The Pregnancy

Oh wow... It has been almost a year since I have written and published anything on my blog! And it is incredible how much has happened in that time period! The most major being we have a new baby in our family! Because I kind of want to document this just for me, I'm going to write down how that came about, and maybe later I'll write down the birth story, which would again be just for me really.

After having my second miscarriage on Christmas of 2011, my doctor and I decided that if I still wanted to get pregnant I should start taking progesterone every month starting on day 21 of my cycle, then taking a pregnancy test on day 28, then again on day 31. If it was still negative on day 31, then I was supposed to stop taking it, because it will prevent your body from having a period if you are taking it. 

So I started taking the pills, and testing every month became something I dreaded, because I didn't want to see any more negative pregnancy tests. I wanted a baby so badly! Seeing a negative test was like a stab to my heart each time. I tried really hard not to get my hopes up every month, but that is much easier to say than it is to actually do.

Well, during the month of May (end of May, beginning of June), I took the test on day 28 of my cycle and it was negative, so I waited until day 31 and it was still negative, so I stopped taking the pills. A couple days later I still hadn't started my period so I called the doctor. His nurse told me to take another test, so I did and to my surprise, it was positive! I wasted no time calling the doctor to set up my first prenatal appointment. Also, I started taking the progesterone again in hopes that it would help me carry this baby to term. (Progesterone is supposed to help strengthen the uterine lining during pregnancy as sometimes this can be a cause of miscarriage. We never knew a cause for my miscarriages, as most women often don't, but my doctor wanted to give me the best possible chance for a healthy pregnancy.)

At my first visit I was 8 weeks along, and so excited I could burst! The doctor came into the room with his little Doppler machine that lets you listen to your baby's heartbeat. Well, they couldn't find it with the Doppler, but I was told not to worry because often, it's too early for the Doppler to pick it up. My doctor being the amazing doctor he is though sent me for an ultrasound because he knew I wouldn't be able to relax until I knew my baby was okay. This is the point in both of my pregnancies that ended in miscarriage where we discovered something was wrong, so I was nervous anyway.

We went in for the ultrasound and we saw our little peanut! Everything looked good, the heart was beating, and the placenta looked great! Huge weight off our shoulders.

The next appointment was at 12 weeks. Again, the doctor couldn't find the heartbeat with the Doppler, and this time I was more worried than the first time. I was farther along, he should have been able to find it! He sent me for another ultrasound, and we were so relieved to see that the heart was beating strongly and things were still going well. 

The next couple appointments were uneventful. At 20 weeks, we went for an anatomy scan and our little peanut was modest! We couldn't get the baby to move so we could reveal gender at all! We got to go back for another scan and we finally got to find out that we were having another baby girl! Up until this point I had been determined that it was a boy because I was so sick all the time! 

There's nothing really exciting that happened during any of my appointments, but the closer we got to my due date (Feb. 7), the more miserable I was. I really wanted to be one of those women who loved being pregnant, but I am not. I had slipped and fallen twice during the month of January and I just could not get comfortable. My hips and pelvis were constantly aching and I was still throwing up and nauseous. 

Every time we went to the doctor in the month of January I was hoping to hear the words "Go to the hospital! Have a baby!" The one time, I told the doctor that's what I wanted to hear and he said "Okay, go the hospital! Have a baby!" Too bad he was only kidding. They kept checking my progress, but everything was at a stand still. Dilated 3 cm and 60% effaced. My body just was NOT cooperating with what I wanted. 

On the 24th of January I told my doctor I really didn't want to be pregnant anymore and that if he told me to go to the hospital and have a baby I wouldn't complain. When he told me he couldn't I almost cried. I begged him to let me have this baby because I was still feeling awful. I couldn't sleep at night because I was so miserable. Well, he looked at my chart and had mercy on me because he told me I could go the next day to be induced! 

So we went home and tried to get everything ready to have a baby the next day! (For the record, you are never ready to have a baby...) We cleaned the house, got Savannah ready for a sleep over with grandma and got ourselves ready for a trip to the hospital. I had one of my dearest and best friends come over to braid my hair for labor because I didn't want it hanging in my face.

The next morning we had to call the hospital at 6:30 AM to find out what time to be at the hospital. They made me call back at 8, and I was told to be there at 9! This was really happening! I was so excited. We got everything loaded into the car, were pulling out of the condos parking lot when I had to make Dave pull over so I could throw up. The full 38 weeks that I was pregnant I was throwing up! 

We dropped Savannah off at my parents' house and then off we went to the hospital.