Yikes! Spotting?

[Sarahlynn]

Hi; my apologies if it's not good manners for a newbie to start a thread, but I didn't see any other threads discussing spotting. If such a discussion exists, I'd really appreciate a nudge in the right direction.

I'm only 22 days pregnant (we've had about 9 days to get excited) and tonight I started spotting. At first it was pink and looked like it was about to be bright red, but now it's more brown. The spotting is very light; it's clearly visible on toilet paper, but is not showing on the pad.

I've had light cramping and bloating, general pre-menstrual symptoms for most of the last week. There was nothing unusual today. Has anyone else had this? Am I miscarrying or can this just be normal first trimester spotting?

I'm hesitant to call my OB/GYN's emergency number in the middle of the night, but tomorrow is her late day and the office doesn't open until 10:00! So long to wait. Do I go to work tomorrow? This first time pregnancy stuff is scarier and much less clear-cut than I expected it to be.

Thanks . . .

[Tigerchild]

Spotting is normally fine...

If it's very light and/or brown.

However, your doc/midwife *will* want to know about it! It might be hard for you to go to work not from a medical standpoint but an emotional one (esp. if nobody else knows about your pregnancy yet). Would it be possible to take the day off? Even if you go in, you should definitely call your doctor and let them know--during office hours if things are light, but if it gets period-heavy you'll want to call right away and they might want you to go to the ER.

There's not much they can (or will) do at this stage. I know it's really hard to relax, but try if you can, and call your doc's office first thing when they open.

I'm sorry you have to worry about this, but almost everyone has SOME kind of light spotting, esp. in early pregnancy. Keep us updated when you find out more?

[Sarahlynn]

All's well

Tigerchild, thank you for the advice; you were exactly right and you helped me to not panic. Since the spotting was so light, I waited until the office opened this morning to call. When I mentioned "spotting," the Nurse Practitioner asked me to come in this afternoon.

The appointment went well. Everything's all closed up nice and tight, like it should be. She explained that spotting in the first trimester can be totally normal, if it's light and not accompanied by severe cramping. "Sometimes it's like parts of the uterus don't realize that you're pregnant and they try to shed a little tissue." She pulled out the ultrasound machine, and since I was so worried, I didn't tell her no. I don't think I'll have those regularly, but it really felt good to see the little embryo! It's too soon to hear anything, but we could see its little heart beating. Amazing!

This pregnancy is real! Assuming that all goes well, I'm due October 27 by my calculation, October 22 by the ultrasound. A couple more weeks before we tell our families, I think.