Pregnancy Update : Weeks 1-12

July 2013-9/30/13

Alrighty...I have posted the actual pregnancy announcement on the blog, but have yet to post any details of the pregnancy so far!  Here's my attempt to catch up to our last doctor's appointment, which was my 12 week checkup.  This is mostly for my records, so feel free to skip through and look at the cute pics of our newest babe!

Since I had been on Clomid for this pregnancy, I was on top of dates/symptoms and found out I was pregnant really early.  That very first week after I found out I was pregnant, I started feeling cramping similar to period cramps.  They started on August 1st and continued throughout the weekend, getting a little bit worse.  They were waking me up at night and happening throughout the day, so I called my doctor on Monday, August 5th, and she advised me to come in for some blood work.  

I went in on Tuesday, August 6th for an HCG Quant Draw.  I would need to come back again in two days to do another draw to see if my numbers were doubling every other day, proving that my pregnancy was viable.  My first round of blood work came back at a 718.

I happened to be in Mansfield when the next blood draw was ordered, so I went to my old doctor in Mansfield to have my blood taken and they said they would fax the numbers to my doctor in Austin.  This was on Thursday, August 8th.  It turned out to be a disaster, because by Monday I still hadn't heard anything and we realized that the lab had lost my sample.  All during this wait I was paranoid that I was going to miscarry because I continued to cramp and never had any cramping with Lane.  

On Tuesday, August 13th I went back to my Austin doctor for the next draw.  They rushed the results so I would know by the end of the day.  Around 4pm, the nurse called with "bad" news.  My HCG level was only at a 986, far from doubling every other day.  Kim (the nurse) said these numbers were just given to her by the lab over the phone and that they were faxing the official paperwork her way.  She said it was weird to her and she would follow up with the faxed results, but that this likely meant that my pregnancy was not viable.  I immediately called Kyle to break the bad news, but he didn't answer.  Next on the list to call was my mom.  I was crying and upset and she was disappointed as well.  Kyle beeped in and I told him, and he was just as bummed.  Just as I was telling him, I got yet another call from Kim.  She started by saying "You are going to want to kill me and love me all at the same time.  We received the fax from the lab with your written results and your HCG level is at 9,806-- not 986!!!"  She apologized over and over for all of the mess-ups and said that Dr. Schneider would be filing a written complaint to Quest Laboratory concerning all of the mistakes that they made.  Evidently, someone from Quest can't READ NUMBERS CORRECTLY!  I couldn't believe it when I got the good news.  I went from nervous, to devastated, to ecstatic all within about 10 minutes!!  Whew!

This was my bandage from the last blood work appointment.  The nurse grabbed a piece of gauze, bunched it up on my arm and stuck some tape on top.  I immediately noticed that it somehow had formed a perfect heart!  I pointed it out to her and she said "It sure is a heart!  I bet that's a sign that everything is going to be just fine."  And she was right.  :)

The cramping went away by the time I had my last blood draw at 4.5 weeks, so I was relieved.  Between 5-6 weeks pregnant, we were in California for our vacation.  On night 2 of the vacation I got a migraine that turned into vomiting, as usual.  I was miserable because I couldn't take my usual cure-all of Excedrin Migraine.  I just assumed it was one of my normal migraines and hoped I'd feel better in the morning.  Well, from then on I vomited multiple times a day until recently.  Weeks 6-8 were the absolute worst, with me getting sick numerous times a day and even in the middle of the night.  From about 8 weeks until 10 weeks I was getting sick, but mostly just in the mornings.  After 10 weeks the sickness seemed to taper off, thank goodness!  I had occasional nauseous feelings here and there, but MUCH less vomiting!

We had our first doctor appointment on August 26th, when I was 7 weeks along.  We were eager to know if there was more than one baby in there, and also anxious to see our baby and know that everything was ok after the miscarriage scare!  Kyle and Lane came along for the first appointment.  Dr. Schneider did a sonogram and determined that there was just ONE HEALTHY BABY in there!  We saw the little heart beating away and were overjoyed!  She determined that the baby was measuring about 4 days ahead of schedule, but kept my due date as 4-14-14.  Lane was a little disappointed that it wasn't boy/girl twins.  He had already named them Firefighter Bob and Police Girl!  Dr. Schneider prescribed Zofran for my sickness and said it should get better around week 12.

Little gummy bear at 7 weeks.  That tiny thing had Mommy feeling pretty darn sick!

My next appointment was on September 26th at 11 weeks 3 days along.  We decided to go ahead and do a first trimester screening for chromosomal disorders.  This included a detailed ultrasound with precise measurements.  A special sonographer did the ultrasound and also a finger prick for blood work.  We were told that she may be able to determine the sex of the baby, but she said it was just too early for her to make a guess.  :(  Bummer!  We did, however get a cute picture of our little sweetie and were very relieved to hear that our results came back negative for disorders.

My, how you've grown!

Lane was at school during this appointment, but Kyle was able to come along.  I told Kyle to take notes during the sonogram and found these stats in my notebook when I got home:

*He is dead set on the name Landry for a girl, and really thinks this baby is going to be a girl, based on how different this pregnancy has been for me so far!*

After the screening I had my normal monthly checkup with Dr. Schneider.  It was just basic weight check, blood pressure, urine sample, and questions/answers.  She said everything was looking good so far and I scheduled my next checkup for October 24th at 15.5 weeks.

I wasn't too great about taking weekly pregnancy pictures when I was pregnant with Lane.  I took some here and there, but didn't keep up with every week.  I decided to include Lane in my progress pictures this time but knew it would be hard to get him to cooperate every single week.  Plus, I feel like you can't really tell that much change in weekly pictures, so I am planning on trying to take a picture every 4 weeks or so and maybe near the end I'll do them more often!  Here are the first two installments of "Watch Mommy Grow!"

big brother

FINALLY!!!!  The post I have been waiting to write for a very long time is here!  After a long wait, Kyle and I are thrilled to announce that we are expecting a new baby, due April 14, 2014.  Lane is going to be a BIG BROTHER!

 

*Picture taken in Laguna Beach 8/15/13*

We always knew we wanted more than one child, but waited until the timing seemed right to us and began officially trying around the holidays last year.  I had an IUD put in after I had Lane, and had it removed at the beginning of November.  We decided we wanted to try for a "fall" baby, so in December we started the process of trying for baby #2.  :)  Well, month after month, it wasn't happening.  

**Back when we decided we wanted our first child, we basically didn't even have a chance to "try!"  I found out I was pregnant with Lane the month I got off of birth control, so this waiting thing was new to me!**

I expressed concern to my doctor at my yearly checkup in March, and she seemed to think it would happen soon.  We had only been trying for 4 months at that time, and already had one child, so she thought it was bound to happen.  We continued on with countless ovulation predictor kits, tracking my basal body temperature every morning, monitoring monthly symptoms, and still, no baby.  This made me so sad for the people who have tried for years for a baby, and for those who can't even have children of their own at all.  After about 7 months, I called my doctor again and she had me come in for some blood work.  I did a day 3 blood test on the 3rd day of my cycle to test a number of things, and went in again on day 21 for a progesterone test to make sure I ovulated.  My cycles were kind of all over the place each month, sometimes being as short as 22 days and sometimes as long as 28.  The first blood test came back inconclusive.  We tried again the next cycle, and this time my blood work came back normal, indicating that I did ovulate, but proving that my ovulation time each month was unpredictable.  We had Kyle tested, and everything with him was normal, so at this point my doctor suggested I try Clomid to jumpstart ovulation and try to get me back on track.  I decided to wait one more month before resorting to drugs, and after another disappointing negative pregnancy test, Kyle and I decided to give it a try. 

I started my first round of Clomid on July 11, 2013.  I had heard all kinds of horror stories about side effects, and also was aware of the increased chance of multiples.  It was risky it seemed, but Kyle and I both agreed we wanted another baby, whether it meant one or two.  (or MORE!)  Yikes!  I had a couple of minor hot flashes while taking the medicine and felt a little off, but it wasn't as bad as I had heard it would be.  I took the medication once a day from July 11-15th.  

According to all of my monthly charting, I had predicted I could take a pregnancy test the first week of August and it would be a reliable reading.  Of course, I couldn't wait, and decided to take one on Monday, July 29th.  It was almost like my eyes were playing tricks on me when I saw the faintest line ever.  I had experiences with "evaporation lines" in the past, so I didn't think anything of it.  The next morning, I took another and the same VERY faint line was there.  I really began to think "Could this be it??"  I dropped Lane off at Vacation Bible School, met a friend for coffee, and kept thinking about it all morning.  I stopped by Walgreen's to get a digital test, picked up Lane, and rushed home.  I had one more line test left, so I took it first, and that faint line had gotten a little darker!!  My heart was racing as I took the digital test and when the words "pregnant" popped up on that screen I was shaking with excitement!!

*I took this exact same picture when I found out I was pregnant with Lane.  Here is the post from my old blog from when I found out!*

The first person I told???  LANE!  I filmed me telling him and got some good footage of him asking some funny questions and making funny comments!  He immediately said there were 2 babies, a boy and a girl.  He named them Firefighter Bob and Police Girl.  We planned to surprise Kyle when he got home from work, and Lane was going to wear a "Big Brother" shirt.

I was so excited to tell Kyle!  Lane got his big brother shirt on and we waited and waited for him to come through the door.  It took him a second to catch on to the shirt, but when he did he said "Alright!!!" and we hugged and high fived.  :-)

Running to hug Daddy!

 

I just know Lane will make a GREAT big brother!