I had my appointment today April 14th at 1:30pm with my Midwife Linda. Tim and the kids came with me so that we could all hear the baby's heart rate together for the first time. It was very cool. The baby's heart rate was in the 150's. Tim is working on loading a recording of the baby's heart beat online. As soon as he does I will post it on this blog as well. :) The kids were very excited to hear the baby and for the pregnancy to become a little bit more "real". In fact all of us got the feeling that the baby was a bit more "Real" after hearing the heart beat. I have seen the heartbeat on ultrasound, and I have plenty of pregnancy "symptoms", but I have to admit the whole concept of an ACTUAL baby in my belly is a bit abstract at this point in pregnancy. I haven't felt any movements nor am I showing all that much. So before today my "pregnancy" amounted to a few peed on sticks, nausea, bloating, gas, vomiting and exhaustion. I had begun thinking that it was all a dream or something. After trying so long to get pregnant, and then having nothing but uncomfortable symptoms to *prove* I was pregnant, I was very relieved to have a concrete *happy* evidence to confirm that there really is a baby in there!
After we heard the heart beat the kids and Tim left so that I could finish my appointment in peace! LOL! Today I was officially 15w2d pregnant! I have lost 1 pound since last appointment. My urine was negative for both protein and glucose. My blood pressure was AWESOME at 124/68!!!!! My uterus is growing right on tract. Linda my MW said it was U-4. I asked her what that meant and she said it meant that the top of my uterus was 4 finger widths BELOW my belly button or Umbilicus which is where the *U* comes from. We both laughed that I thought U-4 was so "technical" and it really wasn't. LOL!. We also drew my blood to test my thyroid hormone levels. I will get the results back in a few days and my Endocrinologist will review the results and adjust my thyroid medications if needed.
Then we just chatted about a few things. Linda thought that my iron levels were fine for this time in pregnancy but is concerned that I may become anemic during the 3rd trimester when your iron levels typically drop in response to the extra demand the baby has. I told her that I felt the reason my iron levels were so low at 7w when my blood was drawn is because I was so sick with a sinus infections, stomach bug etc. I suggested we retest my iron levels today BEFORE I just go on a iron supplement. My concern is iron supplements has side effects that have negative impacts on my digestion and have been known to cause constipation. Not to mention the possible drug interactions of the prescription drugs I already have to take. I really don't like taking pills. I have to take some pills everyday already, so adding iron is not something I take lightly. We will see what my iron levels come back as and then we will decide if an iron supplement is necessary or if I could just increase iron rich foods in my diet.
We talked about my slight placenta previa (on the ultrasound report from 7w5d the report showed slight placenta previa meaning my placenta is slightly covering my cervical opening) Linda thought that my placenta would most likely move out of the way by the time I am full term. She suggested having an ultrasound to follow up on it closer to 20-24 weeks. That is about when we would have our routine ultrasound anyway. Hopefully it will have moved out of the way by then. But if not they we would have another ultrasound around 38 weeks to see if the placenta had moved by then. If it still is covering my cervix then we would talk about doing a c-section and my plans for a home birth would of course be off the table. So I will be praying that my placenta moves.
And we also talked about my birth plan a bit. Linda attended my birth with Mason and remembered how fast it went. I basically had my first painful contraction and then 3 hours later was holding Mason. It was a very fast labor and hard to keep on top of the contractions. Even though my body was relaxed and I didn't tense up of anything during the contractions, my mind was racing and I was terrified. When I got pregnant with this little one I wanted to try a birthing method that helped me stay calm in my mind as much as my body was relaxed. Hypnobabies is basically self hypnosis to manage the discomfort of childbirth. I have read quite a bit on this method. I have decided that I will try it. Linda is very supportive of either Bradley or Hypnobabies. Bradley is what I used for both Jasmyn and Mason's births. She told me I made my birth look easy with Mason and was surprised that I wanted to learn something new. But she like Tim and Sara were NOT inside my head. I am the one that needs to feel peaceful on my head! Anyway, I will be practicing Hynobabies to use as pain management for this birth. They offer a self taught home study course for hypnobabies that I have purchased and started using. If anyone is interested in learning more, you can visit Hypnobabies.com
My next appointment is May 12th!
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