If you need me, I'll be in the bathroom!

This has been the theme of my life lately since my poor bladder is at the mercy of my large uterus. I am 16 weeks, 4 days along today, and I'm sure it's just going to get worse as the babies get bigger! They may as well move my office into the bathroom. In addition to the many potty breaks, I have learned that if I sit upright too long, my bum starts to get sore. I need to experiment with different kinds of pillows in my chair I guess. But, those minor annoyances aside, I have been feeling pretty good!

So, it has been over 2 weeks since my scary incident that brought me to the ER. ***TMI alert! Squeamish people just skip this paragraph!*** I am still having some minor bleeding/spotting, but my OB said as long as the blood is brown (sorry!) and not a lot, it should be fine. The hematoma was not visible on the last ultrasound I had, so it is just old blood making its way out. She said it is pretty much going to either drain out or absorb; it just seems to be taking its sweet time! I got released from bed rest at my OB appointment last Friday, so I have been working all week, but with some adjustments. I am not to lift anything over 5 pounds, so I ask for help quite a bit with the large files that we have to deal with. Also, Kim is driving us to work instead of taking the bus so I don't have to walk as far. Even though I'm off bed rest, I'm taking the attitude that if I'm not at work, for the most part I should be resting until the bleeding completely stops. Luckily, my husband has been doing an amazing job taking care of me, the dogs and the house!

My next appointment with the MFM is on 12/12, which feels like a long time from now. I'm hoping that we will have some big news to share after that appointment (pink, blue or both?!), so let's hope that the babies cooperate! We already know that one baby (the one we've been referring to as Baby A) doesn't like to sit still to get their heartbeat measured. At the OB last Friday the nurse got the heartbeat monitor out and she found Baby B's heartbeat no problem; however she said Baby A kept moving! We finally got it, but it took awhile. I guess Baby A had better things to do!

No new ultrasound pictures to share right now, but here is a picture of the 3 of us :) Sorry my face is kind of blocked... actually, I'm not sorry, I kinda meant it to be that way ;) But at least you can see the bump in all it's glory!

 

BTW - I took this picture in my bathroom... goes along with the title of this post :)

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Love, Amanda

Rough Day

After more than 14 weeks of a relatively smooth pregnancy, we hit what will hopefully be our only speed bump along the way. Before I go further, I'll go ahead and tell you that the babies and I are doing fine, but we had a scary day yesterday.

 

Disclaimer: If you are squeamish, you may want to have someone read this to you and give you the gist of it :)

 

Yeserday I went to the bathroom before lunch and noticed I was bleeding much like a period. My OB told me if that ever happens, go to the ER. I went to get Kim and told her that I needed to go to the hospital. The ambulance was called and I was taken to St. Joseph's ER since I was at work downtown. (BTW, this was now the second time I have left work in an ambulance!)

 

While I was at the ER, I had A LOT more bleeding. Scary amounts of bleeding. At this point, we were thinking the worst; that we were losing them. It was the most horrible feeling ever. :( Finally after 10 years (or 4 hours) they got me into ultrasound. I couldn't bear to look at the screen, but after several minutes of taking pictures, the ultrasound tech said the most beautiful words we have ever heard: "They won't hold still long enough so I can measure the heartbeat!" They were still there! Ryan and I both broke down, we were so relieved! The doctor told us that there was a subchorionic hematoma near Baby B and that Baby B might be in distress; the heartbeat was lower and they may not be getting enough oxygen. I was eventually released and put on bedrest since the doctor knew I had the appointment with the MFM specialist today.

  

Well, my MFM appointment went great! The babies both look perfect and neither is in distress. Both heartbeats were good and we saw them shaking fists and kicking legs! The doctor did say that I am higher risk now with the hematoma, but as long as I rest we should be okay. He said that most pregnancies with this issue turn out fine. I was told to stay on bed rest until I have had 2 days of no bleeding/spotting. I am doing much better today, the bleeding has slowed down substantially, which is very good.

 

In the meantime, here are the babies!

 

Baby A:

 

 

Baby B:

 

 

 

They are gorgeous :)  I have an appointment with my OB next Friday, and I will see the MFM again in 3 weeks. Until then, I'll be resting up and thinking positive thoughts!

 

Love,

Amanda



Almost out of 1st Trimester!

It's about 7:45, so I figured I would give a quick update before I pass out LOL. I am 13 weeks, 1 day today and I'm so excited to be almost out of the first trimester... what a milestone!

I feel like it's been forever since my last ultrasound, but in reality it's been like a week and a half :) Still, it seems like an eternity when I was getting bi-weekly ultrasounds from the get-go! My next ultrasound is on November 14 when I go see the MFM specialist, and I am very much looking forward to seeing our little cupcakes again. I'll be 14 weeks, 2 days when we go, so we should get some good pictures!

An update on me: I am slowly making the transition from regular pants to maternity pants. My regular work pants are pretty snug. My regular jeans still fit (they are also made with a slightly stretchy material), but on Saturday they were also a bit snug so I have a pair of maternity jeans on standby. I am still wearing regular tops, but only loose ones.

My co-workers are starting to guess that I'm pregnant from my belly. I still feel like I just look like I ate too many cookies, but I guess I'm not fooling some people! Maybe I should just wear a pregnancy shirt on a Friday so people won't have to awkwardly guess (but it's kind of fun!)

I'll post again after my appointment... maybe I will post a belly pic along with the ultrasound pictures!

Amanda