Doctor Appt

Had an appt. It was nice to get out of the house :-) VERY nice! I had to wait over an hour for my appointment, and I really didn't mind. The change of scenery was good. Pretty much always wait over an hour for Dr. Gomez, but it's so worth it to me because I know he would gladly spend an hour with me if it was necessary. In fact, he did spend 30 minutes with us. He chatted with Wes, asked how he was doing, drew pictures to make sure Wes understood everything that was going on, etc. Baby's heart rate was in the 140's at first, then it did a flipper-roo and it was in the 150's. I finally weigh what a did when I got pregnant!!! From here on out I'll be in the positive's for weight gain!!

I had a dream the other night that it was a boy! Someone was looking at an ultrasound screen and said "Oh, and there's the penis." I kept having the feeling that it's a girl, so now I'm just confused! Guess we'll see in a few months.

Back to the appt: I don't exactly have much hope that bed rest will end anytime soon. Guaranteed at least one more month until my next appointments with the Perinatologists and Dr. G. Even then, doesn't seem likely. He also seemed very hopeful at the beginning of this (remember, I've had issues since 6 weeks!) that the clot would stop bleeding. Now, he said it could be likely that I bleed the entire pregnancy. Although the baby could still get big enough to apply pressure to clot off what's bleeding, the placenta is continually growing and changing too.

I have to start doing research on steroid shots for lung development. He suggested they would be given around 28 weeks. Anyone have experience with this? Know any side effects? Know any alternatives to the steroids? Since blood is an irritant and can cause contractions, that would be the most likely cause for preterm labor. However, if this did happen, the hope is still that the med's to stop contractions would work and baby would still be fine. I informed him that I will go full term and have a 9 pounder. I just have to let everyone know my goal :-)

I was challenged with another goal today: I should try to read the entire Bible during the next 19 weeks on bed rest. I really do NOT enjoy reading, so this IS a challenge. But, I like doing things that aren't easy and are beneficial in the long run. (I had to write this so you all can hold me accountable to it!)

My Kids Can EAT!

Almost every meal, I am AMAZED at the amount of food my children can consume. Wes is home for the weekend, and made a yummy chicken/asparagus casserole over noodles. When I walked up to the table, I cracked up laughing at the amount of food on their plates. It was a HUGE PILE! I don't even know if my pictures do it justice. Elliot ate about half, Leviate most, and Ezra ate EVERY bit of food on his plate! (He ate the little scraps off his plate after I took the picture). They very RARELY get an form of dessert, but how could I say no tonight?

Brothers Swinging

The boys were out in the backyard by themselves the other day. I was in the kitchen, and when I looked out, Ezra was very gently pushing Levi on the swing. It was soooo sweet! I know the picture is blurry, I tried to take it through the window screen because I knew if I walked outside they would immediately stop being sweet!

It was also kind of a sad moment-see, I didn't even know Levi was big enough to get up in a big kid swing by himself! I solely blame that on bed rest! UGH! I also caught Elliot swinging super high and pumping her legs the other day-another new skill!!

21 weeks

I'm 21 weeks along now. Figured I'd post a picture, since no one's ever really seen me with a belly yet. HAHA. I'm just gonna have this baby one day and show up places with it. Whatever, it'll be nice to be out of the house at that point! :-)

I have an appointment with my doc. on Monday. He wanted me to limit my appt's and not leave the house, but I'm keeping it. I have some questions for him, want Wes to get to meet him, and REALLY want to go somewhere. Shoot, might even have Wes take me to lunch (drive-thru of course! HAHA)

Perinatologist

I finally got to see Dr. Morales today. It was a great ultrasound. They have a screen on the wall so I could actually see things and the tech explained EVERY part of what was there. That was great! I'm 19 weeks 5 days, and baby measures 21 weeks, 1 day. Bigger and bigger :-) That's the good news.

Bad news is the hematoma is NOT smaller like I had been told before. According to the tech, "It's quite possibly the largest bleed [she's] ever seen!" Seems to go from one edge of the placenta to the other. The doctor also said that fresh blood is not from the clots, it is from the placenta tearing or separating somewhere. Unfortunately, ultrasound could not tell exactly where or what's going on. Doc also said people with this will almost always deliver early. Of course, he couldn't tell me how early. I told him I was going full term! I told the doc's that same thing when I was pregnant with the boys, and technically I did. My goal this time is a 9 pounder. Why not? I gotta have something to shoot for. Doc does want me to get a blood count done so we don't get to the point where I'd need a transfusion! It all seems so dramatic.

All in all, I think I left more confused/frustrated feeling. Even if the placenta is bleeding out somewhere, WHY is the clot enormous again?!?! Is the placenta bleeding out and filling it up? So many questions. Whatever, most important is that the baby is healthy, I haven't bled to death, and that ultimately God is in control.

I need to go call USAA and get my life insurance. What if I die having this baby? Childcare for 3-4 kids would add up quick :-) Plus, Wes' new company will pay for the insurance, so why not get it? Yah, I bet you think I'm joking....but I'm NOT!

This is a fun fact: I was also told that it appeared there may be a membrane separating the baby from the blood clot. This could indicate that there were initially TWINS. Interesting since these hematomas are usually caused by something separating from the uterus!! Going through a rough pregnancy is probably much easier long-term than having another set of twins. (Although, if that were to happen it would have been fine....shocking, but fine).

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Since originally posting, my Dr. G has called and explained things MUCH better! The word "tear" is just scary. In fact, the placenta is not detaching at all, hence why nothing is seen to show this. What is meant is that there is an area at the end of the placenta (if thinking in terms of 3D, we are visualizing the depth) where there is a vein just leaking blood. Like if you had a nose bleed or something. However, usually you can put pressure on whatever is bleeding. In this case, the only thing that can stop it is the baby getting big enough to put enough pressure on it! The medical term is called placenta marginal sinuses (At least, I think that's what he said). It's much better news than I thought. The Doc said he feels quite confident that the baby will be fine now. The main concern now is just the amount of blood loss and making sure I don't end up anemic or needing a transfusion! I'm okay with either of those if we end up with a healthy baby.

Never ending

Last night my original doctor gave me a call and actually had some great explanations for what happened with the split in the practice. I definitely drilled him since I wasn't sure about switching back to his practice. After our conversation, I was thinking I'd make another appointment with him.

Then, TWO short hours later, I start hemorrhaging! I could even feel the uterus contracting (not painful) while this was happening. At first I thought it must have been some kind of bad omen talking to the old doc. Then I realized that's just ridiculous! As I sat here wondering what to do, I concluded that there's no way I'd feel comfortable calling my "new" doctor. It's almost like it was a sign from God that I should switch back. Gave Dr. G a call on his cell and of course he sent me to the hospital.

Remember a few weeks back when I was mentioning that one of the positive's of being over 18 weeks is getting to go straight to Labor & Delivery and not the ER? Well, it really is a HUGE benefit. I went straight up, monitored the baby (heart rate in 150's as always....REALLY thinking girl!), then someone came right in to do an ultrasound. Baby looks wonderful!! :-) Placenta still attached well, more great news. The problem lies with all the inconsistency between the ultrasounds, where I have them done, different tech's, etc. (Measurements of the hematoma's vary based on those factors.) SO.....I'm FINALLY getting the referral to the Perinatologists that I've been waiting for. The doctor is calling him this morning and trying to get me in this week. I'm so excited! REALLY hoping this gives some answers as to what is causing all of the hemorrhaging!!! I've been told it's not unheard of to have these problems, but it is quite uncommon to have this much bleeding this late in pregnancy.

I know, you just couldn't wait to read all that, huh?! Sorry if it's way too much info....blogging is just my way of gathering my thoughts and venting :-) Maybe I should consider a nice private journal.

Elliot's 5th Birthday Party

We celebrated Elliot's 5th birthday this past Saturday afternoon. I asked her if she wanted help picking out her birthday clothes (the answer would usually be a very quick "NO!") and she said "Yes, I want the prettiest dress I have!" WHAT?!? My daughter wanted to wear a pretty dress. She is usually the tackiest kid around. Anyways, I had this dress wrapped up for her and she agreed to wear it. Amazing.

Quite a few of her little school friends came. It was really cute to see them all running around and playing together. It was especially cute to hear all the boys talking about the jewelry they gave her for her gift. "Elliot, you can wear all of the necklaces together!" There was just something sweet about it.

We got Elliot a new picnic table for her big present. The one we had in our backyard bit the dust a few weeks ago. The kids use it ALL the time! Eating, playdough, painting, water fun, juicing oranges, etc. A kid table is the best thing for our crew!

It was a real tiring day since we had little buddies party in the morning, then hers in the afternoon. However, it was great to get all the partying done and especially wonderful that their Daddy could be here to celebrate such a special occasion.

More Photos can be seen HERE!

Levi & Ezra's 2nd Birthday Party

We had the boys party this past Saturday morning at the playground. They had lots of fun running around and playing with their friends! It's hard to believe that my babies are 2 already!

It really was such an easy party for me. Most years I like to make my kids cake, have nice homemade food, decorate, etc. Bed rest put a damper on those great ideas for this year. I ordered some random character cupcakes from SAMS, Subway & Chick-fil-a did the cooking, and there were no special decorations. Oh, we grabbed a thing of strawberries at the Farmer's Market on our way to the party. It was weird seeing Wes set it all up, wash the fruit, etc. But, I gotta admit, it was kinda nice just getting to enjoy it and not worry about the work behind it.

It's about impossible for me to snap a picture of both boys together. Makes it even harder when I can't really chase them and put effort into getting a good shot.

Levi's got this thing with his tongue hanging out the past few days. I'm not sure if his lips are chapped, he's teething, or what. It's odd and a bit funny. He still looks adorable.

Ezra has turned into an absolute ham the past few weeks! He is always doing something silly. He has this grin that just cracks me up!! I wish everyone could see it in person. Precious.

If you'd like to check out a few more pictures, click HERE!

18+ week ultrasound

1st off, before my ultrasound this morning, Goldfish was kicking pretty good. I had Wes put his hand on my belly and WAH LAH, he got to feel it!! I'm so glad he was able to be the 1st one this time! :-)

We were right on time for my ultrasound appointment. I go to check in and realize I left the order for the ultrasound on the fridge! The doctors office usually sends them all electronically, so the one time I'm responsible for getting it, I forget! The whole reason I made the appt. so early was so Wes could see it. Wes left to go meet my dad to get the needed paperwork. About 5 minutes later they call me back and start the scan. After all my initial good planning, Wes misses most of the ultrasound. The lady was nice and tried to drag it out to wait for him. He made it back and got to see the baby for a few minutes. She ended up being toward the legs when he was there, so we couldn't look anyways!

Baby is still measuring a good week ahead of my calendar due date. All parts they measure were at least at 19 weeks 3 days (some more). They estimate it's about 1 lb. The tech asked if the changed my due date and I said no. In fact, I hope no one ever brings it up. I'd rather keep one further out so it can buy me more time at the end if I get to or over my due date. I would REALLY like to avoid induction this time! So much more unpleasant than the body's natural labor.

Apparently the subchorionic hematoma is still there, but she wasn't able to tell me anything about it's placement. I tried to chat with the radiologist again, but he was too busy with procedures this morning. I'm hoping the report that is sent over to my doctors office is clear about where everything is this time. Maybe I'll call and ask this afternoon.

18 weeks

Well, Goldfish is now at 18 weeks :-) My little calendar today said it's the length of a dinner fork and weighs about the same as 3 large eggs. I'm up to a whopping 116 lbs. Okay, that's slightly depressing since I've never been so light (except 2 weeks ago when I weighed in at 114.5! ICK!) After this child is born, I WILL gain weight. This means I need to hit the gym, and it's gonna have to happen! Tired of being out of shape.

Enough venting, I know you don't care. Cool thing about being 18 weeks is that I will have NO more ER visits! For now on, if something happens I can head straight up to Labor & Delivery. Of course, we are praying there are no more crazy incidences, but if there are it shouldn't take 6+ hours to make sure baby is okay. I'm happy about that! Really, it's the little things that excite me these days.

Random thought: my sprinklers are on and it's raining. That's just stupid!