17 week belly picture and another yummy lunch

Here's a belly picture of me at 17 weeks, I'm glad that I finally seem to be making some progression :-)


For you brave souls here is another one to show off little Spot hiding in my belly!


Today my friend from college brought over lunch from Nood.les and Company. It was the first time trying this restaurant and I had this Bangkok stirfry dish that was so yummy. I'll definitely be sending my husband for takeout again soon! Visiting with my friend over steaming hot soba noodles was just what the doctor ordered. She brought me a light hearted pregnancy book about get this...a comical approach to bedrest! I'm anxious to read it cover to cover and have a good laugh.

Things are still quiet here on the homefront, thank heavens. I am ever so grateful for those kind of days. Tomorrow should hopefully be an uneventful one, and then Wednesday our cleaning lady will be here in the morning. This is something that is truly priceless when you're not able to do even the simplest of household stuff. I swear, I never thought I'd see the day where I actually yearn for some one on one time with my vacuum cleaner. I miss the dear old dust sucker :-) (No I don't mean my husband, hehe!)

Although things have been quiet for the last few days, I feel like I've already learned a lot from my short stay on bedrest row.

1. Despite having all the time in the world to sleep, bedrest causes this weird type of insomnia. I either can't fall asleep at night and am up until 4AM, or if I am lucky enough to fall asleep at a decent time, I wake up at 4AM and can't fall back asleep.

2, Since I am up often at 3 or 4 AM I have discovered that VH1 plays the newest song by New Kid.s on the Block once an hour every hour from 3AM until 10AM. It was alright to hear it at first, but now I have the video memorized. If you tell anyone I will hunt you down.

3. Grilled cheese with tomato is great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and is very easy to make when you don't feel like cooking. It is my new comfort food.

4.You can watch the entire first three seasons of Showtime series We.eds on Netflix. I did just this in less than a two week time period and now I have the intro song about ticky tacky little houses stuck in my head. My husband also sings it randomly because he has heard it 3o times already. (By the way - there is a new episode on tonight!)

5. I miss the bleep bleep bleep noise of the anesthesia machine from work. During a long OR case, you got so used to the noise it almost put you in a peaceful trance. Don't ask me why - but I miss that sound!

6. Since my cerclage, my lady parts down below have never quite been the same. I know that with pregnancy the whole area becomes "puffy." But I think mine have taken this to new heights - I'm not sure if it's due to the surgery or what. It looks like I've had the same collagen injections as Angel.ina Jolie's lips, but instead injected in my area "down there," if you know what I mean! (My friend pauline actually came up with that description when I mentioned the puffy nature of the lady bits to her the other day.)

Thanks everyone for the food suggestions. Cibele, no I've never had Brazilian food - gosh that sounds good to try though! I hope everyone is having a great start to their week, and thanks again for sharing the bumpy ride with me lately. Fourth of July is almost here, and hopefully it means a short work week for everyone and a long lazy weekend!

17 weeks (almost)

Can I start by saying thank you thank you thank you for all of you kind words again? They have helped me get out of my funk and have helped in more ways than one! I swear blogging is so much cheaper and more effective than therapy! Since the other day, things have been quiet on the home front which is music to my ears. I'm hoping for many boring days until my anatomy scan and next cervix check in a week. Hopefully we'll find out if little Spot is a boy or a girl then. Any thoughts or feelings?

Spot is almost 17 weeks, holy crap. Every week that goes by still amazes me because one of these weeks I'm going to turn around and we're going to be at the point of a viable baby! Only 7 more weeks until I can get the steroid shots that we are planning - not that I want to think of any delivery that early in the 20 some week range, but it's nice to be receiving all of the "safety nets" like the steroid shots. Tomorrow I'll post a belly shot, view at your own risk - hehe! But here's some of what Spot should be doing and developing this week:

* The umbilical cord is growing thicker and stronger.
* Fetus weight is just over 5 ounces (150g).
* Baby is about 5 inches (14cm) long crown to rump.
* and would be about 9 inches (23cm) head to toe, if it could stretch out.
* The retina has become sensitive to light.
* The first stools (meconium) are now beginning to accumulate.

They recycle the amniotic fluid by swallowing up to a litre a day. Meconium (composed of products of cell loss, digestive secretion and swallowed amniotic fluid), is accumulating in the bowel. Fat stores begin to develop under your baby's skin this week. The fat will provide energy and help keep your baby warm after birth.

Baby's eyes are looking forward now, but they are still firmly closed. The skeleton is tranforming from cartilage to bone. The bones remain flexible to make the journey through the birth canal easier. You can feel your uterus just below your bellybutton. If you put your fingers sideways and measure, it is about two finger-widths (1 inch) below your bellybutton. Your uterus is the size of a cantaloupe.

I was amazed that Spot is already almost 9 inches long if you stretched the little one out, at that rate I told my husband that they'll hopefully be ready to dunk by Christmas! The fact that Spot is swallowing up to a litre of fluid a day also blows my mind (I wonder if he or she has already inherited my preference for diet Coke over diet Pepsi?) Also, my uterus is already the size of a cantaloupe - that's huge! My husband bought some cantaloupe at Kro.ger yesterday, hmm - perhaps I'll let him eat that this week. It suddenly doesn't look quite the same to me anymore. Cantaloupe suddenly = uterus, not the yummiest thought :-)

Friday my friend came over and had lunch with me and we devoured the yummiest burgers and fries from this new place that opened near my house. It was fun because you can custom order your burgers and add pretty much any wacky topping, and they have sweet potato fries as an option as well. Did I ever say I have a new found love for a juicy old burger and fries? Tomorrow my friend from college is bringing over Noodles and Co for lunch which I've never tried so that should be great as well. Most days I actually do just eat something from my own kitchen, I swear! But I do need your help because I think I have one more day this week to make a lunch choice from. My friend from nursing school and I are going to catch up over some lunch later in the week and she always makes me pick the place (which is actually very kind of her). Where should I get lunch from this week? Any favorites?

(PS - I hope everyone is having a kick butt weekend. If you are bored, go give Morrisa a hug she hit a little bump in her pregnancy - and everyone loves a hug. Next week is Fourth of July - I still can't believe it!)

16 week appointment

Today Spot was almost 16 and a half weeks at their appointment! Last night was a bit quieter with not so much cramping and spotting which was music to my ears. So thank you for all of the good wishes - they must have done their job and helped! All in all, I think the appointment went okay. Good news is that my cervix was measuring similiarly in length and seems to be holding it's own for the time being. My cerclage site when my doctor looked at it appeared to be doing well with no sign of infection. Bad news is that when my doctor did an exam and felt my cervix, it was still mostly closed but softer than what it should be. A cervix should be long and hard (no pun intended, get your minds out of the gutter). "Soft" is not something that should describe a cervix. Soft often can indicate funneling, or funneling before it starts. Also, a soft cervix can also cause bright red spotting - which I've had over the last 24 hours.

So once again, we wait. Truly other than placing a cerclage there is nothing that can be done to stop a cervix from funneling and further shortening. We've placed the cerclage. Most doctors otherwise place a patient on bedrest if a cerclage is not placed, or it is too far into pregnancy to place a cerclage effectively. Well, because of the fact that my cervix is so short, it is early in the pregnancy, and we still have weeks to hurdle to the point of a viable baby - I will be on bedrest with the cerclage in place. If in the next few weeks the integrity of the actual stitch for the cerclage is in question or in other words comes undone, there is a remote possibility that my OB could try to place another one if possible. Dramatic changes in the cervix can cause this. That would be yet another surgery, and going through everything again. I'm not sure how I would handle that.

So as I said, here we wait - Spot and I and my newly "softened cervix." In a week and a half we have our anatomy scan which I'm hoping is filled with "Ohhs" and "Ahhs" and a lot of cute moments on the DVD of our ultrasound. I'm trying really hard to focus on the positive right now, and any fun things in the weeks ahead.

This is already a really long post and I don't want to bore anyone who is nice enough to keep reading my posts which some have been a bit of a downer lately. I'm trying to keep upbeat myself, so if you don't mind I feel like I still have so much more to say, but I'll save it for another post this week. In a nutshell it deals with cramping, contractions, starting more additional medication soon to stop some of this uterine activity if it becomes necessary (which he feels is likely), and the newer revelation that Spot is measuring small for their gestational age currently. I think the last of which is the one that truly worries me the most. We'll know more at the growth and anatomy scan in a week and a half.

I almost forgot to post the picture of my home pedicure from yesterday. My feet were really swollen when I took the picture so don't mind the puffiness. Heck I'll take a little puffiness if it means I'm a normal pregnant woman. Any bits of normalcy are welcomed lately. My dog couldn't resist sitting next to me as I took the picture, so her front feet - I mean paws - got in the picture too!


Congrats to Mel and JJ on their great news yesterday - two bits of good news in one day. I'm truly so happy for you both!

Cramping and the Nordstrom shoe lady

Yesterday I received a small hand written letter that came in a stationary sized envelope in the mail. I am very similar to most people who get excited when they receive personal mail that is not junk or bills. Each of you know how in today's society no one rights letters anymore, so getting one is a bit like Christmas! Once I opened it I discovered that it was a letter on Nordstrom's stationary from my favorite "shoe lady" as I affectionately call her. I've written about this shoe lady before. (So alright, this wasn't really a personal letter I realize.) Basically she calls me when they are having a sale on a shoe she thinks I may like and will hold it in my size. With me being able to leave the house a little less since becoming pregnant, she also will help me out over the phone a bit more and allows free returns and shipping, since I can't really get up to Nordstroms if I see a pair I really like either online or somewhere else. Well, when I feel really really stressed I don't grab a martini now that I'm pregnant, and I am actually not that big of a dessert binge eater. Mexican may sometimes be my poison of choice. But the one sure thing to quell my worries from a horrible doctor appointment, or getting not the best prognosis is a shiny new pair of shoes!

Well, when I found out that our little Spot was in a new danger zone due to my incompetent cervix and that I required surgery to try to fix, things I took action. I bought not one, but two new pair of shoes. This is what left my Nordstrom shoe lady to write me a letter saying thanks for my business again, hope everything is good with the pregnancy, and she is always available if she can be helpful in any way. Basically I think she lives off of the commission from my shoe sprees, hehe! Just kidding, I'm not actually that bad - I swear. I may need to keep that letter for the pregnancy scrap book, it'll bring a smile to my face in 5 years :-)

Well, as I've mentioned I've had a increase in my cramping lately. Most of the time it seems activity related, even though 90% of the day I'm laying down on my left side. Today it got a lot worse, and I had not budged off of the couch all day. Around lunchtime I called and canceled my pedicure appointment that I made with the local lady I go to. She is someone I've known for years and said that she would be in the neighborhood anyways and would just come over and do it! Even at my insisting no about a dozen times, I finally caved when I realized she wasn't going to give up very easily.

About an hour later when I was in the bathroom I made a lovely discovery - bright red spotting. Despite all of my early pregnancy bleeding, I have not had this at all in almost three weeks, since my placenta previa moved a bit. Good thing is that I have become sort of a pro at distinguishing spotting from actual bleeding. Technically anything bright red is bleeding, but this amount I would call spotting despite that classification. I've gotten so used to things not going right that I was much more calm about this turn of events than I would had been a month ago. However, due to the sharp cramping that accompanied it's ugly relative Mr Spotting, I finally got desperate enough to call my doctor even though I technically have a morning appointment tomorrow.

Dear old doc said to keep lying on my left side, drink a ton of water (I always do), and keep an eye on my spotting to make sure it doesn't become any heavier. He said if anything changes to give him a call at home tonight, and if not he would see me first thing tomorrow morning. He reassured me that cerclages use a large wide stitch like 20 times to suture you cervix close, and that can cause spotting sometimes due to irritation. Cramping is likely due to the fact that my uterus is only 1/3rd the size of a normal uterus and is rapidly stretching to try to catch up. Neither of us believes that these are contractions, not yet. Regardless, I will be receiving the p17 shots starting tomorrow. Hopefully this will help keep the uterus quiet.

Things don't seem to be any worse than an hour ago, but I'm not sure how easy I will sleep tonight. This hasn't been one of those days that give me warm fuzzies if you know what I mean. I'll post a picture later of my toes from my first at home pedicure as long as you promise not to laugh at my goofy looking feet, okay? I'll even put on my favorite pair of sandals that I posted awhile back that I bought. (I'm ashamed to admit I later purchased them in black as well.) See I told you on my meme that posted last week that I was a girly girl homebody - today I was just that! I know I ask this a lot and you are probably sick of me asking - but please oh please can you wish us luck for some good news tomorrow, or at least a boring night and appointment tomorrow? I would so appreciate it, I really do. Thank you as always.

Date night, well sort of.

At the urging of my husband, mother and you fine group of ladies, I didn't really move much off of the couch after my little cramping escapade Wednesday. I have another appointment with my dear old doctor (okay he's not really old) in three days at which time he said he'll probably start me on the progesterone shots (p17) and continue them going forward. They're usually started during week 16 and voila! I will be 16 weeks tomorrow anyways. Luckily though, the taking it easy must a good thing as much as I hate to admit it. Because after two days on the couch, there was no cramping insight during that period. Dear old doc also mentioned that if cramping was quiet on the homefront that I could venture out for a short dinner with my husband on the weekend as long as I got dropped off at the door, sat and ate, and returned home. Yes, it was a date!

(I'm not sure why the stripes on my husband's shirt look swirly in the picture, they were actually stripes and not some crazy pattern like they look, LOL!)
Well, our date ended up being eating dinner with some friends, one of whom was turning 30 and having a birthday get together. So at night, I got dressed and ventured downtown with my husband to meet them all at the restaurant. Funny thing when you haven't left the house for days is that you almost start to feel weird when you are among people on the outside of the four walls of you house. I can only image it's kind of the feeling criminals have when they are released from jail. You're outside, and you feel like, "Is this really okay, am I really allowed to be out here?" When the direct sunlight hits you it feels like a blaring spotlight has been shone on you at first, as if you've been caught center stage with your pants down. Almost eerie? I know that sounds bizarre. But luckily after a few minutes, that crazy feeling goes away and you feel more like a kid on Christmas morning, instead of a criminal making a break for it.

Needless to say, the dinner was wonderful. Getting a chance to be out and see some of our friends was great, the weather was beautiful, and the view from the restaurant that was directly on the water downtown was nice. The restaurant was on one of the upper floors in one of the newer loft/ condo complexes downtown so you could see the riverfront and the Canadian border. I left feeling relaxed - and full. It would be a fun place to hit up again sometime I'm sure. My husband said that they make a strong drink because - since I could drive home - he downed a couple of girly froo froo drinks and was surprised to be feeling, "a little happy" off of them! Ah, nothing like a 6'3'' guy sipping girly drinks, I should have snapped a picture :-)

We didn't stay too long, and returned home where I've since spent the rest of the weekend on the couch. Even with the short journey out, I did feel some cramping later that evening. But my dear old doc said that's probably going to be how things will be. Hopefully the p17 shots help keep my uterus a little more quiet, and as long as the cramping is not actual contractions we'll just keep monitoring things. Of course, I'll keep taking it easy, and cherish any short "date nights" I venture out on for now. I have a feeling that even those short trips are numbered and will be few and far between.

My next appointment is Wednesday, and I'm already wishing it would just come quickly. Thank you so much for the sweet well wishes for my little dog! She is doing better already and my husband will take her back to the vet Thursday. I've been gladly sharing my pillow with her - doggie on the right, my head on the left. You can tell her little rear is still sore and she has some pain when moving around, but all in all everyday she gets better and acts more like her old self. She actually tried to steal my cereal this morning and I almost cried! Instead I gave her a big old hug because that's one of her favorite things to do and she hasn't tried it in days. She's a smart one who knows that Cherrios may help lower her cholesterol, what can I say - she wants in on the goods :-)

I hope everyone is having a great weekend and I'm trying to get caught up on everyone's blogs. If you have a second go give KC a hug, she's a sweetie faced with some tough decisions. I've spent the rest of the weekend so far rotting my brain on the last season of America's Ne.xt Top Mo.del, and watching Buck.et List and Semi-Pro with Will Ferr.ell. I did actually start another book Middlesex which is good so far, thanks Elizabeth (my fellow UU girl) for the suggestion. My Polish mojo must be in full swing because I'm thinking of making some pierogi for dinner tonight - haven't done that in a long time. Shhh don't tell anyone, but tomorrow will be 16 weeks....shhhh inside voices, inside voices. But I did want to say honestly thanks again for your support and all the kind words, you guys are the best! They mean more than you will ever know.

My dog's emergency surgery

Since my cervix decided to shorten and my OB put me on bedrest for the rest of my pregnancy, my dog has become my best bedrest buddy. We have always been close, but now that I don't leave the house we spend almost every moment from early morning until bedtime together. Her favorite game is to steal my pillow when I get up to go to the bathroom or to grab something to eat from the kitchen. I can't really blame her, it's a very comfortable pillow from Scandinavian Down that my husband got me as part of my birthday present last year. Here's how it usually goes down, I finally caught her on camera the other day.





Well yesterday I noticed that she was getting sicker and sicker as the day went, out of the blue. Normally spunky and bouncing off the walls (when she's not stealing my pillow) she was lethargic, hadn't gone to the bathroom all day and was having trouble jumping up or off the couch. When I tried to pet her throughout the day she would just yelp in pain if it was near her back end. Midday she started trembling and shaking that wouldn't stop. By now I had phoned my husband and told him I was making an urgent vet appointment for as soon as he could get home.

Since I had been a obedient patient and had not budged off the couch all day, I decided to venture with my husband to the vets office (that would be about 10% activity - 90% bedrest, right?) An hour later we left the vet's office without our little furchild. Dr. McVet said that she had a extreme case of a plugged anal gland that had turned into an abcess (gross I know). He needed to keep her overnight, put her to sleep and open up the gland to irrigate and drain things (doggie I & D for all you medical people out there). I asked him how this had come on so quickly and he said that with small dogs things go from minor to major fast and because they hide things so well. He said that there are no external signs or symptoms except tenderness to touch, which is why they hide it so well. Dr. McVet also said that this can happen even with having anal glands expressed at groomers, and that she would just need to come in once a month from now on for a more involved expressing at their office, and that she shouldn't have this problem again. Luckily our doghter (as we call her instead of our daughter) did great and is back home with me again. She is just doped up on some doggie pain medicine three times a day and antibiotics, and has a follow up appointment next week.

I think things like this are harder on us dog parents than the actual furry children. On the way home from the vet I cried, and my husband said, "Don't worry, she'll be fine. This is a smaller procedure than having a dog fixed, no big deal." I knew it was no big deal, but maybe it's all the darn pregnancy hormones. Regardless, if I feel this way about our dog, I dread the day our little Spot that we have on the way needs their first surgery or emergency. I pity the poor pediatricians or surgeons who have to witness my first child related future meltdowns :-) So on the way home yesterday we hit a drive thru ice cream shop and I treated myself to one of my old favorites - an oreo milkshake - and yes I ordered a large one. Suddenly things didn't seem so bad!

A little downside of my escapade outside to the vet, was some decent abdominal cramping that followed. It was enough I guess I'll have to mention it to my OB, and enough to make me not want to venture out too much in the next couple of days. Here is a picture of how my dog and I spent today, the day after her surgery last night. I'm glad we're back to our normal position as couch potatoes. Life is once again just how it's meant to be. All is right in the universe for now - at least in our little universe.

Tagged

Well recently I was tagged by Meredith and then Deb for a pretty cool meme. I liked this one because it was a bit different than some of the other tags, but I hope I didn't come up with too lame of response. I think bedrest rots your brains. Either that or all the TV series I've been catching up on Netflix doesn't help either :-) Well here it is:

The meme originated over an idea that was prompted by the book written by Larry Smith & Rachel Fershleiser, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure. It’s a compilation based on the story that Hemingway once bet ten dollars that he could sum up his life in six words. His words were, “For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn.”

1. Write your own six word memoir.

2. Post it to your blog including a visual illustration if you would like.

3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post and to this original post http://herebaby.blogspot.com/2008/06/six-word-memior.html if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogsphere

4. Tag 5 more blogs with links

5. Don’t forget to leave a comment in the tagged blogs with an invitation to play

My response is: Tomboy girly girl, traveling home body.

Often times I think I have a very contradictory personality. My favorite place to be in home, but I want to see as many different parts of the world as I can. I love pedicures, getting my hair done, high heels, and the color pink. But left to my own devices you will find me with a pony tail in my hair arm wrestling one of my husband's friends! Growing up I used to challenge all the little boys to races to see how many of them I could beat. At the same time I couldn't wait to break out a new pair of girly shoes even when I was 7. So I guess that's why I chose this as my response.

Now I guess it's time to tag a few other people. Hhhmmmm this is always the hard part. I think I tag Pink, Gracechild, and Kaaron.

15 weeks

Spot and I have both spent another week together! To celebrate, I thought I'd share a 15 week belly picture with all of you. Everything I read explains that although I've been a complete lazy couch potato and not being really productive at much of anything these days, Spot has been really busy again this week. Here is a little of what I've found:

* Baby is now over 4 inches (10cm) long
* and weighs about 2.5 ounces (75 grams).
* He or she can move its arms and make a fist.
* Fingernails and toenails are present.
* Baby's skin is still very thin.

Your baby's legs have grown longer than the arms and the body is now longer than the head. The bone and marrow that make up your baby's skeletal system are continuing to develop this week. The bones and muscles are continuing to grow. You may begin to feel some fluttering movements as baby kicks, twists and turns; but don't panic if you don't feel movement yet.

Their ears are nearly in position, and the three tiny bones in his middle ear have begun to harden. By the end of the week, the roof of your baby's mouth will be completely formed. The fetus has an adult's taste buds and may be able to savor the mother's meals. The baby's thin skin is covered with ultra fine, downy hair that usually disappears before birth.

The fetal crown to rump length by this week of pregnancy is 4 to 4.5 inches (100 to 115mm). The fetus weighs about 2.5 ounces (75g). It's close to the size of a softball.

Now that Spot can taste, I'm hoping that he or she is okay with my choice of Mexican food like 5 days a week! If not, at least Spot has the ability to make a fist (at last) in protest, so I guess I'm being too unfair :-) I have to admit, although we've already been through so much with Spot, sometimes it's still hard to believe that there is actually a baby growing in there. It all seems a bit surreal. I am so desperately waiting to feel some movement for the first time, because I think that little experience will seal the deal for me. I may finally believe that this is all really happening after all these years.

This week has some promise to be a bit better from the last three. As you know, since my surgery I've been on couch arrest. My doctor said that as long as I spend most of the day laying down my left side I can move around my house a bit more, for now (I have another appt in less than a week.) Meaning, I can make dinner for a short while, or sit up and fold some laundry. Basically as long as I spend 90% of everyday with my feet up higher than my head to take pressure of my cervix, I can spend the other 10% moving around my house. My husband calls this going from couch arrest to house arrest :-) Somebody forgot to give me a cute little striped outfit though. I think the least that they could have done was give me a new outfit to wear that resembled zebra stripes, I've been jipped! But thankfully no one gave me one of those more modern day prison outfits that are bright orange, ugh! No one looks good in orange, didn't the prison department get that fashion memo? Certainly not. Orange will never be the new pink.

We spent Father's Day quietly at our house with my family and my husband's parents. I felt badly putting a damper on the holiday weekend, but our families came to us since I was unable to travel out. My husband's parents came up from Ohio and spent Sunday with us, while my parents, grandparents, and two of my nephews joined us all for brunch. It was so nice to have everyone together. Funny how little things I used to take for granted like a family get together, takes on a whole new meaning when you're somewhat restricted as to who you are able to see and where you can go.

I've learned some things already with transitioning from the horizontal couch life to visiting the rest of the world as a vertical person. First of all, get up slowly after lying down for long periods, because you will be very dizzy. Second, after lying down for almost three weeks except for showering and using the bathroom you get very weak. While I used to easily run 5 miles a day a few months ago, now being on my feet for more than 5 minutes leaves me exhausted and sometimes winded. Lastly, I used to always sit with my legs crossed (politically incorrectly called "indian style" as we called it as kids.) Well, this morning I was watching some TV and found myself shifting to this position without realizing it. I was quickly jolted back to reality by the sharp tug followed by pain that I felt in my oh so private lady parts down below. Yes, I forgot I had a cerclage and my cervix stitched shut with suture still in place. Moving your legs in certain common positions will certainly remain uncomfortable and a big "no no" until this is removed. How quickly I had forgotten! For the next hour I felt enough pressure down there from my little stunt that I felt like I was going to have a bowel movement out my lady end, fun times. I will not be doing that anytime soon, I promise!

Well, I hope everybody had a great and restful weekend. I've been a bad commenter lately because our internet has been down more than it has been up. Storms have continued to pass through our area and disrupt things. My friend who lives in Troy still is without power and has been so for more than a week, ouch! But today, things seem to be running in the internet department, so I'm going to catch up on things. I'm already also getting excited to chose what to make for dinner tonight. Thank you for your endless support, it has meant so much to me during a not so easy time. It's nice knowing that if I have to sit and just wait, at least I'm not doing it alone. Hold on Spot, hang in there kiddo.

Cerclage followup appointment 14 weeks

Well today I went for my follow up appointment for my cerclage I had placed last week due to a shortening cervix. My husband picked me up after leaving work and we made our way to the afternoon visit. I had to laugh because as I walked out the door, my dog looked at me with the saddest eyes as if to say, "Is it true? Are you really leaving me?" I hadn't really left the house in a week following my surgery so I think she got used to me being a permanent fixture on the couch!

As always, my OB's office was packed. But shortly after we arrived we were called back for the ultrasound. I wonder if the nice tech who I always have heard my heart pounding, because it sounded like the Kentucky Derby was being held in there! Once the transvaginal ultrasound was underway I began to relax a little bit because the tech always turns the sound on right away. I zoned out hearing the thump thump thump of Spot's little heartbeat, entrancing me into a happy bliss. It measured a beautiful 154 bpm. When the verdict was in, we couldn't determine the gender AGAIN because Spot had their legs firmly closed! To be honest, at this point in time, I could care less. As long as we still are blessed enough to even have our little Spot - obsessing about the gender almost seems silly. Things like that just don't seem so important anymore. We didn't get too many fabulous shots of Spot because the star of the show was not the baby, but instead my cervix and the cerclage sewed in it. Just like growing up, in school the trouble makers get all the attention! Here's a couple we got though. We actually got more pictures and DVD time of my cervix than Spot. In the last one, the little white flecks in the picture near the middle and going upward are all the sutures sites of the cerclage. I guess they do about 20+ stitches just to hold things tight.





I knew we would get a better description of things from my OB, but when I asked the tech how my cervix looked she said "things seem to be holding up." Well, that's got to be good I thought. Next, we hopped into the room next door and waited for my OB. Once he met with us, he did an exam to take a closer up look at the cerclage and cervix. He said that he really likes to keep a close eye on the actual surgical site the first few weeks following placement for any signs of infection or loosening. Infection can occur even under good circumstances because technically they have left a foreign object in a site that directly opens to the baby. If that occurred then chorioamniotitis sets in and causes miscarriage. So I can understand why they're so particular about how things look.

The good news was that the surgical site looked great, no sign of infection. My OB must had been really happy with that because he looked at my husband sitting in the chair and said, "Do you want to see what a cerclage looks like?" My husband immediately turned two shades whiter and whispered, "Uh, no but thanks." My OB obviously knows me well, but not my husband! My husband, being the quiet engineer type has no interest in medical things (especially when they involve his wife's privates) and almost passes out at the sight of a drop of blood. My OB glanced up at me and winked, maybe he did know what my husband would say :-)

When discussing my current cervical length, my OB said that things were still short - but not any worse. He said that there was no sign of any funneling on ultrasound, which would had be a VERY bad indication. Whew! While hearing the words, "still short" doesn't give me warm fuzzies, it doesn't send me clambering up the wall either. I am not happy, I am not sad. I just am - if that makes any sense at all. When then I asked my OB "so now what does this mean, and what do we do now?" He calmly said, "all we can do is wait and see. Things can kind of go either way following seeing this, so we just wait." So I guess that's what we do. We wait.

Spot and I reclining at 14 weeks (with our uni-brows?)

Since I've turned into quite a couch hog over the last week, and unfortunately will continue to be one for awhile, my husband and I decided to buy a new comfy recliner. If one of us is on the couch, the other person (usually my husband) is left perched in our not so comfy side chair that doesn't recline. So our options were to buy a ottoman, or move the existing chair into our other room and get a recliner. I've always like the leather club style chairs that resemble the ones from the 1920s-1940s. So I'd like to introduce to you our newest addition to the family (click here.) This one from Crate and Barrel reclines and is ultra comfy. It might be a bit of a splurge but it's exactly what I want, and I know we'll actually still like it long after my days of house arrest are over. Plus don't you agree a girl should have both a comfy and cute place to plant her ever delicate behind if she has to spend a lot of time in one position? I think so.

Today Spot is officially 14 weeks. According to the books and sites I've been reading, Spot was pretty busy growing this past week, and if they cooperate we may be able to find out their gender this Wednesday. Now that would be the icing on the cake if our appointment goes well! Spot also has some other cool facts about themself including:

* The fetus is 3 and half inches (9cm) long.
* Weight is about 1 and half ounces (45 grams).
* The eyes are slowly moving towards the centre of the face.
* The nose is more pronounced. The ears are fully developed.
* The cheekbones are visible. The first hair is appearing.
* The kidneys are producing urine.
* In girls, the ovaries are moving down towards the pelvis.
* In boys, the prostate gland is developing.
* For girls, the ovaries move into the pelvis.

The thyroid and liver are functioning and blood is forming in the bone marrow. Your baby now is peeing into the amniotic fluid round itself as well as making breathing movements. During this week of pregnancy the head and eyebrow hair develops.

What's more, they can make all sorts of fun facial expressions as they practice squinting, frowning, and grimacing. Cute development of the week: their little hands can grasp at things and they may already be sucking their thumb!

Your child's bones are getting harder and stronger by the day. Your baby's skin is very transparent still. As your baby grows, your uterus and placenta are also growing. Six weeks ago, your uterus weighed 5 ounces (140 g). Now, it weighs about 8.75 ounces (250g). The amount of amniotic fluid around the baby is also increasing. There is now about 7.5 ounces (250ml) of fluid. You can easily feel your uterus about 3 inches (7.6cm) below your bellybutton.



Since this is when Spot is developing eyebrows, do you think it's rude to request that he or she doesn't inherit my unibrow that I was born with (especially if Spot is a girl?) I received mine as a gift from my father, and I've been waxing and plucking diligently since I was 11. As far as whether he or she is sucking their thumb, that is just freakin adorable, it makes me so happy to think of Spot doing such baby like things already :-)

Well, I guess it's T minus two days until my appointment Wednesday to see how my little cervix is doing. As I said earlier, each day that goes by I'm feeling a little bit better. I actually slept almost 5 hours last night before walking up with my racing thoughts and worrying. I ended up on the couch for the rest of the night curled up with the dog watching some TV, since I didn't want to wake my husband up since he had to work today. If you get a chance, please go give Kym a hug. She is in the worst type of beta limbo land after her recent IVF cycle. She is doing a surrogacy IVF cycle for a couple, and they are really hoping that this works out. Kym helps me keep my sanity when I'm walking the fence lately, and it would mean a lot to me if you left her a kind comment. So thanks.

If you have any time and energy left in the next day or so, wish me luck for Wednesday. We kind of need our little cervix to be holding strong after our cerclage. As much as I need it to be holding strong, Spot needs it the most. Without it, they don't stand too much of a chance, and I really like our little Spot.

Funny words of wisdom

Thank you so much for all of your kind words and support over the last few days. It has helped more than you know, and your kindness is amazing! I'm feeling a tiny bit better about things. I think it's a kind of feeling better that only comes with the passage of time. Each day that passes is another day that we get to spend with Spot still with us, and how can I not feel better about that. I'm glad it's almost the weekend and my husband will be home with me, evenings when he is home from work is always the best part of the day. Night time after I go to bed is always the hardest because my mind just tends to race and worry. Although last night was better than the night after surgery, I think things will continue to get easier, they just have to - it only makes sense. I find it helps too if I turn on our stereo system on a quite setting and just listen to random music on my favorite station throughout the night. It must help drown out the worrying thoughts in my own head and I tend to sleep a heck of a lot better. And then there's my dog, she hasn't left my side in three days and I think she actually feels like she is a part of my butt permanently because that's where she sleeps non stop - mashed up against the side of my upper hip!

I definitely need to lighten the mood of this post because it sounds way too melancholy to me. And I definitely don't want to be Sara the Downer. So I thought I'd share some funny things I've come across in the last three days, and ask you all a question as well.

My husband and I have slowly been telling our friends and family about what's going on, just so they know why we will be absent from things for a little while (since I can't leave the house until further notice). Between family and people from work, we've come across quite a funny array of comments and advice. I'm happy to say, none have come from our friends. We must have some pretty kick butt friends! Also, none were uttered by my husband - he knows better. Here are a few funny (and not so funny) comments people have told us when we revealed that I needed surgery due to a shortening cervix and that things were going to be touch and go from here on out:

"So this means that Sara isn't working right now? She is so lucky, I wish I had the summer off."

"I'm kind of jealous, I wish I could stay in bed all day too." (Hehe, I actually did burst out laughing when I heard this one!)

"At least you won't have to pay these crazy gas prices since you won't be driving around." (I admit, this one is at least partially true - although I would gladly pay to fill up now and then if it meant I wasn't on house arrest).

"You always work long hours, it is definitely God's way of telling you that you needed to take it easy. You should listen." (As if I have a choice?)

"Enjoy all this nice rest now, you won't be getting any once the baby comes." (Rest is nice when you don't have any worries, not so nice when you're terrified of turning wrong and miscarrying in your second trimester)

"Enjoy not having to do anything right now because having a baby around all the time is not easy." (Wait a minute, are you saying babies are a lot of work? Why didn't anyone tell me this before I got pregnant?)


So here is where I need you help. Your job everyone is to make me laugh and either tell me the funniest most absurd thing you could tell someone in my situation, or have heard someone tell a person. Better yet, you could tell me what someone has told you if you were on bedrest for an extended time, or while you had a major complication in your pregnancy. I know (unfortunate as it is) that a lot of you have had some bumps in the road and have encountered some silly comments along the way. Please share, if I must remain horizontal, at least I can laugh while doing it! I figure I can keep a list and at least it'll keep me smiling :-) (I know none of you guys would ever say this crazy stuff, so feel free to get really creative)

I got tagged by Meredith with a really fun one (thanks Mere). But it's one I want to think about and come up with a good answer, so I'll leave that to next time when I have a thoughtful - or at least witty answer. It's steamy hot for once here in MI and I actually felt kind of bad for all the people who turned out downtown for the parade to celebrate the Red Wings winning the Stanley Cup. But from what I watched on TV, it actually looked like everyone was having a great time. I just wanted to say thanks again for all of your kind words and emails, you guys sure know how to make a girl feel better. Now just help me keep laughing, okay?

Cerclage surgery day

Well, today was my cerclage surgery, it was scheduled for 12 noon. About 10AM we arrived up in L & D and went back to the little holding area near the C-section operating rooms. I got dressed, got my IV, actually got taken back to the OR on time (wow - crazy thought), and got my spinal without incident. After giving numerous spinals, it was so odd to feel the numbing sensations that I describe for my patients. I think I'll be even better at explaining things now, hopefully more patient, and more understanding after being on both sides of the needle. (I've been told I'm patient to a fault, and wear my feelings on my sleeves...but it's still humbling each time you're the one on the OR table.)

Once the procedure was underway, my OB informed me of the condition of my cervix when he had a close up look at things. Things were definitely short, very short for 13 weeks. My OB said we are darn lucky we are doing this now. Whew. But as he said in his ever calm voice, things could always be worse. We definitely still had some cervix to work with, and hopfully this will give us a little more protection room. For those of you who are familiar with an incompetent cervix or cerclage, you know that the success rates of the procedure depend on the reason for which it is done. Best outcomes are for preventative cerclages (when the cervix is still nice and long) done for women who have had previous second trimester losses due to incompetent cervix. Behind that are therapeutic cerclage done when the cervix has started to shorten a bit, but is not in danger range and still very early in pregnancy. The women with the worst outcomes are emergent or rescue cerclages where the cervix has shortened to dangerously short levels. Without prompt intervention, the cervix will be dilated and premature labor will shortly follow in either days or weeks - before the baby is viable. Usually emergent cerclages are done past 18-20 weeks gestation and are not necessary early at 13 weeks. According to my OB, our cerclage was "definitely needed urgently", and I am so grateful we did this today. But we all realize we're walking a very thin line right now.

After the procedure, they monitored me until the spinal wore off. They were also checking to make sure that my water had not broken from the procedure and wasn't slowly leaking out. They also checked to make sure that I was not having too much increased uterine activity or irritability which they would have treated with medication. I spent the following hours there, but thankfully didn't have to spend the night. I will spend the next week on the couch, as I've been told not to move very much, and to lay on my left side as much as possible. Next week I'll be able to see how the cerclage is holding up (they can tell my an exam followed by a transvag ultrasound). I'm hoping to get some good news at that appointment.

The severity of this is slowly setting in. I think I have realized how serious things were for the last few days, but was trying to shrug things off. At lunch on the weekend with some friends, I tried to put a smile on my face. But I now realize that was a bit forced. I've been afraid to take everything in, but now I have no choice. The look on my OB's face proved that to me today. I know him, and know him well both through work, as a patient for several years, and through through other areas of my life. He tried to sound hopeful, but I can tell he is still concerned. On one hand I know we can get through this. We've made it through the three years of infertility, the diagnosis of the unicornuate uterus, the journey ending in IVF, OHSS after the IVF, the placenta previa and all of the bleeding and couch arrest. Now at 13 weeks we are here. We've gotten through things like this before, I know. But this time, I'm not sure what's different. But I know that my heart is slowly breaking. I am just trying to stop it before there are too many little pieces - because I know I must move forward.

13 week update

Can't believe 13 weeks are here already! It has both flown by as well as dragged slower than imaginable if that makes any sense at all. Some things about Spot for the week include:

* The fetus has grown to about 3 inches (8cm) long.
* Weight approximately 1 ounce (25 grams).
* Bone is beginning to replace cartilage and the ribs are appearing.
* The nose and chin are well defined.
* Movements can be measured.
* The child will begin to learn to suck its thumb.
* The child can open and close its mouth.
* The external genitalia are well defined making it is possible to determine the baby's gender.

Your baby is now producing insulin the hormone that controls their blood glucose. The fetus is now 3 inches long and weighs about an ounce. The baby's unique fingerprints are already in place. The muscles lengthen and become organized. You can't feel it yet, but your baby can move in a jerky fashion, flexing the arms and kicking the legs.

Your uterus has grown quite a bit. You can probably feel its upper edge above the pubic bone in the lowest part of your abdomen, about 4 inches (10cm) below your bellybutton. At 13 weeks, your uterus fills your pelvis and starts growing upward into your abdomen. It feels like a soft, smooth ball. Soon you will start feeling the first flutters of the unborn child kicking and moving within.

Well, all I have to say about that is I think we should have this little one finger printed already, you know just in case they continue to be mischevious! Just kidding! Spot already seems to like to make their presence known that they are not going to be a quiet boring child, hence all the problems we've had. I like to think of the fact that Spot maybe already likes to challenge authority and has a very independant streak. Even though a cervix shouldn't shorten yet, Spot has said, "What the heck, lets rock the boat a bit and see what happens." But the good thing is that these are all traits of a strong person who will go far, so as much as I joke...I guess I'm already a proud mom of our little Spot!

Well, since I am already bored out of my mind being off of work, I decided to make some food to freeze for when I'm on couch arrest for the time remaining (after our cerclage Wednesday). I decided that I could sit and make some turkey meatballs that could be used in a variety of recipes, and freeze them. Plus I could sit down to make them for the majority of the time. So what started out as a small recipe turned into like 150 meatballs! I guess we'll have a lot of frozen food and stuff to make dishes with. My favorite little kid movie of all time is Lady and the Tramp, so I guess my husband and I can have a lot of romantic dinners sharing a plate of spaghetti and meatballs just like the two dogs :-) Since I've been on pelvic rest my whole pregnancy so far, and will continue to be due to the cerclage I guess that's as far as the romance department will go for some time, ha!

I told my 90 year old Polish grandma that I made so many turkey meatballs and she said why didn't you make pierogis? Well, that's my grandma for you...always having the Polish food on the mind :-)

Just a day and a half til my surgery. I've tried as much as possible to put it out of my mind. I find that if I start to think about it, my mind just races and I worry. So I think I'm trying to repress those thoughts, at least until Wednesday morning. No matter what though, it seems to be consuming every thing I do. Now that I am off of work for good, I could actually sleep in as late as I want. But since I found out my cervix was shortening quicker than I can shake a stick at, I've woken up early every morning. My husband asks why I'm awake before he is for work. But he doesn't really need to ask, because he already knows my answer. I can't really sleep, I am not hungry, I just want this Wednesday to be over. I want to know that my water isn't going to break when they do my procedure, and I want to know that I'm not going to miscarry afterwards. I just want this day to come and pass and move forward. I'm ready for that.

Another learning session brought to you by the letter C

First of all, thank you thank you thank you for all of your kind words, they have helped a ton! Second, did any of you guys watch Sesame Street when you were little? (Is it still on?) At the end they always said the show was brought to you by the letter ____ or the number ____. Well, I've had a lot of people write and ask me what the heck a cerclage was, and why they would do one. So this prompted my lame butt to do some additional info searching of my own. I was pretty familiar with them because we do them sometimes at work when I'm assigned up in L & D, but I still am always happy to learn some more. So bear (or bare as my behind will be early Wednesday in front of a room of people I know with me wide awake, eekk, hehe!) with me as I share some of what I came across. This may be a little boring so feel free to skip in your not in school mode, but rather weekend as I should be!

This session is brought to you by the letter "C." Cerclage, crazy cervix, you get the picture!

What is cervical cerclage?

Approximately 1% of pregnancies are complicated by an incompetent cervix. Treatment for cervical incompetence is a surgical procedure called cervical cerclage, in which the cervix is sewn closed during pregnancy. The cervix is the lowest part of the uterus and extends into the vagina.
When a woman’s cervix is weak (sometimes called an incompetent cervix) she is more likely to have a baby born prematurely because the cervix shortens or opens too early. In order to prevent premature labor, a woman’s doctor may recommend a cervical cerclage. A cerclage is used to prevent these early changes in a woman’s cervix, thus preventing premature labor.



Cerclage can be done preventively at 12 to 14 weeks before the cervix thins out, or as an emergency measure after the cervix has thinned. It is rarely used after 24 weeks. The success rate for cervical cerclage is approximately 80-90% for elective cerclages, and 40-60% for emergent cerclages (therapuetic as mine will be falls somewhere in between). A cerclage is considered successful if labor and delivery is delayed to at least 37 weeks (full term)


What are the risks of having a cerclage placed?

The likelihood of risks occuring is very minimal, and most health professionals feel a cerclage is a life saving procedure that outweighs the possible risks involved. Possible risks could include:

* Premature contractions
* Cervical dystocia (inability of the cervix to dilate normally in the course of labor)
* Rupture of membranes
* Cervical infection
* Cervical laceration if labor happens before the cerclage is removed

Why doesn’t every woman who has had a preterm baby need a cerclage?

Only women with an abnormal or “incompetent” cervix can be helped by a cerclage. However, even with the help of a cerclage, other problems can cause labor to begin too early. Women who have a cerclage placed will need to be checked routinely for other complications such as infection and preterm labor.

What causes an incompetent or weakened cervix?

A weakened cervix can be caused by one or more of the following conditions:

* Previous surgery on the cervix
* Damage during a difficult birth
* Malformed cervix or uterus from a birth defect (like a unicornuate uterus in my case)
* Previous trauma to the cervix, such as a D&C (dilation and curettage) from a termination or a miscarriage
What about future pregnancies?

Most women who need a cerclage in one pregnancy will need to have a cerclage placed in future pregnancies.

Well, that is truly all the boring information I can take for one Sunday, how about you? Until then, I will get caught up on some more books, continue to park my butt on the couch, watch my husband do all the things I can't do, and fill out some paperwork for my job leave. Hope everyone is having a great weekend, and thanks for keeping me in your thoughts. That really helps a lot these days!