Showing posts with label Doppler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Doppler. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

12 Weeks!

I can't believe today is 12 weeks! I have no idea why I feel like 12 weeks is a milestone of some kind but I do. Does anyone know why 12 weeks is so special? I just remember people being excited to hit 12 weeks, so I'm excited! As for how I am feeling, still exhausted, still sick in the mornings, although I didn't puke for the first time in a while this morning. Now I have an awful head cold which is making me feel terrible! I have been drinking hot tea (caffeine free) like crazy and it if definitely soothing on a sore throat. But all in all I'm not complaining because I feel pretty good. I just wish I could get energy to do something around the house. My house is messy, and although Dh promises to clean I haven't really seen him do any serious cleaning. He does pick up one room every once in a while but the house on a whole is still a mess. I barely have energy to eat dinner before crashing on the couch when I get home from work. I'm hoping that soon my energy will come back.

As for the GD, to answer a couple of questions I have gotten: My numbers were not high, but on the high end of normal. My doctor wanted to be proactive and get it under control now instead of waiting. I wasn't a fan of this approach at first but after taking my blood sugar three times a day I am seeing that sometimes it spikes up. However, the strange thing is that it doesn't seem to correlate with what I am eating. My fasting blood sugar (when I first wake up in the morning) is supposed to be below 95 and is always around 120. I have no idea how or why it could be high in the morning. I eat the same exact thing for breakfast every morning. Sometimes 2 hours after breakfast my blood sugar is in the 80's, sometimes in the 90's and sometimes it is over 120. As far as what I am eating, I'm basically eating what I ate before but I have cut sugar out of my diet and have been trying to eat less starches. I have an OB appointment tomorrow to show my doctor my blood sugars and my food diary so I think I am going to ask him about possibly going back on Metformin. Although I hate the stuff, I'm thinking maybe it might help.

I've been thinking a lot about the sex of the baby. I really want to know! I feel like I could better connect with the little one if I knew if it was a boy or a girl. I have a hunch (of course not based on anything concrete) but I'm not going to tell you yet. Perhaps I will put up a poll to see what you think.

Last night while listening to baby on the doppler I am almost certain we heard him/her kick! We have been hearing some movement noises, or sometimes Doozer would disappear and we would have to find him again, but last night we heard a distinct noise that could only be kicking. It was the most amazing sound! It is so strange that there is this little creature in there moving around and I can't even feel it.

Lastly, Doozer has been getting lots of little gifts from family members. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about having people give us gifts for the baby so soon but I guess I am okay with it now. Here is Doozer's latest gift:


We got jerseys for Dh and I and a little teeny one for Doozer, too cute!

Friday, June 27, 2008

Heartbeat

Here you are, a video of our doppler in use. You can hear the heartbeat beating nice and fast. I did take belly pics last night but I am not happy with them so I will try again tonight. Let me know what you think.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

The Most Beautiful Sound (11w1d)

Well, we got a surprise when we got home from work yesterday and found our doppler waiting for us. It was a surprise because it wasn't supposed to arrive until Thursday. So we immediately headed back to the bedroom to try it out. I kept my bladder full because the papers inside suggested that it may be easier to hear the h/b with a full bladder. I laid back on the bed, pulled down my pants and Shawn got the doppler ready. It came with batteries so all we had to do was pop in the batteries. Then Shawn gelled up the doppler and we went to town. We started where the book suggested, right in the middle between my belly button and pubic bone. We spent the next 20 minutes hunting for the little one's h/b. We found mine plenty of times (it's amazing all the different places you can pick up you h/b way down there) which seemed to range from 80 to 90, so I knew it wasn't the baby's. I actually didn't freak out when we couldn't find it, I knew it would take a while the first time because baby is so small. Finally, after about 20 minutes of looking we heard something much faster. It was so clear, the most beautiful sound ever. The reading on the doppler showed 178 and I knew it had to be Doozer's. It was an awesome sound, so worth the money we are spending to rent this thing every month. We wanted to record the sound on our digital camera (the doppler does not have a recording device) but my amazing Dh had softball (again). So we will record it this evening (since we have decided to listen once a day) and we will also take the dreaded belly pic. Hopefully from now on it will be easier to find the h/b since we know where the baby is, unless he is practicing Olympic swimming and going from side to side. So, for now, I am pleased with my decision to rent a doppler, I think it is helping me not to worry so much over every little ache and pain.

Speaking of aches and pains, I have been feeling some soreness in my lower belly when I wake up in the morning, almost like I have been exercising. I have also been feeling a pulling stretching pain in my left side, kind of where my ovary would be. I called my OB and he said that it could be round ligament pain but not to worry unless it is non-stop or I spot or bleed. I also called my OB because my acid reflux began to really become unbearable. I stopped taking my prescription Prilosec because I read that it is a category C medication and may not be safe for pregnancy. I was getting unbearable heartburn no matter what I ate and an intense pressure in my chest that made me feel like I was choking. My Ob said that I cannot take the Prilosec but I should try Zantac 150 twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Let me tell you, I feel so much better now! I still have some mild heartburn here and there but nothing like before!

As for my symptoms, here is what I am dealing with so far:
  • Soreness in my tummy in the mornings, like sore muscles.
  • Pulling and stretching pain on left side.
  • Heartburn, although much better now.
  • Extreme tiredness.
  • And now I have went to just feeling awful in the morning and only puking once (around 6 or 7 weeks) to puking every morning. I thought it was supposed to go the other way, where you start to feel better the closer you get to the second trimester, instead, I feel myself getting worse.
  • Very mild breast tenderness, hardly worth mentioning.

But there is no complaints here, I am feeling extremely blessed to be where I am. I thank God every single day that He has blessed us with this child. I know there are no guarantees, but I find myself slowly believing that we may actually get to bring home a baby in January. I am so excited to finally start the second trimester. Some of my books say it starts at 13 weeks, some say 14, but I'm going with 13 because it is closer. I still can't believe that we are here, it seems like a dream that would never come true.

Lastly, I am sorry that all of my posts have been about pregnancy, and that I have not posted or commented more often. I am still going through that odd phase where I don't know where I belong. To me I will always be an infertile, but I can't help but worry that my joy is causing others pain. I know how it feels to be happy for someone but jealous at the same time. I know how much it hurts to read what others are going through and want it so much for yourself. I will NEVER forget the pain that the last six years has brought me. I will NEVER be one of those women who immediately forget all about the pain of IF when they finally get pregnant. I feel each and every one of your pain so deeply, and I remember how it felt. I still deal with that pain every single day, because while I know I am blessed beyond belief, I still suffer from the same emotions and worries. And you know what? I wouldn't want it any other way. I don't want to ever forget how infertility has changed my life in more ways than I can ever imagine. I don't want to forget what a miracle a child is or how much pain and expense some of us go through to get what others so easily achieve. So please, don't ever think that I have become one of them, someone so wrapped up in their own pregnancy that they forget that there are still so many out there suffering. If I ever act like that, let me know. I talk about my pregnancy a lot because it is what is on my mind 24/7. There isn't a moment of the day when I don't think about our little one. I also have nothing else to discuss because I am either sleeping, working or eating, that's about it! So, that was my long winded slightly pregnancy hormone induced explanation for why my posts and comments have been few and far between and why all of my posts are usually pregnancy related.

Lastly, did any of you watch Baby Borrowers last night? I'm curious what you thought about it. I will tell you my thoughts but I want to see what some of you thought first. Also, do any of you watch So You Think You Can Dance? OMG, I love Twitch, he is just too cute for words! In case you haven't noticed, I am a reality TV junkie!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Decided!

Thank you all for your imput regarding my decision on whether or not to rent a doppler. After a lot of thinking I have decided to rent one. I went with this one. I decided to get one that digitally reads the heart rate so I wont have to count and figure it out myself. It should be here by the end of this week. Of course I am anxious that I wont be able to find the h/b but if that happens you better believe I am demanding that my doctor see me to check on things. All in all I feel good about my decision and I hope it will relieve some of my anxiety. If any of you have tips on how to find the h/b I'm all ears.

I have also decided that this Wednesday, when I hit 11 weeks I am going to take my first belly shot. I'm not sure if it will be bare belly or not but you have to promise not to laugh at my pudge!

Lastly, I'm calling all lurkers to de-lurk! I know you are reading! Tell me about yourself, where you are from, how you found my blog, and whether you are an IF and if so what stage in the game are you?? Perty please?

Friday, June 20, 2008

To Doppler or Not to Doppler?

Okay, this has been weighing on my mind for some time now. I have been debating whether or not to get a doppler. I want to get one because I am obviously a worrier and I feel like it might just help me feel a little more relaxed. I feel like if I could hear the baby's heartbeat I would know everything is okay. But then on the other hand I am afraid it will make me worry more. I am worried that because I am a chubby girl that I wont be able to pick up the h/b because there will be too much chub in the way. Then that will make me worry more. So, I am looking for advice. I know ultimately the decision is mine and what ever I feel comfortable with, but I'm not sure yet so I need your help. What would you do/did you do? Does anyone who has a little chub on the belly have problems picking up the h/b or were you able to hear it just fine? If you use a doppler what kind do you use? Help ladies!!