So this past weekend we made the official announcement of our pregnancy on Instagram. I wanted to do a little Fall themed announcement since it's almost Fall and Hubby and I both really love the Fall season. I hand painted the pumpkins form stencils that I found online, and I'm really proud of how they turned out! I love simple crafts like this and it was fun to make.
My appointment last week went well. I had an ultrasound to measure the baby and to hear the heartbeat. I got to see the little bean moving around in there. It was really cool to see how much it has changed from just a few weeks ago when I went in to get checked because of the spotting. My estimated due date is April 13, 2021. As of today I am now 9 weeks along, and baby has officially graduated to a fetus! According to my apps, it is roughly the size of a grape now and is probably moving around a lot. My belly is getting a bit bigger. I thought at first that it was just weight gain which had me all kinds of upset, but when I went to do the "jean test", I realized that it's just my little bump starting to form and show already when I found myself being able to zip up and button my jeans comfortably. I guess I'm just surprised and in denial of it because with my son I didn't start showing until I was like 14 weeks-ish. But I also have to keep reminding myself that 7 years ago I was a lot younger and much smaller in size than I am now.
In addition to the ultrasound, I got some more blood work done and I had my first meeting and consult with my new doctor. She is really nice and understanding. She asked me some of the routine questions and then we discussed the complications that I had at the end of my last pregnancy. She found my chart from the hospital where I delivered my son (which will be the same one for this baby, too) and was especially concerned with my diagnosis of HELLP syndrome in addition to the preeclampsia. Based on my charts from the hospital, she suspects that my tending doctor at the time was overly optimistic with the diagnosis of preeclampsia. She said that by her standards, my labs reflected severe preeclampsia, or even just full blown eclampsia. She also questioned how my doctor at the time missed diagnosing me earlier since my symptoms and labs were so severe by the time that I went to the hospital. She asked me if I had missed any of my prenatal appointments as a possible cause for not catching it earlier. When I told her that I did not, she was very puzzled and flat out told me that she is surprised that my care was so poor at the time. She offered her reassurance that this pregnancy I will be monitored more frequently to prevent such a traumatic experience from happening again. She referred me to see a high risk specialist at the end of the month to have more specific labs done and to have a consult with one of the doctors to formulate a plan for prevention of developing preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome as much as possible. So far I am instructed to start taking a baby Aspirin daily starting at 12 weeks in addition to my prenatal vitamin.
I am a bit nervous that I am classified as a high risk pregnancy, but I also kind of already knew that that would be the case. I just never imagined how serious these conditions can be and how having them once increases your risk of developing them again regardless of how far apart your pregnancies are from each other. As a result of the high risk status, and the fact that I had an emergency C-section the first time, my doctor is cautiously advising me to reconsider the idea of having a V-BAC with this pregnancy. Hearing that I may not be able to have a V-BAC was actually pretty heartbreaking for me since this was something that I had really wanted. I was unaware that the risk of uterine tearing is far higher after having a C-section even years after the surgery. I also did not know that induction is 100% not recommended after having a C-section, so going over my due date by even 1 day is completely out of the question. She did respect my desire to have a V-BAC, however, and agreed to let me have a trial of labor up until my due date permitting that mine and baby's health allows for it. If I go to my due date and there is no sign of labor coming on, she told me that I would have a scheduled C-section for the day after. On the one hand I am a bit relieved that she agreed to allow me to have a trial of labor, but on the other hand I am not going to get attached to the idea just in case if I have to go through the surgery again. Either way we will be having this baby either on the due date or the day after, so at least we know when to expect it and by when we need to have everything ready.
So far at 9 weeks pregnant my symptoms are actually very different from my first pregnancy. I am extremely fatigued and could easily sleep all day if I was allowed to. The urge to pee is practically every hour on the hour. My sense of smell is still really heightened despite the fact that now I have developed nasal congestion. According to Hubby, I am snoring more loudly and intensely, which is definitely embarrassing. I am experiencing acid reflux, which is the one symptom that I was not looking forward to experiencing again. I am not as nauseas as I remember being the first time, so I'll take that lack of symptom as a welcome gift. My cravings so far have been almost exclusively for savory and flavorful foods. The one food that I think I could probably eat every day are tacos. Not sure why, but tacos just sound so perfect in every way these past few weeks. Sweets are pretty much the last thing that I want lately. That change in food preference is really dramatic for me since I normally have an insatiable sweet tooth. Even if I didn't tell Hubby that I was pregnant early on, he would have found out by now because I have been flat out rejecting all the sweets that I normally would have no problem eating. Overall, though, this pregnancy has been smooth sailing so far symptom-wise. I pray it stays this way until due date time.
