Friday, April 13, 2012

Poppet 2

We really will have to rename this blog... Us and Poppets; Us and Poppet x 2 (thanks, Helen), or something else entirely.

I've just entered my 15th week and the due date is October 11th, which, when written in 'American' is 10/11/12. We're hoping this is an auspicious date!

I was seeing an RE (reproductive endocrinologist) because of our recent losses when we suddenly discovered we were expecting. To say we were anxious would be something of an understatement. I had my hCG beta levels checked, and everything looked good, and then we had a scan at 6 weeks and 5 days and the baby was measuring a couple of days ahead with a great heartbeat of 140. Both Rich and I felt a little more confident at that point, but, again, we'd seen heartbeats on scans before so we were still very wary about being happy or excited. At 8 weeks and 4 days - after some begging - I had another scan...


Once again the babe measured ahead with a super heartbeat. I wasn't able to actually look when we had the sonogram until the tech said it was safe to! It was such a relief.

So far this has been a really difficult pregnancy. Once again I've been suffering with some horrible hyperemesis. Apparently my thyroid is wonky and I have this rare (joyous) condition called something like Transient hyperthyroidism of hyperemisis gravidarum. It is so miserable, I can't quite describe it. But it's like having a constant stomach flu with accompanying major fatigue... for weeks and weeks on end. I am on meds, thank the Lord, but they don't take away the nausea and it sadly doesn't stop all of the vomiting. With Raf, while it got better as the pregnancy progressed, I was sick until the minute he was born. It looks as though this may be a repeat... Oh well. Honestly I can cope with it all as long as I feel somewhat okay that a baby will materialize at the end!

We do feel a little bit more confident after our 12 week NT scan, which we had a few weeks ago. This scan assesses risk for trisomy 18/21 (Downs). Because of my 'advanced maternal age', and because of our recent history, we opted for this scan along with with first trimester blood work. We met with a genetic counselor because we honestly weren't sure whether we should have the screening but I knew that if the results were okay then we'd feel a little better about things.

A lovely sonographer we met when I was pregnant with Raf was luckily able to do our scan that day, and everything looked super. The babe's nuchal fold measurement was 1.4mm (anything under 2.5mm at this point on looks good). The baby measured 12 weeks and 2 days, so still measuring ahead as Raf had done, and they were leaping about like a little kangaroo. I couldn't believe how much movement there was! It was so great to see. We had the blood work done and the following week we got a call from a lovely nurse, Megan, who happened to be our fantastic L and D nurse from when we had Raf (she moved jobs). Combined with the nuchal fold measurements, my age, and blood work our chances of having a baby with trisomy 18/21 went down to 1:10,000, which is about as low as it gets. Again, such a relief since on age alone the risk is something like 1:300.

A few weeks on and I am still pretty sick but also so happy that everything so far looks okay. We also transferred our care from an OBs office to a fantastic midwife group. Deb, sadly, no longer delivers at Mercy so we had to find someone new since Mercy is so much more baby friendly and much less biomedical than the other hospital in the city (mind you, that hospital's birthing center is also really great, so we have very viable choices).

We had our first appointment yesterday and really it was a wonderful experience. By a cruel twist of fate I have a stomach bug, which on top of the hyperemesis is horrendous, but I made it to the appointment and was glad I did. We heard the baby's heartbeat nice and clearly and everything continues to look fine.

Fingers crossed that things continue to look good!

15 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Oh what wonderful photos! I can't believe you're "advanced maternal age" what a joke. So so glad for you that all is looking well. I hope you start feeling better soon. (I deleted my other comment because I asked about nausea the whole time with Rafi and then re-read that you said you did).

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  3. I'm so happy things are looking for well for Poppet #2! I look forward to reading more on your pregnancy here and in our group (I'm Sandra from July09 :) )

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  4. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Which midwife group are you with now? That so wonderful. I am very very sorry that you are feeling so awful physically, Alex. Wish I could make that go away for you. xoxoxo

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  5. I know, Julie!! It's so sad to be considered 'high risk' because I'll be the wrong side of 35 in October!

    Thanks so much, Sandra! So nice of you to stop by (I recognized your picture!)

    Thanks, Jen. Only, well, 6 months to go! Aha! I was feeling so much better until this tummy bug hit and I feel as though I'm back in the first trimester. I've spent the best part of the last two days in bed, not really able to move. We're with Backcove Midwives. I'm pretty sure you went with them, too? The 2 midwives I've met so far have been so lovely. It feels like a really good fit. x

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  6. Glad all is well Alex! What a wonderful pictures loved it :-) Are you going to find the gender of poppet 2 or are you on team green? Lots of love :-)

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  7. wow al, s/he's really developing! that little profile, so cute! will you think me mad if I say that I can see a rafi resemblance?!? am sorry you are feeling so awful. have you been able to take time off work to look after yourself? love love love lucy x

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  8. all sounding swell mrs! x x x

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  9. wow wow wow so exciting!
    i feel for you so much with the nausea etc. am holding your hand in the anxiety and dancing with you in the hope xx

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  10. Thanks, Chaitra <3

    Lucy, I think the same thing!! Aha, now we're just trying to guess the sex. I scrutinized the 12 week scan phone over and over again looking at the 'angle of the dangle' (google it!) and I couldn't discern one way or another :)

    Thanks, Fi.

    Lou, you're the best! xx

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  11. Hi Alex,

    I've been reading your blog for a while but just had to post a comment on this wonderful scan photo.
    I had hyperemesis gravidarum in my last pregnancy and it was horrendous. I'd suffered terrible pregnancy sickness in my other full-term pregnancies, but not to the extent I did with the last one. You have my empathy. However, my nausea and sickness were always a sign of a strong pregnancy for me, whereas I didn't suffer from nausea with the babies I sadly lost. I hope that it indicates a healthy and strong pregnancy for you also.
    Congratulations on your pregnancy take good care and lots of luck.x

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  12. Thanks, Gem! How are you feeling?

    Ariella, thanks so much for reading and commenting! I caught up on your blog a little bit yesterday and it was good to hear about your life (I don't know if you know, but while I live in the US I grew up in Devon...

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    1. Alex, yes I did know that you grew up in Devon. It's a beautiful county and very close to my heart. xx

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  13. hey Alex,
    these photos are so beautiful.
    i know i don't pop in much these days but i do love seeing all of rafs advertures via fb ;)
    x

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