20 weeks and counting!

We went in for the 20 week ultrasound today. The baby is measuring very nicely. Heartrate was 148 beats per minute. I didn't get the best pictures today, sorry. But, I can give you a rundown of this one. Clockwise starting at 12 is the ear, below that is an eye, then below that is the nose, directly to the left is the upper lip, and the tounge is sticking out at us. It seems to have a distinct jaw like Jason's. The arms and legs looked great, all the major organs checked out. The baby was also not too embarrased about showing off it's sex, so now we know what it is. If you would like to know as well, email me at nillapuddin1978@yahoo.com and I will tell you. Otherwise we are not telling unless you ask. I had a follow up with my surgeon yesterday, everything is fine, and I will return to work tomorrow. I am looking forward to it, as I have been getting bored here at home.

One week out......

Today is one week since my hospitalization. I am feeling much better, still sore, and I am still trying to get my stamina back to return to work. I may need to go back half days for the next week. The stitches are itchy so that's a good sign. Andrea and Solon came over today to visit with the kids. It was weird not being able to pick them up. I was sitting in the cafe we went to for lunch watching them and realizing that soon we too will join the parent set officially. It seems so surreal. Gabriella is getting SO big, and active. She can really hold up her head on her tummy, and sit with help. She is drooling all over now, and putting everything in her mouth. Alessandra is talking a ton, and potty training. Most of her attention seems to be taken up by the bathroom right now. She seems to love the whole routine and wants to wash her hands frequently. She and Jason played a lot today and I played and talked to Gabriella. I trimmed her nails too, just to keep in practice. You forget how little those fingers really are. So, to change topics, my new 20 week ultrasound is now this coming Friday, with an OB appt the following Wednesday. The baby seems to be moving, and I had a frightening experience with Braxton-Hicks contractions yesterday. I had no idea they could start this soon. The Dr's office said that it is perfectly normal so that made me feel better. AND the big news is that Jason got the NRC postdoc that will give me health insurance for myself and the baby until we move. Such a huge relief off my chest. I was trying to figure out what the heck I was gonna do after the baby came. - That's all for now. I will post more when I have more news.

The other shoe has dropped!

Well, my pregnancy finally hit a snag. And what a snag it was! First the good news. The apartment that we live in has agreed to keep our rent the same for 18 more months! Hurray! So that means we don't have to move. Lovely. Then the bad news. On Friday night, I was feeling pretty rough at bedtime, but I figured it was heartburn. I took some zantac, then some tums, and went to bed at 9:30. I woke up around 1:00 am with gall bladder colic pain, which I have had in the past. I walked around, ate more tums, and rocked. Usually it goes away in a few hours. I took 2 tylenol, and they did nothing. I realized how much worse it was getting, so then I called my OB on call. He said to go to the ER now, since it sounded like it was more serious. I got Jason up then, threw up in the toilet, and got dressed. We had a rough drive there, since the road was bumpy. I had my little puke bowl though, so we were safe. We got to the ER and they were really quiet, thank God. I was brought back in about 30 min, in the meantime I was pacing, moaning, and crying. Then they brought us to a room, and we were left there for what seemed like 2 hours, but I think it was less than an hour. I was in so much pain at this point that I was literally ready to leave my body, however I now feel completely prepared for labor. I did my breathing through all of it, and it didn't seem to help reduce the pain, but it kept me from screaming. The nurse finally came in, attempted to put an IV in twice, failing twice, and took my urine sample. I threw up once more somewhere in there. They sent in another nurse, who got the IV into my elbow. They started IV fluids, antinausea meds, and morphine. They ordered a abdominal ultrasound, and a doppler to check the baby. I hadn't felt the baby move all night, so I was concerned. They used a weird,old fetal doppler so they were unable to find the heartrate. So I then convinced them to check it via ultrasound since they were going to do the gall bladder any way. We then went upstairs to wait for the US. They checked and found swelling and gallstones, which we already knew were there. I was unable to see the screen but Jason got to see the baby, and he said it was much bigger now, the hands and facial features were more prominent, and it seems to be running out of room. The heartrate was 150 still. We were eventually taken back to the ER, and waited for results, I asked for stronger pain meds, since the morphine wasn't cutting it. They gave me dilaudid, which is a stronger, synthetic morphine. It was great, I was finally able to get to sleep. I was still very nauseas though. Jason took me to the bathroom, and I was dizzy, and felt like throwing up. When I got back to the room I leaned over the guerney, and was going to get up on it, and then proceeded to throw up a ton of bile all over it. I felt very bad, and the nurses had to come in and clean it all up. They came in and talked about surgery, which I was very hesitant, because of the baby, my job, money, etc. They decided to wait, and keep me till morning, to see if the pain went away. They eventually took me upstairs to a room. Jason stayed all night in a straight chair, sleeping with his head against the wall on a pillow. I periodically threw up, sucked ice chips, and went to the bathroom. The pain would come back full force every 3 hours, and I could have the pain meds every 4. The OB came in to see me, and reccomended that I do the surgery, she said it was the perfect time to do it, since the baby was so low still, under my belly button. The risk to the fetus was low, and it could be worse for the baby to do it later.
I was convinced then to go ahead. The pain was so bad, even on the meds that I was willing to do anything to be rid of it. They brought me for surgery at 11:00 and I was under by 12:00. I was awake at about 2pm. They checked the baby carefully, making sure that everything was fine, the heartrate was still in the 140's. They made me get up and walk to the bathroom soon after going back to my room, I was very sore. I was also quite nauseas still, throwing up occasionally. I was allowed nothing but ice chips, which even those were limited. The pain was already much better. They had me on heavy duty antibiotics for all 3 days, the surgeon said that the gallbladder was quite infected, and scarred from years of these attacks. I developed a fever that night, but it never got very high. Jason and I slept poorly again that night, making trips to the bathroom, dealing with IV's, and vitals. They kept tabs on the baby every 4 hours, which made Jason and I feel better. The next morning they wanted me to eat, so I ordered a cherry popsicle, and pineapple juice. I kept those down, thankfully. They came in and checked me and said I could go home that afternoon. We were both ready for that. At noon I tried mashed potatoes, but that didn't sit well, so I ate another cherry popsicle. We went home at 3 pm, sat in traffic for an hour, and then arrived and slowly climbed the stairs. I got settled in the recliner and have been there since. The pain is tolerable, I am slowly eating some soft foods, and am trying to reduce my pain meds. The baby is moving, and reminding me that it is still here. All in all, a really wild week.

All clear.....

I finally got the results of the Triple Screen today. Everything was totally normal. I figured it would be, but you never know. I am feeling occasional movement daily. It makes it seem so real. I got a video Lamaze course today, so we will watch that and then see if we feel like we need to take a class as well. Jason is very busy at work these days. I am working 9 hour days mostly so by the time I get home I am pretty wiped out. I finally found a car seat pattern I can stand. It is moss green and cream. I have 3 weeks till my detailed ultrasound. Jason and I are looking forward to that. I hope we don't see the sex though. I still want it to be a surprise.

IT'S ALIVE!!!

I am now officially never "alone". At 2 am on Thursday night I felt a little kick, and then another. Very weird. Since then it has been kicking very frequently. I am trying to let go of my fears about miscarriage now. I am basically at a less than 1 percent risk now. I am excited for our 20 week ultrasound. Tomorrow is Alessandra's 2nd birthday party, so I am making her a poke cake today. I will post pics on Monday when I post about the triple marker results.

16 weeks and counting.......

We had our 16 week appointment today. They had so much trouble finding the heartbeat last time, and this time it was there right away. It was going at 150 beats per minute. They also drew the blood for the triple screen today. I will have those results by next monday. I had lost 1 more pound, so that wasn't too bad. I am getting ketones in my urine. I asked the Dr and he said that is a sign of starvation. Who knew I would EVER have THAT problem! I am supposed to start eating 2000 calories a day, starting now. I had been eating about 1300-1500 a day. All in all a great visit. In 4 weeks they will do the 20 week BIG ultrasound, that will tell us if all is well, and if all the parts are in place. We could find out the sex, but we won't! I am really trying to accept that this is really happening, everything is going well, and I can now just enjoy the ride. Amazing!

Keep on truckin'

I am at 14 weeks and 5 days now. Everything seems to be going well. I am tired but much better than I was. I am still having a lot of back pain, even though I think the kid is in the right position now. I am looking for apartments, and dreading the move. I still am losing weight, probably because I am still eating sporadically. Molly went home last Sunday so it has been very quiet and lonely here again. Our cat Lucy actually caught a fly tonight, so we were very proud of her. She has been trying for so long, and sucks so badly. That's the most exciting thing around here, sad huh? I will write more after our next appointment.