12 Weeks!

"If you can believe it, your baby has fingernails now. In no time these will be used to scratch your face with razor sharp precision at 2am while still remaining paper thin enough to be too terrifying to cut. They are a miracle of nature on so many levels.

Your baby is also around two inches long, which is typically compared to a lime or plum, but I like to compare it to a Viva Puff. Your baby is the size of a delicious Viva Puff. Don’t know what that is? Look in the cookie aisle next time you’re grocery shopping. You’re welcome.

You’re almost out of the first trimester, which typically means you’re going to start looking pregnant and feeling better soon. I like to refer to it as the Golden Age. It often lasts about 10 minutes so lap it up.

Sore boobs may be starting to subside even though estrogen and progesterone are still both hard at work setting up shop for breastfeeding. Extra blood flow and extra fat make for a great looking set of knockers so this is a great time to wear the v-necks and get out of speeding tickets. You may also be rocking protruding nipples and darker, larger areolas, but I suspect anyone viewing them will be too dazzled by your rack to notice even if you’re not digging them." -Pregnant Chicken

Size/Info:  The babe is about 2"long, weights 0.5 oz and is roughly the size of a plum, clementine, GI Joe Toy Soldier or a Chicken McNugget. The babe has more than doubled in size over the last 2 weeks and most of the baby's systems are fully formed. The babe can open the mouth, yawn, hiccup and swallow. The bone marrow is busy making white blood cells which will one day help the little one fight infection. The babe is getting strong, there are a lot of flexing muscles and rocking reflexes going on. Although I can't feel any movement yet, the babe can feel when I put my hand on my tummy!

What is new this week?  This week was a BIG week. We had 2 appointments (one with my OB and another on Wednesday with Maternal Fetal Medicine) and received the results of our Harmony non-invasive prenatal test. The appointment on Monday was my official appointment with my OB where we talk about the pregnancy as a whole as well as labor and delivery. There are 3 other doctors in her practice and we may get any of them for labor and delivery. This concerns me because I want to have a natural birth. While I trust my OB, I do not have a relationship with the other doctors so I think we are going to meet with the Midwife practice associated with my OB's practice and suss out that route.

The appointment on Wednesday was with Maternal Fetal Medicine. We met virtually with the genetic counselor (who is located in Denver) to discuss potential prenatal testing. Then we had our NT Scan. This was my first abdominal ultrasound (woohoo!) and the tech spent about 20 min checking out the baby and measuring the fluid at the back of the neck (see video below). Afterwards, we met with Dr. Schafer and he said everything was perfect with the ultrasound and there were no concerns. He also discussed what tests and appointments we would need to have over the course of the pregnancy. Maternal Fetal Medicine will monitor me every 2 weeks starting at week 16 through week 24. During that time, I will have an anatomy scan, a fetal echocardiogram (because IVF babies have a slightly higher risk of heart defects), as well as cervical check for incompetence. I have to have monthly CBC draws (because I am on Lovonox), an AFP test at 16 weeks and a glucose test sometime this week (and then again at 24 weeks). The early glucose test is because I am on prednisone and that can cause gestational diabetes. With all that being said, Dr. Schafer was completely fine with me seeing the midwife practice for additional prenatal care and labor and delivery. So that is great news! All of the OB's at my practice would be back-up anyway if any medical intervention was needed.

Yesterday afternoon I had a message on my phone from my OB saying that she had received the results of the Harmony NIPT and everything was NORMAL!! What a relief. 

Symptoms: My heart palpitations are lessening but I still have them multiple times a day. Nausea is almost gone but not quite. Fatigue is still hanging around but I definitely have more energy. Indigestion is a pain in the ass and I have been having more frequent headaches. The boobs still really hurt and it was so painful when my OB gave me a breast exam on Monday, OUCH!!

Food aversions: Still avoiding tomato sauces - they give me horrible indigestion.

Food cravings: No crazy cravings this week. My doctor gave me a lecture about gaining weight and said she'd be upset if I didn't gain enough weight - somehow I don't think that will be a problem. I want all the desserts.


Fitness: Now that I am not feeling like I am constantly hungover, I am ready for some physical activity. It is SO hot that it is hard to want to get outside, so I joined the CMU gym. Yesterday, I swam laps and it was glorious! I would swim laps everyday if it didn't mean that I had to wash my hair everyday. 

Blump/Bump: I am still bloated but coming off of the medications should help with that over the next week or so. Technically, my uterus is now above my pelvis so there is a hint of a real bump there! (But mostly that bump is poop and gas!)

Medications: The notes from RE in Prague say to stop the medications at 12 weeks. My OB said that she thought I could come off of them after the 12th week. So I am going to ween off of the progesterone and estrogen this week by skipping the mid-day dose for 3 days and then just one dose for 4 days! So excited about coming off those meds.

6am: 200mg vaginal progesterone and 2mg of Estrace (only Thursday-Saturday this week)

7:30am: 10mg prednisone, 40mg Lovonox injection in the belly

9am: 1 Prenatal and 2 DHA. 

7:30pm: 40mg Lovonox injection in the belly

9pm (if I can stay up that late): 200mg vaginal progesterone and 2mg of Estrace

Baby Preparations: I have been eyeballing some garage sales for baby stuff but honestly, I think we are going to get so many hand-me-downs that we really don't need to buy much. I guess the next phase of planning is gathering ideas for the nursery!

Sex Prediction: If you have made it through the whole (very long) blog post then you get to find out the sex of the baby. After my doctor left a message to tell me the results of the genetic test were normal, she said she would call me back to tell me the sex. I called Jason, as he was working, and told him the great news and asked if it was ok for her to tell me. He said , YES!!, give her a text now. So I did and she responded and said.................