6 weeks preg, nursing, and spotting/bleeding « Back to Group Discussions

[Kaitlyn Elise]

I just found out today that I'm pregnant - probably around 6 weeks (I had a november period that was a little odd, but the pregnancy test wouldn't have picked up the hgc levels if it was a real period, so it must have been fake)... My son is 10mo, and nurses once during the night and often during the day. I had my real october period around the 10th, my fake one nov 8th...and I've been spotting on and off since the 13th or so (so for over a week). Some days I would have nothing. I've never had spotting, and it varies by day from being minimal brownish to pink, to bright red blood. No cramps... The past couple days it's been more like bleeding - bright red, enough to be plenty when I wipe, but not enough to wear a pad...
I did just get over a really bad stomach flu (puking and such), but worried - will I miscarry? 
Any advice? Agitated by the nursing? I read somewhere about vit. e? Anyone had a similar experience?

[WendyJo410]

Kaitlyn - My experience is very, very similar to yours! I'm just starting my 8th week of pg, and I'm also nursing my 10 m/o, although much more than you at night because he's cutting his molars. I spotted from 8-12DPO, red blood, but never enough to change a pantyliner and no cramps... when I got my positive pregnancy test at 12DPO, I called my midwife and she suggested I start on progesterone immediately. I guess a lot of bf'ing mothers have low progesterone levels, which can cause the spotting of the new pregnancy. I did that day (I use Progestelle and Emerita Progest) 60mg in the morning and 60 mg at night - and I didn't spot for 2 weeks. When I was 6 weeks along, I had a gush of dark blood, and was certain I was going to miscarry... I laid down, and the bleeding stopped and there has not been a spec of blood since (2 weeks later). My midwife said it was most likely an implantatiomn gush. I never had any blood at all with my first pregnancy, and so any blood makes me wary... but the more women I talk to, and the research I do, it seems as though 1 in 3 women have spotting, and most go on to have healthy pregnancy's. I would talk to your care provider soon, do your research on progesterone, and start it soon. They may recommend that you get your progesterone levels checked... which is a smart thing if you want to go that route. I'll keep taking the progesterone until 13 weeks and then start weaning off of it.

So, hopefully a similar experience helps! I'm still hoping I don't miscarry, but I also have had some great nausea, I'm definitely bloated and starting to show, and have other pregnancy symptoms. I'll be seeing my midwife in a couple of weeks and I'm ready to hear that heartbeat!

Hugs to you mama - good luck!

[MaerynPearl]

also, could be a subchorionic hematoma. Which sounds scary, i know, but it's not. It's basically an usually harmless cause of bleeding during pregnancy which can cause anywhere from spotting to gushing and you still end up having a perfectly healthy baby. It's really not known what causes it but can be misdiagnosed as a "lost twin" (if a twin was not visualized, this is unlikely) or a "blood clot" because that's what the patch of blood looks like on the ultrasound. It's a separation between the amniotic sac and the uterus which causes bleeding, but unless it is a severe separation, it will just heal itself up and cause no further issues.

When I first joined the September '10 board, we had at least half a dozen women go through SCH's and had perfectly healthy babies with no issues.

Will be keeping my hopes up for you!

[Kaitlyn Elise]

I woke up last night with a pretty big gush of blood when I went to nurse my son, it soaked through my panties and pants, and so I changed, put on a pad and went back to bed. My pad has two small red dots on it, and when I went pee this morning there were some clots in the toilet. I am scared, I'm afraid I am definately losing the baby, even though I don't want to. I have talked to my mw, but I am not sure that she has anything really to suggest, she says she is more inclined to let nature do its thing - that if my body isn't holding onto it, to just let it go. I'm not able to get progesterone without a prescription, but I am still wondering about the vitamin e.

[WendyJo410]

You can get progesterone cream anywhere... I got mine on Amazon and they also sell it at my local natural store. You only need a scrip for oral progesterone.

For me, just reminding myself that my body knows what it is doing, and to just try to believe that it will do what's best for you, and for this babe. I saw somewhere that a study showed that when women increased their water intake that it decreased spotting. So, try to rest, drink water and just believe that your healthy baby will come when the time is right!

[ThreeLittleBirds]

im so sorry to hear about your loss :( hugs. i will keep you in my thoughts

[Kaitlyn Elise]

I feel kind of like I am having a period now, experiencing on/off spots of blood that takes a couple wipes - but again, not much on the pad. I feel pretty certain I've lost/losing, but wondering when I should take another test

[MaryLang]

I don't want to give you false hope but I've had bleeding to fill pads and continued to have a healthy pregnancy on more than one occasion. I'd be dying to find someone to do an u/s just to ease my mind one way or the other.

[lactomom]

Hope all is well.

This is the second pregnancy I've nursed during. Typically, nursing during pregnancy doesn't cause any problems. Keep us updated! 

[Kaitlyn Elise]

So, the low down is : I went into the urgent care clinic and had blood taken, a urine sample, an ultrasound set up for tomorrow morning, and a cervical check.
I am more confused, more conflicted.
I had another pos. preg test prior to going in. Then my urine sample was neg, and 'very diluted, i wouldnt think twice about it.'
My blood was hard to take, and they want me to go back in to check the HGC levels, in hopes of indicating (predicting) whether i will miscarry.
The ultrasound may or may not tell me anything; probably wont show a heart beat.
The cervical check confirmed my cervix was closed, but "even still a tiny baby could pass through"

:| Not helpful. And I am beginning to feel like nothing is going to be helpful. I can't prevent a miscarriage, even if predicted. I could have the best possible results and still miscarry.
I guess I will just be waiting, trying not to be obsessive.

[MujerMamaMismo]

So sorry to hear this. I hope you're able to walk gently and take it easy on yourself for the next few days.

[WendyJo410]

Kaityln - How frustrating... I'm sorry. It is true though, there is nothing you can do and all of those tests can't prevent or help anything besides peace of mind. My only suggestion moving forward would be to start temping. Then, if your temps stay high, even with all of the other signs that may be discouraging, you'll know that your little baby is hanging on. Good luck - sending hugs.

[lactomom]

WendyJo410, since she is nursing her temps can be up and down (experienced this with my last, healthy pregnancy).

Kaitlyn, ((HUGS)) sorry that everything is all over the place. Take it easy! 

[tolovemercy]

Thinking of you today.  Please try to rest as much as possible.   (((hugs)))

[GoofyInOK]

I just saw this post...  Big, big hugs to you.  :(  I really hope that the ultrasound can give you some peace of mind.  Not knowing is so hard.  

[MaerynPearl]

Originally Posted by Kaitlyn Elise 

I had another pos. preg test prior to going in. Then my urine sample was neg, and 'very diluted, i wouldnt think twice about it.'

I don't know if this will help you feel any better, but their tests are almost certainly nowhere near as sensitive as yours, plus if you tested just before you went in and have been drinking a decent amount of water lately, it being very diluted is most likely added to why it came back negative.

Good luck with everything else. 

[Kaitlyn Elise]

I didn't go for the ultrasound, I thought it would leave me with more questions than answers, but how about the blood sample? I am supposed to give more blood tomorrow morning, and have comparable results by tomorrow night.
Not much different today, mild cramps on and off, and just enough blood to fill (part of) a panty liner all day. I feel so conflicted; I found out HGC can be in your system for a month after you lose a baby from my MW- which means I could already have miscarried. :S waiting sucks.

[Kaitlyn Elise]

Had a little bit of more brown blood, it seems to be agitated by a lot of movement - nothing much at night, or through the night, but more through the morning and busy times of the day...
If I have already lost the baby - perhaps during my fake period (because i have had no clots or clumps or tissues in my blood since the fake period ) then why am i still bleeding?
also noticing other typical symtpoms of pregnancy, a bit of nausea, sensitivity to smell (certain smells make me want to puke), feeling hot.
I also read here : http://www.miscarriagesupport.org.nz/stages.html about threatened miscarriage: "About 40% of bleeding episodes occur during early pregnancy, usually at 5 to 7 weeks, and is spotting (normally dark blood) at about the time your period would have been due..... These situations only lead to a miscarriage in 20% of cases. " mine is after my period was due, but maybe i still qualify?
 

[MaryLang]

There are a few things that could be happening. Sub chorionic hemorrhage, comes to mind first. But also placenta previa really can happen this early. The baby can implant right over the cervix, and any irritation could possibly cause bleeding in that case as well. I would think about an u/s in the near future. At 6 wks they should be able to pick up a heart beat. But if there's a reason for the irritation, the u/s could make it worse, so they would have to be very very careful. Or wait it out and take another test in a while, then wait til m/w can pick up a heart beat via external doppler. It all depends on what your own personal limits are.

Sticky sticky vibes for you. I hope your baby is fine and you get answers soon.

[jenniferlynne]

Originally Posted by Kaitlyn Elise 

Had a little bit of more brown blood, it seems to be agitated by a lot of movement - nothing much at night, or through the night, but more through the morning and busy times of the day...
If I have already lost the baby - perhaps during my fake period (because i have had no clots or clumps or tissues in my blood since the fake period ) then why am i still bleeding?
also noticing other typical symtpoms of pregnancy, a bit of nausea, sensitivity to smell (certain smells make me want to puke), feeling hot.
I also read here : http://www.miscarriagesupport.org.nz/stages.html about threatened miscarriage: "About 40% of bleeding episodes occur during early pregnancy, usually at 5 to 7 weeks, and is spotting (normally dark blood) at about the time your period would have been due..... These situations only lead to a miscarriage in 20% of cases. " mine is after my period was due, but maybe i still qualify?
 

I just wanted to pop in and share my story because it sounds EXACTLY like what you're going through.  I had what I thought was a normal period starting on 11/17, though maybe it was a tiny bit lighter than usual.  But I kept spotting very lightly for a couple of days after and I noticed my breasts were still sore.  But the spotting stopped, and I didn't think any more of it until last Saturday when out of nowhere I had a big gush of blood and some clots.  At that point I started thinking maybe I was pregnant and miscarrying, so the next day I went out and got an HPT:  blazing BFP!  The bleeding slowly tapered off over the next day.  Monday, I went to the dr. and they drew blood:  my HCG came back at 14,000 which put me at 6-7 weeks pg!  But I was still bleeding lightly, so the next day I went back to the dr. and she did an ultrasound (transvaginal).  She saw very clearly one gestational sac, though she couldn't tell if there was anything in it or a heartbeat and there was an area of bleeding around it.  As she looked further she thought maybe she was seeing a second sac too.   Since the ultrasound was early, she told me that it's possible I could have one baby in there, I could have two, or I could have a blighted ovum (ova?) and be about to miscarry.  I'm going back on Tuesday for a follow-up scan, at which point I hope to get some answers.  Limbo is so hard!  The night after the exam, I had heavy cramping and bleeding with some clots but it only lasted one night and tapered off over the next couple of days.  I don't feel like it was nearly enough for a miscarriage.  I'm continuing to spot very lightly with some cramping but not much at all.

Anyway, I've been lurking in this group and didnt' want to join yet until I knew for sure whether the pregnancy was viable.  But I couldn't resist sharing my story since it sounds a lot like what you're going through.

If I were you, I'd go back to the doctor and request an ultrasound and follow-up blood work to see if your HCG has risen.  It's the quickest way to know for sure.  My heart goes out to you.  I know how hard pregnancy limbo is.  Keeping my fingers crossed for you...