Biophysical Profile

This morning we had our biophysical profile ultrasound. The things they look at include breathing movements, body movements, smaller movements e.g. clenching fists, the amniotic fluid index and the baby's heart-rate. Baby boy was doing everything he should be doing - the ultrasound took literally 5 minutes! He's still vertex (head down) and it's getting very cramped in there so I doubt he's going to turn breech again (I really hope he doesn't, anyway!). I asked about the cord and whether it was still around the baby's neck - it isn't! Yay! Obviously that can change at any time, but it's nice to know it's not there right now. His heart-rate was 146 bpm, which is normal. My amniotic fluid index was 12, and the tech said between 10 and 20 is normal so that's good. My placenta looks good, too. I'm very happy that everything is awesome!

As for his estimated weight, he's about 6 pounds 4 ounces right now. At our last ultrasound, which was at 34+6 (19 days ago) he was estimated to be about 4 pounds 14 ounces. So going by those measurements, he's gained about 22 ounces in 19 days. I know ultrasound weight measurements can be off, but it's good to know he's growing appropriately. Babies are supposed to gain around an ounce a day, apparently, so he's doing well. I'm guessing he'll weigh somewhere in the region of 7 pounds at delivery, maybe 7 and a half. The tech said he's in the 25th percentile, but they get concerned when babies are in the 10th percentile or the 90th percentile. He's just a smaller baby than average, I guess. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing!

We got 4 pictures from the ultrasound, but at this point it's really hard to make anything much out. It's crazy to think that in 2-3 weeks, our little guy will actually be here! :)

So the Chinese Gender Calendar was right for us!

We had our anatomy ultrasound this afternoon. I can't help but feel anxious before ultrasounds, but I guess that's normal! Anyway, our baby looks great! As far as I could tell everything is in the right place - the tech didn't seem concerned about anything, but it's standard that they don't tell you very much because the doctor will review the images. The heart has 4 chambers as it should, and the cord has 3 vessels (which we knew from our NT scan anyway). My cervix is long and closed, and the placenta is posterior and high up - yay! We saw the spine, ribs, bladder, kidneys, heart (heart-rate was 167 bpm), diaphragm, brain, face, limbs... and we found out we're having a little boy! The tech said he's about 13 oz, which is on track for how far along I am. Almost a pound already, wow!

We're both so happy with how everything went, it was amazing. I was kind of expecting to be told the baby is a girl, so I was a little surprised - albeit very happy - with the news! After the ultrasound we stopped at a couple of stores to pick up some little blue outfits and an ultrasound pic frame. I used this pic as a Facebook announcement, because so many people were excited to find out our news:

We got 9 pictures in total, which is awesome! He had his hands up by his face most of the time, so you can see a hand in front of his face on the profile shots. We also got a picture of one of his little feet - so cute!

Profile with hand in front of face

Another profile/hand pic

His face! Less alien-like than at the NT scan!!

One of his little feet!

Pain in the butt - update!

Today started out badly... very badly. I woke up in a lot of pain at 3:15am, then couldn't get back to sleep for what seemed like forever. When I finally got up, it really hurt to walk. The cyst had gotten bigger - just what I needed...

Getting in the car to go to my OB appointment was excruciating, it had me in tears. I didn't see my OB until about an hour after my appointment time (nothing new there, really) but when she came in she was awesome. I told her my history and explained my current symptoms; she took a look and said the cyst looked to be around 5 cm (2 inches) and I needed it draining at the very least, today or tomorrow at the latest. She knew who to refer me to, and had the receptionist call to make me an appointment. This was at almost 12 noon. Well, my appointment with the surgeon was set for 2:15pm! Awesome! Oh and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat, too - that was a nice little distraction from the pain  :)
In the meantime I went to get my prescriptions filled - Keflex and Percocet. I was kind of wary about the Percocet, but my OB reassured me that it would be fine to take temporarily and I was in so much pain that I needed something that would really help. Last night I took one Tylenol and it did absolutely nothing, as I expected.

At the surgery office I filled in a bunch of paperwork, and my appointment was on time. The surgeon was a nice man, he put me at ease and explained my options. Option 1 was to take the antibiotics and see if they helped (he wasn't optimistic about that, and when I had my original cyst they didn't make it clear up so neither was I!). Option 2 was to drain it - I went with that. He explained that he would do it without local anesthetic - yikes - because the anesthetic injection hurts just as bad as cutting the skin to drain the cyst. Based on my prior experience I had to agree - the worst part I remember from my original surgery was the local anesthetic injections (I had to have 2 and they were so painful). The thought of being cut open without anesthetic is pretty horrifying, but I knew it had to be done and I definitely didn't want to leave without having anything done! Let me tell you, the pain when he cut me was absolutely excruciating. He told me I could call him names if I wanted to, haha, but I didn't - I just cussed under my breath a few times. OW! Thankfully the cutting didn't last very long, and then he drained the cyst. It started feeling better almost immediately, because the pressure was released.

The incision is about an inch - it felt about 10 times bigger while he was cutting me, of course! It didn't need to be packed or stitched, I just need to keep it covered while it heals. I'll be seeing the surgeon again on Friday for a follow-up.

I can't begin to tell you how much of a relief it is to have this thing dealt with. It probably isn't a permanent fix, but at least it's good for now. I can sit down again, woo-hoo! I can get in the car and sit normally without yelping or crying my eyes out. Sure, the incision hurts - but nothing like the cyst did. I'm so grateful to my OB for getting me seen today, and I'm also very grateful to the surgeon for fitting me in at such short notice. I couldn't have managed for much longer, and I really didn't want to go to the ER unless I had no other option. Also, if I ever have any problems with the cyst recurring, I know who to go to now - hopefully it will never have to get to this point again! It definitely got huge much quicker than it did last time, I don't think it was ever so painful the first time around. Who knows, though - it's almost 10 years ago, so my memory is probably foggy! :)

I've felt the baby move so much today, even though the Percocet is supposed to make us both drowsy. My OB gave me 40 pills, and I can take one every 4 hours. I'm going to take way less than that, though - I'm thinking 3 a day, max. It'll be good to keep some in case I have another recurrence and have to wait to be seen. It's making me a bit itchy as well, so I don't want to be taking the full amount! I can't believe people take this drug for fun - seriously?! I think I'll sleep way better tonight than I have all week, though!

NT scan update (updated)

We had our NT scan this morning. I was soooo nervous beforehand, but it went really well! We got to hear our baby's heartbeat for the first time - it was 158 bpm today, which is great :)

There was no sign of any abnormalities at all - baby has a nasal bone and the NT measurement was 2mm, which is well within normal range.

Baby is measuring 12 weeks 6 days, and I'm 12 weeks 4 days. We're very happy with that!

We saw the heart, brain, kidneys, stomach and even a tiny hand! It was a truly amazing experience. The tech couldn't be certain, but thinks the baby might be a girl. We don't have any preference, but I've been thinking girl for a while. We'll see at our 18-20 week scan, anyway!

We're in love :)

Looked like baby was waving!

Edited 11/6/12 to add: I completely forgot to write about my SCH yesterday, but I'm very happy to report that it's gone now. What a relief! :)

Ultrasound update!

Our ultrasound went very well, I'm happy to say. I was so anxious beforehand, but as soon as we saw our baby on the screen that all went away! By LMP I'm 8 weeks 2 days, but our baby is measuring 8 weeks 4 days so we have a new due date: 5/16/13. It's only a couple of days ahead, but I'm just so glad it wasn't measuring smaller than it should be. The heartbeat is nice and strong at 184 beats per minute! We're both thrilled. We only got one picture, but the experience was amazing. I can't begin to describe how relieved I am that everything looks wonderful - it's a great feeling after worrying all this time!

Head on the left, butt on the right!

Yay for progesterone supplements!

It didn't look like I was going to be able to get my Endometrin today, but I called the pharmacy one more time and got the best news: it was ready for collection! Woo-hoo!! The way my OB wrote the script, they were supposed to dispense 1 weeks' worth at a time. That would've meant going back every Friday for the next 5 weeks (do-able, but I'd rather not have to if it can be avoided!). In the end, they were able to give me the prescription in 2 parts. Now I have 3 weeks' worth and in 2 weeks I'll call to ask them to refill my prescription, and get the rest in one go too (in 3 weeks). This way it ends up being a little cheaper, too, so it's a win-win situation! I think we were billed too little in the end, though, so we'll have to ask them about that next time we go in. I think she billed us for 2 weeks instead of 3, because when I added it up in my head it just didn't make sense. I mean I'm not complaining, but I feel bad because the lady might get into trouble or something, and I'm a goody two shoes apparently! :)

I can't express how much happier I am now that I have this stuff. I'll start it tonight at bedtime, as directed. Who knows if it's going to make a difference to the outcome of this pregnancy, but it makes me feel better taking it and that's a good thing in itself. At least I can relax, knowing that my progesterone levels shouldn't be an issue anymore. Phew!

The results are in!

About 20 minutes ago my OB called. Yep, the actual OB, not a nurse. I was surprised by that, but I could tell from her voice that it was probably good news. My HCG was 620, and my progesterone was 15.3. She said that's very good, so I'll take her word for it. I'm so relieved! :)

I know next Monday's blood draw will be more important (to see if my numbers are increasing) but it seems like a good start! That call made my day  :)

12 dpo and more tests!

This morning I tested again - not because I didn't believe the 3 tests I took yesterday, but because I wanted to see if the lines would get darker. I didn't know if they would or not, since it was a little under 24 hours since the first tests, but I figured I'd give it a shot as a little experiment! Well, today's Wondfo and FRER were definitely darker than yesterday's.

Then I got a crazy idea to use a digital test (I picked some up last night). I didn't really expect that one to come up positive because I've heard they're less sensitive than the line tests, so you can imagine my surprise when the word "Pregnant" popped up within about a minute! That made my day, really. I don't know why, but seeing the word seemed to make it feel more real somehow. I know that sounds nuts, and it probably is! :)

I'm looking forward to my first appointment on Monday. My OB is really nice, I like her. When we went to get the results from our infertility testing back in June, she said she wouldn't be surprised if I was pregnant by Christmas. I totally didn't believe her then, but she was right! If we're lucky and everything goes well, I'll be about 19 weeks at Christmas. We might know the gender by then!

This is all so surreal. Yesterday I felt like I was dreaming and would wake up to realize none of this happened. When I woke up this morning, it had sunk in a little more. It's hard to wrap my head around it after all this time of nothing happening, but I'm trying to enjoy every moment of this. I know it's very early days and lots of things can go wrong, but I'm not letting myself think about that too much! Positive thoughts only! :)

Yay, I ovulated! :)

Damn, it's been quite a while since my last post. We haven't seen MIL since that horrible night, 9/17 (almost a month without the crazy - woo-hoo!). Life is great without the stress she causes!

Anyway, so it took a while but I finally ovulated! On 10/7, which was CD24. I'm so happy that it happened, even though it was a late one. I must admit, I was starting to worry that there was something wrong with me because I thought this cycle was going to be anovulatory like my last one. But no, it's all good :)

My chart looks pretty cool, I haven't had this pattern before with my temps but I remember seeing it described on FF as a "step" pattern. I'm only 6DPO today so it's too early to test of course. My chart did something crazy and decided on CD26 that I'd ovulated on CD11, even though I was pretty sure it was actually CD24. Anyway, on CD26 since it was telling me I was 15DPO I figured I may as well test - negative, obviously, because my O date was in fact only 2 days earlier! So that's why there's a test on my chart on CD26. I'm not actually that crazy to test at 2DPO!! :)

I really hope we have a good chance of catching that egg and getting our BFP this cycle! It's my hubby's 30th birthday in a little under 2 weeks from now - wouldn't that be a great birthday present?! It's also our wedding anniversary this weekend. I don't know if I should have any wine when we go out for our celebratory meal... I'm leaning towards 'no' but maybe I could have 1 glass. I'll only be 8DPO then, so if we did catch the egg implantation might not even have occurred by that point. Hmmm...

Relaxed!

I've had a Massage Envy membership since the end of April, and had 3 massages saved up on my account. Well, with all this TTC stuff, I wanted to avoid going any time I might have been pregnant, so I promised myself last week that if my period showed I'd book myself an appointment. I called at lunchtime and got an appointment for 3 p.m. today - I'm so glad I went, I feel about a million times better now. It was so relaxing! My back and shoulders were so tense and knotted up, and my therapist did such a great job of working the tension out. I made another appointment with the same therapist for next Thursday, I'm looking forward to it already! I can't believe how much tension and stress went away in the space of an hour, it's crazy.

So I'll have 1 left after next week, then at the end of the month another will be credited to my account. I figure that after we move house I'll definitely want to go again, there's a Massage Envy not too far from our new house so that's good :-) I'll probably need it after the stress of moving. I'm using my massages as a kind of consolation prize for when my period comes, I guess! I'll always hope it doesn't, of course, but I know conceiving will probably take a while so if/when it shows next month, I'll go for another massage... or 2!