[Periwinkle]

OMG Shannon hurrah! YOu took my breath away with the "baby is measuring dead"

but then I kept reading. YAY!

I'm coming out of self-imposed hiding-slash-self-protectiveness-about-how-EARLY-this-is

to say, I am 7 completed weeks today. My first sonogram and OB appointment is tomorrow. It's pretty soon for a sono but I need to know if it's twins again. Supposedly there's a 1 in 15 chance when you've already conceived fraternal twins. I am admitting to myself that I really, really, really do NOT want twins again but that dh and I will handle whatever G*d throws our way, no doubt. (Singleton vibes welcome, nonetheless

) And now in honor of my first impending sonogram, my heart is in my throat and I am freaking, worrying that there won't be a heartbeat. I mean, there SHOULD be a heartbeat now right?? Everything I read says it's there by 6 weeks (completed) and visible then or very soon thereafter. I am 100% positive of my O date, so I'll definitely be 7+1 weeks tomorrow. Anyway, strong heartbeat vibes welcome.

Some catching up to do...

Ravenmoon - Good luck on those beta #s!
wtchyhlr - This is me to a T. I flip over suddenly in the middle of the night and am just shot with pain for a moment. I remember this from last time.
Jenny - I've been touching base here and there over past 2 weeks and am so relieved to hear everything looks OK. Still

for you and your babe - when will you know "for sure" that all is good?
mehndi mama - Sorry you're feeling like a slug. I feel like one myself. mmmm.... Subway...

Ekblad - Hurray about a (dh-supported no less) homebirth with caring midwives. Sounds wonderful!
Heve - Things sound really good. Pregnancy symptoms are so welcome when you've been worried about how things are going!

Amy - I think the higher road is not to defend yourself at all. Whenever I get in these kind of conversations with my parents, I just try to nicely say something like "I respect that you have a different opinion/approach/way of doing things and that that's worked for you. [Whether or not this is complete horsedoodoo LOL] But this is how we're going to do it, and I'm not really interested in feedback on this one. Let's move on."

Everyone else I'm too tired to mention (for tonight!) -

:

 

[Periwinkle]

Lesley, I'd say CD16 just like FF. I've read that OPKs can still read + AFTER you've O'd if you have a really high LH surge or a prolonged LH surge. That temp spike is pretty clear though and correlates with HSO cervix too.

for your crappy day. The Acyclovir also sounds really promising - can they give it to the baby after delivery too or do they not do that? What is a nuchal translucency test? Are you at risk for having a baby with Down's? I'm so sorry you've had such a rotten day and also found out about Herpes basically at the same time.

 

[Periwinkle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mehndi mama I have a question - are you all actually believing the "adjusted due-dates" based on your ultrasounds? I don't want to step on anyones' toes, because I know that many of you need these sonograms right now for various reasons, but this whole trend of "I went in for my ultrasound today, and they moved my due-date up" really gets me steamed.

Absolutely not. For me, I know 100% for certain when I O'd, so I will always know my due date regardless of what a sono says. It is important for ME to know my due date, because it really does matter if you experience problems whether you're 27 weeks or 28 (example). BIG differences in just a few days here or there.

Onto happy news!!

I just had my first OB checkup and sono. I had a sono because I needed to know if I was carrying twins again -- no way we could risk waiting til 20 weeks for that (it would change everything for me: what I eat, what I do, how I mentally prepare, labor/delivery options, etc etc.). Anyway...

We saw a good strong heartbeat (150 bpm!

) and a beautiful little smudge of a baby! (head, spine, arm/leg buds -- too cute)

I know "anything can happen at any time" but it is SUCH a relief to know that once you detect a heartbeat via sono, the risk of miscarriage plummets to <3-5%. I am someone who really needs to work on the "relax and enjoy it" factor -- to be honest, I think I'm still a little traumatized from my last (twin, high-risk, monitored-to-death) pregnancy and need to just breathe and enjoy this pregnancy and the babe growing inside me!

This is me working on relaxing and being happy...

Also good news: my OB says "definitely a go" re: supporting me trying for a VBAC.

I have some increased risks (bad adhesions from a previous surgery etc) that make it important for me to labor in a hospital just in case, and to be honest that's a lot more in line with my own personal comfort zone anyway... but he also said he was more than happy to let labor start on its own up to 43 weeks (hey, 43's not bad, he's still an OB after all - but I'll take the extra week!) and is very much in support of vaginal birth. I'm also going to start looking into getting a doula. My primary goal is baby's health - I'm not really someone who puts a lot of stock in how baby is brought into the world provided baby and I are healthy, so mostly I'm looking to maximize outcome. Currently, the best outcome would be VBAC (for both of us), but I also know things change, so I'm going to be flexible and realize birth plans aren't set in stone. Ultimately, it's good to know my OB is very supportive of VBAC goals, regardless.

 

[Periwinkle]

No kidding! I couldn't believe my ears either, so asked him to clarify. He said, as long as you're fine and the baby is fine, I see no problem with going that far post date.

I almost kissed him.

 

[Periwinkle]

Christi

I think the scariest time in pregnancy is before you can feel kicking. Whenever symptoms change, it's so easy to freak out. Hang in there, and I hope everything's fine.

Heve -

That's called a bipole I think. A yolk sac and a bipole - how cool! And a heartbeat!

Now you can join me in the "working on being relieved and happy and refusing to stress ANY MORE about this pregnancy" camp.

 

[Periwinkle]

Ekblad

 

[Periwinkle]

Ekblad

:

Please let us know as soon as you hear anything.

 

[Periwinkle]

Ekblad!

Jenny

We want YOU to stick around too! Best of luck tomorrow!

 

[Periwinkle]

Oh no.

to Jenny. I am so very sorry

too to Shannon - that sounds awful; I hope everything is OK with you and the babe.