***WARNING***
This is going to be a long post, so feel free to skim through or break for a snack as needed!
I had planned to do several posts last weekend, but we were staying at my Papa's house and I couldn't get his internet to connect with my laptop. So instead I thought I'd do 2 or 3 posts during the week. I even started one entitled "Halfway There!" But I couldn't seem to focus with my writing and didn't like how it was flowing. After that, I pretty much just gave up. So here we are. I have so much to write about and rather than trying to sort it all into separate posts and themes, I'm just going to put it all into one huge post. Hence the warning above :)
Pregnancy Updates
Let's begin with Symptoms & Side Effects. For the most part, the first trimester stuff has tapered off and I'm feeling pretty decent. I have noted a few new things, however. From what I've read, they are all pretty normal for the second trimester. Which reminds me, I am constantly surprised by just how normal much of my pregnancy has been. I mean, that's a good thing - I'm not complaining. It's just that nothing else about getting to this point was normal, so I kind of expected to continue that trend with lots of weird symptoms and issues... Anyway:
- Round ligament pain. I started to notice this a few weeks ago. I was having lots of random little twinges and brief jabbing pains in and around my belly. Nothing I would describe as a cramp, and nothing that lasted more than a second or two. But I did notice that they occurred more frequently when I was moving around a lot or when I suddenly went from stationary (i.e. sitting or laying down) to mobile. They were a little unnerving and I wondered if maybe it had something to do with the OHSS and my still larger-than-normal ovaries. I had heard of round ligament pain before, but I always thought it had something to do with ligaments and pain associated with the hip joints. Then one day, it occurred to me that maybe this was round ligament pain. I did some reading and, sure enough, the descriptions I read all sounded very much like what I was experiencing (BabyCenter.com gave a nice overview: http://www.babycenter.com/0_round-ligament-pain_205.bc).
- Fatigue. For me, this is different than the exhaustion related to insomnia that I dealt with in the first trimester. Between the Snoogle pillow that B got me, and the new memory foam mattress that Paul and I bought with the escrow refund from our home re-fi, my quality of sleep has improved significantly (yay!). I still wake up more often than before (usually to pee) but I'm able to fall asleep quickly and no longer toss and turn for hours. But in spite of these improvements, I'm just so freaking tired all the time. Most days, I'm ready for a nap by about 9:30 a.m. My body feels tired too. Driving home from work on Friday, I was so sleepy that I actually worried I might fall asleep sitting in traffic. My friends who are, or have been, pregnant all assure me that the fatigue gets better and the so-called "second trimester energy boost" will kick in soon. I'm really hoping this is true for me!
- Yeast infection #2. Yeah. Not my favorite. For a while, I thought that the excessive discharge I was seeing was, well, just discharge. I'd read that an increase in mucus discharge (whether vaginal or nasal) is another common side effect of pregnancy. But I was going through 3-4 pantyliners a day! And then there was the itching... So I asked about it at my last OB appointment and, sure enough, she went to examine me and was like "Oh yeah, you've definitely got a little something going on down here!" Afterwards, I was doing some more reading and found out that not only are yeast infections more common during pregnancy, but some women actually experience chronic yeast infections throughout their entire pregnancy that don't resolve until after delivery. Yikes! I really hope that is NOT the case for me!
- General physical feelings: In general, I feel big and heavy all the time now. It's kind of strange - it's like I don't know how to operate this new body. I'm not huge yet, obviously, but I'm already experiencing some awkwardness with certain movements (getting in and out of my car, sitting up in bed). And the heaviness is also kind of weird. I haven't actually gained much weight (see more on this topic below) but I definitely feel like I'm carrying more around. My lower back aches more when I'm on my feet. I've found that I actually prefer to wear maternity pants/shorts/skirts because of the added support from the over-the-belly panel. I can also feel the skin on my belly stretching, although (knock on wood!) no stretch marks yet!
- Weight gain. Or rather, lack thereof. Here's the deal, I put on probably about 10 pounds (give or take) over the course of my IF treatments, so it's a little hard to say what my pre-pregnancy baseline was. My doctor's office uses my weight from my last annual exam in January of this year (after 5 months of Clomid but before the IUI and IVF). I was about 162.5 at that point. I ballooned up to over 172 during the peak of the OHSS debacle, but returned to 162-163 once the worst was over. At my first OB appointment (10 weeks) I was 164.5 for a gain of about 2 pounds from my "baseline." At my second appointment (14.5 weeks) I was 165. Essentially no change. And at my third and most recent appointment (19.5 weeks) I was 166. So basically, by the halfway point of my pregnancy, I had only gained 3.5 pounds. Now, I'm not complaining per se, but according to what I've read (and what Dr. E said at my first appointment) I should have gained more like 10-12 pounds by now. So what gives? And more importantly, could this have an adverse affect on the baby? I asked Dr. E if this was something I should be concerned about, and she assured me that it wasn't. According to the ultrasound measurements, Flash is doing fine and measuring right on target. I was discussing this with my mom during her recent visit, and she mentioned that she never gained much weight during the first half of her pregnancy either. But then, once she hit the five month mark, she put on 5-7 pounds in a month. Fortunately, after that spurt, she resumed gaining at a more reasonable rate. I am 21 weeks and 1 day today and finishing out the "fifth month" of pregnancy. Interestingly, in the two weeks since my appointment, I appear to have gained 4-6 pounds. My weight, first thing in the morning, is now coming in around the 170-172 pound mark. Very interesting indeed...
- Fetal movement. Everyone I know seems to have felt (or be feeling) their babies move for the first time around 18-20 weeks. I have only felt Flash move (for sure) twice so far. The first was at our 20-week ultrasound appointment. I think it helped that he/she was moving a lot on the screen, so seeing it helped me connect visually with what I was feeling in my belly. The second time was last weekend when I was laying in bed reading one night. Other than that, there have been just a few random, fleeting sensations here and there that made me think "Was that it? Did I just feel it??" I'm really trying not to obsess over this too much. And according to what I've read, and what at least 2-3 people in my doctor's office have told me, there's no need to worry at this point. They say it is technically still early, and that some women don't start to feel it consistently until closer to 24-25 weeks. But still, I feel a bit of panic every time some well-meaning co-worker or my MIL asks me about it.
Recent Appointments
- Research study visit #2
- Had a level II ultrasound over in the hospital - always fun to get to see Flash!
- Met with the coordinator to go over questionnaires and updates
- Peed in a cup, got my blood drawn, and self-collected cervical fluid swabs for the study
- I just realized I may not have explained about this study I'm doing in a previous post, so here it is in a nutshell:
- It is an observational study of first-time mom's that is funded by the NIH and taking place all over the country. I work in clinical (oncology) research, helping doctors develop and implement new cancer research studies. I've also been a study coordinator, enrolling patients and helping conduct visits. I've always wanted to be in a study myself and see the "other side" of research, so to speak. I was very excited to find the flier in my New Patient Info packet and called right away to sign up!
- It consists of 3 visits (one per trimester) at which they take blood, urine, and cervical fluid samples, go through lots of questionnaires, do quickie exams, and [this is the real reason I signed up] perform 3 extra ultrasounds just for research. They also collect some data and cord blood specimens at the time of delivery. There is an optional sleep-study component that I also consented to which involves wearing a monitoring device twice during pregnancy (in the first and third trimesters)
- The idea is to compile all the data and then try to identify factors and trends in first-time mom's that could indicate if someone is at a higher risk for complications during pregnancy.
- I had my first study visit back in the end of June. My third and final visit is scheduled for early October.
- 20-Week OB appointment (which was actually at 19.5 weeks)
- Got to hear the heartbeat again (with Paul this time)
- Discussed: lack of weight gain, pertussis boosters for family members (i.e. grandparents), and yeast infection #2
- Had the big anatomy scan ultrasound, which was fun. We warned the tech that Flash doesn't like to have his/her picture taken, and sure enough, she couldn't get a clear picture of the face and some angles of the heart because Flash's arms were up covering his/her face the entire time. Flash seems to take after Daddy in this regard :) But otherwise, it was a fun exam and everything looked/measured just fine.
- Peed in a cup and had more blood drawn
- Got a referral to a hematologist - Dr. E was looking back at my genetic screening results from the RE's clinic and wants me to get another opinion about the MTHFR mutation that I carry. While it is a pretty common mutation, the biggest risk to me is a blood clot. My RE put me on a daily baby aspirin back in January, but Dr. E noted that I actually have two different copies of this same mutation. Based on that, she wanted to know if I maybe need to be put on something else after delivery. Fun times!
- Follow-up ultrasound (20 weeks 2 days)
- Went back to see if they could get the additional views of the face and heart that they couldn't get at the initial anatomy scan. Flash cooperated better this time. Needless to say, I didn't complain about getting the additional ultrasound :)
- Hematologist appointment
- Saw Dr. C, the hematologist, last Friday (20 weeks 5 days) to discuss my mutation status and blood clot risk. He explained that I have a compound heterozygous mutation, but that since I was negative for the Factor V Leidin and Prothrombin II mutations (two other common clotting mutations), I'm not really at any increased risk from having two copies of the MTHFR mutation.
- Dr. C said he would leave the decision of whether to keep me on baby aspirin or not up to Dr. E, since some OBs have strong opinions one way or another about it.
- Had more blood drawn for one more test (homocysteine) and assuming that it comes back normal, I shouldn't need to have any additional intervention after delivery. Excellent.
There are no indications that this will be the case for us, but I want to be prepared either way!
Nursery Updates
- Wallpaper has been removed (thanks to Paul and my mom!) and a new can of white primer/paint has been purchased and should be going on this week or next.
- Any baby stuff we've accumulated so far has been consolidated and is now being stored in the closet until the painting is done and furniture is in place.
- The bedding collection has been chosen for our Noah's Ark theme (you can see pictures at http://www.babysupermall.com/main/products/lai/lai519006v.html) and we've purchased the wall decals that we plan to use.
- We've commissioned Paul's friend's sister to do the ark mural and one other wall. We would like her to come out to see the room and discuss the design with us soon. Ideally, I'd like to have all the painting finished by the time my mom comes back the end of October so that we can work on other decorating!
Umm.... yeah. We need to get on that. I did a walk through at Babies 'R Us with my mom and MIL a couple weeks ago. And Paul and I did a quickie walk through the furniture section at Buy Buy Baby this weekend. We have yet to actually decide on anything, but we did come up with a plan/schedule to get this done:
- Today (Labor Day) I intend to finish going through the Baby Bargains book that my officemate loaned me. I started reading it last weekend and I really like the format and detailed information. I'm a researcher by nature (and by profession) so I want to go into this registry thing knowing what we do (and don't) need or want, as well as what brands/models/gadgets received high ratings for safety and quality (and those that didn't).
- This week I'm going to poll my friends and co-workers workers who have recently had babies and ask them each 3 questions:
- What is one thing that you purchased or received that you cannot live without?
- What is one thing that you purchased or received that you don't use/hate/could easily live without?
- What is one thing that you wish you had purchased or received (or purchased/received sooner than you did)?
- Next weekend (time-permitting) Paul and I are going to run to a couple more stores to look at cribs and hopefully decide on one so we can get it ordered. I'm glad I'm reading this book because I had no idea that they suggest allowing at least 12 weeks for furniture delivery! That's really the only piece of furniture that we will be ordering (aside from maybe a rocker/glider). We've got that desk that we're converting into a changing table/storage and we're planning to get a regular dresser from either an antique/secondhand store or possibly just IKEA.
- Two weeks from today (Monday, September 17) we're going to set aside the entire day to do the bulk of the registry-ing. We can always add smaller, less specific items (diapers, toys, etc) at a later time.
- We've decided on/made arrangements with our future nanny. It wasn't a terribly difficult process, for which I'm thankful. A woman from our church (who's husband is also a fellow volunteer firefighter on our local department with Paul) runs an in-home daycare in our town. She's licensed and knowledgeable and usually in pretty high demand. We talked with her a couple of weeks ago after church and she's holding a spot for us beginning sometime next April. Between Paul's schedule and mine, we'll only need her a couple days a week. But still, it's nice to have that ironed out!
- I've pre-registered with our insurance company for the labor and delivery, but still need to pre-register with the hospital.
- We need to decide on baby classes - which ones to take (or not) and where. This probably needs to happen sooner rather than later in case they fill up...
- We need to start thinking about pediatricians...
- I need to meet with my HR rep at work and figure out about maternity leave. The policy and procedures for extended leaves of absence (including maternity leave) changed at my work effective two days ago. I wasn't entirely clear on the previous policy, so I'm even less clear on how this will affect me under the new policy. Regardless, I know that I'm planning to take all 12 weeks that I'm allowed. I'm just not sure how much of that will be paid and when I need to file the forms, etc.
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