Another piece of good news

I got my culture results back today - I don't have Bacterial Vaginosis. Instead... I have Group B Strep, which is benign throughout your pregnancy and will not be treated until birth since that is when you can transmit to your child. They usually test all women for Group B Strep at 37 weeks. This is good news, but doesn't really explain that weird discharge I got for 2 days. Although it does seem like it's gone away, so... I'll just ignore it for now. My task this month is to eat as much nutrition packed foods as I can - and less feel good foods with no nutrition... oh this will be a challenge.

Doppler is worth every penny <3

I decided after receiving happy news from the first trimester screening that I was going to rent a doppler. At this point, my sickness is mostly subsided (just bloating and some very minor nausea some times during the day), and my belly sometimes shrinks. It won't be until at least 16-18 weeks that I'll get a real nice bump - so from now until then, there's nothing to reassure me that everything's fine. Well I decided to go with BellyBeats.com (in the US) because they were the only ones that costs the least renting month to month. $45 for a digital doppler which displays the rate of the heartbeat for you so you don't have to sit there and count it. Other places charge you $53 for one month, or $47 for 6 prepaid-months. So I ordered it on Friday afternoon, and to my pleasant surprise, it came Saturday morning!! BellyBeat rocks!

So the first time we tried, it took maybe about 3-4 minutes to find the baby's heartbeat. I had to aim it more towards my pubic bone. The second time (the next day lol), it took about the same time to find it but this time I was aiming more towards my belly button. Baby was pretty active too. :) Oh I'm so glad I got it.

I wonder if those popping sounds are from the baby moving around??

12w6d

So my sickness in general has been much better starting 2 days ago. I don't have an upset stomach constantly anymore and when I feel nauseous, it's mild, and can be tackled immediately with food. Although, I had a huge preggo brain moment today. I was leaving the house and trying to set the alarm code, and COMPLETELY forgot what the sequence was - even though I type it in daily - and had no excuse... my hubby was like "that's unbelievable!"

Quite interesting.

Also, I can really feel my uterus now. It's very round and very bulgy in my pelvis area, and maybe about an inch above my lady patch. I also have somewhat of a real bump, whoo! During the day a lot of the bump is food and gas, but it's there at night and in the morning too, on an empty stomach. What a great yet strange feeling at the same time. It feels like someone inserted a whoppie cushion in your lower belly and is slowly inflating it. I guess I really notice it because I'm such a slender person and now my belly is being stretched like it's never been before.

Here's a new picture at 12w6d:

Good news!

Everything looks great! They didn't give us specific measurements, but doctor came in after an hour of the sonogram tech scanning baby's head, abs, bladder, arms and legs, etc etc... she said "everything looks as it should, there's nothing to be of concern" In about a week they'll send us the risk factor (1 out of whatever whatever) after they also get the results to my blood test... so far so good! We're both very young - 26/28... but you never know, since I had two previous unknown m/cs... probably chromosomal defects.

We're so happy that we finally told our family and 2 close friends. It has to be done soon because I'm actually starting to show!!! We're sticking with my LMP as due date, but the tech who measured the baby's crown rump length kept getting 13w1day or 13w6day measurements. So it's a big baby??

I also think it's a boy, but that's just because our families all have boys as first child.

Anyways, here are the pictures!!!!! you can see his/her nose, lips, and chin, how adorable is that???

It's HERE

Tomorrow is our first trimester screening ultrasound plus blood work! I'm so nervous for the unexpected... but we're both young and have no family history of downs... so, chances should be slim. BUT STILL.

At least it's in the morning. So, wake up, eat, see baby, hear (good) results.

Symptoms:

Oh gosh, I'm still getting nausea at least once or twice everyday.

12 weeks today!!

I'm 12 weeks! Can't believe and so relieved at the same time that we've made it this far! Never thought we would get here. So glad everything's fine, baby's measuring well, heart's beating great... just have one more hurdle to get over - next Wednesday for the first trimester screening. Hoping for the best outcome.

Took a belly shot this morning on an empty stomach... this is I guess my true belly.

12w empty stomach & no bloat.

Belly shots 11w6d

10w6d

11w6d

It's sort of an unfair comparison because 10w6d's is on an empty stomach in the morning and 11w6d's is just after a cup of water and a huge pastery... so chalk the roundness to food and bloating... cuz in the morning, it does not look this full.

BOOBS!

They grew out of my prepregnancy bras! I had to buy a bigger size bra today because for the last 2/3 days, I felt so constricted and had to keep unhooking my bra during the day at work. I never even noticed because they looked like they fit fine.

Good news, bad news.

Bad news first:
I have Bacterial Vaginosis... I noticed it yesterday when a gush of discharge came out and it was an odd dark yellow/tannish color. With all my courage, I took a wiff super close to my nose, and yes it had a bit of a fishy odor. I have no other symptoms like itchiness, etc etc.. but got cultures done today and will get confirmed results next week. Doctor said that there's a very very very very very very very very very small chance of preterm labor in second trimester, so when I get to 2nd tri, she will prescribe me with antibiotics to clear it.

Good news:
She brought in a doppler!!! I was so excited because symptoms were started to fade and I got a little unsure if I was still pregnant or not. So in about 2 seconds of listening, we heard horses galloping! It was baby! The heartrate was at 167, so she said baby was really active at that moment. This is my first time hearing baby's heartbeat, so that was super nice.

I think I will definitely rent one for a month. She found the heartbeat so easily!

11 weeks 5 days

Heart palpitations are more frequent in the past few days. Worse actually, because coupled with seasonal allergy, I'm getting congested and will start to cough involuntarily. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night unable to breathe because my toncils were swollen and I kept swallowing my uvula (the punching bag looking thing) in my dreams because I was struggling to breathe.

Last couple of days I also had another "scare" as my symptoms appear to be disappearing. Breasts were less tender and seemed less swollen, no morning sickness, although felt a little uncomfortable from gas, and I could no longer feel a firm area around my pubic bone that I believed to be my traveling uterus. Even though I am fully aware that around this time in the pregnancy is when the placenta takes over all hormonal production and therefore, I will start to get relief from the symptoms... you still can never be sure if it's the good reason or the bad reason.

But what are the chances now for me to lose the baby? Good solid heartbeat from 6, 8, then 10 weeks, even saw it wiggle, and it grew right on target, etc. If it doesn't work out, it would have to be because of my body killing it. *sigh* You just never know.

I didn't freak out though this time because - like I told a fellow forum member on babyandbump, symptoms do come and go - observe the progress for a week before committing an emotional response. Well, I did, and today I had nausea again in the afternoon lasting all the way until dinner time. My breasts feel fine as well... tender and swollen.

I hope you're doing well in there little baby. Mommy wants to see you in 7 months... very much.


One small thing I wanted to note: at 4pm today I had a gush of discharge that was dirty yellow in color, almost tan. That freaked me out. Wasn't sure if it was a little brown blood mixed with discharge. So I kept an eye on it for the rest of the day... and a nose too. I have a suspicion that it may be a minor infection. I can never tell. But at least I could conclude by the end of the day that it was not brown blood.

11 weeks 2 days

My "morning" sickness has taken a turn for the worst. Last night I rolled around in bed with stomach pain, much like an upset stomach, until I had to get up to crouch over the sink and started heaving for the first time ever. Nothing came out, but I did feel a little better after some burps. So, I went back to bed. Several minutes later, the nausea came back and I kind of rolled around until I found a good position where I could ignore the nausea. I know I wouldn't have been able to vomit. I've not barfed once before in this entire pregnancy.

This morning, I woke up feeling fine, until I ate breakfast. I just had bran cereal with raisins, but it’s very unsettling in my stomach and the nausea returned until I had lunch. Couple of hours after lunch, the nausea came back! Nothing helps. Or maybe I'm just supposed to eat all day, every hour? I have no appetite though. Things I enjoyed eating last week are gross this week... like string cheese, yogurt, and toast.

The only thing I noticed is my bloating is going away. Well, just in size, because in actuality, my bloating is probably what's causing all this nausea, i.e. all that gas in my tummy.

Heart palpitations:
I've been having these since Thursday of last week. This morning though, they were so frequent and so noticable that every time my heart skipped a beat or beated an extra beat, I coughed. It was like a weird reflex... since it feels like when you're sick and your chest is congested. I think they were more frequent this morning because my heartrate sped up to 100 beats per minute. Later in the afternoon, it returned to 88bpm. Right now I'm relatively relaxed I guess, beating at 84bpm. You can find your heartrate by counting your pulse (neck or wrist) for 15 seconds, then multiplying that number by 4.

I've read palpitations are quite common in pregnancies because of the increase blood flow and thus your heart working overtime... but sometimes they could mean other more serious conditions that need medical treatment. If I become more worried about them in the next few days, I'll definitely consult my OB and maybe ask for some testing (thyroid and iron).

11 weeks

Woke up with a flat belly this morning - slept too long - was completely emptied, poor starving baby. As soon as I ate breakfast, I had a stomachache, then had to go to the bathroom. My bathroom habits have been the opposite of what normal pregnant peers go through... not once have I had constipation, quite the contrary really. One other symptom I wanted to note as it's quite obvious to me now, my nipples have gotten darker! And while they are normally inverted, they are now frequently extroverted. Oh, also my nails grow like weeds. I keep them very short because they are normally quite brittle and will bend backwards (OUCH) by accident. I just cut them several days ago and now I notice I have to cut them again.

In a textbook scenario, my "morning" sickness should start to get better starting this week or the next. I'm still getting sick at least once or twice a day. By sick I mean, some degree of loss of appetite, getting really hungry and eating a big meal that looked great before but completely regretting eating it 10 mins later because it leaves a horrible taste in my mouth and a real unsettling feeling in my tummy, getting a stomachache (I should call them gasmachaches because they're gas induced) while laying down trying to sleep or during sleep in the middle of the night, and I am still fatigued once in a while. Most common are those gasmachaches and loss of appetite, oh and the out of nowhere really hungry feeling that you can't satiate (like I'm having right now).

I'm soooo close to second trimester I can taste it... please please please please please let everything be fine. I want to have this child so bad. My husband and I are dying to meet him/her. PLEASE!

10 week 6 days

Is it unreasonable for me to still feel extremely nervous about losing this baby even after 3 beautiful ultrasounds with heartbeats and jumping jacks? I woke up in the middle of the night to pee today, I did, but it felt more like routine - like a mentally induced habit now - instead of a real physical need. So does that mean anything? Then I felt my boobs in the morning like I always do if it's not obviously in pain... and they feel a bit smaller.

:( why can't second trimester come sooner.

And I need to stop reading other people's miscarriage stories on forums.

Doppler: to rent or not...

So at the last doctor's appointment... I asked her opinion on renting dopplers. She said they're fine, except you may not hear anything until 15 weeks and up?

I'm thinking of getting one because from the time your morning sickness begin to disappear (approx. 12 weeks) until you can actually feel you baby move inside of you (20 weeks and up), you have no clue if everything is ok or not... Unless you get a super high power fetal heartbeat doppler!!





Digital ones that tell you the heartrate costs about $40-50 a month. I would probably use it for only 2 months until I begin to feel movement. So... $100? Worth it? And what if it's just one of those days that the baby is hiding from your doppler and you can't find the heartbeat? I would FUREAK. Got to think thoroughly if it's worth it or not, money wise, and mental health wise.

Belly shots

Well - the first pregnancy, I took shots of my belly every week... until I found out it wasn't going to work. Second pregnancy, I didn't even get a chance to - it ended so quickly. This time, I didn't allow myself to take any in fear of the first time repeating itself. So, I've only taken one picture so far... at 10 weeks, even though my massive bloating was at around 8 to 9 weeks.

It's all just bloating still, because if I haven't eaten in a looong time (on weekends I sleep in), I wake up with a flat belly. But during the day, I have to rubber band my pant buttons together and the tabs are about 3 inches away from each other still. No one noticed my bloat belly because I wear mostly tunics and flowy tops (thank goodness for current fashion), but at times, I can definitely look 5 months pregnant. Whew.

10 weeks (air balloon)



I have no idea why this picture is inverted, I didn't do it.

Pre-pregnancy (bye bye thin curves)

It's moving!!!!!!!! 10w3d scan

My bean has become a baby!! With arms and legs, and a very visible skull structure! Most exciting part was we saw it dance and hop and doing the body wave! It was SO amazing! This is the first time I’ve seen fetal movement and it was just so incredible to see a living moving being inside of me. Seeing it move definitely substantiated its existence and hopefully continued existence. I’m pregnant! We’ve created a life!

It was measuring 41 mms and at 10weeks 6 days although doctor said give or take about a week due to equipment inaccuracies, so we didn’t change my dates. Heart was beating at doctor’s guess, 150-160 bpm.

Well we're super duper excited, but probably won’t stop worrying until it’s full term and out of me. The next thing to worry about is the first trimester screening in 2 weeks for chromosomal abnormalities. Based on our family history, we shouldn’t have much to worry about, but you just never know.

We got the most amazing scans! They're beautiful and I even have a clear one of it's skull!!! So cool! Hubby said it looks like the Punisher lol. Doc tried to get a profile shot but the babe kept swimming around turning its back towards us. It was soooo cute!

The Punisher?

Baby's frontal head view:

Next scan tomorrow: 10 weeks 3 days

Just a tad bit nervous about the scan tomorrow because - you just never know and I absolutely hate surprises. I still feel "off" like not quite sick, but uncomfortable in my belly, and there's definitely some loss of appetite. And my boobs are really sore today... not sure if it's because I was in a push-up bra all day. I'm about ready to call it a day though, it's 9:43pm. Not sure if it's because I'm used to it by now, or perhaps my bloating has begun to subside? I don't constantly feel like an air balloon anymore.

Hoping for good news.

More reflections 10 weeks

I had a relatively normal day yesterday, which is surprising since I've never felt worst the night before that. I was a bit exhausted around 4-5pm so laid around watching TV feeling a little moody. But there was no sickness. I can see now that from past patterns that my "morning" sickness is worst in the evening... probably because I'm tired and need a nap, but not only do I not get one, but this is the time when I return home from work and typically need to use energy to find food for humans and feed/play/take care of the dog and 1 new puppy. I would try to take naps, but I always fall into deep sleep instead and ruin the rest of my night cuz I get so groggy. At least now I have a pattern. Will need to find out how to make it better.

9 weeks 6 days

Morning sickness symptoms:
Beginning on 9 weeks 1 days, I had this nagging but minor nausea all day, coupled with constant hunger. I'll eat, it'll go away for a little while, then come back. It lasted 3 days. Then yesterday... it went away in the morning, then came back times 3 in the evening. I was supposed to meet my hubby and 2 friends at a restaurant at 7:00pm. At 6, I started losing my appetite. 6:30, nausea kicked in, this time, it was bad enough that I put my head over the sink, thinking maybe something might come out. None. So I canceled the dinner and went to bed at 7:00pm. 7:30pm my stomach was brewing up a storm... like literally. Wind kept passing out of me, it was like an upset stomach again.


Next scans:
On Tuesday (10 weeks 3 days), I'm having my next regular OB scan that I insisted on scheduling because I'm a worried wart. In a way I'm a bit reassured because of all my symptoms so far this week, and my boobs are still growing, but I need to see that heartbeat. Especially since the first miscarriage was at 10 weeks. Although I had zero morning sickness last time.

Two weeks after that at 12 weeks 4 days, I have a first trimester screening where they will check for signs of chromosomal abnormalities. If all goes well, I think this is the point where we tell family. Praying all goes well!!