We were anxiously awaiting this appointment because it was the first time we met the midwife. We felt just fine about the OB we had been seeing, but part of the reason are crazy enough to drive an hour to deliver our little girl is to have a midwife experience.
The appointment was early enough that we had to wake up our toddler early. She was very sad to be woken up and we barely got in the car on time.
The morning was frigid and the drive to the office was smooth sailing. We have been thankful that, so far, no matter what time of day I have had an appointment, we do not see much traffic. It gives me hope that when it comes time for me to deliver, we will not have any anxiety over congestion. Next year, the main highway we are taking to the hospital will be closed for some period of months as they renovate it into a freeway, so we are grateful that they (probably) will not start until after my daughter's birth.
We arrived at the office and were pulled back within five minutes. As soon as the midwife walked in, I knew that she was what we wanted. I loved her bedside manner, her sweet personality, and her confidence. All my worries left. We talked for several minutes and she made us feel like we had all the time in the world with her. She assured us that as long as my pregnancy progressed normally that she would be able to deliver the baby.
We gave her brief details about my first child's birth and the midwife urged us to book it to the hospital at the first signs of labor. "Your next baby is going to come faster! If you were only in the hospital for 3 1/2 hours for your first, I do not want you delivering that baby on the side of the road." I know statistics range for subsequent deliveries, but I certainly hope my next deliver is faster (but not too fast).
As we left the office, we both commented that we loved the midwife and we were so excited to have her as an option. She is a joy and just the kind of person I want in my labor and delivery room.
I am currently (almost) 26 weeks and get more and more excited about the viability of the baby. We are all so excited for her arrival. My daughter tells me several times a day that she loves the baby so much and comes over to give her hugs and kisses. Let's hope the love continues in just over three months.
My next appointment also has my gestational diabetes testing and then we move to every other week appointments. I cannot believe how quickly time is flying.
18 January, 2020
14 December, 2019
OB Appointment 20 Weeks, 2 Days
On Tuesday, I had my 20 week appointment and anatomy ultrasound. Because my ultrasound at 16 weeks was extremely thorough, I went into the ultrasound without worries that a defect would show up. I was more anxious to see what was going on with my subchorionic hemorrhage.
The appointment was in early afternoon so we headed out soon after lunch. On the drive this time around, we timed how long it took to arrive at the doctor's office after getting off the highway. I was surprised to see it took 13 minutes (with only 10 to the hospital). I still do not love that the drive to the hospital is an hour, but we are still confident with our hospital choice and doctor's office choice.
We were in the waiting room for the least amount of time for this appointment. After just a few minutes, we were called by the ultrasound tech. We made our way back and I got settled on the examination table. As this table rises up, it makes a noise like an air-raid siren.
The ultrasound began and I was in heaven. I love watching my little wiggling baby. We had a third confirmation that it is a girl. There were a few times when the tech had to wait for her to shift positions because she was all over the place. We watched her close and open her mouth, rotate around, and grab her foot with her hand. As I watched the tech take measurements of everything, I noticed that the average length matched up with a baby closer to 22 weeks.
Everything was checked. She is perfect. The hemorrhage is gone. My daughter had to use the bathroom twice while we were doing the scan.
After thirty minutes of bliss of seeing my darling girl, I received an envelope of pictures and sent to an examination room to await the OB.
The OB was proud of my weight and said I didn't have to consume 3000 calories a day anymore. (Thankfully.) I am up to eight pounds of weight gain. My fundal height was measured and I matched the measurement for 22 weeks. My first child was a pretty average weight and height at birth, but if this girl keeps up her growth, she could be a bit bigger.
This was the best visit we have had with our OB in terms of the flow of conversation and the interaction. A problem arose when after chatting about Christmas, she stood up and left without addressing our couple of questions or asking if we had anything to ask her. My husband was a little frustrated.
As we made our 24 week appointment, we asked to see the midwife. I would love to have the OB deliver our baby, but the type of delivery experience we want to have would be better supported by a midwife. We are really hoping we will like the midwife.
The appointment was in early afternoon so we headed out soon after lunch. On the drive this time around, we timed how long it took to arrive at the doctor's office after getting off the highway. I was surprised to see it took 13 minutes (with only 10 to the hospital). I still do not love that the drive to the hospital is an hour, but we are still confident with our hospital choice and doctor's office choice.
We were in the waiting room for the least amount of time for this appointment. After just a few minutes, we were called by the ultrasound tech. We made our way back and I got settled on the examination table. As this table rises up, it makes a noise like an air-raid siren.
The ultrasound began and I was in heaven. I love watching my little wiggling baby. We had a third confirmation that it is a girl. There were a few times when the tech had to wait for her to shift positions because she was all over the place. We watched her close and open her mouth, rotate around, and grab her foot with her hand. As I watched the tech take measurements of everything, I noticed that the average length matched up with a baby closer to 22 weeks.
Everything was checked. She is perfect. The hemorrhage is gone. My daughter had to use the bathroom twice while we were doing the scan.
After thirty minutes of bliss of seeing my darling girl, I received an envelope of pictures and sent to an examination room to await the OB.
The OB was proud of my weight and said I didn't have to consume 3000 calories a day anymore. (Thankfully.) I am up to eight pounds of weight gain. My fundal height was measured and I matched the measurement for 22 weeks. My first child was a pretty average weight and height at birth, but if this girl keeps up her growth, she could be a bit bigger.
This was the best visit we have had with our OB in terms of the flow of conversation and the interaction. A problem arose when after chatting about Christmas, she stood up and left without addressing our couple of questions or asking if we had anything to ask her. My husband was a little frustrated.
As we made our 24 week appointment, we asked to see the midwife. I would love to have the OB deliver our baby, but the type of delivery experience we want to have would be better supported by a midwife. We are really hoping we will like the midwife.
16 November, 2019
OB Appointment 16W2D
Earlier this week, I went to my sixteen week appointment. I was scheduled to do an ultrasound first to check out my subchorionic hematoma and meet with the OB shortly thereafter.
As I was showering that morning, I missed a call from the clinic saying that their ultrasound tech was out for the day and if I called back after 8:00 (when their office opened), I could hear what my options were. We were planning on heading out at 7:50 in order to make it to the appointment on time, so we followed through with our departure plans and I called the office once they opened. They gave me the number for central scheduling for the health network so that I could still schedule an ultrasound.
After lots of discussion over several phone calls with a delightful woman, I received an appointment at an imaging center next door to the OB's office. The only problem was that the earliest available appointment was at 1:30. We were going to have lots of down time.
My husband and I decided that if the OB appointment went well, we would cancel the ultrasound and just head home.
Our hopes of getting home early were dashed during the OB appointment.
"You have a lot of blood in your urine!" was the first thing we heard from my doctor after pleasantries were exchanged. After asking a couple of questions that could explain where it had come from, she said I most likely had an infection and she would send off a sample to be examined.
"The next problem is that you are not gaining enough weight." I was more than a little perplexed that there was more than one problem. I've always passed my OB appointments with flying colors. They normally listen for a heartbeat, we chat for a few minutes, and then they send me on my way. "You have only gained two pounds this pregnancy." Let's ignore the fact that I was also in cold weather gear that added a bit of bulk to my outfit that day as well... "I am putting you on a 3000 calorie diet. It's not that hard. Just add a bit more to each meal and maybe a few more snacks." They wanted me to have gained between 4 and 7 pounds by this point.
Leaving the appointment slightly discouraged, we decided that we should keep the ultrasound appointment.
We killed time for three hours by buying my daughter's Christmas present and stopping by Trader Joe's to grab some lunch. We thought we would be home in time for lunch so we hadn't brought anything with us.
The ultrasound appointment was the highlight of the day. I thought it would be a quick five minute ultrasound with the tech measuring the size of the hemorrhage and moving onto the next patient, but we were pleasantly surprised to be there for over twenty minutes. I think we had a scan just as thorough as the anatomy scan that I will receive at my next visit. We got to see all four chambers of her heart, the beautiful structure of her spine and ribs, her curled up legs, and her adorable face. She kept opening and closing her mouth. The hemorrhage is still present, and the tech said we had to wait for the OB to compare the two scans. The tech was wonderful to chat with and I feel she shared things a little more openly than other techs I have worked with. We left with six more pictures of our adorable little baby that my older daughter loves to study.
Ever since the appointment, I have been trying to get my calories up, but it has been a challenge. I cannot eat much for breakfast without feeling sick and on the days I try to eat more for lunch, I am still full at dinnertime. I tracked my calories a few times and realized I am not getting close to 3000 calories. I am not even eating as much as someone in their second trimester should eat. My goal is to eat more snack and keep my meals the same, but now I need to plan ahead and brings snacks with me when I have outings.
As I was showering that morning, I missed a call from the clinic saying that their ultrasound tech was out for the day and if I called back after 8:00 (when their office opened), I could hear what my options were. We were planning on heading out at 7:50 in order to make it to the appointment on time, so we followed through with our departure plans and I called the office once they opened. They gave me the number for central scheduling for the health network so that I could still schedule an ultrasound.
After lots of discussion over several phone calls with a delightful woman, I received an appointment at an imaging center next door to the OB's office. The only problem was that the earliest available appointment was at 1:30. We were going to have lots of down time.
My husband and I decided that if the OB appointment went well, we would cancel the ultrasound and just head home.
Our hopes of getting home early were dashed during the OB appointment.
"You have a lot of blood in your urine!" was the first thing we heard from my doctor after pleasantries were exchanged. After asking a couple of questions that could explain where it had come from, she said I most likely had an infection and she would send off a sample to be examined.
"The next problem is that you are not gaining enough weight." I was more than a little perplexed that there was more than one problem. I've always passed my OB appointments with flying colors. They normally listen for a heartbeat, we chat for a few minutes, and then they send me on my way. "You have only gained two pounds this pregnancy." Let's ignore the fact that I was also in cold weather gear that added a bit of bulk to my outfit that day as well... "I am putting you on a 3000 calorie diet. It's not that hard. Just add a bit more to each meal and maybe a few more snacks." They wanted me to have gained between 4 and 7 pounds by this point.
Leaving the appointment slightly discouraged, we decided that we should keep the ultrasound appointment.
We killed time for three hours by buying my daughter's Christmas present and stopping by Trader Joe's to grab some lunch. We thought we would be home in time for lunch so we hadn't brought anything with us.
The ultrasound appointment was the highlight of the day. I thought it would be a quick five minute ultrasound with the tech measuring the size of the hemorrhage and moving onto the next patient, but we were pleasantly surprised to be there for over twenty minutes. I think we had a scan just as thorough as the anatomy scan that I will receive at my next visit. We got to see all four chambers of her heart, the beautiful structure of her spine and ribs, her curled up legs, and her adorable face. She kept opening and closing her mouth. The hemorrhage is still present, and the tech said we had to wait for the OB to compare the two scans. The tech was wonderful to chat with and I feel she shared things a little more openly than other techs I have worked with. We left with six more pictures of our adorable little baby that my older daughter loves to study.
Ever since the appointment, I have been trying to get my calories up, but it has been a challenge. I cannot eat much for breakfast without feeling sick and on the days I try to eat more for lunch, I am still full at dinnertime. I tracked my calories a few times and realized I am not getting close to 3000 calories. I am not even eating as much as someone in their second trimester should eat. My goal is to eat more snack and keep my meals the same, but now I need to plan ahead and brings snacks with me when I have outings.
11 November, 2019
Blessed
Every night before my daughter goes to bed, we say a prayer together. Tonight my husband was at school until late so it was just the girls. These days, I usually say the basic prayer with my daughter chiming in as to what she is thankful for. I always get a kick over what she decides to thank her Heavenly Father for. Tonight, she listed off a half dozen letters (including capital and lower case specific ones).
As I added more to her prayer, I said that we were thankful that we were blessed with another baby. My voice broke and I needed a minute to compose myself before continuing. I had a flashback to earlier in the day.
This morning, a darling friend dropped by for a short period of time. She was talking about a trial that she has been going through.
Even though it is not similar in the least to what I have had to go through to get my babies, she influenced me. She is so optimistic about it and is looking at all the positives. She is such an inspiration to me. I really do not know how she does what she does, but it makes me feel bad about the pity parties I have on occasion.
I am blessed. It is incredible that with our infertility problems, I have a very healthy pregnancy with a second child. It would be impossible for us to conceive children not that long ago (in medical years). I am able to connect with so many people. I do not take motherhood as lightly as I probably would had we not been through this. Will I ever look at my infertility without any sorrow? Probably not. But I can at least slowly change my heart and my point-of-view to a much more positive one.
As I added more to her prayer, I said that we were thankful that we were blessed with another baby. My voice broke and I needed a minute to compose myself before continuing. I had a flashback to earlier in the day.
This morning, a darling friend dropped by for a short period of time. She was talking about a trial that she has been going through.
Even though it is not similar in the least to what I have had to go through to get my babies, she influenced me. She is so optimistic about it and is looking at all the positives. She is such an inspiration to me. I really do not know how she does what she does, but it makes me feel bad about the pity parties I have on occasion.
I am blessed. It is incredible that with our infertility problems, I have a very healthy pregnancy with a second child. It would be impossible for us to conceive children not that long ago (in medical years). I am able to connect with so many people. I do not take motherhood as lightly as I probably would had we not been through this. Will I ever look at my infertility without any sorrow? Probably not. But I can at least slowly change my heart and my point-of-view to a much more positive one.
31 October, 2019
A he or a she?
Ten days after the blood work (October 25), I excitedly checked my phone every time I received an email to see if my clinic had the results of the lab. I desperately wanted to know before my husband got home from school so I could quickly put together something to announce the sex of the baby to him.
The email about test results never showed up.
We did our grocery shopping late in the afternoon and I noticed a text from my friend.
"Hey I won't be at institute tonight but I'm dying to know if you guys found out your babies gender!"
I turned to my husband. "Should I call the clinic?"
"Of course." There was no other option from him. I did not want to be that irritating patient who calls too frequently about something. It had been a long week. I needed something exciting in my life.
"I had some blood work performed last week and was told the turn-around time would be approximately ten days. I wanted to know if there was an update on when that would be available."
"Which test?"
"Panorama."
"What would you specifically like to know?"
"Gender."
"Is this your first pregnancy?"
"It's my fifth pregnancy, but it will be my second baby."
"Do you want a little boy or a girl?"
I could tell the nurse was having lots of fun with me. I bet these are their favorite calls to have.
"Honestly, I just want a healthy baby."
"Is your child at home a little girl or a little boy?"
"I have a little girl."
"Well, you are going to have two little girls soon!"
"Thank you so much!"
"Is there anything else?"
"No. You were wonderful. Have a great day!"
My husband turned to me. "Well?" I repeated to him the conversation I had with the nurse and started crying. We excitedly turned to my daughter and were so happy to tell her that she was going to have a little sister.
My husband insisted that I call my father right then. He was on a train to JFK to go to Texas for a couple days, but celebrated with us. We were on cloud nine!
This baby girl is even more special because boys run in my family. Out of all my siblings, there is only one that has had more than one girl. We will be the second of my father's children to have two girls and the only family to have two girls in a row. This baby is also special because my little sister and little brother are also expecting babies in the spring. My sister is due around four week before me and my sister-in-law is due within a week of me. These three babies will have the closest birthdays out of all their cousins.
We also think we have a first name picked out. My daughter started saying a name a few weeks ago out of the blue. My husband and I both decided we like it. We will try it out a bit longer, but I think we have a winner!
The email about test results never showed up.
We did our grocery shopping late in the afternoon and I noticed a text from my friend.
"Hey I won't be at institute tonight but I'm dying to know if you guys found out your babies gender!"
I turned to my husband. "Should I call the clinic?"
"Of course." There was no other option from him. I did not want to be that irritating patient who calls too frequently about something. It had been a long week. I needed something exciting in my life.
"I had some blood work performed last week and was told the turn-around time would be approximately ten days. I wanted to know if there was an update on when that would be available."
"Which test?"
"Panorama."
"What would you specifically like to know?"
"Gender."
"Is this your first pregnancy?"
"It's my fifth pregnancy, but it will be my second baby."
"Do you want a little boy or a girl?"
I could tell the nurse was having lots of fun with me. I bet these are their favorite calls to have.
"Honestly, I just want a healthy baby."
"Is your child at home a little girl or a little boy?"
"I have a little girl."
"Well, you are going to have two little girls soon!"
"Thank you so much!"
"Is there anything else?"
"No. You were wonderful. Have a great day!"
My husband turned to me. "Well?" I repeated to him the conversation I had with the nurse and started crying. We excitedly turned to my daughter and were so happy to tell her that she was going to have a little sister.
My husband insisted that I call my father right then. He was on a train to JFK to go to Texas for a couple days, but celebrated with us. We were on cloud nine!
This baby girl is even more special because boys run in my family. Out of all my siblings, there is only one that has had more than one girl. We will be the second of my father's children to have two girls and the only family to have two girls in a row. This baby is also special because my little sister and little brother are also expecting babies in the spring. My sister is due around four week before me and my sister-in-law is due within a week of me. These three babies will have the closest birthdays out of all their cousins.
We also think we have a first name picked out. My daughter started saying a name a few weeks ago out of the blue. My husband and I both decided we like it. We will try it out a bit longer, but I think we have a winner!
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