Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Weeks 8-10 Update!
So, I know I've been slacking on the weekly update but we've been pretty busy. Week 8 was nothing really special. I was pretty sick until the very end of that week. I am back on my original prenatal vitamins and have no more nausea from them! I still have a little bit of nausea in the mornings when I first wake up but it goes away pretty quickly. Most of Week 9 was spent in Siesta Key, Florida! We went on a wonderful family vacation with Craig's family and it was soooo relaxing. We really had a great time and will possibly go back sometime this summer for our official "baby moon." Also in my 9th week was my 23rd birthday which actually turned out to be quite a stressful day. We arrived into town that day (March 12th) and checked into our hotel. We walked in and looked around and I went to the bathroom. When I wiped, my heart sank. There was blood. It wasn't dark, just a pink-ish color. If I would have taken a second to think, I would have remembered that I have read PLENTY of articles, blogs, forums etc., where women say they have some spotting and that's usually normal. But, I freaked out and ran to tell my husband. We both just stared at each other and then he frantically said, "Go call your doctor!"
I called my doctor but it was a Saturday, so they directed me to an emergency number. The nurse practitioner that I talked to asked my a lot of questions and suggested that since I was out of town and it was a weekend, that I should go to the emergency room.
Craig and I spent most of the car ride to the hospital in silence. We were both nervous and I just had a feeling deep down that something wasn't right. After blood tests, a pelvic exam, an ultrasound and 4 1/2 hours later I was reassured that all is well. All my levels were prefect and the baby actually measured 3 days ahead of schedule on the ultrasound with a heart rate of 171 bpm. I didn't get to see the baby on the screen but Craig did and he said he/she's little arms and legs were moving :)
Once our family got into town we went out to dinner to celebrate the good news and my birthday. Thankfully the rest of the week we had no more scares. I definitely am pooching this week. It just looks like I ate a little too much. But I know it's baby because I just feel heavy down there. And when I suck it in, the pooch is still there.
That's pretty much it for these weeks. We have our 2nd prenatal appointment this Friday. I'll be exactly 11 weeks. This pregnancy is FLYING by. I feel like it was just yesterday I found out! Crazy.
Until next week!
I called my doctor but it was a Saturday, so they directed me to an emergency number. The nurse practitioner that I talked to asked my a lot of questions and suggested that since I was out of town and it was a weekend, that I should go to the emergency room.
Craig and I spent most of the car ride to the hospital in silence. We were both nervous and I just had a feeling deep down that something wasn't right. After blood tests, a pelvic exam, an ultrasound and 4 1/2 hours later I was reassured that all is well. All my levels were prefect and the baby actually measured 3 days ahead of schedule on the ultrasound with a heart rate of 171 bpm. I didn't get to see the baby on the screen but Craig did and he said he/she's little arms and legs were moving :)
Once our family got into town we went out to dinner to celebrate the good news and my birthday. Thankfully the rest of the week we had no more scares. I definitely am pooching this week. It just looks like I ate a little too much. But I know it's baby because I just feel heavy down there. And when I suck it in, the pooch is still there.
That's pretty much it for these weeks. We have our 2nd prenatal appointment this Friday. I'll be exactly 11 weeks. This pregnancy is FLYING by. I feel like it was just yesterday I found out! Crazy.
Until next week!
Childbirth: Au Naturale VS. Pain Meds
Since becoming pregnant, I've realized that there's a huge debate out there on natural childbirth versus childbirth with pain medicine/epidurals. I understand that there are some women out there that are extremely passionate and proud of the fact that they gave birth with no medicine! And good for them! They should be proud. I've come across several articles in which these women go on rants about other women who electively have C-sections or choose to have an epidural without a second thought. I can see their point when it comes to scheduled C-sections. Obviously, there are instances in which that is a mother's ONLY option. But then there are the ones whose pick a date months in advance (around the time of their due date) and plan the birth of their child around their busy schedules. Some women go so far as to have a tummy tuck immediately following the C-section. They have been dubbed "Designer Births." Yes, that is completely ridiculous.
But what I'm more interested in is how people judge other mothers for choosing to have pain medication or even the controversial (among natural birth women) epidurals. It is a decision that is COMPLETELY up to the woman. The woman may be a little (or very much so) nervous about the fact that she is about to push a watermelon out of her. So, I would never judge a woman for choosing a less painful labor process. But I feel that the more I do research, I'm made to feel bad that I would even think of having anything synthetic to assist me in labor. There have been articles published about the short or even long term effects an epidural or even Pitocin can have on the infant. I read this quote that stood out to me:
"Pitocin is administered to speed up labor, but the increased level of pain requires medication that slows it down. In addition, pitocin often has no effect on cervical dilation even though the contractions are much stronger." (More from that article)
That is why I go back and forth on how I want my birth to go. More and more research comes out about what those pain meds really do to you and your baby. But then again, I've know plenty of children that have been birthed via C-section or vaginal birth while the mom had an epidural and they've turned out wonderful and with no obvious effects of being delivered from a mom who had an epidural.
I've also thought about having a water birth. I've just always liked the idea of it. I also can't help but think that being in warm water while having contractions would help ease the pain a little bit. I'm pretty sure that the hospital I will deliver in has the option of a birthing pool. It would be great to think about even a home birth, but with my first child I don't know if I want to take the risk of not being in a hospital in case an emergency arises. My husband also agrees.
I will continue to do research and contemplate what could be best for me and my baby. As long as the baby is delivered safely, that's all that matters. In the end, whether you arrive to the hospital with a birth plan in hand or not... the decision is ultimately up to God. No matter how much you plan and hope and wish, you will get the birth you are supposed to have.
But what I'm more interested in is how people judge other mothers for choosing to have pain medication or even the controversial (among natural birth women) epidurals. It is a decision that is COMPLETELY up to the woman. The woman may be a little (or very much so) nervous about the fact that she is about to push a watermelon out of her. So, I would never judge a woman for choosing a less painful labor process. But I feel that the more I do research, I'm made to feel bad that I would even think of having anything synthetic to assist me in labor. There have been articles published about the short or even long term effects an epidural or even Pitocin can have on the infant. I read this quote that stood out to me:
"Pitocin is administered to speed up labor, but the increased level of pain requires medication that slows it down. In addition, pitocin often has no effect on cervical dilation even though the contractions are much stronger." (More from that article)
That is why I go back and forth on how I want my birth to go. More and more research comes out about what those pain meds really do to you and your baby. But then again, I've know plenty of children that have been birthed via C-section or vaginal birth while the mom had an epidural and they've turned out wonderful and with no obvious effects of being delivered from a mom who had an epidural.
I've also thought about having a water birth. I've just always liked the idea of it. I also can't help but think that being in warm water while having contractions would help ease the pain a little bit. I'm pretty sure that the hospital I will deliver in has the option of a birthing pool. It would be great to think about even a home birth, but with my first child I don't know if I want to take the risk of not being in a hospital in case an emergency arises. My husband also agrees.
I will continue to do research and contemplate what could be best for me and my baby. As long as the baby is delivered safely, that's all that matters. In the end, whether you arrive to the hospital with a birth plan in hand or not... the decision is ultimately up to God. No matter how much you plan and hope and wish, you will get the birth you are supposed to have.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Week 6/7 Update!
Hello all! Sorry for the lack of update for week 6 (as if anyone is actually reading this...) But, nothing noteworthy really happened until week 7. A majority of week 6 and 7 have been very nausea-filled. It all just hit me at once. It wasn't until I was 7w4d that I actually started "getting sick." Not fun at all. I think I've narrowed it down to the DHA in my prenatal vitamen. I take a seperate DHA pill from my regular prenatal. Within an hour of taking both, I get sick. So, no more of those until I talk to my doctor again. We had our first prenatal appointment on February 25th. It was just a lot of paperwork, blood work, questions, etc. We didn't get to hear the heartbeat because it's still too early. BUT! I informed the doctor of my uterus issue and we got an early ultrasound on February 28th! I found out about a year ago (through an ultrasound un-related to pregnancy or fertility) that I have a sub-septate uterus. Basically it's heart shaped with an extra little wall going down the middle. So, just to be safe we wanted to get an early ultrasound to check viability.
All was great! I was measuring exactly 7w3d (which was the exactly how far along I thought I was). We got to see his/her's little heart beating away. 160 bpm :) I started crying when I saw it beating away. We were very thrilled to know that everything looked great.
Our next appointment is on March 25th. I'll be exactly 11 weeks! I'm hoping we actually get to hear the heartbeat that time. I can't wait! We are actually leaving for Siesta Key, FL next week... At least we hope. It all depends on how I feel. I pray that I'll be up for two 16 hour car drives, so we'll see! I'll post pictures if we actually go! See you at week 8!
SYMPTOMS THESE PAST WEEKS:
-NAUSEA!!!!!
-Increased Moodiness
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