Tuesday, April 16, 2013

14 Weeks

I'm amazed and so incredibly grateful to be at this point. There's no denying now that I'm into the second trimester. I'm feeling much better than I was last week and I really appreciate all of the positive and supportive comments I received on my last post. I know being pregnant is scary, but being pregnant after infertility and loss seems even scarier.

I'm embracing things a bit more and feeling more confident in things. The headaches have been better so I'm not sure if it's the magnesium or the little amount of caffeine I'm finally allowing myself to have. This past Saturday was my first almost headache-free day. Things are definitely looking up. I didn't hear any more about the neurologist so I'm not pushing it. 

I did hear from my ob's office today regarding a MFM (maternal fetal medicine aka perinatologist) appointment. They said they didn't have any record of the MTHFR or Leiden Factor V despite having nearly 50 pages of information from Dr. B's office, so they asked for their number in order to get that information. They are going to schedule the appointment for me, so it's just a wait and see kind of thing. I only want to go in hopes of getting another ultrasound. I think I'm officially cut off until our anatomy scan. That's a long time when you're used to scans every other week at least. I've been using my doppler a bit more recently, but it's just so reassuring. 

Babies-The babies are about 3 inches each now. This week they are able to make facial expressions like squinting and grimacing. Their kidneys are producing urine and they can pee (and then hang out in it).  They can grasp and suck their thumbs. It's amazing to think there are 6 inches of baby in my ute! 

Weight Gain/Loss- As far as I know, still not much change. We don't have a functional scale (not a mistake) so I haven't been weighing myself.

Belly/Maternity Clothes-Big surprise, my belly is still growing. I'm still mainly wearing my regular jeans but have purchased a few maternity pairs. They are so much more comfortable but are tighter fitting than the ones I have been wearing. I wore a t-shirt yesterday and noticed it didn't just fall in the front. It got a little hung up on my belly and fit much more tightly there. I definitely haven't popped out and I'm eagerly awaiting that (I know I'll regret saying that eventually). Now that it's getting warmer it's harder to hide behind a sweatshirt. I'm still in the looking chubby vs pregnant stage.

Nausea/Aversions/Cravings-The nausea is just about gone. I have moments from time to time, but it's really nothing like it was. The food aversions are much better as well. I've been loving asparagus, steamed clams, and Fruit Loops recently. I generally eat really well/healthy for breakfast and dinner but lunch is always more questionable. Being out on the road for work all the time leads to lots of unhealthy temptations. When I'm hungry, I'm hungry so I tend to just pick something up.

Symptoms-Heartburn has been more frequent. Tums are my friends, especially the minty ones since the other ones just don't work as well. The round ligament pain continues and I've had a bit of cramping the past few days. It continues to make me nervous even though it's probably just growing pains. Shifting in bed can be quite painful with the shooting ligament pains, as can sneezing. The extreme fatigue is slowly improving. I don't feel any huge bursts of energy, but I don't feel like I'm going to fall asleep by 2:00. This afternoon was the first time I didn't nap in a long time. I'm pretty sure I will be in bed early though. 

Sleep- It's still pretty good. I'm getting up a few times to pee but am usually able to fall back asleep pretty easily. Occasionally I have some difficulty falling back asleep, but it's really nothing to complain about. I ordered a pregnancy pillow online and the wrong one arrived today. They are shipping out the right one so hopefully I will have it soon. This past week I had a few bad dreams, but it's not a regular thing. We're only watching positive/funny stuff on t.v, so I'm not sure where they are coming from.

Mood-My mood has been better since feeling so down last week. This morning I had zero patience with the kids and felt a little bad about it after. It's really frustrating to me when kids throw items of drop them under a table or something. I know I'm not big at all and shouldn't be complaining about bending down and picking things up, but it really is uncomfortable. I try to get the kids to get things as much as possible, but it doesn't always work. Yesterday this little boy would get the item and then just throw it further away.

Meds-It terms of meds I'm down to Metformin, Foltanx, and Lovenox by prescription. I'm taking prenatals, iron (since the chewy delicious prenatals don't have it), magensium, and baby aspirin. It's a bit but it sure beats PIO shots every night. My butt is still recovering from the shots and I continue to have a few little lumps left behind.

Memorable moments-W and I attended a cloth diapering class this weekend in Ithaca. It was super informative and opened my mind a bit more. W is definitely the driving force with the cloth diapering, but I think I'm getting more on board. They are seriously super cute. We are thinking about using all-in-one diapers to cut back on the work. After, we had lunch with my friend T (6 weeks ahead of me with her IVF pregnancy), her sister, and her niece at one of my favorite places. After lunch we went to a children's consignment store and I bought another pair on maternity jeans.

We had a Skype date with my mom and step-dad tonight and told them the news. They were really happy and excited for us and it was really fun to see their reactions (since they are in Costa Rica until July). My step-dad kept saying, "Wow, twins".  

I may have felt a little bit of movement one evening, but I'm not completely convinced. 

We also assembled a cradle we bought years ago (before we ever knew we would have trouble getting pregnant). We got a great deal on it and it's been sitting in our attic since. It was in an effort to get excited and embrace things a bit more. It's SO cute, but the cat discovered it and has been sleeping in it.

I still haven't told my work but plan to do it sometime this week. I still have thoughts that taking these steps will jinx things, but I can't help it. W told a co-worker yesterday when we walked the dogs to her house. She and her hubby have been trying for a long time and I know she's had some losses. W told her we used fertility treatments and I offered up my knowledge to her if she ever has any questions. I guess today at work she told W that her husband had a ton of questions. I'm more than happy to share anything/everything I learned in the process. I wish I didn't know so much, but I'm happy to help others if possible.

This weekend W is going to a bachelor party for his cousin in Montreal. I'm going to a Mom's of Multiples sale on Saturday morning and then there's also a baby expo somewhere else. My MiL is joining me. I'm not looking for anything specific, but you never know. After those I will head to Albany to spend time with my sis and little nephew. I'm looking forward to seeing baby Ben since he has started smiling. I have seen it via Face Time, but it's just not the same.

Once again, thanks everyone for all of the amazing support and all of your wonderful comments. It made a world of difference to know I wasn't alone in my feelings/fears.

9 comments:

  1. Heh, I often see your weekly updates and think, 'Hey, I'll be X weeks tomorrow!' -- like the fact that we're a day apart is going to change at some point. I'm glad to hear that you're feeling a bit better! I ordered a couple of cloth diapers that should arrive tomorrow -- one is the brand that I've been planning to use (FuzziBunz), and another is a cute one that a blogger recommends (TotsBots). I'm sure they'll look exactly the same to me, yet operate totally differently when they're on a baby's butt!

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  2. 14 weeks=amazing!!!!!! xo So glad all is going well.

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  3. We tried cloth diapers simply for the cost savings, but we ended up loving them for SO many reasons. We use the Bum Genius Elemental AIOs!

    Firmly in your 2nd tri - that is SO awesome. :)

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  4. Headaches are so common in pregnancy that OB's get sick of hearing about it over and over. Your OB telling you that you should see a neurologist is them being snarky and cruel. They do it all of the time when they feel like patients are whining about headaches. It's usually a pretty good sign that your OB is burned out and should go work in a lab.
    Sorry you were treated like that at such an important time in your life.

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  5. I am sooo happy for you to reach this milestone! I've been struggling myself. Wishing you the best.

    KayBee things couldn't be better
    Cockroachesofinfertility.wordpress.com

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  6. Yay......welcome to the 2nd trimester!!! The trimester were you feel like yourself again!!! Enjoy it!!!!

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  7. Glad you're feeling better. And just so you know-Tums will fail you at some point, lol. I've been on 150mg of Zantac two times a day since about 25 weeks ;)

    I still have the "jinxing it" fears, and I'll be 38 weeks in a day. I think it's just something that us infertiles have to deal with. But it will get better and not happen as often...

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  8. I'm glad you are feeling better! Sounds like you and the babes are doing amazing. Sounds like its been a busy week.

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  9. So glad to hear that you are feeling better!! Congrats on 14 weeks. It feels so good to cross over into the 2nd trimester!!

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