2nd OB Appointment

I went to my 2nd OB appointment today at 8:45 AM , and I have to admit I was scared. It started out with the usual... getting my weight (I already gained 2 pounds, but the nurse said that was really good), my BP which was 94/62 and also very good, urine sample which showed a normal increase in HCG level; so far, so good. Then I was placed in a room for my Dr. to do an abdonimal exam. She came in, we talked for a bit about my concerns. I asked her about the pap smear that came back showing abnormal cells and she explained that it was a low grade level of dysplasia and that they are recommending a colposcopy to rule out signs of carvical cancer. She explained that it was just precautionary, and no need to worry. She also said that in most cases during pregnancy, these things cure themselves because of the immune system being reved up. I also asked about the time frame for that to be done and they are still thinking after I reach 20 weeks would be best. We then went on to talk about when to schedule my cerclage. She wanted me to come back in 2 weeks to do a sono to measure my cervix and to schedule my cerclage. As it stands right now, I have a sono scheduled on 2/3/09 for the NT and AFP test then I come back for another sono to measure my cervix on 2/6/09 and to schedule my cerclage. Then she went on to listen to 'Lil Bean's heartbeat with the dopplar...... NOTHING! I freaked out! She explained to me that sometimes it can be hard to detect the heartbeat before week 12. So to make sure everything was still going good, she made an appointment for me to get a sono done at another facility because their sonographer was out. I left my OB office at 10:00 AM with a script for a trans-vaginal ultrasound in hand. My sono appointment was scheduled for 11:45 AM.

I arrived at the facility at 11:30 AM, filled out some paper work and was taken back to the ultrasound room within 15 minutes. The sonographer asked me a few questions, then the ultrasound started. I told her the reason I was sent there, and my concerns. She immediately found 'Lil Bean's heartbeat and told me it was very strong at 170 BPM. She took many more pictures of my uterus, ovaries, the gestaional sac and of the baby. I asked her if she could tell me if my cervix was showing any signs of shortening, so she showed me and told me no, it was fine. She then turned the screen towards me so I could see it and there was 'Lil Bean, swimming around without a care in the world! It was the most reassuring image I have seen! I saw Bean's arms and legs which were constantly moving around, the spinal cord, the heart, the belly and the head! My 'Lil Bean looked so perfect! She also told me the same thing my Dr. told me earlier, sometimes the heartbeat can't be heard before the 12th week. She said that the baby was measuring 9w4d and the sac was measuring 10 weeks, but was completwely normal. She explained that the measurements can be off from what it should be based on my LMP, but give or take a week was still considered normal. She was kind enough to print 2 pictures for me to take home, and I have been looking at them non-stop since. My baby looks so precious! I am so thankful that everything is going great. Praise God!

Now that I am reassured that all is well, for now I just have to wait til my next appointment.

Colposcopy update

Melissa, a nurse from my OB office, called me yesterday to update me on my colpo procedure. She spoke to the Dr's. (there are 4 Dr's. at the practice I go to) and they all agreed that it would be in my best interest to have this procedure done after 20 weeks to reduce furthur complications. That would give my cervix enough time to heal after the cerclage. A colposcopy is a biopsy. They will actually have to cut a piece of my cervix off to send for analysis. It is just precautionary. I have had abnormal cells show up in previous pap smears, but nothing was ever done about it. This procedure MUST be done to rule out cervical cancer. In most cases, I'm told, is that there is a cyst on the cervix, most times benign, and they will have to go and freeze it off. Both colpo and freezing are out-patient procedures and can be preformed at my OB office. The cervical cerclage, on the other hand, is an out-patient surgery procedure and must be done at a hospital.

I am praying that this is not cancer, that it's just some fluke thing or a cyst, even. I have a long history of cancer in my family (mainly my paternal side) but never cervical cancer.

So I guess for now I will wait until 20 weeks to schedule my colpo and TRY not to worry until I know for sure there is something to worry about.

I got a brand new wardrobe, and then some!

I was very blessed yesterday to have a friend of my sister Dana sell me ALL her spring/summer maternity clothes (Motherhood, Gap, Old Navy, Liz Lange and Duo brands) for $100.00! I got 14 pairs of jeans, 4 pairs of pants, 5 capri’s, 5 shorts, 40 shirts (dressy and casual, a few are long-sleeved), 3 sweaters, 2 new nursing bras, 2 belly bands and a maternity tankini bathing suit. Before my m/c, I started buying some maternity clothes before quickly realizing that they just cost too much. So on top of all the clothes I bought yesterday, I have another 5 pairs of jeans, 3 capri’s, 5 shorts, 10 shirts and 8 dresses. Hopefully, I won’t have to buy anymore clothes for the next 31 weeks, just a few more bras, nursing bras and underwear. I also bought a Fetal Doppler on e-bay yesterday for $80.00; that should be arriving sometime this week.

We were also so very blessed when my DF’s sister, Dana, (yes, we both have sisters named Dana!) gave us a brand new set of baby furniture before the m/c. She was given this by a friend when she was preggo, but she also received furniture from their other sister, Denise, for her shower. She didn’t want to hurt Denise’s feelings, so she used the furniture she got from her instead of what her friend gave her. In turn, she gave it to us when she found out we were expecting last time.
Now we can focus on buying things that we can before finding out our ‘Lil Bean’s sex like a rocking chair, air purifier, humidifier, boppy pillow, bottles, bath tub, toys, diapers, etc. We will buy the other things like the stroller, car seat, swing, bouncy seat, room and crib décor, clothes, etc. when we find out the sex of our baby. If Bean is a girl, I want to buy them in pink and if Bean is a boy, I want to buy them in blue or green.

I’m so very thankful that things are coming together so well for our ‘Lil Bean. Praise God!

My Pregnancy, so far...

So today marks the end of week 9 for me. Tomorrow I will start to embark on week 10 of my 40 week journey.

DF and I are expecting our first child together on 8/19/09. We are very excited! We suffered a m/c on 8/14/08, but wasted no time to TTC after getting the green light from my OB. We are very blessed to be successful.

We went to Va. to spend Thanksgiving with my family and we both had a very relaxing, good time. When we got back home, we went back to our normal routine. I was supposed to get AF on 12/10/08 but it never came. I didn’t want to get too excited. Matter of fact, I waited to test until Monday, 12/15/08, and there she was, a positive test! I immediately sent DF a text telling him our good news! He was so excited, as was I. We talked when he got home, and decided that we would wait to tell our families until after the 1st trimester (which is 2/4/09) because of what happened last time. I did tell a few friends though. But when my sister saw me, she said I looked like I was glowing and asked me if I was preggo! I ended up telling her, too, and she is happy for us. I called my OB office to set up an appt and was able to get in on 12/26/08. DF had to work so was unable to go with me. Nothing exciting happened anyways. We just talked about what our plan would be. I will be having another c-section ( I had one 6 yrs ago when I had Kaleb, my son) and I even get to choose the day ‘Lil Bean is born up to 2 weeks early if labor hasn’t started on it’s own, and will have to have a cervical cerclage between 12 and 14 weeks (I was diagnosed with incompetent cervix during my pregnancy with Kaleb). My OB wanted to make sure all was well since what happened last time, so she made an appt. for me to get a sono done somewhere else because they were just so busy and due to the holidays. I had the sono done on 12/28/08. I was able to see my ‘Lil Bean and the heartbeat but it wasn’t audible because it was still so early on. The sonographer said that my OB would call me after she got the results from her. I got that call on 1/13/09, everything was going good but I was put on pelvic rest because my cervix was already showing signs of shortening. That means NO SEXY TIME WITH DF ANYMORE!!! He was totally ok with it though. We knew it was coming, just didn’t anticipate it until after the cerclage. But better safe than sorry!

I got another call from my OB office on 1/15/09, informing me that the results from my pap smear done on my first visit came back showing some abnormal cells. She advised me that I need to have a colposcopy done to rule out cervical cancer. I reminded her of my incompetent cervix, and she agreed that it would be best if the colposcopy is done along with my cervical cerclage to prevent further damaging my already fragile cervix.
I have my next OB appt on 1/28/09. I’m hoping and praying that I get to hear my ‘Lil Bean’s heartbeat (fingers crossed)! While I’m there, I will go ahead and schedule the cerclage and colpo (to be done somewhere between 2/4/09 and 2/14/09). Then I have a follow-up sono on 2/3/09 and an AFP test and blood work to make sure nothing is wrong.

Now I wait until my next OB visit.