PALS Here!

[aran]

I noticed the other DDCs have PALS threads to help provide support to mamas who have had pregnancy and/or birth losses in the past. Is there any interest in having one for the May mamas???

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ETA: Seems like there is enough interest for a PALS thread, so I just renamed the thread from "Pregnancy After Loss Support (PALS) thread, anyone?" to "PALS Here!" so those who answered already need not re-sub.

WELCOME

[chrissy]

ME!

I had 2 healthy full term pregnancies and then 2 miscarriages. My first miscarriage was in March of this year at 8.5 weeks. My second was in July of this year at 4.5 weeks.

I am so scared.

[aran]

Sorry you have to be here, chrissy, but at least we're not alone.

I have had one m/c, in July also. I am having trouble feeling quite as exuberant about this pg, because of that. I mean - I am so happy of course - but there is a sense of caution in there too. On the other hand, I have been nauseated since before I got my BFP, so I am cautiously hoping that's a good sign.

[Debstmomy]

Ok, I am coming out! (and if my IRL friends or family see this here, I will tell you in person shortly) Actually, I have been posting as Crazyknitter for a week.
Anyway, I would love a PALS thread for our ddc. This pregnancy is coinciding with two things for me. First, had I not misscarried in March, I was due this month. 2nd it parallels my pregnancy with Alexa. I was due 5/23 or 5/30 (yk, how edd are). Now I am due 5/10, so basicly on the same time line. I take both as good signs that this pregnancy is meant to be.

[momto l&a]

I mc at 8 weeks the last day of July, it was my 4th pregnancy, second mc.

My first mc was July 11th 2001 at 12 weeks. It was really hard on me took along time to recover from it. This time I think I was more prepared.

Just as with my first mc I was preggo the very next month.

I feel good about this pregnancy. For the 2 pregnancies that have ended in mc I havent felt good about them. Had no desire to tell people I was preggo.

We have 3 children,6, 4, and 22 months.

I am almost 6 weeks

to you all

[chrissy]

J, yeah I'd say the nausea is a good sign! i am hoping for lots of nausea here. i am already feeling queasy and am not even 4 weeks yet so that's good.

Cristina, wow, i think those are definitely good signs!!

mom to l&a, i also feel good about this pregnancy and did not feel that way with my miscarriages. when i found out i was pregnant with what would be my first m/c, i felt like i was making it up or like i was lying about it. this time i feel like it is real, even if i do have my moments of fear and panic.

i have been obsessively testing ever since i got my first bfp at 10dpo. the lines are getting darker every day so that is making me feel good. i had my first beta on friday and i go back tomorrow morning for my second. i am somewhat nervous but i really feel like it is going to be okay.

[chrissy]

hi guys,

i went in this morning for my second beta. they said they'll call today but it might be later this afternoon. i mostly feel good about it, but every now and then i get really nervous. i'm doing a lot of : and :


how are you all doing?

[aran]

chrissy: G/L with the test results. I have my : for you, too. I obsessively POAS with the pg I m/c because I felt it wasn't right, and my lines got darker, too, so I don't trust that anymore. It's good you are getting the blood test. (Of course I have extra test strips, so this hasn't stopped me from POAS every morning this time, either!)

Debstmomy: I'll just rename this thread the PALS thread, since there are (and probably will be) enough interest. That way we don't need to sub again. Welcome and I am sorry you are here (because it means you m/c) - but I am happy you are here (because it means you are pg again

mom to l&a: I know what you mean about not wanting to tell... I felt like something was awry last time, and feel more confident this time... maybe because there are more symptoms??? I have been overanalyzing every twinge though, too.

[chrissy]

i just got the call and my beta level today was 159! i am so darn happy! okay, phew, phew, phew. they want me to go in for another one wednesday morning too.

okay, bouncing off the walls here. need to go relax.

sticky + thoughts for all of us!

[EricaE]

I would love to join you for some added support.

I've had 2 live births and 5 miscarriages. This pregnancy is my 4th one this year, and I'm praying with everything I have that it sticks. The one thing that gives me hope is that I've never been this far along and lost a pregnancy.

I haven't had a beta check in a few days, but the ones I did have in the beginning looked okay.

12 dpo: 49
14 dpo: 188
18 dpo: 669
21 dpo: 1,982

The doubling time between the 2nd and 3rd beta scare me, but I'm trying to have faith. It's not easy, though. I am constantly worrying over this pregnancy.

[Willzmama]

Aaahhh, the place for me

Thanks for starting this, Aran.

My story: I have DS who is 3, then I had a m/c October of last year, and a 2nd m/c in May. I had a slew of testing done which didn't reveal much, but I've been on progesterone for 2 weeks now.

AND...I just POAS stick Saturday (CD 25) and got my first beta: 123. My 2nd beta was today: 360. I get another Wednesday, too! I have thyroid issues so they did my TSH, which looks okay.

DH and I are jaded by my 2 m/cs, afraid to believe this one might happen. I think my mom was rather reserved about it all, too, when I called her with our news. But I needed to come here and see some hope, maybe it will rub off on me.

[chrissy]

Erica, I think your beta's look great! I thought they were supposed to double within 72 hours. Yours definitely did that.

Willzmama, your beta's look great too!

Speaking of beta's, is there a website you guys recommend that has charts showing average numbers, etc? I have seen some but was wondering if you guys had a favorite.

[EricaE]

Chrissy, my favorite beta website is www.betabase.com. It gives sooo much information. Definently check it out if you haven't already!

Willzmama, your betas are lookin' good!

Speaking of obsessively POAS, I just peed on yet another one tonight (I'm 25 dpo). I just had this nagging fear that the 2nd line was going to be faint, but it turned out that the control line was much fainter than the pregnancy line. I know that in reality a HPT is not going to let me know if I'm going to miscarry, but it is reassuring to see dark lines.

[paisley]

Just sneaking in with lots of love for my former DDC and TTC buddies and sticky vibes for you all!

I was going to mention the same beta site as Erica did too (although it's actually www.betabase.info instead of .com - gets me every time). It was by far the best site I came across in my days of obsessively tracking my hCG values. Just a heads up that some of the features don't work in Firefox but are fine in IE.

I wish all of you all the best in your journeys! Being pregnant again after knowing what could go wrong and knowing that it has happened to you before is a hard thing to deal with at times. Try to breathe through the hard moments, think positive thoughts and enjoy what you do have right now. Easier said than done of course, but it's a good starting place.

Ok back to silently lurking now.

[chrissy]

Paisley.

[chrissy]

oh my gosh, i feel like i can finally catch my breath today. i had been feeling really confident the past couple of days and then yesterday i started feeling worried and then today i have been alternating between worry and peace all day. i went for my third beta and it was 626, so now i feel calm again. oh i hope this feeling lasts. the nurse said since my numbers were doing so great that it was up to me whether i did another blood draw. i told her i'd skip it then since i think waiting for the results was seriously making me stress. so i'm scheduled for an u/s a week from friday. i know i'll be a wreck then, but hopefully i'll be able to keep it together until then.

how are you mamas holding up?

[Willzmama]

Chrissy, we are on the same schedule, I think! I had my 3rd beta today: 852. And at the place I'm going, they don't usually do more than 2 beta checks, and I've had 3 now. I thought of arguing for more, but I can live without it, I think. So next for me is an u/s on the 25th! I'll be just shy of 6 weeks then. So my goal is to just chill until then, try to stay calm and take it easy. HA! We're putting our house on the market tomorrow and our first open house is Sunday. At least I'll have something else to occupy my mind!

Paisley, thanks for your kind words!

[Debstmomy]

Any ideas on how to stop being a tp checker?? I swear, I am a slave to it. Man, my brain does crazy things. Am I the only one???

[UrbanEarthMom]

I'm new to this forum - I can't bring myself to change my signature yet.

I've had two miscarriages in the last year - the last one was a molar pregnancy.

I'm happy one minute and anxious the next. Everytime I go to the bathroom I'm wondering what I'll see.

Wishing the best for all of us.

Mary

[RobynFSU]

I would like to join you ladies. I had a loss last month the was difficult to deal with. It was very early, but just long enough for me to get excited and attached. It makes it harder this time to let myself be excited, but it feels different this time around. I am keeping positive and anxiously awaiting results from the blood draw I had done today.