20 week update

So I'm not actually 20 weeks yet; I'm 19+5, but close enough!
Yesterday was out 20 week appointment and anatomy scan which means we got to see Little Babe again! The ultrasound tech switched to 3D/4D mode a few times for us, and basically Little Babe is the cutest baby there every was, not that I'm biased or anything. So cute. I used to think those 3D/4D pictures were creepy, but now that it's mine I can't get enough. I could stare at that little picture all day #hearteyes. And I have been. Just don't tell my work that.

A few notes from my appointment:

I apparently have a subchorionic hematoma."Subchorionic bleeding (also known as a subchorionic hematoma) is the accumulation of blood within the folds of the chorion (the outer fetal membrane, next to the placenta) or between the uterus and the placenta itself. It can cause light to heavy spotting, but it may not. Most subchorionic bleeds resolve on their own, and women go on to have perfectly healthy pregnancies." - Thanks whattoexpect.com

The tech, nurse, and dr. all asked multiple times if I had any bleeding or cramping so far and I reported no every time. Not one drop since my last period.  The dr said because of the hematoma I may have some bleeding at some point. I'm glad I know ahead of time so I'm not so alarmed if I do bleed! If I didn't know about the SCH and started bleeding I'd be at the ER in an instant, totally freaked out.

We got a referral to the MFM for an ultrasound to check on the SCH, but the dr. said to just go in 4 weeks when we have our echocardiogram scheduled. He didn't seem to concerned about the whole thing.  

The dr. also said my fundal height is measuring big at 22cm. The internet says anything + or - 2 cm of your weeks of pregnancy is normal, so at almost 20 weeks I think 22cm should be fine. I never would have thought I was big though! I started this pregnancy around 123/125 lbs (with doing fertility treatments I have not real clue what my weight was. It was all over the place) and I was at 130.25 yesterday. Maybe baby is just growing so well in my super comfy uterus that I won't go over my due date :)

I started feeling their movements about a week ago at 18+4. The first day I thought "oh weird, I'm gassy again" but then the next day I felt the same feelings in the same spot, which had me thinking maybe it's something else! The dr. told me yesterday I have an anterior placenta, a little off to the right and the movements I've felt have been towards the lower left so that makes sense why I haven't felt anything elsewhere yet! Having an anterior placenta can make it harder to feel movement until baby is larger and stronger since there is more fluff in the way. It also makes sense why I only hear the heart beat on the left side and not the right when I use our home doppler.

As for Baby: Their heart is beating about 156 beats per minute and has all it's important pieces and parts.

Pregnancy Week 20:
Cravings: None. Is that normal?
Aversions: baked/grilled chicken. Still makes me gaggy.
Weight Gain: 5-7ish lbs.
Emotional Breakdowns: A few.
Boy Name: First name chose, middle name TBD.
Girl Name: First name TBD, middle name chosen.
 

I still feel like this.

15 week Update

Today marks 15 weeks! My app says Little Babe is the size of an eclair yuummmm.

I had been dealing with bad headaches for about 3 weeks. I would get maybe a day of relief, 2 if I was lucky, and then it would be back full force. I tried taking tylenol, drinking something with caffeine (both coke and coffee), peppermint oil on temples/back of neck, had husband massage my neck and head, ice, heat, darkness, sunshine, exercise, etc. basically anything I could think of.
I was at my wits end so I asked my dr if there was ANYthing else I could do. She prescribed me fioricet. There are mixed feelings amongst pregnant women about the medication. It contains Acetaminophen, Butalbital (a barbituate), and Caffeine and is considered a class C, meaning risk isn't ruled out. My OB prescribed it as a last resort and last resort is exactly where I was with the headaches. I would have sold my left kidney to make them go away. Normally when you have a headache for a day you can just deal with it and it goes away soon (like if you have a stomach ache or something else. You know the pain will lessen, you know what I mean?). Having a headache for so long is so draining physically and emotionally. I was nauseous from the pain and the nausea made me not have an appetite. I was crying at my desk, crying in my car, crying at home, I was so miserable. The medication worked within about 40 minutes. I actually felt hungry for the first time in a few days. I took another dose before bed because I could tell the 1st was wearing off, but when I woke up this morning without a headache I felt like a brand new person. I felt so much relief. I am SO glad I took the medication and I'm glad to know I have it in case I really truly need it again. A lot of people steer clear of all meds if possible during pregnancy and say they should just 'tough it out', but if you are truly in pain and miserable at least ask your dr about options.
etc. basically anything I could think of or read on the internet. Nothing worked. Then I had about 4 days of really really bad headaches and I gave in. I asked my dr if there was

I still am not really showing. I was hoping to have a cute little bump for vacation next week but I think I'll just look like a blob. Oh well, vacation is vacation, right?

Updates on Updates on Updates (14 Weeks!)

OH GOODNESS I'VE BEEN TERRIBLE!! I haven't updated since our first OB appointment!

Here it goes:

We had our 12 week appointment on April 11th (11 weeks 4 days). We decided to go through with the NT scan and blood work. Originally I wasn't sure if we were going to. Because we did PGS we already know a lot more about our embryo than these tests would have told us. BUT because the testing is covered by my insurance it really was just another chance to see Little Babe! I don't think I could have gone from 10 weeks to 20 weeks without another look!

The dr told us everything looked great and we had a super duper low chance of down syndrome. He was confused by our response of "we know" because he hadn't actually read our chart #typical.

We finally made things Facebook Official at 13 weeks, 2 days. We posted a picture with a Worth the Wait onsie and all of our needles. I had been really nervous about the baby and the pregnancy in general because I hadn't been gaining weight and wasn't showing. I figured I blow up like a blimp real quick! I had been on a low sugar/carb diet eating veggies and eggs and baked chicken for so long with the IVF and FET and then with food aversions I switched to pretty much eating all the carbs all day long. But nope, no gain. So I bought a home doppler from Amazon (yay Amazon Prime!) against my doctor's advice. The first try I couldn't find the heart beat and I was trying to be ok with it and just think baby as in a bad position, but was definitely upset. We tried again an hour later and was able to find it! It was sooo nice to hear! We posted on FB soon after that little reassurance. I've used it a few times since and it's easier and easier to find the HB as Little Babe gets bigger. It's such a lovely sound <3

In the last week or so I've started noticing a little bump that is bump-like and not bloat anymore! It's much more pronounced in the morning before I pee. Then it deflates a bit haha. I like when it's bigger. It's a nice reassurance. I spent so much time over the last may years trying to stay skinny and lose weight and all that it's such a 180 for my brain that I want a bump! I want a bump now! I'm still in the awkward stage that other people would have no idea that I'm pregnant if they look at me. We are going on vacation to FL next week and I want a cute little bump for my bathing suit! I don't think that's going to be happening at this rate ha.

Today I am 14 weeks, 4 days. Our next appointment is next week at 15 weeks, 4 days.My appointments are generally very quick. I never have many questions. This appointment's set of questions include: Can I ride a bike at 20w1d? Can I eat Trader Joe's Wine Country Chicken Salad?
That's it!

Status Updates:
Baby Size: a Troll Doll, a Lemon, a House Mouse
Weight Gain: 0lbs
Symptoms: Sleepy, Headaches (omg the headaches), Food Aversions. I still can't stand the site of bake chicken or cooked veggies
Cravings: None
Other: I finished my baby registry (except picking a stroller) and have picked a wall color for the nursery (which my husband thinks is boring, but too bad :) )

9w5d: First OB Appointment

How far along: 9 weeks, 6 days
Symptoms: Bloating, hungry, tired.
Cravings: Nothing in particular.
Aversions: Chicken
Highlights of the week: Last PIO!

We FINALLY had our first regular OB appointment! We arrived right on time, had to fill out some new pregnancy paperwork, and waited about 15 minutes to be seen (thank goodness because I had to pee so bad, I was about to ask if I could pee in the cup while we waited). Crazy lady in the waiting room was complaining to the front desk she had been waiting over 30 minutes to be seen. Heaven forbid you have to wait in a dr office waiting room. Join the club lady.

Anyways, when we were called back I was weighed (evil Dr. office scale says I am heavier than my very nice home scale says. Rude), peed in a cup, had BP checked (112/72, nice!), and sent back to the room to wait for the Dr. We had to wait about 35 more minutes in the room for the dr, which is still nice than being at work, so was I complaining? Nope.

Our appointment was with a dr. I hadn't seen before at this practice and she was wonderful. I never felt rushed during our appointment. She asked what questions I had:
1. Can I exercise again - YES!! HALLELUJAH. I can jog, use weights, and do all the things I've been dying to do. She said to keep HR under 150 and not get out of breath. Done.
2. Can I drink tea again - The internet says you can drink tea and the internet says you can't drink tea. I wasn't a tea person until we started infertility treatments. My acupuncturist has recommended a few teas and it now became a part of my regular routine and I find it relaxing. I usually drink peppermint, chamomile, and dandelion, which the doc said was all totally fine. Yay!

Dr. went over all our history (and there was a lot of it) and next steps. Because we did PGS and I had genetic blood screening she said the regular genetic blood screening and 12 week ultrasound aren't really necessary and much more optional. She said she didn't recommend or not recommend and that it was totally optional. I'm going to call my insurance to see if it's covered, because if it is then sure I'll get another picture of the little one! She also said their high risk doctor recommends an additional ultrasound around 22/24 weeks to check the heart because apparently IVF can raise the risk of heart defects. I think we'll definitely be doing that one.

We finished our appointment with an ultrasound of Little Babe. Oh my goodness I miss my RE clinic's ultrasound machine! The quality was SO much better! We did get to see the heart beat, Doc said it was in the 160s, and Little Babe was wiggling and moving it's hands and feet for us <3 <3 <3

If we do the genetic screening I will go for blood work next week, 12 week scan the following week (OMG 12 weeks already?!), then 16 week appt.

I'm so happy everything is going so well so far! 10 weeks finally feels real! It feels significant. I'm so so happy <3

PS: Today is my last PIO! My butt is SO happy.

7w6d: Ultrasound!

Oh goodness, I realized I never updated after our last appointment! We went in to our RE clinic for another ultrasound at 7w6d. Little Babe measured 8w1d with a heart rate of 171bmp. It was actually starting to look like a baby! It is always such a relief to see it with it's little heart beating away on the screen.
And the best news is that was our last RE appointment!! We have officially graduated!!

Our first OB appointment is later this week at 9w5d. I'm totally off estrogen patches and I should only have 4 PIO injections left! My but is going to be so happy. If my OB tells me I need to stay on PIO longer I might just have a breakdown in the drs office.

We have also finally told our families. We told parents, grandparents, and siblings, as well as a few very close friends. Other than those people we are going to keep it quiet for a few weeks longer.

Symptoms:

• I had major food aversions for about two weeks, which finally abated during the last week. Vegetables and protein turned my face green. I've basically been surviving off of fruit and carbs.
• Bloated: I have add to use the hair tie trick during the last week. I think of combination of general bloat as well as my all carb diet has contributed to my expanding waist line at this point. I'm still getting some exercise in, but my RE said to stick to walking for now which sucks. I'm hoping my OB clears me for some weights and jogging!
• Tired: I want all the sleep. 

6w5d: Ultrasound

On Wednesday we had another ultrasound at 6 weeks, 5 days. Little Babe has gotten bigger and is more blob shaped than cute little soap bubble. I measured at 7 weeks and heart was at 135 bpm, so everything was still great looking!

It's such a relief to see that little heart beating away. I haven't really had symptoms; I've been tired, even after 8.5 hours of sleep, slightly sore boobs, and some slight food aversions. But not the nausea and vomiting that rom-coms and sit-coms tell me is the hallmark sign of pregnancy. This whole thing still doesn't seem real to me! I don't know if it will until I start bumping and can actually see the physical growth outside of me.

I get to start decreasing my patches to one patch every two days on Monday! And then progresterone stops at 10 weeks.

Until then, we have another ultrasound at our fertility clinic next week at 7w6d and then our first OB appointment two weeks after that. I love seeing tiny Little Babe so often :)

I'm so happy! Much like these animals:

5w5d: First Ultrasound!

Wow, I can't believe I've actually gotten to this point! We had our first ultrasound yesterday! It feels unreal and like I'm waiting for someone to pull the rug out from under me.

Everything looked really great. Little Babe is measuring 5 weeks, 5 days which is exactly on point with my transfer date. We got to see the little heart fluttering away at 110 bpm and it was beautiful!!

We go back in a week at 6w6d and then have our first OB appointment at 7w7d

Edit: Also, I never updated after Beta #4: 10,324! Perfect!