Late Baby

Late Baby

"He's late, he's late, he's late!"

Kai is officially 4 days past his estimated due date, estimated being the key word here. I'm over being pregnant there I said it, I want to be a mom. Dave and I have waited three years to meet our baby and now I'm dealing with the most stubborn kid ever. Never mind the fact that I am stubborn it's irrelevant. 

Last week at my appointment my doctor stated that Kai was -3 station which threw me for a loop, because he was just -2 two weeks before. I knew my son was sitting high but I didn't think he was that high up. My doctor expressed her concerned for his station by dropping the lovely c-section bomb. "Maybe there is a medical reason as to why he is so high up and if that is the case we may need to c-section him out." The horror of that sentence must have shown on my face as she quickly stated that a c-section wasn't a definite but she did want to let me know the what ifs. So what have I spent the last few days doing???? Trying to have a baby that's what. I have tried all of the following and still Kai has not shown his cute chubby little face...

• Sex 
• Waking 2 miles each day instead of 1
• Nipple stimulation 
• Squatting
• Drinking 2-3 cups of red raspberry tea
• Taking EPO orally and vaginally
• Bouncing/rolling on the ball hourly
• Spinning baby methods 

I honestly don't know what else to do. I have a BPP/NST ultrasound appointment later on today. The biophysical profile looks to see if Kai is moving appropriately. Whereas the non stress test looks to see if his amniotic fluid levels are good. I must admit I am getting nervous, because I know these test can derail my natural birth plan that I had my heart set on. I know that a natural birth is not THAT important in the grand scheme of things, I mean having a healthy baby in my arms is what my end goal is. I will update later on as to what my doctor decides in regards to my appointment today.

12 Weeks and Testing Baby Peanut

12 Weeks and Testing Baby Peanut

On Monday July 22nd I went to my doctor to get my NT scan for peanut, I was pretty nervous about the results but not so much the test. I had seen my beautiful peanut the week before and the heart was strong at 161, so when I went into the ultrasound room the tech found the heartbeat at 170 and peanut was laying on his/her stomach. At first I was concerned because I saw movement and then all was still, the tech said peanut was just sleeping and that we would need to get them to turn on their back so we could take measurements. So after coughing and rolling unto my sides that is exactly what happened and the tech was able to get some really great shots. Again DH didn't make this appointment and with peanut moving so much I was sort of sad that I had no one to share the experience with. So after a few more pictures the doctor came in and said that the measurement behind peanuts head looked normal and three days later I got a call saying the blood test results were also great. With four ultrasounds complete we have decided to tell our parents this weekend.

Here is peanut at 12w4d and will be the picture we use in our announcement photos to our parents.

Updates and Concerns

Updates and Concerns

Today I am 9 weeks into my pregnancy, the 9 week cloud will always hang over my head as this is the week I lost my little bean last year. I haven't updated in weeks and for that I am sorry, its been a whirlwind summer for me so far. At 7 weeks I decided to drive to Dallas with my mother to visit my younger sister who just got her first place. I spent most of the trip helping her move not so heavy things and skirting the issue of why I wouldn't lift anything too heavy. Lucky for me she figured I was lazy and didn't really want to help, which let's face it at 7 weeks isn't far from the truth. So after a whirlwind of activity I came home Sunday afternoon and late in the evening had a bright red bleeding scare. I immediately emailed my doctor about my concerns and she had me come in on Monday at 7w 4d to see my little peanut on the big screen. I was so pleased to see that peanut had a heartbeat of 154 and looked to be in good health. I was then given the news that I had some slight bleeding behind the sac and if I were to have sex or do anything strenuous I would again bleed bright red. So with my fears of miscarrying we (my doctor and I) decided it would be best if I go on a sort of modified bed rest. The next big event for me was an interview for a teaching position closer to home and after two interviews I was given the job. I am looking forward to beginning this new job opportunity, but at the same time I am nervous to go into a new job with a pregnancy. I have not mentioned my pregnancy to my new employer, hell I haven't said anything to family or friends, and most likely wont until September when things start to die down at my school. This past week has been a whirlwind for me, I have had symptoms come and go leaving me with anxiety that things may be heading south. I have recently begun cramping it started towards the end of the 8th week and has progressively gotten worse (total of 3 days). I will be honest I am not eating very well, I don't want to cook and my husband refuses to learn so that leaves me eating out an awful lot. I also haven't been drinking very much water which I can now see is a BIG MUST. So with cramping for the past 3 days I can now add a bout of diarrhea to my list symptoms. I have emailed my doctor again for peace of mind, I don't expect to be called in for my current woes but I wanted to make sure that what I am experiencing is normal. Tomorrow is my 29th birthday, last year I was pregnant on my birthday as well, but I didn't know it. I pray that this year brings me all the joys and love a woman can ask for. I pray that I can celebrate my 30th with a toddler on my lap.

What A Beautiful Sight

What A Beautiful Sight
Today I am 6 weeks and 1 day, today I saw a heartbeat on the "Big Screen" also known as the sonograph machine. As soon as my doctor found my baby I let out a sigh of relief, as I had spent the morning worrying about what my doctor may or may not see. Dr. Timmins as always was very sweet and I once again realized why she is one of the most sought out OBGYNs for Texas Children's Hospital. She joked with me when she arrived to put my mind at ease and went straight into searching for piglet vaginally. As soon as she spotted "him" she took a few pictures and then the momma in me demanded to hear the heartbeat. She stated that because piglet was so small we may not get to hear it and  she was right, but she did point out the heart on the screen and said it was beating a lovely 108. On the screen I could see the tiny little flicker of the heart and for me I got a little treary eyed as I was a little sad that DH would have to hear about this instead of see for himself. Doctor Timmins informed me that piglet was measuring 5 weeks and 5 days and that it was okay for there to be a little date discrepancy as its only -3 days.
Seeing the heartbeat today was exciting and emotional for me as its one more hurdle I have overcome. My next appointment is July 12th and I should be 11weeks along, I hope the next few weeks fly by as I can't wait to see my baby again. I want to again ask those who read my blog to send out positive vibes and send up prayers.

Clear HSG Exam

Clear HSG Exam

So on Friday April 5, 2013 I went and took another HSG exam, the second exam in 2 years. I must admit I was nervous going in, because I now find myself unsure of my fertility with the DOR (diminished ovarian reserve) bomb dropped last week. I kept thinking that it all just goes down hill from here and having one or two blocked tubes seemed to be right up my ally. However, after hoping up on the exam table for approximately ten minutes and not really feeling any huge pain my doctor stated that both tubes were open. I then found myself letting out the huge breath I had been holding since the exam began. I prayed before the procedure asking God to allow for a positive outcome and I found myself praying again when it was all over thanking him for allowing things to go in our (DH and I) favor. I will meet with my RE again next Friday to go over all of the exams and come up with a definite plan in May. I'm so nervous about this appointment, because my google searches are coming back with not so positive outcomes for women who suffer from DOR.

RE Appointment

RE Appointment

Dave and I had an RE appointment on Tuesday March 26th and although I wasn't prepared for all the news that was given to us, I feel prepared and motivated moving forward. The appointment was with Dr. Kovanci at the Woman's Pavilion in Houston and overall I was impressed with his knowledge and his desire to address any of our concerns and issues.

The meeting however did begin crappy as we were informed that our patient files from the past two years had not been faxed to their office as we were told by our doctors. Files that contained Dave's SA results  and my medical workup were no where to be found, as a result we both tried to recall information that was told to us over a year ago. To make a long story short I was not a happy camper. When I doctor arrived to meet us he was trying to piece together a best and worst case scenario as we had nothing else to go on. He then took us and preformed an ultrasound and had me complete a blood test to check AMH levels.

From the ultrasound Dr. Kovanci concluded that I had a low ovarian reserve, meaning I am not producing the amount of eggs that are considered normal for my age group. At the time of my ultrasound I only had 2-3 eggs in each of my Ovaries and for a woman my age the number should be closer to 10 on each side. This news completely knocked me out, I never thought I had any issues as my gynecologist never said anything to me about it. This news was pretty upsetting as I already knew that as of now there is no way to increase the amount of eggs a woman has, we are all born with a set number at birth. Going into our appointment I expected to deal with Dave's low sperm count and motility and here I was finding out that we both have fertility issues. I guess we were lucky at all to have even been able to conceive on our own last summer.

We concluded our meeting by looking at the best and worse case scenario and a appointment for me to retake the HSG exam.

BEST CASE: He stated that we were both "young" and having a sperm issue would be fine as he believed IUI would be the solution to our problem and my low ovarian reserve would not be a factor. 

WORST CASE: HSG shows that tubes are blocked in which case we would need to move onto IVF and with our low sperm and eggs it would be very difficult for us to conceive. 

With all that shoved at me I feel I took the news pretty well, I will be taking my HSG soon and we are scheduled to sit down and plan out future examinations next Friday. I will keep you all updated.