Information Overload

So my first ob appt was this morning, and let me first say that everything still looked terrific!!

I was having a bad feeling this morning. I was still spotting brown, it was too familiar to last time, and I lost the last one right around this time, so I was absolutely terrified. Poor Patrick, I was a terror this morning on the way to the appointment...I really thought it was all over.

I love Dr. Swaim and her entire office. Her nurse was just great, calming me down while she went to track down the ultrasound machine. When Dr. Swaim came in, she was all excited, then of course, I broke the news about the spotting, and then she really wanted to do the ultrasound right away. Luckily, she's pretty good with it, so within seconds, we knew everything was okay. His heart was just pumping away. She didn't measure it, but she said it looked terrific and by this point, I can vouch that it did look great and strong. He measured 9w4d, but I think she overshot a little with the measuring and he's probably 9w3d, which is all fine considering that I'm only 9w today! Boy were we relieved, and she was so excited.

So here's where the information overload comes in. First, she is so amazing. She said we would do weekly ultrasounds (without me saying a thing) just to keep me sane, and that they would just make room in the schedule for me! I already have one scheduled for next Wednesday : ) Also, about the doppler, she said just order whatever one I want, bring it in to my appt, and then they'd show me how to use it. She said usually it's not reliable until after 12 weeks, but since I'm thin, she thinks we can get it to work at 10 weeks.

Drugs- They want me to stop my baby aspirin and I'm also done with progesterone...YAY! Especially since I think the progesterone is contributing to my spotting. Plus, I'm on 30mgs Lovenox now, so she wants to think about upping it to 40 mgs in the second trimester (SECOND trimester...what's that?)

Now here's the biggie that really threw us for a loop. Now in the back of my mind, I've always wondered about the possibility of incompetent cervix. I had a LEEP 11 years ago, plus I've had 5 surgeries that have required my cervix to be manually dilated. But Dr. Swaim is so conservative, that I didn't expect her to talk cerclage already today. She said in a case like mine, that if we asked 10 drs., 5 would say it's not warranted and the other 5 would say put in the cerclage. For those going "huh?", a cerclage is a purse-string like stitch that sews your cervix shut. I have no idea beyond that. I never seriously researched it, and obviously Patrick and I will both be doing tons of research on the risks and benefits. Dr. Swaim did say that she sort of feels like we should do it, and as I said before, she is very conservative, so that surprised me. I think she's so emotionally involved, that she just doesn't want to take a chance...and of course, neither do we.

On that note, I have to schedule a consult with a high-risk ob (maternal-fetal medicine specialist). I'm supposed to call tomorrow and schedule it in the next couple of weeks. They'll be doing the nuchal translucency first trimester screen as well as the consult on the cerclage. If I have the cerclage, it will be done in week 13 or so. As I understand it, it's quick and easy but I do have to be put under for it. Like I said, it's all still a little overwhelming right now. There's also the option of possible monitoring the length of the cervix by weekly u/s and just putting in the cerclage if it starts to shorten, but again, that's something else we need to research.

She also said that I'm at increased risk for a few complications due to my clotting disorder (mostly the Protein C deficiency), so we have to watch out for intrauterine growth retardation, premature rupture of membranes, pre-eclampsia, etc. She said I'll be having an ultrasound at every appointment because of that (oh darn...) and she said she'll be seeing a lot of me...LOL!

In other interesting news, while my due date is April 16th, she said I will not be making it that far. She said as soon as the baby is "fully cooked" (roughly 38 weeks), she will be delivering. Patrick (the dork) has requested April Fool's Day.

Then they gave me all the info for the high-risk ob, made my appt for next week, gave me my prenatal goodies bag (all these bags I've never had before, Dr. Mac gave me one, too. I'm too scared to even see what's in them yet...), took 5 vials of blood and a urine sample and sent me on my way...

So you can see why I'm a little overwhelmed. First, we are absolutely ecstatic that everything is going well...I honestly can't believe it. The idea of talking about trimesters, the big ultrasound, movement, delivery plans...it's all so foreign to me. I've never allowed myself to think that far, to think of the fact that I'm actually growing a baby, a baby that I might actually take home...

It's a little hard to come to the realization that I'll never be a normal pregnant woman...but I guess it's not all that surprising. Dr. Swaim said no exercise, if I get the cerclage, then no sex either, bedrest is probably a real possibility. I've already apologized to Patrick if I gain 70 pounds. Hey, Kate Hudson did it and she looks great again : ) But so far, I've only lost 3 pounds, so it could be worse.

I'll never be a normal pregnant woman...but at least right now, I'm still a pregnant woman...and I'll do whatever it takes to stay that way.
One day at a time...

Here is today's blurry u/s pic...LOL!