell when the baby actually passed.  I am not bleeding, which also makes this so hard to believe.  I have had a miscarriage one other time - about 5.5 years ago.  With that baby, I started bleeding and then cramping and that is how I knew I was miscarrying.  This one caught me completely by surprise.  It is true that my symptoms during this pregnancy have been more mild, but I have still had symptoms.  I was told that the bleeding typically starts about a week after the baby's heart stops.  We have decided to give it a week and see if I expell the remains on my own.  I go back to the doctor for a follow-up on Monday, and if need be, we will schedule an appointment for a D&C at that time.  That scares me, so I am hoping that things start working naturally on their own.

It has been a long day and Andy and I are both in denial/shock over the whole thing.

Pregnancy Update: 9 weeks

I am 9.5 weeks pregnant now.  I am feeling really good.  I have been a little queasy, but not sick yet, which is a huge change from either of the pregnancy I had for the girls.  I feel sickest if I wait too long to eat, but a little protein snack sends that feeling running!  I have not been to the doctor yet - that's because I live in a new city and I am still trying to figure out how to have my old midwife deliver this baby too.  It's not going to happen, so I have been stalling picking someone new. 

My friend recently asked for a belly picture. I hesitated at first because, although my belly is getting a bit firm, I don't have a real baby belly yet (still carrying around some extra weight from my previous pregnancies *sigh*).  Anyways, Ruth, this picture is for you!

Wow!

We are thrilled to announce that we found out tonight that we are expecting baby number three!  Although, I am only four weeks along, I am already feeling symptoms.  I have slight nausea on and off during the day and I also crave salty foods.  With the girls, I didn't feel sick until six and a half weeks along and I never craved salt.  Perhaps this one will be a boy?

Baby Shower

Some of the girls from our playgroup threw a baby shower for me today. They took me to Olive Garden. It was so yummy! And so much fun! I haven't been out with friends, without Arin, in a long, long time, so it was a great treat for me. I was given such nice gifts for the new baby. I am really getting anxious to have her arrive! It was a really nice day.

35 Weeks...

I am 35 weeks pregnant! I went to my OB appointment on Wednesday. Everything still looks great. The baby's heartbeat was 143bpm. This was the first week that my midwife checked for dialation. Nothing happening yet, which is not surprising and is actually good. My midwife goes on vacation all next week. Rather than seeing the physician in the office, I opted to wait two weeks for my next appointment. Then my appointments will be weekly.

Just a Little Over Six Weeks....

I will be 34 weeks pregnant on Friday. I went to see my midwife this morning. I lost one pound over the past two weeks, so a little bit of a lecture there, but I am not worried about it. Other than that, everything is going great. I measured on time, my blood pressure was awesome and the baby's heartbeat was a nice strong 148bpm. The baby is not engaged yet, but no worries about this as we're not far enough into the pregnancy to be concerned about that. I go back again in one week.

My midwife always lets Arin play with her measuring tape. It was sitting on the table when we went into the room. As we were waiting for my midwife to come in, Arin picked up the measure tape and was pretending to measure my stomach. It was very cute.

Labor Day

I read about a "Labor" Day story on this site. I decided I would play along too. After all, I am about to have "Labor Day" number two very soon!

How long were you in labor?
12 hours

How did you know you were in labor?
The contractions were a dead give away :) Plus, they had started the inducing process about an hour or so before the first contraction hit.

Where did you deliver?
The hospital. I was ten days late already, so my midwife sent me in on a Tuesday night about 5:30 to be induced. It was an unusually busy day in Labor & Delivery so I didn't get in a room until close to 9:00pm. My midwife got there about 9:30pm and started the process with a cervix ripening pill.

Drugs?
Yes. I had every intention of having an "all natural" birth, but that didn't work out. Because I was induced, I had to stay in bed, hooked up to monitors the whole time. It is really hard to work through contractions while sitting. First, I was given the shot in the hit. Then, I was given sleeping pills. Then, I still woke up with the pains, so I opted for the epidural. Good thing too after the extremely tough delievery. I am not even going to pretend that I can do it without drugs this next time. After delivery, I had even more drugs given to me during the stitching process.

C-section?
No. I was lucky. I pushed for two solid hours. Arin was coming face up and she had the cord wrapped around her neck. I did have an episiotomy and 3rd degree internal tearing :( My midwife had thought Arin would be about 7lbs 12oz. Surprise! She weighed in at a whopping 9lbs 8oz!!!

Who delivered?
My awesome midwife, whom I'm hoping will be able to delivery baby number 2 also!

If you'd like to "play along", copy the questions, post your Labor Day experience, and link up to Rocks in my Dryer.

Almost Eight Months...

I will be 32 weeks pregnant on Friday! I went to the doctor today and all is well. What a relief after last week's scare with me almost passing out. I still have to drink lots and lots of fluids as well as eat every couple of hours (preferably protein rich foods), but I am not longer on the partial bedrest that I was on for the last week (which is the reason for only one post last week).

My blood pressure was back to normal today. The baby's heartbeat was nice and strong - 155bpm. The baby is breech right now, but my midwife said she should turn in the next couple of weeks. She said "All smart babies are breech at 32 weeks" haha. I know that's not the truth, she was just trying to make me feel better. I am measuring right on time and everything looks great. I go back again in two weeks for my next check up.

30 Weeks & Counting...

Ok, so technically 30 weeks starts tomorrow, but close enough. I have been asked for belly pics, so here is one. I haven't been good about taking pictures with this pregnancy.

I went to the doctor yesterday and everything is going great. I am measuring right on time. The baby's heartbeat was nice and strong. She is an active baby. Much more so than I remember Arin being. That could be because I am not sick like I was when I was pregnant with Arin.

I have my next appointment in two weeks. It always gets exciting when the appointments start coming closer together!