Today I am 10 weeks + 2. I am beginning to gain a little more confidence in this pregnancy, or at least feel a little more positive about our chances of making it through the 1st trimester, but I still worry constantly that everything could change in a second, maybe without me even knowing it.
I know I have written about it many times before, actually in a way that was eerily foreshadowing when I was pregnant with the twins, but I hate how when things go wrong you feel like such a sucker - like how could I have even thought that everything would turn out ok or how was I was oblivious to my fate.
Yet when things go well, you tend to feel just a little smug or you even berate yourself for having so much unfounded anxiety when everything is just dandy. And as I have also written before, of course the only thing separating Mrs. Sucker from Mrs. Smug is, well, the outcome of the pregnancy, but it's really something you have zero control over and sometimes while all available data points to yes, the outcome is still a no.
In the past week, we unearthed the doppler and I've been able to listen to the babe's heartbeat, so that has definitely been reassuring. Morning sickness has steadily gotten worse, which makes sense because it peaked pretty late with the twins, too. So far I have needed IV rehydration twice which is pretty unpleasant, but the intense vomiting (fun!), still hasn't been as frequent as with the twins. I am now taking diclectin a few times a day, which is a combo of vitamin B6 and antihistamine and that does seem to help, though it makes me really drowsy.
I also started packing up clothes that are clearly too tight and I've now taken out my maternity clothes. This feels like a leap of faith that I am just not totally comfortable with, but I am beginning to grow (mostly just bloat, I think) and it is pretty impractical to have all of these clearly too-tight clothes taking up space. I am more comfortable in mat jeans now than my regular jeans, but I don't plan on putting on any maternity shirts until the start of the new year, which will correspond to the beginning of 2nd tri, if I make it that far. I feel like maternity shirts make it really obvious, so in the mean time I prefer sticking to big sweaters.
I am weaning off of progesterone now, though the plan is to continue Prednisone until 12 weeks and then slowly taper between weeks 12-20. Even though I am on a low dose, I am definitely beginning to feel the side effects of 2 months of Prednisone but I can't complain.
I still have so much unresolved grief for Naava and Aminadav, which isn't at all surprising, but this new pregnancy definitely sometimes intensifies my grief. I just wish so so badly I had the chance to really get to know them and raise them. It is all so confusing - I know I wouldn't have THIS little one on the way if they had survived and I feel much more of an attachment to them than I do to this baby (I feel horrible just writing that) and I suppose all of that makes sense because I carried them for much longer and delivered two very real to me little people, whereas at 10 weeks this pregnancy is still obviously much more abstract.
Sometimes it definitely makes me feel guilty, like I am not 100% there for this little one. But I know that should this pregnancy G-d willing continue, my love for this baby will grow and grow, even if it might take me longer to become attached due to my past experiences and my ongoing grief. And little baby, I can't wait to get to know you and learn who YOU are.
I think that is all the news fit to print in our corner...pretty boring, I think, but for now boring is good!
Showing posts with label morning sickness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label morning sickness. Show all posts
Dec 16, 2012
Dec 31, 2011
happy 2012 and an update!
I have unfortunately been pretty shoddy updating these days. The past few weeks have been mostly good, but have certainly had their ups and downs! The most (unfortunately) eventful thing that happened was that last Friday night I started bleeding bright red. My last pregnancy, I had some brown spotting, which I was reassured was completely within the realm of normal. Unfortunately, it was in retrospect the only real sign of my missed miscarriage, so bleeding bright red at 9 weeks, even though it wasn't a lot, definitely brought back our worst fears.
I was still spotting the next morning, so we decided to go to the emergency room. It was actually my first ER visit ever in Israel, and the third one of my life overall, and I was surprised with how efficient and professional they were. Thank G-d the ultrasound showed 2 heartbeats, though the resolution on the machine was pretty poor, so we weren't able to see much more than that. It was such a huge relief - we were up the whole night Friday, trying to prepare ourselves for horrible news.
I had ketones in my pee when we were at the ER, so I got a few liters of fluid and IV Zofran. In general, the morning sickness has been pretty miserable, but it is what I would expect with twins, and honestly, it seems like a small price to pay as long as I can still get enough fluids and nutrients to keep the babies going strong. I have had a few particularly horrible days, but I seem to be in better shape now that I am on a consistent schedule with Zofran. I have it every morning first thing with a popsicle in bed and it seems to help start things off on the right foot.
Today, since it was the weekend, I procrastinated a bit on taking the Zofran and I really paid for it. Luckily, Y has brought home all of the supplies to give me IV fluids at home, which has been a great set-up. He has saved us many trips to the urgent care clinic or ER by giving me fluids at home, and it is much more comfortable to be in my bed than somewhere else.
Y and I have both been reading Dr. Luke's book When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads and as a result, we are realizing how important proper weight gain is for a multiples pregnancy. Dr. Luke's main schtick is that you can maximize your chances of a positive multiples pregnancy outcome with proper nutrition and also by gaining a lot more weight than with a singleton pregnancy and than conventional wisdom would dictate.
I do believe that this is something worth focusing on since I feel like it is one of the very few factors I have control over in determining our pregnancy outcome. Honestly, it is quite daunting though, since she emphasizes the importance of weight gain early in pregnancy and I am having such a difficult time just trying to eat what I usually do, never mind 1000+ calories more, because of the morning sickness. Still, I am really going to try to step it up with the eating.
After the bleeding episode, we had a routine ultrasound and appointment with our RE. Initially, both babies were measuring 4 days behind based on CRL. As of last week, baby aleph was measuring 1 day behind and baby bet was measuring 2 days behind, so I am feeling pretty good about their progress. The only thing that is a little strange is that baby bet's gestational sac has been measuring behind. In ultrasound pictures, you can definitely see that baby bet has less room in his/her sac than baby aleph, whose sac is more consistent with his/her gestational age. Hopefully this is meaningless.
My fibroids also have been growing quite a bit, and the ultrasound tech pointed out one that is adjacent to baby bet. Hopefully, the fibroids will behave themselves and the babies will be unimpeded with all of the space they need to grow and thrive. The source of the bleeding was never identified, though everyone did say that bleeding is more common in pregnancies with multiples. I spent most of last week at home on modified bedrest as a precaution to minimize the chance that the bleeding would start again, and thankfully, I haven't seen anything since last weekend.
Our next ultrasound is the NT scan, which will be on January 16 at 12w3d. I am excited for that to be done and over with and I pray that it goes well - then maybe we will consider beginning to share our pregnancy. I have an appointment with a high-risk ob/gyn a few days after the NT scan and then a hematology appointment about a week after that.
In other news, I bought a home doppler online a few days ago and it should arrive very soon. I paid a small fortune in shipping since the 2 major options seemed to be ordering it from the U.S. (but with only one international shipping method which is express and very pricey) or via eBay from China (but with only one international shipping method which is 'economy' and could take 4 weeks). I decided to take the hit and order it from the U.S. with express delivery :)
I think that is pretty much all that is new around here - this was quite a long update. I still think about how fragile all of this every single day. As I am slowly becoming a little less anxious about miscarriage, though, I am also feeling more and more grateful to be where we are right now. I really hope and pray I will hold 2 healthy babies in my arms in 2012 - it will be the fulfillment of my wildest dreams if this all pans out. To my buddies still in waiting, I pray that 2012 will bring the fulfillment of your wildest dreams, too!
Lastly, here are a few pics from our last ultrasound at 9w2d:
I was still spotting the next morning, so we decided to go to the emergency room. It was actually my first ER visit ever in Israel, and the third one of my life overall, and I was surprised with how efficient and professional they were. Thank G-d the ultrasound showed 2 heartbeats, though the resolution on the machine was pretty poor, so we weren't able to see much more than that. It was such a huge relief - we were up the whole night Friday, trying to prepare ourselves for horrible news.
I had ketones in my pee when we were at the ER, so I got a few liters of fluid and IV Zofran. In general, the morning sickness has been pretty miserable, but it is what I would expect with twins, and honestly, it seems like a small price to pay as long as I can still get enough fluids and nutrients to keep the babies going strong. I have had a few particularly horrible days, but I seem to be in better shape now that I am on a consistent schedule with Zofran. I have it every morning first thing with a popsicle in bed and it seems to help start things off on the right foot.
Today, since it was the weekend, I procrastinated a bit on taking the Zofran and I really paid for it. Luckily, Y has brought home all of the supplies to give me IV fluids at home, which has been a great set-up. He has saved us many trips to the urgent care clinic or ER by giving me fluids at home, and it is much more comfortable to be in my bed than somewhere else.
Y and I have both been reading Dr. Luke's book When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads and as a result, we are realizing how important proper weight gain is for a multiples pregnancy. Dr. Luke's main schtick is that you can maximize your chances of a positive multiples pregnancy outcome with proper nutrition and also by gaining a lot more weight than with a singleton pregnancy and than conventional wisdom would dictate.
I do believe that this is something worth focusing on since I feel like it is one of the very few factors I have control over in determining our pregnancy outcome. Honestly, it is quite daunting though, since she emphasizes the importance of weight gain early in pregnancy and I am having such a difficult time just trying to eat what I usually do, never mind 1000+ calories more, because of the morning sickness. Still, I am really going to try to step it up with the eating.
After the bleeding episode, we had a routine ultrasound and appointment with our RE. Initially, both babies were measuring 4 days behind based on CRL. As of last week, baby aleph was measuring 1 day behind and baby bet was measuring 2 days behind, so I am feeling pretty good about their progress. The only thing that is a little strange is that baby bet's gestational sac has been measuring behind. In ultrasound pictures, you can definitely see that baby bet has less room in his/her sac than baby aleph, whose sac is more consistent with his/her gestational age. Hopefully this is meaningless.
My fibroids also have been growing quite a bit, and the ultrasound tech pointed out one that is adjacent to baby bet. Hopefully, the fibroids will behave themselves and the babies will be unimpeded with all of the space they need to grow and thrive. The source of the bleeding was never identified, though everyone did say that bleeding is more common in pregnancies with multiples. I spent most of last week at home on modified bedrest as a precaution to minimize the chance that the bleeding would start again, and thankfully, I haven't seen anything since last weekend.
Our next ultrasound is the NT scan, which will be on January 16 at 12w3d. I am excited for that to be done and over with and I pray that it goes well - then maybe we will consider beginning to share our pregnancy. I have an appointment with a high-risk ob/gyn a few days after the NT scan and then a hematology appointment about a week after that.
In other news, I bought a home doppler online a few days ago and it should arrive very soon. I paid a small fortune in shipping since the 2 major options seemed to be ordering it from the U.S. (but with only one international shipping method which is express and very pricey) or via eBay from China (but with only one international shipping method which is 'economy' and could take 4 weeks). I decided to take the hit and order it from the U.S. with express delivery :)
I think that is pretty much all that is new around here - this was quite a long update. I still think about how fragile all of this every single day. As I am slowly becoming a little less anxious about miscarriage, though, I am also feeling more and more grateful to be where we are right now. I really hope and pray I will hold 2 healthy babies in my arms in 2012 - it will be the fulfillment of my wildest dreams if this all pans out. To my buddies still in waiting, I pray that 2012 will bring the fulfillment of your wildest dreams, too!
Lastly, here are a few pics from our last ultrasound at 9w2d:
Nov 7, 2010
6 week update
Today I am 6w3d. Last Monday I had my 3rd beta draw at 25 dpiui (5w4d). My hcg level was 3567, up from 279 at 18 dpiui, so thankfully my numbers were doubling nicely. We also saw Prof. L that same afternoon. He answered many of our remaining questions about lean PCOS, PCOS and miscarriages, and my over-response to the Clomid last treatment cycle. He did do an u/s, though he warned us that there would likely not be much to see. All we could really see was a small gestational sac, but it did give us peace of mind that at least Baby G implanted in my uterus. Also, we only saw one sac, so while we can't quite yet rule out multiples, all indications point towards a singleton pregnancy.
Prof. L told us that our chances of an early miscarriage are 15%, compared to the normal 10% (50% higher than average), but if we are able to detect a fetal heartbeat, the chance will decrease to ~7% and will again further decrease to 3% at 12 weeks. I am still so scared but at the same time so hopeful, too. When I was struggling to get pregnant, it was difficult to think beyond the excitement and thrill of some time getting a BFP. Now that I am there, I haven't really experienced the ecstacy I imagined because I am so frightened to lose the little life growing inside me. I am so scared of waking up one day soon to "game over" and having to go back to square one with the dreaded fertility treatments.
Everything about this process has been so hard and uncertain until now, it is difficult to imagine that anything could proceed smoothly without lots of emotional pain. In short, after a lot of disappointment, finally being pregnant just feels too good to be true. I am just trying to remember, that even if our odds ARE worse than the average couple, the odds are still in our favor that this pregnancy will continue and we will get our Baby G at the end of it all.
This weekend I had some serious stomach issues. We went up to the Golan for Shabbat and I was scared I was going to not make it during the 3 hour car ride. Thankfully, Y picked up some Zofran before we started our trip and things got much better for me. Since then I have felt much, much better.
Our next u/s will be next Sunday (exactly a week from today) at 7w3d. Unfortunately, Y won't be able to join me because the appointment will be in the middle of the day, the only appointment time we could get. We have another u/s at 9w0d, and then assuming all is well until that point, the next time I will see Prof. L is at 10w0d. I pray that I will get to see our baby's strong and perfect heartbeat next Sunday, the most beautiful image I can possibly imagine.
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