Hello Second Trimester

I am 14 weeks 2 days today. On Wednesday the day AFTER Christmas after being at work only an hour I felt terrible enough to leave and get into the doctor's office. I was diagnosed with the damn FLU. Being pregnant there really isn't a whole lot of things you can take. Thankfully I can take Tamiflu and Tylenol for the fever. I am actually feeling a bit better today.

I met with my MFM doctor yesterday because that was the deciding factor or whether or not to go through with the cerclage or keep a close eye on things. After the consult we decided to keep an eye on things. I am really hoping that since it has been so long between pregnancies and there is only a singleton this time my cervix will work in my favor.

It measured 3.5cm last week and 3.4cm this week so no huge differences which was a huge relief.
(I think the measurements from the 12 week scan may have been off) So we decided to do another check in 2 weeks and I can only hope for the same outcome. During this appointment the doctor wanted to check out the pathology report on the twins' placentas and they both tested positive for infection. I am now finding this out 7 years later and who knows how the infection got there. Was it because my cervix started to open or did infection cause the opening? Or was it the first cerclage, or the second? I'll never know but that is a scary thing to think about.

This whole flu thing is making me extra nervous for baby but cervix looked find and baby had a good heart rate of 150, also it looks like it might be a little boy! They will verify the gender in 2 weeks when I go back.

AT THE 12 WEEK MARK

Because I am SUPER paranoid I requested a cervix length check, could you blame me?
That was yesterday at 12 weeks, happy 12 weeks to me! From past ultrasounds at 7 weeks and change, my cervix measused at 4cm for the most part. I know at 12 weeks the baby weighs pretty much nothing and no real change would happen until about 14 weeks on, but even then I wanted some reassurance.

They started the ultrasound abdominally, after a while into that and looking at the baby I asked (since I know abdominally isn't as accurate) for a trans vaginal check and I was quite suprised. There was a whole cm difference between the two. Abdominally I was measuring 5.4cm and trans vaginally I was measuring 6.4cm. 6.4cm!? How the hell? That is such a HIGH measurement. Last time I never even heard a number above 3.5cm. Needless to say I can relax right now.

I literally had the most awesome ultrasound tech. I did not expect all the ultrasound photos or to even see much of the baby, only to check the cervix. She took a bunch of photos and even let me watch baby bounce around for a while, it was too sweet.

I have my MFM appointment next Wednesday, Dec. 19th and I am hoping they will do their own exam and we'll come up with a game plan from there. I LOVE my preemie to death but I AM NOT TEAM PREEMIE this time around.

How was Everyone's Thanksgiving?

I spent mine in Boston, eating all the foods and enjoyed every minute of it!
Ended up Black Friday shopping, no not at 5AM more like 11 so it wasn't as bad but I was surprised there weren't better sales.

Fast forward to today. I have my NT scan. Last I saw baby (last week) I was measuring 4 days ahead. When I should've been 9 weeks 6 days I was measuring 10 weeks 3 days...so let's see if that's what the trend will be today.

This scan measures the fluid behind the next to make sure baby doesn't appear to have Down Syndrome or any other abnormalities. I'm excited to see baby and how much change there is in a week.

Due to my history I've been thinking A LOT about my cervix and clerclages. I finally have my MFM appointment December 19th so we will definitley be going over that. If we move on it and not go with the "wait and see approach" I want to bring up having a TAC (trans abdominal cerclage) done rather than a TVC (transvaginal cerclage).

From what I've read when you have a TAC you shouldn't have any limitations or be put on bed rest and in my situation would be the best for me. I should be a few days into my 12th week at that appointment so baby should still be small enough to have that done.

My ultimate goal is to avoid another preemie at all costs, I would love nothing more than a healthy term baby.

A Scare

I had a pretty heavy bleed episode on Sunday about 7:45am. It was on and off for about 8 hours and after passing a huge clot when I went to the bathroom, while out bowling with the kiddo I decided to get checked out at the pregnant lady ER. They did a pelvic exam and at the point (I went there at like 6pm)she said the bleeding is slowing and that my cervix was still closed. An ultrasound was offered and then taken back since I had an ultrasound this past Friday but I made a point to bring up my last pregnancy (which the midwife read through my history) and she I know you requested to have one and said how is that little miracle? 

Little things like reading my history before coming into the room and assuming is great bedside manner. I appreciate her not being in such a rush with me and taking the time to listen to my wants and needs.

I started this pregnancy outside of the hospital I plan on delivering in (which is the one I went to for the ER) to get everything started and then transfer back to them. She even brought up seeing if I would be a candidate for a cerclage (which duh, or I will throw a fit) when I am transferred over and seeing if I need to be seen at Maternal Fetal Medicine so she has really done her homework. 

I followed up with the outside doctor and was able to get an ultrasound today to check on the little, and all looked normal, thank god! 7 weeks and 4 days today. 

7 weeks 1 day

Today was my "actual" repeat ultrasound at my doctor's office this morning. The tech said everything looked great and the baby measured an extra day than I thought I was at so that is a plus. It's crazy how much change there is in one week. Heart rate was at 140bmp so I was happy to see things looked good. Now I wait to hear from the doctor which I'm assuming won't be until Monday to see where we go from here and when I can move on to a MFM doctor where I would be more comfortable with. 

6 Weeks November 2nd

On Friday I made the drive to get that free ultrasound and I am so glad I did. Not only was baby slightly visible on the abdominal ultrasound but could be fully seen using the vaginal ultrasound as well as a heart rate reading of 123 bpm. Baby measured at 6 weeks on the dot, so by the time my OB's dating ultrasound comes, November 9th I will be 7 weeks along.

I just can't believe after all this time, now is when the universe decided to bring this little life, into my life.

What's This?

I'll be posting more now that a surprise has just made an appearance in my life. 
Can you guess what it is? October 24th, just TWO days before my birthday I found out I'm pregnant. The "pregnant line" was darker than the "test line"...talk about nerve wracking. October 29th I had an ultrasound dating me at 6 weeks on the dot based off the size of the gestational sac and yolk sac because no fetal pole could be seen yet. (Too early? Maybe)

The earliest ultrasound I have of the twins was at 6 weeks 5 days so I'll hold out some hope. My next ultrasound isn't scheduled until November 9th and because I'm going crazy wondering what if, I made an appointment for a free ultrasound elsewhere tomorrow morning. That will put me at 6 weeks 4 days and I am hoping baby and a great heart rate will be seen!

If you know my story or have read through previous posts you know my journey to get pregnant was NEVER easy. Countless infertility treatments and heartache. So 7 years later here I am trying to be optimistic but because of my history, cautiously optimistic. 

My little 1 lb 4oz 23/3 day micro preemie will be 7 in August. I cannot take it.
She will be going into the 2nd grade this year and time is flying by like nothing.
I turned 30 this past year, Yikes! So many changes in the past few years.
She is still getting services through her school, such as occupational therapy,
physical therapy and speech. She has made TONS of progress and I am so proud.

In the beginning you really have no idea what to expect. I honestly didn't. I didn't know
if I would ever be able to have a conversation with my child, would she understand?
Would she even be able to feed her self, walk, go to school or make friends?

The answer to that is you never will know those answers but with time things change.

I know I always mention I want to keep this blog up every time I post, but I do!
I still want to be there for those going through what I did and those who may have
questions. So PLEASE feel free to reach out, be active on my posts, I will answer!