Week 9

Week 9

Baby D is the size of a green olive this week. He/she looked more like a bean to me yesterday.


Baby
Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.


Symptoms
Pretty much are the same week after week. There is really nothing new to report. All the symptoms just seem normal to me now. I have to say I lucked out with the morning sickness. I don't know how, but thank God!!!

Baby D is all ready an inch long as of yesterday. From the u/s picture it is so clearly he/she is growing quite rapidly. I can't wait to go back in 3 weeks to see a huge difference.

3rd U/S and Appointment

This morning, on a snowy day here in Massachusetts, I went for my third ultrasound. Baby D is doing great, what a relief!!! He/She was moving around, so cute. I was measuring 9 weeks today so my Ob/Gyn changed my due date from Sept 4 to Sept 3. We saw the heartbeat right away, beating quite strong at 178 bpm. Baby D is measuring one inch. We got to see the little feet and arms beginning to form. What a difference from two weeks ago. Two weeks ago, it was pretty tiny but today it looked pretty big.

I scheduled my NT Scan for February 18, so in 3 weeks. I than have my follow up appointment on February 20.

My Ob is VERY pleased at my progress. My bloodwork came back all normal and everything is going really well. I feel so happy and for once, I feel like it's really going to happen. I was kind of scared for today's u/s, but now I feel pretty confident with this pregnancy.

I asked my Ob if the Obs at the office rotate because I know many practices do. He said no, that at his practice they do not, which makes me very happy. I really don't want to see any other doctor except mine. I have gone through a lot with him and he knows my whole history and I feel very confident with him. He also told me today that he will deliver my baby. I will be induced so he will be there throughout the whole process. He also said that if I go into labor on my own and if he's not on call, that he will make sure that the dr will give him a call so he can come to the hospital. I feel very comfortable knowing he will be there with me all the time throughout the delivery.

About the Mustela maternity products from yesterday's post; You can buy them at Babies'R'us but I bought them on-line at sephora.com. You can also go to their web-site by clicking here

Maternity Products

This week I decided it was time to purchase some maternity creams for myself. They say stretch marks are hereditary and luckily they don't run in my family. My maternal grandmother, mother, and sister don't have one stretch mark from their pregnancies. They bellies are completely stretch mark free. Although they don't run in my family, my sister did use stretch mark cream during her both pregnancies. Since her in-laws are both pharmacists these were the products that were recommended. I hope I do carry that good gene of not getting stretch marks, but just like my sister I bought myself the creams this week just in case.

This one is designed to help with your breasts.


This one helps to prevent and minimize new and recent stretch marks during pregnancy.


This one prevents and relieves discomfort in your legs. I think this one will come in handy during those hot summer days.


Tomorrow I go in for another u/s and my bi-weekly appointment with my Ob/Gyn. I'm a little nervous about tomorrow's u/s just because you hear that a lot of missed m/c happen right around 8 weeks. I still have all my symptoms so I'm taking that as a good sign.

This weekend I found out that a good friend of mine is pregnant with her second child. She is due on Sept 7 so just 3 days after me. I'm really excited for her because she had a m/c back in August and so far everything is going really well for her.

Week 8

I'm 8 weeks today and baby D is the size of a raspberry!



Baby
Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

Symptoms
I can't believe I'm all ready 8 weeks. This week sure flew by. Week 6 was very slow and it's because it lasted more than 1 week.

My breasts are still very sore, achy, full, and heavy.

I'm still exhausted most of the day. I'm not working so the extra sleep I get every morning is definitely helping me. I still take daily naps though.

Emotions, oh my god. I totally understand when women say they cry over anything. I've always been pretty emotional, but this is horrible. I can cry over the stupidest things.

I'm hungry all the time. For a woman, I always had a pretty good appetite, but this is funny. I'm literally hungry every 2-3 hours. I've been trying to snack on fruit throughout the day and trying to eat a yogurt. I have to say I don't like dairy so it's hard for me to consume a good amount of calcium which is so important. The only dairy I really like is ice cream, so it's been difficult. I'm going to start having cereal for breakfast so I can get my milk.

I still have had no morning sickness or nausea at all. I was talking to my mom and she said she never had any with my sister or I. Perhaps I have that good gene of hers? I know I'm still not off the hook, but I feel pretty good that at 8 weeks I have felt fine in terms of nausea. Smells don't bother me either.

Cravings, I'm starting to get cravings for certain foods. My in-laws were here this past weekend, and I had to eat a hamburger for dinner one night. The other day, I had to eat pancakes for breakfast. I'm really enjoying these cravings because when I say I want it, I get it. My mom goes out of her way to cook whatever I crave, and John has been really good too. I feel like I can eat what I want whenever I want.

Overall, I'm feeling pretty good. I'm starting to get use to my symptoms.

5 more days and I get to see Baby D again. Hopefully there will be a stronger heartbeat. I'll keep everyone posted on how my u/s and appointment goes.

Here is a belly shot at 8 weeks. You can definitely see how bloated I am. This is nothing compare to how bloated I get at night.

Week 7 & Belly Shots

I'm 7 weeks today and the baby is the size of a:



Baby
The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

Symptoms
I'm starting to feel pretty good now. There are days that I feel more tired than others. I still try to take a nap everyday and I'm in bed asleep by 9:30 the latest. My heartburn has gone away and the upset stomach feeling that I sometimes had is pretty much gone as well. Knock on wood: NO nausea yet, although I know I am not out of the woods yet. My Ob said that around 10 weeks is when it can get pretty bad and I'm 3 weeks away from that. I still keeping praying that I don't get any morning sickness. I'm hungry all the time now. I'll eat breakfast and 2-3 hours after I'm starving again. I'm really trying to eat healthy snacks such as fruit, yogurt, or a belly bar. There are nights where I wake up in the middle of the night completely starving. I've also noticed that during my meals I have a slight bigger appetite now. I'm eating a little bit more than usual. My Ob wants me to start walking and I'm going to start going to the gym next week and walk on the treadmill and do a little elliptical. I can not do free weights or anything like that.

This weekend my in-laws are coming up to visit us. They all ready know that I'm pregnant, John told them over the phone a few weeks ago. It will be nice to see them. I have to say I have a great relationship with my MIL. She's so loving and caring and I do enjoy having her around.

Here are a few belly shots...
Today at 7 weeks


6 weeks


5 weeks

1st Appointment

This morning I went in for my 2nd u/s and my 1st appointment with my Ob/gyn. The u/s was great. The u/s tech immediately found the heartbeat, beating away at 132 bpm. I got tears in my eyes again when I saw the hb on the screen. I am measuring 2 days behind what I thought. I had figured I was 7w today but I'm 6w5d. She said that everything looked great according to my dates.

I than saw my Dr. and he was very happy with my u/s results. Since last week baby has grown quite a bit and you can clearly see it by comparing both u/s pics. I need to upload the u/s pics so you can see it. My due date is September 4.

The bad news, I am considered a high risk pregnancy and will be high risk throughout the whole 9 months, thanks to my homozygous MTHFR. The good news, I will be monitored very closely by my dr and instead of seeing him once a month, I will see him every 2 weeks which is awesome. I'm going in two weeks for my 2nd appointment and for another u/s. I don't think I will have an u/s at every appointment, but I will ask next time.

My dr doesn't see the need for me to inject myself twice a day with Heparin shots, which I'm so glad. I would have to do it once in the morning and once at night. The shot would be right on my belly. He said I would eventually be bruised and my blood work would have to be monitored because in rare occasions it could drop some of my blood count. So thank GOD he decided that I don't need them. I do have to continue with my baby aspirin, prescription dosage of folic acid, and my pnv.

I will not go all the way to 40 weeks, so September 4 doesn't mean anything. At about 38 to 38.5 week I will be induced, again because of my high risk. I'm at a high risk for developing placenta problems, eclampsia, high blood pressure, and other problems. Beginning at my 24th week I will be making weekly trips to Labor & Delivery at the hospital. They will be hooking me up to machines and monitor the baby and myself. Besides all this, I'm also RH-negative, which I always need Rho-Gam shots when I spot. Seems like I have a very difficult blood!!!

I summitted my urine sample, 6 vials of blood, and an internal exam. Everything looks great. 6 vials of blood is a piece of cake compare to the 11 I have had before. I'm really happy with how everything is going. I'm becoming more and more optimistic about this whole pregnancy and I know God is with me.

I had my first suggestion of what baby D is. My sister thinks it's a boy. I'm way too early to have any intuitions at this point. We will have to wait until the 18th week to see if my sister is right.

Week 6

I'm off by a week, but here it is, I'm 6 weeks and Baby D is the size of:



Baby
This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If you could see into your uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil bean.

Symptoms
After being quite scared last week I feel pretty good inside everything is going well. I saw my baby's heartbeat last week which was a huge milestone for me. My breasts remain very sore, achy, heavy, and full. I won't complain about this anymore. Fatigue is really bad. No matter how many hours I sleep at night I'm tired all day long. This weekend I managed to take 2 naps per day and I still felt tired. It's more an exhaustin feeling than tired. All day I feel exhuasted. I've been going to bed everyday around 8:30 because I can not get myself to stay up pass this, it's impossible. I don't feel like doing anything at all because I'm so tired. I'm still feeling a little heartburn at times and the frequent stops to the bathroom. After seeing my Ob/Gyn last week, I am officially considered "high risk pregnancy." My Ob does not want me to go to the gym, vacuum, travel, do any heavy lifting, and he just wants me to relax and take it easy.

I'm not working at all anymore, only doing a few things from home. So it's been nice to sleep in everyday which has helped a lot. The fatigue is still there, but doesn't feel as bad. Tomorrow I'm having my 2nd u/s at 9 am and than off to see my Ob/Gyn at 9:25. Hopefully we will see a stronger hb tomorrow.

1st Scary Moment!!!

I had my first scary moment with this pregnancy yesterday. Tuesday morning at 3:00 am I woke up from a bad dream, a nightmare. I dreamt that I had had a miscarriage. The dream was so real, it felt real. I went back to sleep and woke up at 6:30 a.m. I went to the bathroom and saw that my cm had a very faint tint of brown in it. I immediately freaked out because was my dreaming telling me something? I have had dreams in the pass that did end up being real. I went to the bathroom 2 more times and the brown was still there, very scant, but it was there. My breasts also didn't feel sore or achy anymore, which was always the first sign of my miscarriages. John and I thought that it was the beginning of miscarriage #3.

At 8:30 am I called my Ob/Gyn. At 10:30 I went in for b/w to have my betas checked again and when he saw me he immediately sent me in for an u/s. He said at that point I would need one to see what's going on. The spotting was only those 3 times in the morning, but I was very scared.

As I was waiting in the waiting room to be called in for my ultrasound, I kept thinking that perhaps nothing would be detected. I finally got called in and she started an abdomen u/s. The only thing she was able to find was a gestational sac. She asked me how far along I was and I said 6 weeks, although I was one day short. She said she was looking for 3 things; gestational sac, yolk sac, and fetal pole. She said she didn't know if she would be able to find a heartbeat because right at 6 weeks is when the heart begins to beat. At this point I would be happy if she found the 3 important things. As she began she was very quite, and I'm thinking, Oh God there is nothing there. She turns the monitor towards me and points me to this little thing that looks like a mouth that is opening and closing. She said, you see that, and I said yes. She said that is your baby's heartbeat!!! I literally cried!!! I can't believe I saw that tiny thing flickering away yesterday. It was only beating at 84 bpm but she said she was shocked she found one at that point. I was measuring 5w5d, so one day less than what I though.

When I was done, I went back to see my Ob and he was SO happy that she had found the hb. I told him was beating slow, but he said the heart just started beating so it's suppose to be that low. I googled on-line and found this website that it says that at 5 weeks fetal hb is between 80-85, so 84 is really good. I'm still in shock that I saw my baby's heartbeat.

Tomorrow I'm going in for another round of b/w to check my betas. In the afternoon I will get the results of both betas. My appointment got switched for Wednesday instead of Tuesday because I'm going in for another u/s before my appointment.

I have not had anymore brown cm after that morning. The sore breasts are back and so are my other symptoms.

Another Milestone

Today at 5w5d was the day I m/c #2. The spotting began at 5w3d and continued right through until the m/c was complete. Today I am 5w5d and I have had no spotting at all; knock on wood!!! I have passed my biggest milestone of all. I feel happy because from here on it's a day further along than I have ever been. I still feel all of my symptoms, so I'll take that as a good sign. With both of my m/cs I lost all my symptoms before the spotting began. I can see that the baby aspirin and the extra dosage of folic acid is really doing it's job.

I was reading a pregnancy book a few days ago and it was talking about all the over the counter medicines that are not recommended. One was aspirin, but there was a little box that mentioned baby aspirin. It says that in some cases baby aspirin can prevent miscarriages and other problems relating to your pregnancy. I know for me, I am one of those cases. I am still a little paranoid when I go to the bathroom and I'm always making sure I have all the symptoms. My appointment is next week and I can't wait for that day to arrive and make sure everything is going well. I know this 1st trimester is still very risky, but for me passing my milestones makes me feel better about this whole pregnancy. I still pray everday to God to help and I'll continue to pray for everything to go well.