Day 29... FINALLY some decent news!

This morning started with an unexpected ultrasound. The tech doing Zoey's measurements kept doing them over and over and over again because she didn't believe what she was seeing. Zoey has grown from an estimated 4 lb to 6.5 lb in just 3 weeks. My amniotic fluid has increased as well, which is a good thing. She is measuring about 2 weeks ahead right now. It was time for me to stand up and ask what the heck is going on with a delivery date.

The doctor said we can schedule an amnio test for tomorrow morning and I asked him about the risks involved with it. After we talked, I decided to go for it. The risks aren't as high when you're this far along, aside from pre-term labor, which we all know I've already gone into that twice since being here, so he felt comfortable with me doing the test. I've had 4 steroid shots so this baby better be ready for the real world! Can you imagine if I carried her to term??? Good Lord. She'd be 10 lbs.

I feel good right now. Once I get good results on the amnio (notice my optimism has returned) I am going to ask for the first dang O.R. appt available! Come on Zoey, show these people what you're made of, baby!!

Dear Placenta, you're hearby GROUNDED.

I think I like how Amanda put it the best... "so sorry your placenta's being a jerk." Yeah, that's right placenta... you're a big jerk.

It looks like my placenta hasn't moved a single bit. It's still completely covering the cervix... not just a little bit... I'm talking completely downtown, going from front to back. This means that my dream of letting Zoey come on her birthday instead of her "due date" is a thing of the past.

When my OB was telling me this, I was fighting back tears. I asked her if there was still a chance at all that I could deliver normally and she said it's highly unlikely. Next Tuesday, January 26, I have to go see a high-risk doctor to get the final confirmation that I will have to get a c-section. My OB assured me that she is not passing me on to a new doctor, she is simply sending me to an expert to confirm what she thinks is going to happen. I was told that it's imperative that I do not dilate past a 2. If I bleed at all, even a little bit, I have to go to Vanderbilt hospital and I will be put on bedrest. She told me under NO circumstances can I go to the local hospital because they do not have the blood supply needed. So IF this happens, we're off to Vandy. The c-section will happen between 36-38 weeks, depending on how I'm progressing... if I'm not dilating on my own, I can go longer (which is my hope), but if I do dilate, we have to do the c-section ASAP and stop labor. I was told I'll have to get steroid shots to make sure Zoey's lungs are developed before the c-section... as long as we can control when it happens.

I'm thankful that my daughter is healthy... today she measured at 27 weeks and is 2lbs, 6 oz. all 4 of her heart valves looked beautiful on the ultrasound... both her kidneys are functioning properly and she is inhaling as she should... we were able to see her actually inhale amniotic fluid and see up her little nose, LOL. She was a cutie.

The bright side of all this is I will get to see my daughter a lot more... I'll have more ultrasounds than I'll know what to do with from here on out... as if I haven't already had enough. Now to await the glucose tolerance test results........

Zoey Elizabeth

Obviously I have a lot to share with you all. :) My 18 week ultrasound revealed that I have a healthy little girl growing in my uterus. It's hard to believe that between then and now she's grown to be from the size of a sweet potato to the size of a cantaloupe. Where does she even have room to grow?! I know that with her growth, I'm starting to feel her more more often. I noticed that the stronger movement is at the top of my belly and now I know why.

Placenta Previa. It sounds a lot scarier than it is, but basically, the placenta is at the bottom of my uterus, covering the cervix. You cannot deliver the placenta first. So either it has to move, or I'll end up having a c-section, which I don't want. Usually it moves, so I'll just get a few more ultrasounds to check for the movement. That is the good part. :) So anyway, the reason her movement isn't as strong at the bottom is because of the extra padding. I do feel her a lot more, but Glenn won't be able to for a while... hopefully that will change soon. I think he's itching to be more involved in the pregnancy and experience our baby girl.

My sciatic nerve pain has finally gotten easier! If it wasn't for that cuddle pillow, I'd be in some major trouble. I've just been extra careful lately, and I honestly don't have a choice because the belly is getting bigger and harder... which means it's more difficult to move around. Standing up is already a task... I worry and hope I don't end up gaining 70 lbs like my mom did with me... so far I'm at 21. My goal was to keep it below 40... I have a feeling I'll say goodbye to that goal soon.

Stretch marks? Not a single one. :) I hope I'm not speaking too soon... but I'm always on the lookout for the creepy crawlies, just waiting for one to show it's ugly face. I lotion up regularly and remind myself to stay hydrated and that I have good genes. Mom never had any, so maybe I won't either. :)

I'm ecstatic that we have a daughter on the way. I would have been just as ecstatic if it was a boy though. I'm more happy that I finally have something to plan for... up to now we haven't actually purchased a single thing for the baby. I'm approaching my first baby shower (December 19) and we're all registered at Babies R Us. We'll register at Target sometime soon... my next shower isn't until early March. We're very excited and as soon as the holidays are behind us, we're going to start on her nursery... I can't wait to show you guys what we have planned. She's going to have the coolest chick pad in Robertson County.

Say "HI!" to Zoey Elizabeth...

15 week ultrasound

At my 15 week appointment, we unexpectedly did an ultrasound. My OB just wanted to peek at the baby since I had been spotting again and have been sick lately... the heartbeat was in the 170s and everything looked good. We could (somewhat) clearly see the toes wiggling and everything. Since this was an external ultrasound, and I did not drink all the water I needed to prepare, things were a little fuzzy, but regardless we were able to see my little orange doing well. The heartbeat has slowed from it's once 185 beat but that is to be expected. It was in the 170s. We now have 2 reasons to believe the baby is a girl... fast heartbeat and a hamburger...
We all know that at 15 weeks, it's still an uncertainty as to whether or not the baby is a girl or a boy. But my OB clearly said, "THAT is a vagina." HA! But she did follow that with, "Well, we won't know for sure for a few more weeks." Yeah, yeah I know... but I do think my instincts have been right all along. I think I have a little Zoey in my belly. My heart was put at ease even more when I started talking to my OB about her move. This was my last appointment with her at North Crest Medical Center... my anatomy scan will be at Stone Crest Medical Center in Smyrna. That's right, I have decided 100% that I am following her to Smyrna! I feel so at ease with this decision and my heart is comforted. My OB is amazing, I cannot pass her up.
There you can somewhat see the femur bone, the shin bone, and the monstrous Wallace foot.

We're going to schedule the anatomy scan for the week of Thanksgiving. I'll be 18 weeks, and ironically the baby will be the size of a sweet potato. Go figure! I cannot schedule it for sure until she starts her new job, so on November 16 I have to call and get it all scheduled. I am so excited to find out what my little stowaway really is... a little Glenn or a Zoey.

I'm on cloud 9 right now.

Good News & Bad News

I'm going to start with the good because I don't want you all to worry about what the bad could possibly be. It's semi-baby related (okay, maybe more than I'm letting on), but the baby is fine and perfect and looking like a real person now! Yesterday's ultrasound showed that baby is no longer a little blob like it was 2 short weeks ago... it's a thriving healthy person with an alien head, two arms, and two legs. Hehe... aaaaand I can already see a cute little baby belly. I was amazed at how much my little one has changed. I noticed immediately that it looks like a gummy bear, to which I told myself I can not eat any gummy bears in this pregnancy now... it's just too weird.

Okay, the much-anticipated 10-week ultrasound pictures!

And now to share the bad news. It's bad for me. My OB is leaving North Crest. For sure. *cries* My wonderful OB is moving to Smyrna, which is an hour from me. I now have a decision ahead of me... switch OBs near the end of my pregnancy and miss my amazing OB horribly... or follow her to Smyrna for every visit and for the birth of the baby. In my mind, I think how can I let someone else deliver this miracle? THIS doctor helped me get pregnant. She was the best OB ever and saved me thousands of dollars by serving as my fertility specialist instead of sending me to the fertility clinic in Nashville. How in the world can I let one of the other two OBs in North Crest deliver this baby? I don't know if I can do that.

I'm struggling with this and literally lost sleep over it last night. I work in Nashville, which means Smyrna is only about 15 minutes from my work (on a good day)... so going to appointments won't be an issue. Delivery, however, will be... I don't know what to do. I'm sad that I have to make this decision. She told me that I was the first patient she thought of when she put in her resignation... *sigh*... she isn't 100% sure when this is happening, but it'll be the end of this year or beginning of next... I don't see her again until November 10 for my 16 week appt and I hope she has more news for me then and that I can make a sound decision. I've been told by more than one person that a good OB is too hard to come by... and if you have one that you connect with, follow them if you can.

I'll update you all later on this development... hopefully I make the right decision.

Me: "So, there's just one, right?" Dr: "No, there's three. KIDDING! HA!"

So my little raspberry is doing quite well! Today, it measured at exactly 8 weeks, possibly 1 day. According to the internet I'm 8 weeks & 2 days, so we'll see. She did not confirm the due date as of yet, so we're still on for April 25.

It was the most amazing thing to see my tiny little raspberry with a very swiftly fluttering heartbeat... and then to hear it while I could see it was even more amazing. It was going strong at 180. I've been told I have an athlete on my hands. I think Fat Albert is the one to thank for this baby.

I immediately asked my dr if there was just one in there since I had 4 potential follicles for this pregnancy... she said, "No, there's three" and after a short pause, "KIDDING!" and started to laugh. I admit my heart stopped for a moment... she did tell me at the last follicle ultrasound that if I come back with triplets I can't be surprised. Haha. Luckily that isn't the case. So far, I have one super healthy baby in my uterus and I am quite pleased and feel more relaxed. My dr told me my chance of loss after hearing the heartbeat is significantly lower and that I'm on the right track. She let me know to stay on my Metformin through the rest of the 1st trimester to help things along and keep my chance of loss even lower. No problem!

Based on the super fast heartbeat and my instinct, I'm going to go ahead and predict that we're having a girl. I've been thinking I'll have a girl since before I got pregnant and felt it even more as soon as I found out about the pregnancy. The heartbeat makes me even more suspicious. I told my dr I had been checking the theory on that and she said it's not actually a theory, that it has been proven, however, early heartbeats tend to be faster. But she did say, "Girl!" Ha!

12 more weeks until we find out if we have a little Zoey or a Glenn #5 swimming in there. In the meantime, I have another dr's appt in 2 weeks for some blood draws and my dr said she'll use it as an excuse to do another ultrasound, hehe. Sounds good to me!!!

By the way, why did they take 5 (yes, 5) vials of blood from me before I left if I need to come back in 2 weeks for more? Really? I mean, come on. Leave me some blood, why don't you!!!