I started experiencing "morning" sickness early, at exactly 4 weeks. I was lucky in the fact that it was mostly just constant nausea with a lack of appetite rather than anything that would cause me to become dehydrated. I quickly discovered that peppermints were my best friend, and tried to manage the random burping that came along with it. Burping was truly my first sign of pregnancy -- and it hasn't gone away, much to my embarrassment. For those that know me well, this may seem an appropriate punishment for all those burping contests I used to pride myself in having.
We started having our ultrasounds at 6 weeks. That appointment was where we first saw our baby's heartbeat. I cannot describe the elation and awe we felt as we sat there and watched that teeny tiny heart blinking on the screen. It was truly one of the most joyous moments of my life. At our 8 week ultrasound we "graduated" from our reproductive endocrinologist to a regular OB/GYN. Luckily for me, my OB/GYN was super understanding about some of the anxiety I was feeling. We got to continue seeing her every two weeks until I was about 16 weeks pregnant. We are now on the every-four-week schedule, and I'm slowly learning to relax. Don't get me wrong -- I've enjoyed every minute of this pregnancy, even the stressful and uncomfortable moments. As silly as it may sound I used to get excited every time I'd get sick. I can't explain the gratitude and joy that has filled me from the moment we found out this was a successful cycle. At the beginning we were cautious, and that included waiting to share the information. Once things continued to go well I struggled with when we should share our wonderful news. I wanted to shout it from the rooftops -- and Tony wanted to even more. In the end, we decided to wait. Little by little we shared with people here and there, but I didn't allow myself to blog about it until we reached the 12 week mark. At that point I think my superstitious self had settled in to be quite comfortable.
At just over 14 weeks we went to an elective ultrasound with hopes of finding out the gender of our little bundle. It was a unique experience, and we were really excited to find out they predicted we were having a little boy!
The superstition started to fade as things continued to go well and nothing bad happened. And then i hit 15 weeks. At 15 weeks, I had a little scare. I awoke at 2:30 on a Sunday morning with bright red, painless bleeding. It was very sudden, and luckily stopped nearly as soon as it started. I wasted little time getting Tony out of bed and we were soon on our way to the emergency department. I was so impressed, I barely had time to sit down in the waiting room before they were whisking me back to a room. Within 5 minutes of arriving there was an ultrasound on my belly and we got to see our little one wiggling around, heart beating strongly, just hanging out. The doctors didn't find anything concerning, gave me a shot of Rhogam (I am Rh negative), and I was on my way. I went in for several follow-up appointments and eventually it was determined that they think I had a sub-chorionic hemorrhage. This occurs when a piece of the placenta tears away from the uterine wall and causes a bleed. Luckily for us, mine was very small, and within a few weeks it was undetectable and completely healed.
Life continued fairly uneventfully for the next four and half weeks. Our 20 week ultrasound came and went, with no significant news except to confirm that we're having a little boy. The doctor at that appointment advised us that we would need to come back for a fetal echocardiogram to look at the baby's heart -- not because she saw anything of concern, but because pregnancies resulting from IVF tend to have higher risk for congenital heart defects. That scan happened at 22 weeks, and our little guy's heart looks perfect. Things are settling down scheduling-wise now that we don't have appointments so often. What isn't settling down is this baby! He's moving all over the place and I'm finally starting to feel it on a more consistent basis. I have an anterior placenta, so it's in the front of my belly and that makes it harder to hear the heartbeat with a doppler in the early stages, and harder to feel kicks as well. But, the other day, I happened to be lying in correct position and I felt him kick from the inside AND the outside. What a spectacular moment!
I realize this was a speedy version to catch y'all up on the last few months...and I apologize again for my absence. Part of my goal starting this blog, way back when, was to offer support and hope to others who may be going through similar experiences. I hope to continue to do this now that I have more time. My new semester starts January 26. I will be at the VA Hospital two days a week for 8 hours a day. I have two days on campus -- one working in the nursing simulation lab, and a day of classes (2). I'm hoping this allows me to have more time to communicate via this blog and keep you all posted on how we're doing.
We do have a name picked out -- I'll leave that for another blog so there's an element of some surprise left so people keep reading (hopefully)! Next entry I'll try to add some photos, too. I know it's late, but Happy New Year to you and yours -- and as always, thanks for reading!
