Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Ultrasound (from 13wks 2dys) Official Stats

It appears this babies measurements are all over the place. Ranging from the femur measuring at 13wks exactly to the Abdominal Circumference at 13wks 4dys, the Head Circumference measuring 14wks 1dy and the Biparietal Diameter (another head measurement) at 14wks 2dys! Weight was 73 grams (which is, if accurate, indicate of closer to 15wks).

Heartbeat was fantastic at 158!!!

My placenta is anterior, as I suspected when viewing the U/S. It looked to be placed similarly to my pregnancy with Nolan. Just means I won't feel much til later in the pregnancy, again. Also, if it hangs out low during the pregnancy it could cause an issue if it is placed on my scar, but no point in worrying about things we don't know yet.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Blood Pressure Update - 13wks 4dys

Well, after nearly two full weeks of taking CALM (and a missed dosage or two) my blood pressure appears to have come down a little bit. I took it while I was at Wal-Mart yesterday, after walking around for a good 15-20 minutes, and it was 136/85. It was 140/90 last time I took it at Wal-Mart, so a bit of an imporvement. Under 140/90 puts me at pre-hypertensive, instead of hypertensive. The difference? Hypertensive status means OB intervention/transfer. Pre-hypertensive means we keep working on it in a natural capacity.

From what I read it takes a full month of CALM to see a complete improvement, so I am hoping that we continue to see a downward trend. I am going to up my dosage to the full recommended 2, here in the next day or so. Once the sickies are gone I am going to start walking per the midwives recommendations as well.

Also! All the focus on my blood pressure had me forget that my iron levels have been in the normal range! Low-normal, but normal! The Nettles Leaf Tea must be working! So woohoo for that! I am trying my best to reduce my stress and anxiety surrounding this pregnancy. I just need to find a place where I am OK with whatever happens. If we do everything we can and my blood pressure is still an issue and I have to transfer - I have to make peace with that. I have too.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Ultrasound Update - 13+2weeks

Do I even need to say anything? Our baby is doing fantastic. It was the most profound feeling to see he/she moving around as well as can be. We officially know why the midwife was unable to get a heartbeat - apparently we have a little acrobat on our hands! The poor U/S tech spent twenty minutes chasing the baby trying to get the heartbeat. He/She was just doing flips the whole time. Head, butt, head, butt, occasionally hand, that's all you saw! LOL!

While she was unsuccessful in getting a good listen at the heartbeat, daddy and I definitely couldn't have been happier. Just to know everything is OK and that he/she is happy and healthy in there, that is all that matters at this moment.

Still keeping up with the daily Nettles Leaf Tea and I am up to 1.5tbls of CALM. I am hoping beyond hope that this is assisting with my blood pressure. Though blood pressure tends to go down during the second trimester anyway, so I have that on my side as well - FOR NOW.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

First Midwife Appointment - 11weeks 5ishdays

Well, my midwife appointment came and went this past Thursday. On the upside, I adore Marianne, she is sweet and compassionate and really easy to talk too. The difference in the way I felt in her MW care compared to when I was seeing and OB was remarkable. I was a part of the whole process, I was seen immediately, without an hour long wait in the waiting room. She listened  to me, she talked to me, she explained things to me when I asked a question without appearing annoyed in the least. Loved her. No doubt.

To the not-so-good stuff. My BP was up already (130/90), but honestly before walked in I felt a mild panic attack coming on before taking a moment to breathe. So, I was not surprised. Urine showed nothing interesting - all clear there. What was quite nerve wracking was the lack of a heart beat. She tried so hard, at two different intervals, to try and find it, but no luck. She didn't seem overly concerned, I do have a tilted uterus which can cause these problems. Does this make me any less worried? Hell no.

She asked if I wanted a referral for an U/S and I did. It is scheduled for the 15th (so far away!) and hopefully we will get some reassurance that this little one is OK. On the BP note she suggested that I try CALM (a Calcium Magnesium supplement) and Nettle Leaf Tea to help with the BP, anxiety, and anemia. I found the CALM at my local health food store and started it last night, I managed to find tea bags (but not the loose leaves she wanted) so I grabbed those. Drank my first Nettle Tea (with added honey) today, bearable, but most definitely not enjoyable. I'll be ordering the loose Nettle leaves online as soon as I find them.

We thoroughly enjoyed our first real Easter (previously we didn't do much since Nolan wasn't walking). Once Nolan figured it out, he really enjoyed himself!!





I think hubs and I did pretty well with the eggs! Nolan added the stickers!








Get Ready, Get Set, GOOOOO!!






aaannnddd.... Distracted by the truck!

 







Noooow we get it!!!














Checking out the booty with daddy!!!