Baby on the Way

Since I would like to remember as much as I can about being pregnant for the first time, I decided I would sort of chronicle it here.

Starting back at the beginning...

In mid-August Josh and I did two home pregnancy tests and, yep, they were both positive! We told my parents that night, and waited to tell Josh's family until the next day when we were able to go to their house and tell them in person! It was still really early on at that point, and we decided to wait to tell anyone else. No nausea at this point, although I did have a few food aversions every now and then.

On September 14th at about 3AM, while at work, I began bleeding heavily. I passed a clot the size of my palm and ended up in the ER. I was sure that I had lost the baby at that point. Josh and Ben came to the ER. In the ER, they did an ultrasound and amazingly, the baby was still there and healthy. It turned out that I had what is called a subchorionic hemorrhage - basically a burst blood vessel in my uterus that had formed a hematoma and then bled out. Lots of women form these hematomas, but often never actually bleed. Ben managed to pass out while in the ER as well (we think he may have been dehydrated). Something to remember at least :)

September 15th, my first prenatal appointment. Met with Dr. Bates for the first time, went over the ultrasound. Cervix is closed - a good sign. Found out our due date is April 15th (plus or minus two weeks - ultrasounds aren't the most accurate). At this point we were just praying that everything would turn out okay. Told family members that we were expecting today. Everyone was very excited and promised to pray a lot. Had a bunch of labs drawn later this week (standard prenatal tests) and had a follow up appointment scheduled for two weeks later. I have been pretty nauseous 24/7 and can only stand to eat crackers and cheese with a little juice. At least water is still treating me okay.

Two weeks later, everything looking okay. Still having quite a bit of spotting. Dark red/brown indicating that the blood is old and therefore not too worrisome. From this point on I have monthly prenatal appointments scheduled. Still sick.

October 29th - prenatal appointment. I was exactly 16 weeks on this day. Still nauseous occasionally. No spotting anymore. We saw a different doctor today since our doctor was sick. Everything still looking good. Scheduled an ultrasound for November 13th. I have started to feel the baby move already! Very exciting, and only when I am lying very still.

November 13th, Josh and I, along with my mom, went for my 18 week ultrasound. We could have found out the sex of the baby at this point, but have decided we want it to be a surprise! Baby was so cute and we got lots of souvenir pictures to send out to friends and family. Nausea is mostly gone at this point, only making appearances when I allow myself to get too hungry. I still don't like most foods which is a big bummer. I wish I liked more healthy foods, but for some reason I just can't eat veggies. Fruits are okay now, especially apples and bananas.

November 24th, another prenatal appointment. I am 20 weeks along! Halfway there! Dr. Bates went over the ultrasound results with us. For the most part, the baby looked great - good size, good development, no obvious defects, etc. There was, however, what is called a brain "marker" or a small cyst in the brain which is harmless in itself, but could (very very very rarely) indicate a bigger problem. In this case, trisomy 18. Trisomy 18 is often accompanied by heart problems, which our baby does not have, stillbirth, death before age one, and so on. Like I said, the chance of our baby actually having a problem is highly unlikely, especially with so many people praying for us :) We will have a follow-up ultrasound at 30-33 weeks to see if the marker has gone away. Dr. Bates okayed us to go on our cruise to Hawaii in December with the family and signed the necessary letter!!! Yay! We cannot wait! I still am struggling with eating a variety of foods. I haven't had any major cravings either. Dr. Bates says I need to gain more weight (8 lbs so far), eat higher calorie foods, etc. Blah.

I am now almost 22 weeks along, have gained 10 pounds, and still have trouble with food. I have been trying to be as healthy as possible, though that is limited by the foods I can eat. I am taking prenatal vitamins and trying to work out as much as possible. Although I was extremely tired the first three months of pregnancy, I seem to have gotten a bit more energy at this point which helps with work, exercise, and housework. I admit, up until recently, our house was a disaster. Cleaning was far from first on my list of priorities. Right now, though, our house is in really good shape.

As far as baby supplies goes, we have gotten a few gifts already.
-two sets of onesies - one blue, one pink - and a beaded chew toy -- Josh's parents
-camo socks -- My parents
-sleeper with cute animals on it and matching hat -- Cheryl, Myron, and Family
-Two baby books and 6 bibs -- Grammie
-Money to start our nursery -- Gramma J.
It has been really fun to get baby things! I am excited to go out and buy more things!