Growth Group Announcements: Out of Control!

1/25/13

I won't be able to post this one for even longer, but it was so much fun I have to write about it.  We met with our church growth group tonight.  We joined in December, not long after we found out we were pregnant.  I knew regardless of the outcome (whether we miscarried or had the baby), we needed more support or people who know details about our lives.  People at church are friendly, but you can only talk so much before and after the service.  I felt very alone after the miscarriage at church.  Partly because of the sadness, but also because there weren't that many people who knew enough to be supportive.  So either way, I wanted to build some stronger relationships.

Our growth group is mostly young families and couples, and I had heard some things that made me think there were others struggling with getting pregnant, too.  We were figuring we would announce our pregnancy after 12 weeks (next week).  That is, until the growth group announcements got out of control.

First, two of the women who have been having trouble getting pregnant announced together that they were pregnant and within a week of each other.  Everyone was really excited for them, hugging, asking questions, etc.  I looked at Stephen and he said it was up to me, but I said that we were so much farther along, we would just let them have their moment this week and announce next time.

As things started to settle down, another woman (in the kitchen), announces that they are pregnant, too.  Everyone freaks out, no way!  More hugs, more questions.  Meanwhile, the couple sitting next to me is having some intense conversation, so I knew they were pregnant and debating about telling...which they did after things settled down again!  (We are only couple #4 announcing the pregnancy now, for those losing count).

So we had to announce too, of course.  We waited for it to die down a little and I said I wanted to even things out and we were pregnant, too.  At this point it was just chaos.  Everyone hugging, disbelieving, but then so excited.  There were 8 or 9 couples there, and 5 announced pregnancies!  They are all between 5 and 7 weeks, so about a month behind us.  But August and September are going to be interesting months for our group!

We also have a 4 month old and another woman who is currently 30 weeks pregnant.  So within a calendar year, we will have 7 new babies in our growth group.  God's timing is pretty awesome.

You can see a wonderful video Rudy made that gives everyone's perspective on the night here:

11 Weeks - 1 More to 2nd Trimester!

1/25/13
So we are at 11 weeks today!  I am starting to show a little bit.  Luckily I have lost weight in the last couple of months, so my clothes had been a little baggy.  They are becoming less baggy, but still fit fine.  I'm guessing people are going to start thinking I'm gaining the weight back.  I've actually lost about 5 pounds since getting pregnant.  Not on purpose, of course.  I am trying to eat healthy, but the last few weeks has been just eating foods that seem safe (as in not going to make me sick).  Peanut butter has been a big one.  I'll have a piece of Ezekiel bread with peanut butter in the morning, and a glass of milk if I think I can get it down.  Peanut butter and banana or jelly in the afternoon (on wheat bread).  Evenings are the worst nausea times for me, so dinner has been hit or miss.  Sometimes just a handful of saltines.  I can't really handle the sight or smell of raw meat very well, so I haven't been grocery shopping dinner foods much either.  I tried a few days ago in Sprouts...I lasted about a minute and had to walk away.

I have been lucky in the fact that I don't throw up much.  I have gagged a lot, and I feel like I'm going to throw up a lot, but haven't actually thrown up very often.  I did move my trash can in my classroom over to where I give notes...just in case.

Anywho.

Our first "regular" doctor appointment was on Wednesday.  I went with a full bladder because I wasn't sure if they were going to do an internal or an external ultrasound.  At 10 weeks, 5 days, I knew in general it would still be internal, but at 7 weeks the ultrasound tech said she could see everything with the external one.  When we got to the appointment, I immediately asked if I should have a full bladder (because I am not going to sit there uncomfortably if I don't have to), and apparently we weren't going to do an ultrasound at all.  She asked if I thought we were, which I did, so she said she might be able to find an opening if we wanted it.  Uh, duh.  Any chance to see the heartbeat.

So we go into the doctor's office and I ask that nurse if I need to have a full bladder or if I should go to the bathroom.  She wasn't positive (she thought it was internal), so she would check with the doctor.  Well the doctor came in and didn't say anything about it and immediately started the internal one.  I wasn't terribly uncomfortable, so I figured I'd be ok through the ultrasound.  She immediately said "there's your bladder, it's really full."  Couldda fooled me.  Then she said "there's your cyst."  Ya, ya, we know it's there, it's beneficial, it will go away, moving on.  And then silence.  And more silence.  And my mind goes back to the last ultrasound we had when the doctor sat in silence for a while and then told us she couldn't find a heartbeat.

Stephen reached over and took my hand.  Then she asks "has anyone seen this pregnancy?"  I just couldn't believe this was happening.  I asked if I should go to the bathroom if my bladder was in the way, and she said to give it another minute.  Then she said she couldn't find the uterus.  Which was better than not being able to find the baby and made me think it had more to do with my bladder, but was not reassuring.  She finally said she was going to have me go to the bathroom, so I did.

Once I came back in and she started over, immediately we could see the baby on the screen with the little flickering heartbeat.  And we finally started breathing again.  Her response was "there it is!"  Are you kidding me??  Asking someone if anyone has seen the pregnancy makes it seem like there are bad things happening.  She could've at least explained that my bladder could be in the way.  But it didn't matter, we could see our baby and it was moving around and fine.

The best part was being able to hear the heartbeat for the first time.  It was in the 160's which she said was good and sounded like a little train.  It was pretty awesome.  Talk about going from a low to a high.  Anyway, we went back and finished up the paperwork and getting a tour of our new flashdrive (Kaiser gives you a flashdrive with a bunch of information on it and then they put all your ultrasounds on it).  This ultrasound isn't on it because it was pretty much just a heartbeat check.  No measurements, no really explaining where everything was, but we could see the heartbeat and it has definitely grown, so all is right for now.

Update: 10 weeks

1/20/13

So I am 10 and a half weeks right now and still feeling pretty good.  Actually, not good, which is good.  Really tired, nauseous, not interested in food, all good signs!  So here's what's happened in the last month.

We went back for another ultrasound with T at 7 and a half weeks.  This was the first time we would see the baby past the time we miscarried last time, so it was scary.  The heartbeat was there and strong, but there was some placental tissue that was concerning, so we went to a formal ultrasound at the hospital.  The tech wouldn't let Stephen come in this time either, but she let him sit right outside the door.

She had the screen turned away so I couldn't see anything, and I know they're not supposed to tell us anything.  This time she was friendly, which was good.  I asked if she could at least tell me if the heartbeat was there, and she told me she didn't want me to worry and the heartbeat looked good.  She started with an external ultrasound and said she could pretty much see everything.  She wasn't sure why I was in there, I guess because everything looked ok to her, which was comforting.  I showed her the picture of the ultrasound earlier, so she also did the internal ultrasound just to make sure she got everything.  She was encouraging, and said her sister had just gone through fertility treatments and had twin boys.  So I think she was sympathetic to me because of that.

T actually stayed late at work so she could get the results, and called the radiologist who looked at the ultrasounds and analyzed them on the phone with her.  He/She said it was within the range of normal for placental tissue and we should just keep an eye on it.  While this wasn't bad news, it wasn't as encouraging as we were hoping for week 7.

At 8.5 weeks we went back and this time, we did get the "everything looks great" we hoped for.  The baby had grown like we'd hoped, the heartbeat was strong, and the placental tissue had moved away from the baby.  We were no longer considered high risk, so it was time to go to a regular OB.

T recommended one in Elk Grove, who was actually my old OB, and one in Point West.  If we chose the Elk Grove doctor, we would deliver at the South Sac Kaiser.  If we chose Point West, we'd deliver at Roseville.  Roseville is a huge, beautiful, and new facility, which would be nice.  But we went to the South Sac maternity area and a nurse actually showed us around.  The hospital isn't new, but the maternity ward is really nice.  All the rooms are large and private, the baby stays with you, you labor, deliver, and stay in the same room (unless you have a C section of course), and it's very secure (there's a security guy outside the door and you have to be buzzed in the doors to get in).  Plus, it will be nice to only have to go to the Elk Grove for appointments.

So we decided to go back to my old OB, which we never wanted to leave in the first place.  When I got pregnant in May and was spotting, my OB was out of town and we had to get an ultrasound right away, so we got sent to someone else.  For some reason, Kaiser switched her to be my primary OB.  We really didn't like how she handled everything with the miscarriage, and Stephen didn't even like her from the beginning.  So I called and got switched back to my original OB and our first appointment with her is tomorrow.

It was actually pretty funny when I called to schedule an appointment, they asked the normal questions (are you taking any medications, etc) and scheduled me for a phone appointment next Friday.  After everything she asked if I knew approximately how many weeks I was, and when I said 10, she said "oh....uh....hold on."  I guess she assumed I wasn't very far along and apparently they try to get you in before 10 weeks.  So she sent a message over to the doctor and they got me in tomorrow.  We already had several ultrasounds, all with Kaiser, so they could see them if they needed to.  But now we get to see the baby again, which is always nice.  And we're almost to the second trimester.

I still feel a little distanced, like I'm still trying to guard myself.  But every day it breaks down a little.  And starting to tell people makes it more real.  And some of my pants are getting tight.  :-)  But I have lost weight in the last few months, so most of my pants were getting baggy, but the couple of smaller pairs I had (that had started to fit) are getting tighter.  We continue to pray and hope, and take it one day at a time.