12 Weeks!

Moving right along, and we are so very thankful! It's still kind of surreal. We met with the high risk specialist yesterday, Dr. Horton. It's the same office but different doctor from the last pregnancy. We really loved her, though! As she was spending a lot of time with us, explaining all of our options in full, easy to understand detail, we were talking about how we are (or have been in the past) always in the 1%, 3%, 5% category that meant we were receiving bad news. We are so thankful that so far with this pregnancy we have not been in those scary small percentage categories!

Our appointment yesterday went great! Since baby was ready to be busy and move around a lot, we got to watch on the ultrasound screen for what felt like close to 45 minutes, waiting for baby to get in the right positions for certain measurements! We didn't mind at all :) We got to watch baby flip over, moved arms and hands, kick legs, ans wiggle around!We took video of the screen so I will upload that soon. She even took the 3d/4d (? I'm not really sure what it's called) pictures! They said there is no way to tell gender from the ultrasound this early, and that's what we expected her to say.

She says that nothing on the ultrasound gives her any reason to be concerned, and we are waiting on some bloodwork to come back that will give some more verification. And....it will tell us the gender! 

Hopefully those results will be ready next week. Our last pregnancy ended due to a chromosomal abnormality and because of all of the problems we have had in the past, the doctors wanted us to do these additional screenings. We chose to only do the noninvasive ones (ultrasound and bloodwork from me, rather than from placenta) and since the ultrasound looked good, she did not feel that anything invasive was necessary. The doctors know that no matter what results we may have gotten or still may get, we are keeping this sweet baby. Unfortunately, some people use these tests to decide whether or not they want to keep the baby. That has never been a question in our minds.

Everything else is going great. I had a week break from "day/evening sickness" and then it returned in full force last Wednesday and has continued to stick around. I don't mind it; it reassures me in the two week wait between appointments that something is still happening. We did get a fetal heart doppler to have at home. However, we found out two weeks ago that the placenta is anterior  (in front) so that blocks the heartbeat from the doppler and makes it hard to find. I haven't been able to find it at home yet, but they say it may take a few more weeks because of the position of the placenta. From what I read, that will also make it more difficult for me to feel baby moving, so that may be delayed from what's "normal". But, it isn't anything bad or dangerous so it's not a big deal :)

Here are some pictures from yesterday! Baby is laid back and hanging out in one. :) And thank you for the continued prayers!

Week 9!

I have had several requests for updates on the pregnancy, so I figured I could go ahead and write about it here! I will continue to post updates on the blog, but I will not be sharing all of them to facebook. We have friends who have been going through the same struggles as we have over the past few years, and we know that pregnancy announcements and updates are hard to see. So, we welcome you to check back at the blog every now and then for an update. We may share a couple of 'big' updates via facebook. :)

Today we have reached 9 weeks 3 days! We have already seen so many milestones, for us, anyway! With each appointment, we go in with excitement, fear, hope, and anxiety. My doctor is amazing and will see me anytime I need to. I already have many more ultrasound pictures than most do at only 9 weeks! I have welcomed all the sickness and fatigue and have been taking short and easy days at work. Maybe we're crazy, but every time I throw up, Jordan and I grin and giggle- giddy with excitement that symptoms are still around. In fact, between week 6 and 7, I started feeling pretty good and the nausea had faded quite a bit. I got so nervous that I called the doctor and she saw me the next day, did an ultrasound, and everything was fine! I have been seeing her every 1.5-2 weeks so far. My next appointment is with the Maternal Fetal Specialist (the high risk doctor I have  been referring to) and that is not until February 22! My longest wait in between appointments yet! As long as there are no reasons for concern between now and then, I am going to try not to worry myself enough to have to schedule another ultrasound! Doctor suggested we order a fetal heart doppler, so that has been ordered and we're waiting for it to arrive. I know it is too early for us to use right now, but maybe before the 22nd we will be able to hear the heart beat at home. But, I have read they can be tricky, so I am telling myself that if we don't hear the heartbeat at home, it is probably because I am using the machine wrong!

As far as sickness goes, my mornings are usually pretty good, late afternoon and evening are what get me. Also, we have learned that I get most sick when we travel. I am still trekking along with the medication plan- 400 mg Progesterone, baby aspirin, special prenatal, and Lovenox injections. We're thankful that we found out about the baby just at the end of last year, because we got one month of prescriptions on my old insurance. Thanks to more insurance changes, the price of my medication for the baby is now 6x more expensive per month than it was last year. As frustrating as the insurance part is, we don't complain- we are so happy to have a reason to buy the medication. And on the bright side- I have already reached my deductible for the year!! 

I'm excited to admit that I already have a mini bump! My mother in law had found some maternity pants at Goodwill and I love them! I'm wondering why all pants aren't made this way?? At this point, I don't want anything tight touching my tummy- my mom says she was the same way. 

In the midst of all the excitement, we had a some sad news last week. After 90 years, my Pawpaw passed from this life. I so badly wanted our kids to know him and Nanaw. We know that our first two babies are in paradise with Nanaw and Pawpaw, and we like to think that they've already met and are having the best time. 

Since we had already taken off work 3 days for the funeral, Jordan didn't feel like he should ask off again, so I took our moms with me to the doctor appointment yesterday. An ultrasound wasn't planned, but I asked for one so they could see. It was going to be an additional charge, but I had some spotting yesterday morning, so that gave a medical "reason" for an ultrasound and I didn't have to pay any extra! I have read a lot about women on lovenox having some spotting throughout the pregnancy. I also had slight change in progesterone pills the night before, and I have been told any change in that could cause some spotting. I still don't like to see that- but was comforted to see that all was fine! While the moms were there, the baby moved for us during the ultrasound! It was so exciting to see the movement, the growth, and the development! We even got a video of the baby moving! -see below-

We have been so humbled and so blessed by all of your support and prayers. Reading the comments from so many has brought us to tears! 'Thank you' just doesn't seem like enough to say!

Click HERE to see the video!