Today was our due date. It's been a crazy year with lots of ups and downs. We were so excited to find out we were pregnant at the beginning of this year and then miscarried at eight weeks. It was so hard. We miscarried at home and had this little tiny body that we had to bury. It was so small, about the size of a quarter, but very distinctly a baby. It was one of the saddest moments of my life so far.
We eventually accepted it and moved on, although my body had a hard time getting itself back on track. My cycles were completely off and a month and half ago I hadn't had a period for 12 weeks and all my pregnancy tests were negative. I called my DR and he ran lots of blood tests, from diabetes to thyroid, thankfully everything came back normal, except the pregnancy test. It was inconclusive, not high enough to be positive, but elevated enough to not be negative. A week later I went back in for another blood draw, by this time I knew I was pregnant, and it was positive.
I set up an appointment right away with my extremely patient midwife, Mindie. She had us come in at 6 1/2 weeks, checked us out, and gave me an ultrasound. There was a beautiful little heartbeat and a blob of cells surrounding it.
Everything seemed to be going OK. I was sick, but not nearly as sick as with Makyra. Then this Sunday I started spotting. I tried so hard not worry, it stopped by the end of the day with a little bed rest and since I had an appointment in 2 weeks Mindie and I decided that if it didn't start again then we would wait and see if we could find the heartbeat then, if not she would send me for another ultrasound because at the point you can't always find the heartbeat by Doppler.
So I waited, but I started spotting again and then I was really freaked out. It was after hours so she had me go to the local ER (which has been a great place in all of our other experiences.) We waited for 3 hours to see the DR and then he just said that he didn't have an ultrasound machine, he didn't do any blood work or anything (I was really shocked that they didn't check anything out because usually we've been really happy with their services, especially with Makyra.) I called Mindie on Thursday (the next day) and she told me to come to her office and get my blood drawn and then set me up with an U/S for the next day (today).
I was so scared to go to this appointment today. It was my due date and if we found out that we had lost another baby on the same day that we were supposed to bring one into the world I don't know if I could take that very well. The technician took pictures of everything and then FINALLY got to the baby. There was this little flicker of a heartbeat on the screen and I just started bawling. I am so relieved. The heartbeat was 160 (at 6 1/2 weeks it was 127) and the baby was moving all over the place. She actually had a hard time getting the heart rate because it wouldn't hold still long enough. It's about an inch long now. I got some pictures but my computer isn't downloading right now like it should so I can't post it now, but I'll post it later. It had these tiny arms and legs. I am so so so happy that it's OK.
I got my messages from Mindie when I got home (my phone had died) and she said that my HCG levels (for those of you who don't know what this is, they are at great levels) at 6 weeks was around 72,000 and then yesterday they were over 250,000. When we miscarried, at 8 weeks they were around 420, just so you can compare. She said that I'm probably bleeding because the baby implanted really close to my cervix and the placenta is growing right next to it. (I researched this, because I know it's a problem if the placenta is over the cervix, but usually it will grow upward and not stay were it is, so I'm not worried about it.)
So that is our little adventure with babies this year, so much emotion. But we are excited and I think everything is going to be OK now. We are 9 weeks along.
P.S. There is a sister in my ward who is due the same day as me, it has been so fun to compare and have someone that is right there at the same point of pregnancy. This is her fourth, so she's pretty much an expert (although it's her fifth pregnancy because she also miscarried). It's going to be so fun watching us and then the babies grow together.
P.P.S. Sorry if this is a little detailed, but that's just how baby growing is.
13 comments:
oh my goodness! thats so good to hear!!! Im so glad everything is going well! I was so worried when i got pregnant again after the miscarriage and it was such a relief to see that little heart beat on the screen and to see the little baby jumping around in there. Im so happy for you. After my miscarriage, so many women opened up to me about their own exeriences, its just like you said, its like a little secret club. Im so happy that you are pregnant again and that its going well. When are you due with this one?
Thanks, we're so excited to have this baby and that it's healthy. I'm due on May 8th.
Oh Tiff! That is sooooo great! I'll keep you guys in my prayers!
That definately is a rollarcoaster of emotions Tiffany! I'm so happy for you, your family and this new little life! Glad to hear everything is progessing like it should now, we'll keep you in our prayers!
My goodness, what an emotional year! I'm so glad that the baby is doing well. How are you feeling? Do you get very sick with your pregnancies? :o) Melissa (Piepgrass)
Yeah!! Its out in the open!! So now can I tell everyone I know? Jk :) Congratulations guys..I am so happy for you and I hope all goes smoothly!
Congratulations! I am so excited for you guys.
My goodness! I can't even imagine what you've had to go through! That's a lot to deal with when your hormones are already crazy and your emotions all over the place. Congratulations and I'm so happy everything's going better for you guys. I hope you have a smooth pregnancy and maybe our babies will be born on the same day! I'm due April 24th.
You're due a little over a year after Carston was born. A year isn't a huge difference, so they can be buddies (even if it's a girl). I'm very happy for you and that the roller coaster has at least temporarily come to a stop. Elephant shoes!
I'm so glad the baby is doing good. It'll be fun to have a new batch of cousins!
Congratulations! I'm so happy that everything is going smoothly this pregnancy - still a bit of a scare, though. And I'm so sorry for all of the heartache and stress and emotions you've had to endure - you're a trooper!
Congrats again and keep us posted. And don't worry about too much detail - I love reading all that stuff - it's much more interesting that just a standard "everything's good" post.
Congratulations Ward family!
I'm so excited for you~ so sorry to hear of your loss. I remember grieving on 'due dates' too.
I hope you have a great pregnancy and that your little miss can get excited about being a 'big sister'.
congratulations. how are you feeling now? what is your due date?
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