Hello Third Trimester and 28 Week Scan!

Well technically 28 weeks in 2 days...but close enough. So today is the day we had our scan! We hadn't seen her in 2 months and I was VERY nervous going in. Obviously I want everything to be perfect and know she is growing well! Well, we went in and.............everything is perfect! She is 2.8lbs and in the 46th percentile! Everything looks great and measuring right on time! She was in a very awkward position to get really good photos - so we didn't walk away with the best pics! But she did move her hand away from her face long enough to snap a few decent shots!

                                                                       Nice butt shot! haha!

           So she is going to look a lot like her father!! I can already tell! I cannot wait to meet her! <3


                           As for myself, I have been getting bigger. Here is the latest bump pic:

Yeah - definitely a lot bigger than last time I posted! I am having tons of acid reflux, backache, knee and joint aches, and have gained almost 20lbs. I still am having sleepless nights filled with uncomfortable positions, pee breaks and insomnia. I am also insanely emotional lately as well. I cry at anything it seems!! SOOOO not me. I have been getting a lot of Braxton Hicks Contractions as well. One time was concerning at 26 weeks because they were pretty regular at every 10 mins. I had a total of 5. 1 every 10 minutes. I finally called my doctor and she didn't seem too concerned. I went in the next day for a checkup and again - they didn't seem concerned and told me to just call again if I get 6+. It hasn't happened like that since then - although I still get at least 5 a day. Very sporadically though. I talked to my fetal medicine dr. about it and she seemed a little more concerned about them and even measured my cervix. My cervix is still at almost 4mm so it looks great. After that she just said that some women's uterus just get more irritable than others and contract more. So she thinks that's probably what's going on with me. But it's something I definitely need to monitor for any changes in patterns with them.

Other than that, I am doing good. We got the crib and changing table in over the weekend and I will start on her nursery in a few weeks. I am also starting to plan my baby shower. I never thought I would actually be comfortable with doing any of that stuff - and don't get me wrong - I am still a huge ball of nerves! But now that I have reached a milestone again, I am settling down a little bit. I have over 2 months to go. Just need to relax and try to just enjoy this time.

 Oh....we are also officially going to announce the pregnancy tonight. I will upload our picture once we do so. (We still have to take it when we get home from work today). haha! It will be nice to finally let the cat out of the bag to the rest of the world!

Thanks for reading and Hope all is well out there!
xo


***update***

   Here is the announcement picture! We didn't do anything super creative...but cute nonetheless! Cats officially out of the bag now and everyone is very excited!!

 

Halfway Mark! 20 Weeks!!

I can't believe I have reached the halfway milestone! It blows my mind! I am still a nervous nelly about everything but as time goes on...I'm starting to relax a tad bit more. Especially now that I am feeling her move on an every day basis now. That is SO comforting to me. I haven't even had to use the doppler since that is enough for me to know she is still kicking in there (literally).

  I had my regular appt with my OBGYN the other day, and it went really well! They pass me around each visit to different doctors because they want me to be familiar with everyone. That way if I go into labor and one of them is on call, I have a familiar face to see. Well this time it was a male doctor - first male gyno I've ever seen. (I tend to stick with the ladies since, well, they can relate more and obviously less awkward). Anyway, he was super nice, professional and made me feel very comfortable. We listened to baby, and she sounded great. He had to chase her around my belly because she was bouncing all over! She's an active one, I tell ya! We are going to have our hands full!

 We discussed everything as far as medications, and I told him I have decided to stay on the prednisone. I'd rather have that extra something to fight inflammation than risk anything at this point. I have done as much research as I can about it, and since I am going to be on a very low dose - I shouldn't have any bad effects for myself or baby. I am not crazy about staying on it - but I feel more comfortable knowing I am doing everything I can to keep my inflammation issues at bay.

  Anyway, we have our "20" week scan (even though I will be almost 21 weeks then) on Tuesday the 21st. I am not thrilled with doing all of these ultrasounds because I hear it could be bad to constantly do ultrasounds. They link everything to Autism these days and this is one of them. So I'm not sure if I am a believer in that or not - but it does plant a seed in your head and make you paranoid. Anyway, we are going to make sure she's growing nicely and check her heart and whatnot. Hopefully all is ok in there! I feel her kick so much now that I definitely know she has grown! haha!

  Speaking of grown, here is a 20 week belly shot. Not much different from the last belly shot, but figured I would include the milestone pic anyway! ;)

I am in desperate need of some maternity clothes now since I am outgrowing all of my shirts and pants! It also better start warming up soon, since I am having trouble zipping up my winter coat now! haha! 

Anyway, other than the heartburn/indigestion and the insomnia at nights, I'm feeling pretty damn good! I have gained energy back and I am feeling slightly like my old self again! I will touch base again after Tuesdays appt! Fingers crossed all goes well! 

xo

19 Weeks!

1 more week til I'm halfway there! Things are still going great so far...I almost feel like I am jinxing myself writing about it right now. It's so scary as time progresses, I just want to fast forward to August so I can stop worrying! But like I said, so far so good so just trying to relax and enjoy as much as possible. 

  I was complaining to my sister yesterday that I still haven't felt much movement from Ava yet. I have felt things which I thought was her, but nothing so defined to where I could differentiate between her or gas. haha! Thank God for the doppler which allows me to check in on her from time to time, otherwise I would be a complete nut about it. BUT last night, and much of yesterday I finally felt movement!! And I was certain it was her. Lots of little pokes and wriggling around. It's a very weird, yet comforting feeling. I hope I start feeling her now a lot more frequent to help ease my mind. 

  I have some appointments coming up, one just a standard check up with my obgyn on the 13th and another (the big one) the 20 week scan on the 21st. Although I will be closer to 21 weeks at that time. I just pray that she is happy and healthy in there. I think if I can make it to 24 weeks I will be able to breathe a little bit easier about the whole thing. (that's when premies have a chance at survival). 

 But enough of that worry talk...here is a recent bump pic! Definitely looking pregnant now and I am still getting adjusted to my ever changing body! It's really surreal! 

I am definitely out of the morning sickness phase, gaining my energy back and am hungrier than a hippo these days. I feel like I never stop eating!! Funny thing about my cravings - I get a STRONG craving for something...have it for about a week straight, then don't think twice about it again. So bizarre! haha! I'm sure I am driving my husband crazy with the endless changes in diet! lol

Anyway, that's all for now! 

xo

10 Weeks 4 days

Hello there. Just thought I'd give a weekly update here. Nothing really crazy to report which is good I guess! I did have a moment on Sunday night where I went to the bathroom and wiped pinkish blood. It wasn't much and didn't last long, but definitely made me sigh "here we go again". It soon after turned to brownish discharge and I have been brown spotting ever since. Which sucks, but I feel I have been on this roller coaster of brown spotting/bleeding since week 5 so it's almost my norm now.

  The only comfort I can take away from it is that it's brown, which means old blood, and also even when I was bleeding red, every check up and ultrasound I had after - the baby was fine. So I am trying to keep calm that where ever this little bleeding is taking place, hopefully it has no effect on baby. I am on so many blood thinners that it doesn't really surprise me that I would be bleeding more than normal. From what I read, our bodies turn into one giant pumping blood vessel when pregnant and everything is heightened. So anything from a bad move, sex, a bowel movement, hormones, etc can cause irritation or a burst of a vessel. Add blood thinners to the mix and it's enhanced! So I am just thinking that falls along the lines of why I may be bleeding more than an average pregnant person. But who knows. I am not a doctor so this theory of mine is just what is helping me sleep at night.

  I did break down and buy a fetal doppler yesterday. I haven't received it, it will come in on Friday. I am scared to use it for several reasons. I have read that it's not good to constantly scan your belly, as those things can heat tissue and can cause issues with the baby if not used properly. Another is because I am scared it will make me paranoid if I cannot pick up on anything. But then there is the flipside of that, where if I do hear something, it will totally put my mind at ease. So you see my dilemma. But I went ahead and just got it just to have, and break out if I absolutely cannot take it anymore or if I am feeling super nervous.

  My 12 week ultrasound/bloodwork to determine if everything is ok as far as chromosome issues and whatnot is on the 23rd. I am SO nervous for that. Well, first I hope I even make it to that point, and second, if I do make it to that point, pray that everything is ok with baby. We should also find out the sex of the baby through DNA bloodwork. It will take about 10 days for all of the results to come in. I know that will be the longest 10 days of my life. I feel like time is already going by sooooo slow because I am just so anxious to get out of this dreaded 1st trimester. Not that the 2nd or 3rd will be any more comforting for me. I am super high risk throughout this entire thing - so I will never rest easy.

  I am still feeling super tired and I threw up the other day. So that sucked, but made me feel a bit comforted knowing that hormones are still going strong. Starting to see a tiny little "bump" now...well it's probably more bloat than bump...but definitely noticeable.

Anyway, that's all for now! Will touch base again with hopefully nothing interesting to report!! ;)

xo