Posts Tagged ‘pregnancy’

…I was in the hospital waiting to meet my beautiful angel.  Little did I know it was going to take 32 hours and 20 minutes!

On Friday, October 8th I was putting my two year old down for his nap at 1230pm, when my water broke.  It was quite a surprise. 1. because I was literally bending down and laying my son in his bed when it happened and 2. because I was 37 weeks.  This wasn’t the first time my water had broken to put me into labor, it happened with my first child also, so I knew what to do.  I called my husband, who was at work, and told him what was going on and to meet me at the hospital which was 45 minutes away from my house.  I got the kids and my bags (which I had just happened to finish packing the day before) and headed down to Balboa.

I called to tell the hospital that I was on my way in.  They took my name and told me to check in with triage when I got there.  After meeting my husband in the parking lot we all headed up to Labor and Delivery.  Now’s probably a good time to mention that our family does not live near by and we did not have anyone watching the kids so they had to come in with us.  Luckily, my mom hopped on the first plane she could and was at the hospital later that evening to take over the P’s.  A two year old and a four year old in a hospital room for 8  hours can get a little out of hand!

With my first child my water broke, they started me on pitocin, and I deliverd 12 hours later.  With my second, I was dialated to 4 cm not contracting, they started me on pitocin, and I delivered 6 hours later, so with #3 I had no reason to believe that the labor would be an issue.  Well the Labor and Delivery department at Naval Medical Center San Diego had other plans.

After checking in with triage it was 3 hours before a doctor saw me and confirmed it was amniotic fluid and would admit me!  Okay so we can start the ticking clock now. After being admitted it took them another 2 hours, even though I had needed it with my other two deliveries, to decide to start pitocin.  You would think that after waiting 3 hours to be admitted, and not having any contractions what-so-ever, they would have started it right away.  And, of course it was “really busy” that night and my night nurse, Gene, totally sucked and disappeared for hours at a time.  Instead of upping the amount of pitocin every 20-30 minutes like she was supposed to I went almost 3 hours on the lowest dose possible.  And the clock keeps ticking…

The next morning, by this time I’d been in labor for about 20 hours and hardly slept, they realized that the pitocin was not working even at the highest dose.   My contractions were not increasing in strength and were still irregular.  I was stuck at 4cm.  They then took me off of pitocin for an hour, to let my body rest, and restarted on the lowest dose.  This time, the nurse actually paid attention to what was going on and increased it at regular intervals and my contractions became stronger, more regular, and closer together.  But at 6pm, almost 28 hours after my water had broken, I had still only dialated to 6cm.  At this point some intern, resident, I don’t know but she wasn’t an actual doctor (I never actually saw a Doctor that was on staff and only saw a resident or intern maybe 4 times while I was in labor) said we needed to consider a cesarian section since I had been in labor, with ruptured membranes for so long.  The nurse wasn’t convinced and was totally puzzled at the fact that I wasn’t progressing even though I had had two prior successful deliveries on my own.  Since the pitocin had really just started working that last hour, she convinced them to let me go 2 more hours on the pitocin to see if I would keep progressing.

I had also been on an epidural the whole time and at one point had them turn in down a little because the contractions weren’t intense.  I was completely numb from the chest down and couldn’t feel anything.  It was just annoying since I wasn’t in any pain.  Well when the pitocin finally kicked in and I was contracting well for several hours, of course the epidural decided to wear off.  I told the nurse how much pain I was in, it was becoming unbearable since the contractions had now been a minute apart for a couple hours, and she brought the anesthesiologist back in and also called a doctor to come in and check me.  I was in a horrific amount of pain and the doctor (a different one from earlier) told me I was still at 6cm.  I totally lost it, I was crying and shaking, telling her ‘No, I don’t want a C-section’ when she realized that the bag of water hadn’t completely broken!  Ya, can you believe it?!  That whole time the bag was still in tact and not allowing me to dialate or let the baby come down!  My body was working over time and this could’ve all been over several hours earlier!

The doctor ruptured what was remaining and I literally delivered 5 minutes later.  I wen from 6cm to having a baby in 5 minutes! 

After all of that, looking back on what was the worst birthing experience ever, I was just so thankful for one thing…I was finally holding my precious baby girl (oh ya, we had waited to find out the gender so that just added to all the craziness and excitement) and all the worry that I had during the pregnancy was gone.  She was healthy and beautiful and our family could not be any more perfect!  Now I just wish she would stop growing, how can it have been 6 weeks already

Baby Belly at 32 weeks

The last time I updated was after my 28 week ultrasound where I informed you all that the baby was measuring 11 days ahead of his/her due date.  So at my 32 week appointment it was no surprise to me that I was measuring 33 and that I had gained a significant amount of weight.  37 lbs from pre-pregnancy weight, to be exact.

My last baby was a whopping 9 lb. 12 oz at birth and one of things that I’m really anxious about this time is having another large baby.  Since I have been induced with both of my children (not because I was overdue but because my body just doesn’t contract like it should) I am trying to convince them to schedule an induction with this one from the get go. So far, I’m not having much luck.

Doctor told me yesterday that they don’t like to induce a large baby because the c-section rate is actually higher because of trying to force out a baby that might not fit.  (Well we know a big baby is going to fit because I’ve already done it.)  And then she went on to say that I need to watch my weight gain for the remainder of my pregnancy, so I don’t have another large baby!

SCCREEECH!  okay.  stop.  back up.

I have never been over weight a day in my life, my blood pressure at 32 weeks was 125/72 (the nurse even commented that I was the first person he’d seen with a good blood pressure reading), and my glucose is fine!  The whole 37 lbs I have gained with this baby is all in the belly, I haven’t gained anywhere else!  Okay, well maybe a little in the hip area   But I think you get what I’m saying.  Oh, and it’s not like we’re small people…we make big babies because we are big people, I am 5’10″ and my husband is 6’4″.  So, hello!  Does she really expect me to have an average 6.5 lb baby?!

I’m also eating nutritious foods, aside from my ice cream (which I’m not giving up), it’s not like I’m pounding down the Big Macs everyday!  So I’m not sure how I’m supposed to ‘watch my weight’ while I’m pregnant, starving, and eating healthy.  I’m pretty sure the reason I gain so much weight is because I’m growing a big baby, NOT I’m growing a big baby because I’m gaining so much weight…does that make sense???

Have you ever been told to ‘watch your weight’ during pregnancy?  What are your thoughts?

The third trimester is in full swing along with my raging hormones.  My belly is huge and it is obvious to EVERYONE and their mother that I am VERY pregnant! This does not mean you need to touch my belly!  Yes you, random girl in line to get popcorn at the movie theater!!!  Unless  you would like me to start petting YOU… Don’t F%$@ing touch my belly!!!  Ask all the stupid questions you want, tell me what you think I’m having, blah, blah, blah…I’m just ignoring you anyway…but PLEASE don’t freakin’ touch me!

It has been this way since the dawn of days…just because women are pregnant does not give strangers the right to touch them!  I mean seriously?! Who in their right mind thinks that’s okay?  I don’t care if it’s a friend or a family member but really…girl in the popcorn line?  Who the HECK do you think you are?!

I swear…the next time a person touches my stomach, I am touching their’s right back!!!  Oh, and I’m so buying this shirt from Cafepress.com ($25) and wearing it everyday!

After my somewhat worrisome 26 week appointment, I went into my follow up ultrasound yesterday not really knowing what to expect.  We were doing a growth scan on the baby, to make sure he/she is growing appropriately, and also checking the placenta.

The sonographer first went to the placenta and I was so relieved when she said that the problem looked minor.  She mentioned it was a good thing that they knew about it but didn’t think it was going to be much of an issue.  I meet with my new Doctor today and will talk to them about it, but I am very relieved to have good news.

She took  measurements of the baby next and sounded more surprised about the baby’s measurements than she did the placenta.  I was informed that with those measurements the baby weighs 3 lbs. and she has the baby’s due date at October 15th. Grow P3 Grow!!!  My original due date taken from ultrasound is October 26th so the baby is 11 days ahead of schedule!  Not much of a surprise to us, though, since baby #2 was 9lbs 12oz at birth…we grow ‘em big!

When she had finished the scans I got an unexpected treat when she did some 3D images for me!  We had a 3D ultrasound with baby #2 but at 18 weeks and just to find out the gender…but this time I am 28 weeks and you could see everything so clear!  I cried, again!  I definitely recommend waiting until this point in your pregnancy if you plan on doing a 3D ultrasound…the sonographer said it is a great time since the baby is starting to fill out.

So, will this be an EARLY baby or a BIG baby?  Can’t wait to find out, and after seeing my little peanut (he/she looks just like big brother and sister) I am so excited to find out if we are having a boy or a girl…I want so badly to hold the little nugget!

Okay, off to do some baby shopping!!!

Tuesday I will hit 27 weeks in my pregnancy, which means I am entering into my third trimester!  Woo hoo!  I am in the downhill stretch…just 13 weeks to go!  It also means more lab work (boo!), a glucose screening test (yuck!), and since I am RH- a Rhogam shot (ouch!).

Oh, but that’s not all!  I had my first doctor’s visit here in CA yesterday and I was informed of some more ‘news’…So far this pregnancy has been one surprise after another!  Literally, from finding out I was pregnant and telling my husband over the phone to the scariness of the subchorionic hemorrhage that I dealt with in the first trimester!  It looks like this baby is going to make Mama worry through the whole thing!

I was assigned to a midwife at Miramar since we ‘thought’ all of the issues had resolved themselves and the pregnancy was now progressing as normal.  The first thing she said to me after introducing herself was “so have they told you what is going on with the placenta?”…UH, NO!  They hadn’t!  Seems there was as issue spotted on my 18 week ultrasound and I had to do a follow up ultrasound at 23 weeks.  When I asked what the follow up was for they had told me because of the ‘babies positioning’ they weren’t able to get all of the measurements they needed and couldn’t confirm a 4 chamber heart.  NO mention of a placenta problem!  When I went back in for ultrasound at 23 weeks they took all their measurements told me the baby looked great and sent me on my way…again NO mention of placenta problems!  Fast forward to our move and 230o mile drive across country, I am meeting with a midwife for the first time to find out there is a problem and that my care will be transferred over to a doctor and my appointments will all be at the hospital office from here on out!  We will be doing ultrasounds every 4 weeks and most likely starting to monitor the baby weekly at 32-34 weeks.

So what’s the problem you ask?  Well unfortunately the midwife did not give me an ‘actual’ diagnoses and the doctor will be able to go into more detail with me when I meet with her on the 5th of August.  The way it has been explained is that the placenta has embedded itself into the uterus a little deeper than it should which has made the edges thicker than they should be.  When this happens it makes it hard for the baby to get all the proper nutrients so  they will use the ultrasounds to do Growth Scans on the baby to make sure it is growing appropriately.  The other risks are that the edge of the placenta can become detached causing bleeding and putting me at risk for preterm labor.

I am looking forward to my next ultrasound and doctors appointment to find out more and to see how everything is.  I am very happy that they were able to catch this (they don’t always) and now we can take the proper precautions in making sure that me and P3 are both okay.

Until our next update!

By now all of you know that we are expecting P3.  If you hadn’t heard the news go here to read the whole story.

I am 12 weeks today and the First Trimester has been quite the roller coaster.  Never mind dealing with morning sickness and also a 2 yr. old and a 4 yr. old.  I’ve had some other complications that hopefully with ‘heal on their own’.

My prior two pregnancies have been textbook.  I had zero complications.  Nothing strange, nothing to even warrant a call to my Doctor.  This time, things are different.

It all started when I was (what I thought at the time) 7 weeks.  I had some blood streaks in the morning and since I hadn’t experienced this before I called in and left a message for the triage nurse.  She told me to come in to the office and that they would do a quick ultrasound.  If I was, indeed, 7 weeks they most likely could get a heart beat on screen and then we’d know everything was fine.  What was seen on ultrasound was an embryo about 5.5 to 6 weeks so no heartbeat.  Now we had to do quantitative HCG counts to make sure that the pregnancy was progressing.  Talk about an agonizing week!  At that point I didn’t know if I were just not as far along as we’d thought or if the pregnancy was not viable.  Fortunately, my HCG counts were great and everything was fine, for now!

I was progressing normally, morning sickness and all, when at 8 weeks I had a bleed.  I went to the bathroom to discover bright red blood had soaked my underwear.  At that point I was hysterical, I thought for sure that I was losing the baby!  I went to the ER since I wasn’t sure what else to do.  I was examined and sent to Ultrasound where they did a very extensive exam getting pictures of everything.  The relief was when she told me “your baby is measuring 8 wks 2 days, and has a heart beat of 157 bpm”.  My baby was fine!  The next day I called my doctor’s office and was informed that I had a Subchorionic Hemorrhage, and that is what had caused the bleeding.  I was instructed to rest and was not supposed to do any lifting or exercise.  I continued to spot over the next couple of weeks and then it finally stopped all together.

From what I understand, a Subchorionic Hemorrhage (or Hemotoma)  is a collection of blood or a blood clot around the placenta.  I was told that they are fairly common and that typically do not  cause any harm and heal on their own.  Later in the pregnancy they can become more dangerous and cause placental abruption or put you at risk for preterm labor, but this is not likely.

Now, I am also RH-negative (my blood type is negative)  so I have to receive Rhogam shots during a normal pregnancy.  This time, I have to be given a shot each time I bleed instead of just the normal 1 at 28 weeks.  So far I’ve had 2 shots, will get my 3rd at 28 weeks and after I have the baby, if he/she is RH-positive I will receive  another one.  Fun, fun, fun.

At 10 weeks I had another ultrasound, this one a normal scheduled ultrasound and I was so happy to see my tiny little P kicking around and with a heartbeat of 163 bpm.  I had no idea how active the little guy could be at 10 weeks, it was incredible!  We could even see the teeny-tiny little feet (I got a picture)!  I was also told that there was still fluid (aka blood) in my uterus.  The Doctor was not worried just informative.  I was reassured again that typically a subchorionic hemorrhage does not cause any problems.

I spent the next week and a half with no bleeding and was so happy, I thought maybe it had healed.  I was wrong, I had another gush of blood last Friday.  This time, I wasn’t as worried because I knew what is was from.  I waited and went into the ER on Saturday morning where the Dr. was less than helpful.  He did nothing but a physical exam and said he didn’t see any bleeding and that ‘spotting was normal in early pregnancy’.  I didn’t feel like arguing with him so I waited until Monday and called my Dr. office to go in for a check up. That was yesterday…

I again spoke with the Triage Nurse and they were so caring and told me to come right in and they would do fetal heart tones for me.  I got a bit of a scare when the nurse spent 5 min. or so looking for the heartbeat and couldn’t get it to register.  She was going to get a Doctor to do an ultrasound but the other nurse was able to register the heartbeat… 166 bpm!  Yep, P3 is doing fine!

I was told again, that these generally don’t cause any problems.  They also told me that from now on, whenever I have bleeding or cramping, don’t even call just come right in to the office and they will check me out.  That was music to my ears!  They said again that they hope it will heal on it’s own.  Only time will tell!

I am so excited every time I can mark off another Week on my calendar, just that much closer to having a healthy baby!

So It has been Forever since I have been posting regularly, and for good reason…

To explain the ‘surprise’ I must start from the very beginning which goes all the way back to the February.

My husbands current position requires him to leave every year around the beginning of February for 6 weeks of travel/touring.  This year he was supposed to leave February 2nd but because of Snowmageddon, his departure was postponed.  It wasn’t until February 9th that he actually left.

Well, I have been on Yaz for about 6 months or so and the whole time I have had totally irregular cycles…like we’re talking every other week!  Since the hubs was going to be gone for 6 weeks I figured that was a good time to stop the pills in hopes that waiting a cycle before starting again would somehow regulate me.  Anybody see what I’m getting at here?

Anyways, he left and I went about my business with the kids.  About a week went by and I still hadn’t started my period.  And since typically when you stop birth control you can expect your period immediately I thought it was a little strange.  I talked it over with a girlfriend and she insisted I take a test…just in case.

Now, we already have a 2 year old son, P2 and an almost 4 year old daughter, P1.  Who, by the way, are totally crazy…they have enough energy for a house of 10 kids!  I, of course, was not convinced that we were done having children but on the other hand knew that we didn’t necessarily need to expand our family either.  My husband, however, was totally fine with our family of four.  He thought we had two perfect children (who were also more than we can handle), a boy and a girl, so why would we have another.

I went and bought a pregnancy test (a two pack) and took it that night….as you’ve probably already guessed, it was positive!  I was in total disbelief and took the second one just to be sure…yep it was positive too!  Oh, don’t worry I still wasn’t completely convinced…after all, I had been on birth control which is supposed to keep you from ovulating…I bought 2 more pregnancy tests and took those too!  Okay, I was finally convinced…we are having another baby!!!!!!

Lets rewind, now.  At this time my husband is still out of town (and will be for another 5 weeks) and I now have to call him and tell him over the phone that we are pregnant with our 3rd baby, a total surprise baby!  Here’s how the conversation went:

Me: So, I have a surprise for you…do you want to know what it is now or wait until you get home?

Him: Ummm…I guess now.

Me:  Are you sure?

Him:  Yes, what is it?

Me:  okay, are you sitting down?

Him:  Oh god, don’t even tell me…your pregnant!

So, ya not exactly how you want to tell your husband…then we sat there in silence for a while.  He is back home, I am now 11 weeks and we told the P’s last week.  They are so excited and so are we now that the initial shock has worn off!

I am so happy to announce that P3 is due October 26, 2010!!!!!!