I know it's been a long time since I last wrote. About 8 weeks have zoomed by like nothing it seems. Yes, the days seem to drag on and it seemed like I'd never get to the 2nd trimester, BUT THEN...
BADA-BING, BAD-BANG... Here we are at the start of my 14th week! HOLY MOLY!!!
Reality still seems like a dream and at times I'm still in shock that I'm actually pregnant! I know I feel pregnant, I see the ultrasounds, I hear the heartbeat... but it's still hard to believe. I've dreamed of this so long, planned for this, and now my dreams are finally coming true. I'm still awe struck.
So a lot has happened in these nearly past 2 months. Good news, and then some not so good news. First the not-so-good-news (I don't want to call it "bad news" because nothing is bad about being pregnant finally)...
- Well "Baby B" didn't make it. :( Baby stopped growing at 6 weeks and even though we got to see and hear his/her heartbeat twice, it was always slower than Baby A's. By week 8, Baby B had not progressed past 6 and a half weeks. It was sad, but bitter sweet as we saw Baby A was growing phenomenally. By week 9, it was clear that Baby B would just be a memory in our dear hearts. No heartbeat was found and the sac seemed to be getting smaller. They call this phenomenon "Vanishing Twin Syndrome" (Disappearing Twin Sydrome), literally, one twin will for no apparent reason stop growing and will dissolve into the woman's body. My doc (and from what I've researched) says it actually occurs more often than caught, but since it occurs at such an early stage in pregnancy, most women never know they had ever conceived twins because by the time they see their OB in their 10th week, the sac has disappeared. I would have probably never known, had I not been monitored as closely and as early as they do with fertility specialists. This will have no effect on Baby A whatsoever and I am expected to have a completely normal singleton pregnancy. So while this is sad news, I was not devastated as something deep in my gut told me not to get my hopes up. I tell ya... I've done a lot of research and I knew statistics on fertility treatments, multiple births, as well as the risk of things like this. I was sad especially because Baby B's sac hung in there until the 12th week and it was a little disturbing to see it every time I'd go in to check on Baby A. Either way, we will cherish the memory.
- Morning Sickness is no joke! I have yet to have a week go by where I don't experience some kind of nausea. Yes, it has gotten a lot better since my first trimester. During which, I was sick every day- morning, night, and noon. It was worse at night and hard to sleep and enjoy dinner. It made some days a little hard to concentrate at work and some weekends were wasted sick in bed. I'm thankful I have never gotten to the point of throwing up, but some days just wish I would so that maybe I could feel better. Now that I'm in my second trimester, the nausea is still there but not nearly as bad. Now it's usually worse after I eat, or when I'm really hungry. I still haven't found a cure-all, but I did buy some SEABANDS which seem to help.
- Food Aversions: Of all things... I completely hate vegetables. C'mon you've got to be kidding me! Something I'm supposed to be getting plenty of and now I can't stand the sight of much less the taste of.... how will I get proper nutrition? I'm hoping my prenatal vitamins are helping to carry this load for me. I try to cook them, steam them, grill them, dip them, mix them and no matter what, they make me nauseous, enough to ruin a meal for me. I hope this doesn't last much longer. I used to love veggie plates.
- And to make it worse.... I'm absolutely craving red, juicy, beefy, meat. You know that stuff you're supposed to limit yourself to once or twice a week? Nope, Baby wants the good stuff. And forget chicken.... One of my all-time faves, go-to meals, Chik-Fil-A lovin'... nope... not satisfying enough. At least it doesn't make me sick like the veggies do. But I'll just pick at the chicken and never seemed to be satisfied with it. But throw me a juicy steak, and I'm in heaven. What a 360 degree turn around (I never used to be much of a red meat eater)!
- Baby is growing like a weed! Today baby is the size of a beet. We still won't know the gender, but my intuition is telling me it's a boy because of all the red meat I'm craving. LOL.
- We went in for our first trimester screening and baby is perfectly normal. Plus we got to see 2 arms and 2 legs at the ultrasound! And baby is moving up a storm!
- Mom is doing great as well. Got clearance on all my labwork and everything is looking good! Even despite the lack of veggies and the carnivorous appetite.
Back to our hospital birth decision. So as you recall, there was a time when we thought we would be having twins. So immediately to me, that threw out the idea of having a birthing center birth. I figured the risks were too high and I didn't want to put us or our babies through that. So naturally I started researching OB doctors. I asked around and checked some reviews online. I found one doc that I was really interested in, but when I called to make an appointment back in September, they said she had no availability until November! So they suggested her associate... and that's how I got stuck with my current OB. Now after we heard the news of Baby B, I considered switching back to a birth center, but my RE was adamant about getting an OB. And then I started doubting myself. All this we've been through, I didn't want to risk any chance of having anything go wrong. So I made up my mind and stuck with the hospital birth. I figure if all goes well with this delivery, I will choose a birth center for our next pregnancy. Anywho, now I'm Gung Ho about making this hospital delivery experience as natural and beautiful as possible. I'm insistent on hiring a doula, starting prenatal yoga, going to birthing classes, doing peritoneal massage, learning breathing techniques all so that I can make this as natural as possible. I know I'm still gonna get an IV, and I know there's a chance I'll get scared into a C-section. But I want to train my mind and my body that I can do this.
So we started interviewing doulas. The first doula we met with seemed really good and she has a lot of experience. I probably would've hired her on the spot if I weren't told to interview at least 3 doulas before making a decision. So now I'm going to research and find two more to interview. This weekend I am going with a friend to do prenatal yoga (yoga newbie here).
And speaking of... I know quite a few ladies with EDD around my date. It must've been one hot and steamy summer... LOL. Speaking of one in particular... one of my very good friends is about 1 week later than me! I was so excited for the both of us as this will be our firsts! It's so fun to have someone who is like a sister going through the same thing as you. I can't wait to share our bonding experience together. She's gonna be my bump buddy and yoga partner.
I plan on getting a 3D/4D US sometime in November, since I can't wait until Dec 15th for my scheduled anatomy/gender scan. We're too impatient. We want to know Baby Frijole's gender like yesterday!
By the way, we finally revealed to the world we are expecting. Here are our photo reveals:
Ok, I'm tired of typing I'll leave you with a pic of baby Frijole. Until next time...
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