Week 12

I went back for more bloodwork this week and this time I made it through with flying colours, no trouble whatsoever. But I still haven't heard back from my doctor about the results from my NT scan/ultrasound. I am getting more and more frustrated with the doctor. The told me they would have them in a couple of days. It has been a week!

This week I have felt pretty good, but very tired. More tired than in previous weeks. The nausea is still there, constantly in the background, but low most of the time. It seems to fade immediately after I have eaten for about thirty minutes. I would eat all the time if I didn't feel so bloated.

I am still at a four pound weight loss. I am expecting that to change very soon. I don't think I gained any weight during the first trimester with Kylie, but I am pretty sure I did with Emma.

I know it is still early but this week I bought the baby a bouncer and a high chair. I got them both in greens and beiges/browns, not just because I don't know the gender, but because they will match our home. They are both made by Fisher Price.


Fisher-Price My Little Snugabunny Bouncer Seat


The is so cute, it has bunny ears. It vibrates and plays music and has a washable liner. And it will give the baby a sfe spot to sit no matter what room of the house I am in.


Fisher-Price Space Saver High Chair, Scatterbug

The high chair is called a Space Saver high chair. It will strap onto any kitchen type of chair. It doesn't take up a lot of room and can be easily transported. It also can be set into a reclining position for younger babies, or used as a booster for older children. Plus it was cheaper than most full sized high chairs. And the fabric isn't the hard vinyl type that was popular when Kylie and Emma were babies. It's much softer. I am very happy with my purchases. I can't wait to use them!

I Almost Fainted

After my NT scan I was sent to the hospital lab for a urine sample and to have blood drawn, all standard pregnancy screening stuff. The lab tech was a lovely, kind woman who had trouble finding a vein because they were faint and they kept flattening on her. She tried both my arms and hands. I'm not afraid of being poked and I'm not that squeamish, it didn't bother me... at first. About the fourth time, she had a vein but for some reason my blood was dripping through very slowly. It wasn't filling up. I suddenly began to feel nauseas. At first I thought it was just morning sickness. I've never had that happen before when having blood drawn. Then I became very lightheaded, and the room started to move and things seemed far away, and got darker. I nearly fainted.

The nurse stopped taking my blood right away, leaned me back and got me orange juice. It was so embarrassing. Is it because I'm pregnant? I don't know. All I know is that I have to go back to have it done again because they never got enough blood for even one tube. And now I'm worried it could happen again.

And I am left wondering if there's a reason she couldn't find a vein, or why my blood seemed to drip through so slowly. Could that be pregnancy related too?

My NT Scan

Yesterday I had my first ultrasound, or NT scan. It is done between 11 and 13 weeks and measures and dates the baby and looks for chromosomal abnormalities like Down Syndrome.

My instructions beforehand were to empty my bladder two hours before the scan, and to drink four large glasses of water up to one hour before as well. I don't know many people who are capable of doing this without peeing their pants. Water travels pretty quick. Let's just say from previous experience, I decided to drink one litre of water starting one hour before my appointment.

I entered the doctor's office, already having to pee, but not too badly. I discovered my elderly neighbour there. She too was having an ultrasound and had to drink a lot of water. Unfortunately they were behind at the dotor's office, and my poor neighbour came from her appointment, having urinated all over herself and was so embarrassed. I felt awful for her. Time ticked by slowly as I waited for my appointment and hoped the same wouldn't happen to me.

I got in over 40 minutes late. I was very relieved, because I felt like my bladder might burst. When the technician found a squirming little baby in there, I was absolutley elated. I had questions for the him but his English was very poor and he didn't understand me very well, so I don't know the baby's heartbeat, or the NT measurements. I do know he dated the pregnancy at 12 weeks 2 days, which is 6 days ahead of my calculations using the first day of my last menstrual cycle. He was also unwilling to make an educated guess on the baby's gender.

All in all I was very pleased with my scan, more because of sheer relief at seeing a live wriggly baby. I will get the results in a couple of days when my doctor phones. And I will be receiving a CD with pictures in a couple of weeks at my next appointment. And I made it through the ultrasound scan without peeing my pants... barely.

11 Weeks

I am anxiously awaiting my first ultrasound on Wednesday. I get more nervous by the day. I wish I could bring the girls with us when Martin and I go but I don't want to bring them if there's a possibility something could be wrong.

The belly that I grew last week has, well, sort of shrunk back a bit and I fit into my pants again. I must have been really bloated. I feel jipped. I want a cute baby bump! I can, however, feel the top of my uterus above the pubic bone now, so things are definitely growing. Still haven't gained weight though. I remain at my 4 pound loss. But I'm not complaining. I figure, even if, from here on out I gain a whole pound per week, I'll only put on 29 pounds. With my olldest I gained 25, and with my youngest, about 27, and both times left the hospital with all of it gone, except a pound or two. I'm hoping this pregnancy follows the trend.

This past week I've been more tired than usual and had to go to bed early because I just couldn't keep my eyes open. Otherwise I feel like my body is returning to a state of feeling good. There have been longer periods of feeling good between the bouts of morning sickness. I'm looking forward to the second trimester where all of that will hopefully fade away. With my girls pregnancies I felt great during the second trimester. Well it's just two days off. Not far now.

This past week has also marked the one year anniversary of the horrible miscarriage I had last year. It was made worse by the fact that I am only a week difference in how far along I am in the pregnancy. But that's over and I'm trying not to think about it or worry so much.

Two long days days to go until the ultrasound. I hate waiting.

I really, really hate waiting. How am I going to get through another 29 weeks?

Frustrated by my Doctor's Office

Last week I called my doctor`s office several times to get an appointment, but all I got was the answering machine which does not take messages. This was not unexpected, it`s happened many times before.

I really need a prenatal appointment. I haven`t had one yet. I finally got a hold of them today but the receptionist told me that the earliest possible date I could get in was February 22. That`s almost four weeks away. I will be thirteen and a half weeks pregnant by then... in my second trimester. Plus I had really wanted an ultrasound.

I explained this to the receptionist, adding that I have a history of blighted ovum. I NEED to know whether things are okay. I`m a bit worried. That she could tell. But I`m also a bit stressed because at this time last year I went to the ER for bleeding. The ultrasound showed no baby so they gave me medication to get things moving along and sent me home to miscarry. But I bled too much and after blacking out Martin rushed me to th ER where I continued to hemorrhage - severely - and nearly died. I was given multiple transfusions, bags of saline, they were worried about tissue damage and stroking. Eventually I had an emergency D&C and spent the next month recovering. I do NOT want to ever go through that again. Miscarriage is hard. Miscarriage, nearly dying and leaving my children motherless is REALLY hard.

It took three hours and four phonecalls back from their end to finally get me an ultrasound. I don`t even have to go to the hospital. Apparently they have one in the doctor`s office every other Wednesday AND they had lots of openings. So what was the big deal?? Geez... To make matters worse, they couldn`t tell me anything about a nuchal transparency test, which can often diagnose, through an ulrasound, whether your baby has Down Syndrome, or a high risk of it. From what I have read that is often done around 12 weeks. And it`s a concern, given my age. But they couldn`t answer my questions about that, and told me they would call me back. Which they didn`t.

Anyway I am calmer, a bit excited but also scared about my ultrasound on February 9th. But at least I`m getting one. Vent over ;)

10 Weeks

10 Weeks today. Over the last couple of days my stomach has popped out a lot and my pants are getting tight. I am still four pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight, holding steady for about three weeks.

I have been lurking on a couple of pregnancy message boards lately. I am always amazed at the women on there who swear they can feel their babies kicking when they are no further along than I am. This week baby is about the size of an olive. I have read that they are very active at this stage. But how hard can it be kicking or bouncing around in there? I can't wait until I am able to feel it move around regularly, with certainty. That will give me much more peace of mind that everything is all right.

I still have not had my first doctor's appointment. Honestly, I think it's my fear that has kept me from making one. But I did phone repeatedly this week... only to get an answering machine that won't take messages, and to find out he is closed on Thursdays now, and that they took off early from work on Friday, so I haven't got through yet. But Monday I will make an appointment for sure. I hope he schedules me for an ultrasound soon. With my girls' pregnancies they didn't do any until 18-20 weeks. I need to know everything is okay.

My morning sickness has come back with a vengeance this week, but now the weird taste has faded. Not sure what to make of that.

As I have finally hit the ten week mark I had a bit of fun this morning and did the baking soda gender test. No fizz. That means it's a girl. I'll retest again in a couple of weeks and see if there's a difference.

I really don't care whether it is a girl or a boy. I just want a healthy baby. If it is a girl that would be great because they are so much fun to dress up and shop for, and I have the experience of having two girls. Plus Kylie and Emma want it to be a girl. Martin, like myself doesn't care. If it is a boy that would be equally fantastic because I've never had a boy and I would have a whole new bunch of experiences to look forward to. With the way my tummy has grown this week I am seriously wondering if it could be twins.... yikes!

9 Weeks

After nearly a month of sickness making the rounds in our house, we're finally almost back to normal. I'm feeling sooo much better. Even the morning sickness has eased up a little.

Today marks nine weeks of pregnancy over. Nearly a quarter of the way there. Baby is nearly a whole inch long and has fingers toes and eyelids now. It's really starting to look like a baby. It's amazing how something so tiny can make your entire body feel out of whack.

Since I first found out I was pregnant I've been able to feel a tiny bit of pressure down in my abdomen now and then. That feeling is steadier now. I haven't gained any weight yet. Actually, I've lost four pounds, which is hard to believe because I've been eating nearly every two hours to keep the nausea at bay. My breasts have gotten bigger but I can still fit into my bra. Other than that I don't really look any different yet. I'm a bit overweight though, maybe I just hide it well. I hope I can hide it for a few more weeks.

I am dying to know whether the baby is a boy or a girl. I wasn't able to find out, even with an ultrasound for my daughters. So I picked up a baby gender test called Intelligender Gender Prediction Test Kit. You add a small amount of urine to a cup with chemicals, and the results are based on the colour that appears - smokey green for a boy and orange for a girl. The results are supposed to be fairly accurate but they warn you not to paint the nursery based on them. The test is $22. I figured what the heck. But I have to wait until I'm at least ten weeks along to use it.

I've also been reading online about something called the baking soda test, where you pee on a small amount of baking soda. And if it fizzes it's a boy, and if not it's a girl. I've seen a couple of polls on pregnancy websites that look promising. Looks like fun. I'll have to try that one, too!