24 week appointment!

Technically I'm not 24 weeks until tomorrow, but close enough ; ). First, here's a pic of our cutie:

And Blogger isn't going to let me insert the picture @@. So here's a link...

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e310/Mommy2Miracle03/24wUS.jpg

Baby Brooke still inside where she *should be! ; )

I had the cervical length ultrasound first. The tech did her thing and then also did a quick scan on my belly to check her heart rate (it was 156bpm). She didn't think she was measuring my cervix right because she was coming up with 6cm and last Friday it was 3.2cm. She went to get the doctor (which she would have done anyway) and he came in and checked for himself. He showed her what she was doing wrong and while he was doing so he said, "See, that was a contraction." And I was like, "What?!" But he reassured me that it was normal and not to worry about it...I didn't even feel it. He said everything looked good and and my cervix was measuring 4cm! (Anything 2.5 and longer is good.) What a relief!!!! : )

After the u/s I had an appointment. I gained 6lbs. in a month and 10lbs. total, which he said was great. Blood pressure was good, but I don't remember the number. He asked about if I've been feeling the baby move a lot and I told him yes. I asked him about the Fetal Fibronectin (fFN) test, which can determine if you're going to go in to labor in the next 2 weeks. False results are more accurate than positive, though. He said he will only do them if my cervix is really short, which is fine by me. I got my slip to get my 1 hour GTT done around 27 weeks, before my 28 week appointment. This is a first for me!! My next appointment is in 2 weeks, on March 12th. He said we would both feel better if I went back in 2 weeks instead of 4 : ). Did I mention I love him? LOL. He really is awesome!

It is still unbelieveable to me that I am still pregnant! I am thrilled...I can't even tell you how thrilled, especially after getting an awesome report today. It's hard to believe that normally by now I would have a 1 to 2 day old baby! Wow. I am so thankful to still be pregnant :*).

I made it!

I woke up today 23 weeks 5 days pregnant and no labor in sight! Woohoo! It's so exciting and surreal. My 3rd pregnancy, but this is all new to me! I can't imagine how I will feel if/when I wake up a week from now still pregnant and then the following week and so on. I now have a good feeling about making it to 28 weeks, but I'm not able to look much further than that at this point. My next appointment is tomorrow at 1pm. I'm praying I get good news that my cervix is still looking good! Then I will REALLY be thrilled : ). Thank you for all the prayers and support!! It means so much to me :*).

Therapy

That's what I'm going to use this blog for today. Today I am 23 weeks 4 days. The day I went in to labor with both Zachary and Ryan. It's very, very surreal. My nerves are pretty bad right now even though I'm trying to keep them under control. I woke up around 5:20am because I had to pee and was not able to fall back to sleep.

We didn't know why Zachary came early and I never would have guessed when I was pregnant with Ryan that I would go in to labor the exact same day. So it's very hard to be at this landmark without expecting to go in to labor, even though THIS time I have the cerclage and the 17p injections, which will both hopefully do their job. I'm actually due for my next shot this afternoon. I'm hoping Doug's aunt is able to make it. We're getting some snow. If not, then we will have to venture out this evening after Doug gets home.

I think I just need to type this all out....

My pregnancy with Zachary was PERFECT up until the day I went in to labor. I woke up feeling a bit funny....well, really (TMI) like I had to go #2 and was very constipated. Little did I know that that pressure was actually a sign of preterm labor. Doug dropped me off at my parents' that day on his way to work because my dad was taking my to a job interview that afternoon. Probably about an hour after I got to my parents' house, I went to the bathroom and had some weird discharge (what I now think was my mucuos plug...or at least part of it...Gosh, I was SO naive then...). I figured I'd better call my doctor. It was around 11:30am, I believe. They told me to come in at 1. Well, I was sitting at my parents' kitchen table and around 12:30 felt a gush of something wet down there. I went to the bathroom, pulled down my pants, sat down, and saw blood. I yelled for my mom. She came running and saw and yelled to my dad that we had to get to the hospital. They took me to the ER (we assumed my doctor was still at lunch). The ER called over to my doctor's office and they had them send me right over in a wheelchair. We got there and went in the examining room. The midwife came in and found Zach's heartbeat right away with the doppler. I was SO relieved! Then my doctor comes in and examines me and says I'm 6cm dilated. WHAT?!?!? My mom just started bawling. I was in total shock. I didn't even know it was possible for Zachary to survive outside the womb at that point and my dumbass doctor says that he's too little and won't live. (As you all know, he did not survive...but Ryan did! And he's the smallest/youngest baby he ever delivered that lived.) They took me up to L&D and did an u/s to check his position. He was breech. I wonder if they would have let me deliver him vaginally if he'd been in the right position, but I've never asked. So he was delivered via c-section at 3:07pm.

My pregnancy with Ryan was pretty uneventful up until that day, too, other than some discharge somewhat like what I've been having this time. But there was no apparent cause for it. The day I turned 23 weeks 4 days, I woke up feeling fine. A few hours later I started getting the same feelings I had with Zachary. I called my doctor's office and he was in surgery all morning. The nurse was quite bitchy with me, saying that I was just there the day before (u/s and appointment) and everything was fine (and it was, but obviously that didn't/doesn't mean diddly squat). The nurse said she'd call when the doctor came in. My mom picked me up and I went to her house. I called the office a few more times. WHY I did not just go in to the ER or L&D is beyond me : (. It may have not made much difference, though. After awhile I started feeing very mild contractions. My doctor's office finally called and told me to come in at 4. We got there early, but they made us wait. When I was finally examined, I was 2-3cm, but was told I was too dilated to do a rescue cerclage. They admitted me and gave me some brethine to stop the contractions and it worked pretty quickly. The plan was to keep me in the hospital until I had to deliver and we were hoping to make it a couple weeks at least. I didn't get much sleep that night. They had me with my head down and my feet up and on my left side and it got uncomfortable very fast. And Ryan kicked my cervix all night long. The next morning one of the nurse's came in to examine me and couldn't believe it when I was 10cm dilated! That was between 8:30 and 9am and Ryan was delivered at 10:04am.

So as I sit here this morning typing this, it's very scary to think that Brooke COULD be here today! Although I don't believe she will be, it's hard not to think about and it's hard not to worry about. I know I'll be overanalyzing every little twinge today, but hopefully there won't be much to make me worry. It is exciting to think that I could wake up tomorrow still pregnant and NOT in labor. And go to my appointment on Friday and find out all is still well with my cervix. But even if that happens, I will still worry a lot until I hit 28 weeks because who knows how my body will hold up PAST 23 weeks 4 days. It's all unknown territory. Every extra week I make it, I will be very thankful, though. And I am SO very thankful that nothing has happened before this. That was a worry of mine because you just never know. Nothing is guaranteed. One thing to concentrate on is that cerclages are 85-90% effective and the most common cause of failure is infection, so let's just pray that I don't develop one at any time.

Well, since I already wrote a novel, I guess I'll leave it at that. It felt good to get that all out. Now hopefully I'll just be able to think positively the rest of the day and trust and believe in God that what's meant to be will happen and pray that it means Brooke will stay safe inside for at LEAST another month!

It's getting close...

Here's this week's belly pic, taken yesterday at 23 weeks 1 day!

I can't believe I'm here at 23 weeks (2 days) already. Time has just flown by so far. I pray it continues to do so and I get by the next 13 weeks or so (wow, that's not much time!) with no problems. It's hard not to worry about Wednesday, but I'm trying to keep my mind off of it. I did go in to the doctor on Friday because I was having more of that brown discharge. They did an ultrasound to check my cervix and it was long and closed and the cerclage was still there and holding good. The doctor wasn't sure where the discharge was coming from exactly, but I was told not to worry about it. I haven't had much at all for the past 12 hours or so, so hopefully it's going to go away. It will certainly help my nerves! I love my doctor and his nurses. They tell me to call for ANYTHING and when I do call (and go in), they NEVER make me feel like I'm overreacting or paranoid. So my next appointment is Friday....23 weeks 6 days...it will be the furthest I've ever made it! It's hard to even imagine, really. And it's totally scary to think that Brooke could be born in the next few days. While I am anxious to see what she looks like, I don't want to see her for at LEAST another 5 weeks!! It's actually getting harder to imagine getting all the way to 36/37 weeks, so I'll be taking it week by week....and 28 weeks is my next big goal after Friday!

P.S. If you haven't already, feel free to place a "bet" in the poll up there at the top under my header! : )

Two belly pics this week...

We took the usual belly pic on Saturday, the day I turned 22 weeks, and I couldn't believe it when I compared it to last week's because I looked smaller! Brooke must have been laying differently. Here's that pic:

Last night when I was getting changed for bed, I noticed that I looked bigger than the day before, so I had Doug take another pic. And this is more what I look like all the time now!

I am absolutely LOVING the fact that I actually look pregnant this time around! I'm much bigger now than when I delivered Zachary and Ryan and I'm still almost 2 weeks away from that. But I think I look like the average woman looks when 22 weeks pregnant. Here's a pic out of my scrapbook (that only has 2 pages done, lol) of my belly pics with Ryan:

20, 21, 22, and 23 weeks!

I have a scale at home and I've been weighing myself periodically. As of this morning I'm now up 11lbs. At my 20 week appointment, I believe I was up 7lbs....so that's 4 lbs. in 2 weeks...how can that be?! LOL. Oh well, 11lbs. total so far isn't bad! I wonder how much I'll have gained until my appointment next Friday and if they'll say anything. With Ryan I gained I think around 15lbs. total, but I started out probably about 10lbs. or so heavier this pregnancy.

As you know, I've been getting increasingly nervous as the past week or two has gone by as it gets nearer to the time I delivered before. Saturday night I all of a sudden got this feeling out of nowhere that nothing out of the ordinary was going to happen the day I turn 23 weeks 4 days. I now feel like with the cerclage in (and getting the shots) that my cervix is going to behave and that day is going to pass like all these others have been. Gosh, I hope my feeling is right!!

Cervical length check

I went for my first "official" cervical length check today. The tech said she thought everything looked good and that the doctor would call if he thought otherwise : ). She surprised me when I went in by saying she would do a quick abdominal u/s first and check the heart rate (the cervical length is checked vaginally). So I got a quick peek at Brooke and check out these pics (especially the 2nd one)! LOL.

This one is a little hard to make out body parts, aside from her head. But look how squished she is!

And look at those feet over her head! LOL. I'm so glad the tech printed out this pic for me. I love it! I actually didn't think I'd get pics at all anymore, so I was pleasantly surprised. So far this pregnancy we've accumulated 22 u/s pictures!!

So my next appointment (cervical length check and to see the doctor) is 2 weeks from today, on the 29th. I'll be 22 weeks tomorrow and I just can't believe how fast it's going! Hopefully I have many more weeks to go : )

She has a name!

Last night we finally decided on Brooke Elizabeth : ). It's about 98-99% definite. I don't see us coming up with any other names we both like. Sophia Hope was in the running (you may have seen and voted in the baby name poll I had put up yesterday...I just took it down), but it just wasn't quite settling right with me. I preferred Sophie, but Doug didn't like it and if we named her Sophia said he would tell people not to call her Sophie. I think Brooke goes much better with Ryan (and the rest of our names). I keep thinking...Zachary, Ryan, and Brooke...and it just sounds/feels right to me : ).

She seems to have moved up a bit. I don't feel her kicking at my cervix quite so much...what a relief! I've been feeling more movement near my belly button again. I love that : ).

I have my cervical length check on Friday. Hopefully it's holding up! I'll update again then. Two weeks from today I will be 23 weeks 4 days...I know I've already asked, but please say some extra prayers leading up to and on that day! Thanks!

Oh, one more thing. Today marks Ryan's 4 year coming home from the NICU anniversary! Here is a picture of him that I took right after we got home:

He looks SO tiny in his carseat! He weighed 6lb. 4oz.

21 weeks

My belly is starting to round out a little finally! : )

Wow, I can't believe I'm 21 weeks (and 1 day) pregnant already! It's going by so fast so far. I have less than 3 weeks to go until I hit the day when I went in to labor the last 2 times - 23 weeks 4 days. That will be on Wednesday the 27th (say some extra prayers that day, please!). This little stinker girl has been kicking the heck out of my cervix for the past week...not a good feeling. And then on Thursday I had some of that same light beige discharge that I had a few days after my cerclage. I called the doctor just to be sure and they had me go in on Friday morning to check everything out. Dr. K. checked the heart rate first and said it was excellent and then he did an internal exam and said the cerclage was in place and my cervix was closed. Whew! He did say it could be from her kicking at my cervix so much and not to worry about it unless I start bleeding. She's eased up a bit the past couple days, so hopefully she'll move her little hiney back up near my belly button. I miss feeling her kick on the outside. It's like she's moved back and down.

As it gets closer to when I delivered before, I'm starting to get more uneasy. Even with the cerclage and 17p injections this time I'm very nervous about how my body is going to react. Maybe it will be just fine with those precautions, but maybe it will fight against them and I'll have problems. Everyone keeps saying that it's great things are looking good so far and that my cervix is holding up, BUT it was the same way with my last 2 pregnancies. Everything was fine up until the day I went in to labor. So I don't think I'll really be able to relax and breathe a sigh of relief until I pass the 28 week mark and even more every week after that. I just keep praying that I carry much further this time and that she is born strong and healthy.

I guess I don't really have much else to write about! : )

Still a she and she's healthy!

On Friday I had the 20 week anatomy scan to make sure everything looked good and there was nothing wrong. The tech had me nervous for a little bit because she kept checking the heart over and over, but I guess she just couldn't get a good pic. The baby wasn't cooperating very well and she had to keep jiggling my belly to get her to move and she was pushing so hard sometimes moving the probe around that it hurt really bad! I wonder if anyone has ever done that to her. LOL. I guess they do what they have to, though. Then she was checking my cervix to make sure the cerclage was holding and my cervix wasn't shortening. My mom was there with Doug and I and she asked the tech if it was okay and the tech said, "I'll let the doctor talk to you about that. Let's just say it's a good thing the cerclage is there this time." I almost puked!! Right after that she went to get the doctor and my mom, Doug, and I just looked at each other. So the doctor comes in and looks at all the pics of the baby and my cervix and said everything looked good!! Whew! I could have smacked that tech for saying what she did, lol. She should've just kept her mouth shut if she didn't know what she was talking about! I go back now every 2 weeks for a cervical length check and my next appointment is in 4 weeks, on the 29th. I'll be 23 weeks 6 days then. I went in to labor with both Zachary and Ryan at 23w 4d. Eeek! Hopefully with the 17p injections and the cerclage, my body will just behave itself! Total weight gain so far is 7lbs. and my blood pressure was 110/70. So far, so good!!! : ) Now on to the pics!

Toilet shot! LOL. Still a girl : ). (And I do believe that's her head on the left...she's a little contortionist, lol.)

Front view of her face and belly. Profile shots are so much cuter! LOL.

I think she has the cutest profile : ).

Notice her legs bent up over her belly? At one point she was completely bent in half with her feet over her face! LOL.

And here's this week's belly pic, taken yesterday, at 20 weeks! I think I'm bigger than last week and I definitely feel it! LOL.

I got dressed for this week's pic! LOL.