16 week update

Well the 4 month mark has been reached. Baby is the size of a orange (or a soda can maybe).  Things are going pretty well overall.

I had an echocardiogram on Monday to make sure I don't have any heart problems associated with my Ehlers-Danlos I'll get the results of that when I go back to the MFM on the 18th.

Next week is the first ultrasound to check my cervical length, I'll have at least 3 of those a month apart, if its all good after those 3 then I won't have to have anymore.   I need to find out who will be doing my anatomy scan, the MFM or my regular OB.

Oh, AND!!!!!!! We found out we are having a girl!!  The results of the Panorama test came back and everything was low risk (woohoo!) and showed female!

I've been having continuing issues with my blood pressure which is causing the dizzy spells. I've started drinking half of my fluids in a day in Gatorade and that is helping a lot.  Last doctor's appointment my BP was 88/52 and freaked the doctor out. Last night I clocked in at 94/56 so its coming back up.

I'm officially DONE with pants that button around my waist, while I'm still not really showing they HURT me! I've started buying maternity pants and that suck, you have to buy shirts too to cover the panel, who knew???

It's starting to hurt to sleep on my stomach, my regular position, so I am not sleeping well as I try to find a new comfortable position.

Today is day 2 with NO unisom!  The nausea seems to have departed for the most part but my appetite has not come back without the help of the Unisom.  Current weight loss is 15.4 lbs.

Here is my 16 weeks belly.

 

15 weeks

Here is my 15 week pictures, still not much difference. I weighed in at 231.2 this morning, so just about the same as last week.   Below is a graph of my weight loss since being pregnant, it has leveled off quite a bit since I started taking the Unisom.

This week has brought a return of my morning sickness, I had to go back to taking a half a Unisom at night, I'd cut down to almost none.  I also have started getting round ligament pain, mostly on my right side, the first one scared me.  In addition I've started back with the dizzy spells, those are quite annoying. 

Other than all of that I feel pretty good. If I feel around my lower abdomen I can feel the hardness that is my uterus. 

I'm on pins and needles waiting for the results of the Panorama test, I hope we get them back this week. 

Appointments, appointments and more appointments

Wednesday I went and had the blood draw for the Panorama blood test which will tell us the baby's risk for the trisomies and also the gender, that takes 7-10 days to come back.

Then I went for another ultrasound at the Maternal Fetal Medicine center. I really liked the sonographer, she was super nice. Even though an NT scan had not been ordered she was able to get the  measurement and did it anyway (measurement was 1.8 and anything under 2.5 is good) and made a gender guess of girl! Baby is growing on schedule with the revised due date and looks good so far.  Heart Rate was 167.

After that I went up to see the Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist who is consulting due to my age and the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. He asked me a bunch of questions and seemed happy with how I was progressing. He ordered an echocardiogram to rule out any problems with my heart and I have to go back for ultrasounds once a month to check my cervical length (yay, more pictures).

So I have 4 appointments coming up in the next month, its a good thing my boss is understanding!

We did our facebook announcement while we were on vacation. 

 As of this week I've lost 14 pounds so far. My nausea is starting to get better, I've cut back on the unisom, that has increased my fatigue though which is weird because I didn't know it was helping with that. 

Oh, and I cry over anything now, hormones are crazy! I'm not a cryer but I cry at least once a day, so weird for me!

Skip-to-ma-loo my darling

Went in for my ultrasound and doctors appointment yesterday and not only is little bit doing well she is measuring almost a week ahead so my due date got adjusted to 11/16.  Heart Rate was 165 and length (rump to crown) was 4.1cm (around 2 inches). To put that in perspective the baby is about the size of a donut hole.  Doctor said we're doing well, she wrote me an Rx for nausea meds since I'm still struggling with that, although the unisom helps so much that I won't take the Rx unless it gets really bad, I mostly wanted it for a safety net while we are on vacation.

We will be doing the Panorama cell free dna testing for trisomys in a couple weeks. They take blood from me and a cheek swab from hubs and check the fetal dna present in my blood to see if there is a high risk of any of the trisomies and a few other things. As a bonus they tell you the gender!

I am being sent to see a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist on 5/13 because of my connective tissue disorder (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome). They will do another ultrasound that day too. I'll post more about that then.

For now, still dealing with fatigue and nausea though that seems to be tapering off a bit.

Here is one of the ultrasound pics, it is SO crazy to see her jumping around on the screen. She looks like she has a horn because she kept putting her hands in front of her face.

Yes, today I am saying she, yesterday I said He all day, we'll see soon but until then I just mix it up. :)

9 week update

Sorry I haven't been posting much have been stupid busy at work and by the time I get home I am just done and can't really function.  So here is a breakdown of what's going on with me and baby

Weight: still losing a bit, not as fast though

Nausea: its been pretty bad most days, I've been dry heaving quite a bit, brushing my teeth is an exercise in self-control. I found that taking Unisom before bed helps with nausea the next day but I don't want to take that every night.

Boob soreness: this is starting to dissipate some, my nipples are still extremely tender and sensitive though.

Mood: still irritable as all get out, some of that could just be work stress though

Food Cravings/Aversions: Still off dairy it just does not appeal to me at all, not big on sweets for the most part. Salty carbs are what I eat the most of but I try to get some protein in when I can. I had two days where I craved buffalo chicken.

Fatigue: still present and accounted for, I'm in bed by 9pm most night but I'm not falling asleep at my desk during the day anymore, mostly because I've been too busy.

Digestion: I mostly still have the same digestion as before, 2-3 days of diarrhea followed by a day or two of not going at all.

Had my first migraine while pregnant the other day, was able to head it off by slamming down an extra cup of coffee.

My clothes are starting to fit differently even though I'm losing weight, my boobs are overflowing my bra and my lower stomach is pooching out a bit, especially at the end of the day.  I still worry about being one of those women that so fat no one can tell they are pregnant.

Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!

I feel like this rather irritable guy from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  EVERYTHING annoys me right now.  Work has been very busy and it seems like everyone has decided to turn on the stupid. I know its just be me that does not help bring my irritation levels down any, in fact it probably makes them go up.  I am trying really hard not to be a bitch but I am pretty sure it is not working.  My poor husband probably catches the brunt of it, which is horrible since he is being SO nice!

The morning sickness (misnomer for me) is kicking into a higher gear which adds to the irritation. It's very hard to concentrate when you are sick to your stomach all of the time.  I've lost 3 pounds in the past week, I just don't feel like eating. Ironically though one of the only things that helps control the nausea is eating small amounts of food frequently.  I often have a meal of regret though, usually lunch.  I'll get SUPER hungry and eat a meal (normal amount, nothing crazy) and in 15 minutes am feeling SO bad. I haven't actually thrown up yet at all, I'm just constantly nauseated.  I say morning sickness is a misnomer because I actually feel pretty okay in the mornings, tired but not sick. It usually hits mid morning and gets progressively worse all day.  This morning I got to sleep in an extra hour because I worked at home and it didn't hit until about an hour later than normal, hrm.... I dug out the Sea Band I bought when we first got the boat and put that on, we'll see if it helps, you are supposed to wear two but I can only find one right now.

So yeah, the fatigue is still very much present and accounted for nothing much new to report there.

Been alternating between diarrhea and constipation, and have had a lot of gas the past few days.

I'm going to go tomorrow for my blood work and 1 hour glucose test. Going to do that first thing before my stomach gets upset.  Wish me luck.