So today was the big day!
When I realized she started hiccuping again, I asked DF to keep his hand in the location where I was feeling it the most and, sure enough, she hiccuped again and he felt it!
:)
Isn't it a bit early for fetal hiccups though?
Lol.
...but a girl can dream... right?
Today = 20 week and 6 daysNew nurse. She's just as nice as the other one. She informs me that Dr. Jekyll is the one I will be seeing today...
Follow-up = 8h15 am
Time of actual follow-up = 9h05-9h10?
Doctor on duty = Dr. Jekyll
Sigh.
...and that Dr. Dougy has left the team of OBs, so we are down to 3 and I haven't met the other 2.
Sigh.
The visit
Dr. Jekyll was particularly nice today. Just as nice as when she saw me for the dating ultrasound, worried that there would be no HB (heartbeat)... She is full of surprises.
Q: About my lab results..? (gestational diabetes, thyroid, hepatitis, chlamydia, bla bla bla)?
A: Yes, everything was perfect and your blood type is A+
Q: About my frequent nightmares..?
A: It's very common and normal during pregnancy and there's nothing much you can do about the dreams themselves. If it causes you to not sleep enough, you can take the sleeping pills I prescribed you to get a good night sleep when needed.
Q: About my frequent hickupping..?
A: Again, very normal and common during pregnancy and it is caused by your digestion beign slower and less efficient. There is nothing you can or should do about it and it poses no threat or problems to the baby.
Now, she proceeded to telling me a bit more about the 20 weeks ultrasound I had last week. Said everything looked good but she asked me if the tech had told me about my placenta... I casually answered that she had, without really telling me the implications of it.
(What the tech had told me is that my placenta was in front. That it was frequent and would only make me feel the baby kicks "less" on my belly...)
Dr. Hyde explained to me that I had a placenta previa. And that my placenta was not only forward and low but it was also completely covering the opening to my cervix.
Uh.
In lame terms, it's currently obstructing the doorway, but as my uterus grows into the third trimester, it might no longer be the case... Which is why I will need to pass another ultrasound between weeks 30 and 32 to see whether the situation has changed.
Q: But what will then happen if it is still covering my cervix in the third trimester?
...preparing for the bomb...
A: Then you will be on preventative rest (off work) and we will not let you try to give birth naturally, this means you will be scheduled for a ceasarian.
Ouch. Hmmm... Alright. I can live with that.
In the meanwhile, it also means you will have to take it very seriously and run to the hospital if you see any amount of bleeding. Tell them you have a placenta previa and they will take care of you ASAP.
To prevent the bleedings, you have to take it easy on shocks and abrupt exercice such as aerobics, jumps, many doctors will also tell you to refrain from sex...
Did I just hear that?
...but sex has not been proven to have a direct impact on it so I have my doubts, but still mention it to my patients just in case.
=======
Then we listened to the HB and I was off to work, a little confused about that news. I'm not worried, yet, should I be?
So. Much. Bigger. Than. Week. 19.
I don't remember mentioning it on this blog yet but I've had trouble sleeping recently. Not that I can't fall asleep but I can't stay asleep, rather, after making horrible nightmares on a nightly basis.My sleep deprivation was taking on a toll and I was glad for having kept a sleeping pill prescription my OB/gyn had given me in early Dec. Yesterday, I decided to put them to the test...
They worked so well! It was my first real night of sleep in about 2 weeks, and with no nightmares!
I've never been fond of medication and will usually wait too late for my own sake before deciding to take them, but I'm glad I did. On the other hand, I don't want this to turn into a habit so tonight I'm trying without the pill...
The labor was long and difficult and the mom was bravely going through it all in the most natural way possible. The baby position finally made it impossible to continue further and Eden was born by Ceasarian at 7h19 am on Saturday Jan 23rd 2010. I am so proud of the new mom and I can't believe just how beautiful she looked after such a long road without sleeping or showering: were I in her shoes, the baby would have probably started crying in fear when they would have presented her to me. Lol. But not her, she looked relaxed and so-very-happy.
Eden is truly adorable and so far, has been a calm and quiet newborn. The only few times I heard a few cries from her at the hospital were because she was woken up by being transferred from someone's arms to another's and it only lasted a few seconds.
I then had the chance to hold her and Jade even greeted her with a few kicks to which she did not respond (my placenta is in front so Eden probably never felt the kicks). It's quite impressive to think a baby this size (or more) will fit inside my belly eventually.
Happy belated birthday Eeeeeden, happy belated birthday Eeeeeeeeeeden, happy belated biiiirthday, happy belated biiirthday, happy belated biirthday Eeeeeeden.
Yesterday afternoon was our 20 weeks ultrasound.
DF, came to pick me up from the bus dropoff and we were on our way to St-Hyacinthe when I noticed he had that permanent smirk on his face. DF being notorious for controlling and not displaying his emotions, I was puzzled and could not decide if it was for him being as excited as I was at being so close to getting the echography or if he was just smiling at how ridiculous I looked (overexcited with joy, like kids seeing the presents under the christmas tree when they know the moment is coming for them to unwrap them + breathing hard because I had to run a lot in order to not miss the bus and subway on my way to the meeting point). Anyways, I like when he smirks like this and it put me in a good mood.
As it was scheduled at the hospital (and they are notorious for not being punctual), DF and I were making jokes and bets on our way there about "at what time are they going to see us". The appointment was scheduled at 13h15.
My guess: 13h40
His guess: no earlier than 14h25
We arrived in St-Hyacinthe at 12h45 and figured we had the luxuary of grabbing a quick sandwich before heading to our appointment. Got out at 13h and were at the radiology desk in the hospital at 13h16.
To our biggest surprise, the clerk was waiting for us, papers in hand, and gave me a ticket to give the technician. I didn't need to show her my medicare or hospital cards. Everything was ready for us. She asked us to sit on a blue chair in the hall and said someone would come for us...
Tic toc tic toc... We figured, so THIS is were we will wait forever...
10 minutes later, (13h26) someone came and asked at what time was my appointment. When I said 13h15, she seemed to panick a little, showed me the dressing room, gave me 2 robes to change in and gave the ticket for me to the technicien who then quickly rushed me in to get started.
Wow. 13h26.
I'm now eating my words and make this public apology for having lost faith in the hospital's punctuality with their appointments... All I can say is that the department of radiology is impressively good at time management.
Second bet taken = gender guessing
His guess: boy
My guess: girl
We then spent about 1 hour with the radiology technician doing the ultrasound... She was very patient and took the time to explain what we were seeing... DF, was impressed with how developped the baby was at 20 weeks, and started asking a couple of questions that sounded like he was reviewing his biology notions as she moved along with her exam. It was endearing. She had me change positions a couple of times because Mango had one leg bent and the foot could be hiding the boy parts...
Nothing could do it... but the tech said it looke to her more like a girl... She said she was 75% sure despite the foot in her way but DF was sceptical...
She left the room to get the doctor to confirm her evaluation and I made a quick escape for the restrooms before exploding on the table.
When I came back in the room, it was about 1 minute before the doctor showed up and realised the baby's leg had unfolded. With the emotion of a coroner, he solemnelly (not a word, right?) verified if we wanted to know the gender and then declared: "c'est une fille" (it's a girl).
No congratulations, and without further ceremony, he left us to ourselves... in awe. : D
DF thought he was expeditive...
I thought he would have made a good engineer :P
I couldn't stop smiling. DF was holding it all way better than me, but I could tell he was very pleased as well.
We're having a girl!!!
What's so special about today? Absolutely nothing.
What am I so excited about? The 20 weeks echography planned tomorrow afternoon.
That does it mean to me? It's a reminder that this Saturday will mark the mid-point in my pregnancy. Also, we might find out if Mango is a he or a she (oh yeah, did I mention this week was Mango week?) .
Is that all? Nope.
Please explain: Last night, Mango woke me up for the first time, kicking his mommy who had accidentally turned to sleep on her stomach. Bad Mommy. Good Mango.
Is that all? Nope.
Please explain: I'm wearing the new maternity cloths my mom bought me for xmas and I feel sexy.
Is that all? Nope.
Please explain: The study room has been officially moved to the basement and its old room is now clear to start a nursery.
Today's gonna be a goooood day. I can feel sparks in the air around me. Can you all feel it too?
Jade Cascarano. I like that.
Also, if it's a girl, I promise not to:
- force her into princessy/dolly looking dresses at every christmas until she's 12.
- paint her room pink, unless she begs me for it.
- keep her from climbing trees, or play trucks with the boys.
- let her dad completely fence her in when she starts dating.
Why?
- I'm 5'11", all in legs. Nothing seems to fit me right. The sleeves are too short and the pants are too short.
- I'm heavy busted. When a sweater or shirt fits in the bust area, it often fails to narrow back to define my waist and I end up looking like someone wearing a poncho.
- I'm curvacious. Low-rise pants don't do it for me. If I sit, they tend to slide off my butt. Normal rise pants are better but often less trendy or... too short.
- I hate crowds. They make me feel trapped and claustrophobic.
- I have the patience of a squirrel.
The results?
- My mom is ruined. Hehe... Thanks Mom!
- I tested my own limits of patience for a solid 3 hours and realised too late I shouldn't be doing this on an empty stomach...
- I came back with a new updated wardrobe that I enjoy very much and does not make me look like I escaped from a circus. I can dress most pieces up or down depending on the occasion and they should fit until the end of my pregnancy and beyond.
Yes, there is a spiritual being in me who loves to believe in something greater. No, my beliefs are not purely catholic and I do not "follow" a particular religion... If you are sensitive to spiritual beliefs different from your own, or discussions surrounding death and the afterlife better skip this post :)
I recently came back from a trip in my hometown to see my grand-parents and family during the holidays. I only visit about once a year and the visits are always very short so I realized while there, that I had not seen my baby brother's tombstone since I was maybe 7 years old or so. Shame. Not only that, but this year, he would be 25 years old so I thought he deserved a long due visit from his big sister.
About my baby brother:
His name is Thomas. He was a premature baby and deceased at the age of 2.5 months of sudden death syndrome. His death occurred on my 4th birthday.
I never fully accepted the fact that he passed away on my birthday. Not because he shouldn't, but because I always saw it as a sign and needed to find meaning to that fact since the simple coincidence explanation did not satisfy me.
Apparently I was extremely close to him. Giving him his night feeding was the reward my parents offered me if I had a good day. Several years later, when I told my mom I felt somewhat guilty of his death because of the "sign" of dying on my birthday, she thought it was ridiculous and told me she did not believe in such coincidences either an
d always thought he "chose" that night as a way to link to me to either offer me a legacy of his strengths or his protection from above now that he was an angel.
I liked that version very much. It grew on me.
So now, 25 years later, I'm pregnant with a baby that was conceived on my birthday and coincidentally, on my baby brother's death day. Another link or pure coincidence?
I went to the cemetery to pay my respects to my baby brother Thomas and decided if he had a special bond with me, maybe he'd have one with SweetPo too now...
Because he was a 2 months old baby, flowers didn't quite seem like an appropriate offering to bring so I got him a very nice stuffed kangaroo and got a twin for SweetPo. When I got there, I left one kangaroo by Thomas' tombstone and asked only one thing. I would love if he could protect this pregnancy and keep an eye on this baby. Be his very own guardian angel.
I hope he heard me. It was a much harder experience than I would have ever thought. Maybe the pregnancy hormones are partially to blame for those tears that kept running down my cheeks...
Now I have another stuffed kangaroo that sits quietly among SweetPo's belongings, reminiscent of the sinless uncle he will never get to meet but who might be watching over him for all his life...
Poor thing! Not that sweet potatoes aren't appetizing or anything... but they could at least have found a cuter one to describe my baby's size! Hmmm...As a celebration gesture for that 18 week mark, I will try to refer to baby this week as SweetPo instead of SweetPea.
So. About SweetPo. What's new?
MOVEMENT!
I'm so excited I can barely contain myself! Yesterday evening, I was geekiing (not a real word, heh?) on my computer (a.k.a leveling my lowest Horde character on World of Warcraft) when SweetPo started a little dance inside my tummy (that was probably not the first time). AND I FELT IT ALL and *that* was the first time! It lasted a few minutes, then stopped and started a couple other times during the evening for several seconds each time. When I woke up this morning, I got a Sun Salutation from SweetPo and the dancing started again.
I don't know what I was expecting but: not this!!! The first few signals for me started about 3 weeks ago and only felt like a few bubbles here and there. Now, what I felt for the first time yesterday evening was clearly "movement" of something alien to my body and it seems as though the moment when SweetPo found how to make me aware of his dancing, he wouldn't stop! I've felt him/her so many time in the last 24 hours it's hard to focus on anything else.
What I feel like doing right now: laying in bed with my hands on tummy waiting for the next dance show.
What I'll be doing instead: blog about it so I do not forget how truly special this moment was.
I'm so excited I can barely contain myself! Yesterday evening, I was geekiing (not a real word, heh?) on my computer (a.k.a leveling my lowest Horde character on World of Warcraft) when SweetPo started a little dance inside my tummy (that was probably not the first time). AND I FELT IT ALL and *that* was the first time! It lasted a few minutes, then stopped and started a couple other times during the evening for several seconds each time. When I woke up this morning, I got a Sun Salutation from SweetPo and the dancing started again.
I don't know what I was expecting but: not this!!! The first few signals for me started about 3 weeks ago and only felt like a few bubbles here and there. Now, what I felt for the first time yesterday evening was clearly "movement" of something alien to my body and it seems as though the moment when SweetPo found how to make me aware of his dancing, he wouldn't stop! I've felt him/her so many time in the last 24 hours it's hard to focus on anything else.
What I feel like doing right now: laying in bed with my hands on tummy waiting for the next dance show.
What I'll be doing instead: blog about it so I do not forget how truly special this moment was.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
